Re: Toaster

[MH]

Any ideas on a fix for a Tefal Avanti toaster - the lever that lowers the

> bread is not latching in the down position. I guess it is a fault with a > solenoid. There seems to be a slight attempt to latch it - but not quite > powerful enough. > > Is to be consigned to the bin - or is it worth trying to get inside it? Any > ideas on how to open it up? >

My mum's Philips electronic toaster had a similar problem, which I fixed by:

a) Opening up the case b) Remove as much toast residue as possible (yuk) c) Use contact cleaner on the connectors between internal PCBs d) Clean the mating surfaces of the electromagnet and drop lever

I don't know about the Tefal unit, but the Philips was quite difficult to open due to the use of a strange type of dimpled screwhead. I had to "get a pair of pliers and get medieval on its ass", to paraphrase Pulp Fiction.

Needless to say, be VERY careful if operating the toaster with the cover off. With the Philips unit, it was not immediately obvious which parts of the circuitry were live and which were connected to earth.

MH.

[PM]

It'll probably be the timer chip. These are very cheap to buy, if you need to mail-order then the postage will be several times the cost of the chip! Toasters are usually screwed together with pillar Torx or similar, once you get the plastic case off there's mains-carrying wires all over the shop. There will be a circuit board near the control end, the timer chip may well be the only chip on there. Get the part no. and search on rswww.com. N.B. How's your soldering?

Pete

[Gnube]

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[Robin Prater]

Ours is a Morphy Richards which had the same problem. Its probably worth a look inside before you rush out and buy new.

Pull off all the knobs etc - turn it over (on a newspaper or shake the contents on the grass for the birds) - undo the fixing screws, on the MR it uses 'System Zero' Tamperproof screws, you can buy drivers for these (A set will cost more than a new toaster so if your not going to use them again your decision has been made.

Sometimes the cover can be prised off there is often enough give to get it past the catches.

Once inside you probably only need to clean the contacts that make, as the lever arm descends and check the release button is not faulty or shorted. I have had to rebuild our button three times to accommodate heavy handed impatient members of the house.

Best of luck

Robin

[Bob Minchin]

I had exactly this problem with a different brand of toaster and it turned out to be a crumb stuck on the pole piece of the electromagnet. This allowed the 'feel' of a slight magnetic retention but not strong enough to hold against the spring that puts cooked toast into orbit around the kitchen.

Simple and zero cost to fix. My favourite sort of DIY - and you have to have piece of toast to test it too!!

Bob

[Bob Minchin]

I used to be a marmalade man but in the last few weeks I have discovered I'm a type 2 diabetic so it's plain dry toast for me now as I can't cope with the taste of marmite.

Regards

Bob

[Owain]

"Bob Minchin" wrote | I used to be a marmalade man but in the last few weeks I have discovered | I'm a type 2 diabetic so it's plain dry toast for me now as I can't cope | with the taste of marmite.

Gentleman's Relish (Patum Peperium) is awfully nice on hot toast.

It's also a good substitute for chocolate body paint, erm so I'm told.

Owain

[Bob Minchin]

I'm just trying to cut out all added sugar and have also been advised to cut down on fat. I'm told that the sugars produced as carbohydrates are digested are less of a problem due to slow release of sugars as distinct say from sugar in a drink which appears in the blood very quickly. My dietician has said that the atkins or similar diets are bads news for diabetics.

As a general note, I have no outward symptoms of diabetes and was picked up by a walk-in screening test run free by the Lloyds pharmacy chain. There are about 1 million peoplein UK who have diabetes and don't know it. Whilst I'd rather not have it, I'm pleased to know so i can do something about it.

My message to all is go and have a test. I does not hurt, it takes only minutes and you get a result there and then.

Regards

Bob

[Andy Hall]

I wasn't suggesting actually using one of these diets, although I have read that some diabetics who have gone for carbohydrate reduction (not particularly extreme) have been able to control their symptoms without needing to resort to medication.

Certainly there is plenty of evidence that avoiding the highly refined sugar/insulin roller coaster is a good idea for everybody.

I've been looking at dietary issues quite a bit as well, and it's not at all clear that fat reduction and replacement with complex carbohydrates is the answer for everybody. It appears to have as much to do with metabolism as anything else.

If you read around the subject, you find just as much evidence supporting one regime as another. Cynically speaking, there is an entire industry behind production of low fat foods just as there is for low carbohydrate items. Then of course there is the pharmaceutical industry that makes a lot of money from treatment when things do go wrong. It's interesting to note that they will seldom back any diet or other regime that doesn't tie into a drug therapy.

Absolutely right, and the implications of not dealing with it can be pretty serious.

I completely agree. I had an overnight stay in hospital for some tests not long ago and they did a basic urine screen and then in the morning a blood test for sugar level, probably using similar technology to your pharmacy. I did have a slightly higher than normal level, so the advice was to visit the GP surgery and ask for a sequence of tests over several days. It seems that this is not a yes/no thing but a matter of degree and the treatment reflects that.

.andy

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