|
In conclusion, I would never actively pay $200 for a toaster like this, even if it's heavy and looks really, really good, and is a British institution. 2. It toasts well (most times), is easy to use and seems durable. 3.
Fast heating - haven't had a problem with it taking ages to heat up. Pros:1. 3. Cons:1.
2. Myriad of really pretty colors - these toasters really ARE pretty. There's a little arrow on the the timer knob that I've found keeps toasts to a perfect level (between 2 - 3 minutes).4. The little lever that helps the toast go up and down is pretty nifty and really works when you have things that are too big for the slots (see (5) and Cons (3) below). I received a refurbished canary yellow Dualit as a house-warming gift.
Large countertop footprint. You can kill a buffalo with this. Sometimes uneven toasting - I can't figure out if the top gets darker first or the other way around. It's a little aggravating but it doesn't happen all the time. Since there is no pop-up mechanism, the toast stays warm in the toaster until you use the nifty little lever to bring it up. For first time toasting in the mornings, I just set the timer to go a minute extra and the toast comes out just fine. The much touted "wide-slots" isn't really that wide.
5. As an avid fan of crisp Marmite soldiers, this is an awesome feature. A bagel can barely fit in there without any external help. But I guess the same can be said of those $10 toasters you get at Walgreens.
I have bought three of these toasters. But the Jersey boys of Electra-Craft don't care enough. The dial switch went bad.
The second had to be sent back three times for warranty work. The fact that Dualit's quality has gone down along with the only service company you can use knows you have to pay them and arm and leg for fixing simple problems I would recommend you stay away from these toasters. The first one lasted for about 6 years.
Electra-Craft the National Distributors have the worst service possible. The third one stopped working right after the warranty ran out 16 months. All three had the same problem.
Considering the price you would expect more quality and service. Electra-Craft Dualit Classic 4 slice toasterDualit 4-Slice Toaster, ChromeDualit 2-Slice Toaster, Chrome
nice to have a product that is well made and can do a good job and last.
I don't understand its hefty price for its subpar performance. It will literally burn one side of the toast while barely toasting the other side. Plus, as mentioned by other reviewers, I've never been able to successfully toast a half-bagel without it getting stuck AND heaven forbid you have a slightly taller-than-average piece of bread. This was a gift, and I felt terrible about the expense they paid in relation to the loathe I feel for this contraption.We use my husband's 6+ year old, $35 Black & Decker toaster oven, and it's perfect every time.
I'm tending towards a lower rating because of the bread fit issues; hubby wants to give a higher rating because of the quality of toast. It toasts beautifully, when the bread fits in it, and it has a simplicity of design which is quite attractive compared to some of the dial-heavy, technological, digital, nonsense out there.
Plus this one came in metallic blue which goes with our kitchen :-) Well, the slots may be "extra wide" as described, but they are not long enough for standard slices of packaged, sliced Oroweat buttermilk bread, which is our daily bread of choice. We bought this toaster because we kept buying cheapies that broke after a year or so.
I'm not sure about this one. We have to sort of bend them into a wavy shape to get them into the toaster slot.
On the other hand the so-called "extra wide" slots are still too small for half a Panera bagel, even when we are meticulous about cutting it right down the middle. We are still debating it.
Three stars is pretty much the family consensus.
|
