What's a gravity toaster?

And why are we trying to toast one of the four fundamental forces of the universe?

Could this be a self-lowering Sunbeam toaster?  If so, they can be finicky.  I recently contributed two fussy ones to my sister's neighborhood association rummage sale (which has been postponed indefinitely due to current circumstances).

Yes Ralph, thats what I thought the OP was referring to as a “gravity toaster”.  These Sunbeam Radiant Control toasters work great, until they don’t, and then they are very temperamental and perplexing.  

We had one that I bought at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in about 2006 that we used exclusively until just about a year ago.  Then it just stopped being dependable and all the tweaking I tried suggested from searching You Tube failed to get it back to working as it should have, so I donated it to charity, perhaps someone else will have better luck.

I finally replaced it with a Dualit after trying many other toasters, and I wish I’d found this Dualit first.  This toaster is excellent, and gives the user complete control of the toasting time, worth every penny that they cost.

Eddie

No, I have never attempted to fix one.  That is a can of worms I chose to leave alone.  I did have one repaired by long-gone California Electric many years ago and it still works fine, but it's boxed up (see my closing statement below).   As far as I know, Sunbeam was the only source for these self-lowering radiant control toasters.

The issue I had with all of mine was refusal to lower the bread.  It may be a simple component that facilitates this, but it is definitely a weak link that was carried though every iteration of this toaster that Sunbeam produced over the decades.

By the way, when these toasters do work properly, they do a fantastic job and seem to understand that if the bread isn't quite toasted enough, by adjusting the shading control and lowering the bread again they will toast just a little more rather than going through another full cycle and burning the bread. 

That said, my experience has been that these toasters are best at handling plain white bread.  Anything else and all bets are off with regard to perfect toast.

Hands-free is a bit of a stretch IMO.

There were other self-lowering toasters produced. Toastmaster Super De lux toaster for one.

Wow Tim. Would had been nice to see your collection.

Sounds like more trouble than they're worth.

I mean, how hard is it to push down a lever to lower the bread into the slots?

Dave, I don't know where those toasters might be at this point, but I'll inquire and advise if they can be retrieved.

They are both the later type with color coded sliding darkness control on the front rather than the small black knob on the side.

I've been rather pleased with the four slice KA pop up toaster I got about 10 years ago at Costco. It browns evenly, has a defrost setting (which actually works), and a time readout on a little LCD screen. I think it even beeps when it's done. I don't make a lot of toast but this one is a keeper. And sits on top of my french door Oster convection oven. And does a better job at toast.

The GE toaster most likely has a thermostat that needs to be adjusted which is why it won't stop toasting.  I have service literature on GE toasters of this era - I will find the pages and scan them for you. 

(PS - I drive through Waterloo every week on my way to and from Ogden!)

I have gotten to the point where I use JB Weld to glue almost everything I want to remain glued, but in this case it would be important to immediately wipe off any excess from the exterior of the piece your mending, otherwise you'd have to grind or sand it off after curing, which would be problematic with all of those grooves.

Bon, I wasn't able to scan them but I took pictures of the GE service guide for the T31 series toaster.  It's the "cool down" cycle that requires adjustment - it's not difficult but it can be time-consuming. 

Bonne chance!

You're right about the instructions saying to adjust the heat-up cycle, but there's another mention of having to adjust the cool-down cycle if the heat-up is adjusted; I learned the hard way that if you start with the cool-down cycle, you'll likely solve the problem faster.  One other hard-learned lesson - the adjusting screw that can be accessed through the bottom of the toaster panel may have slipped out.  If that is the case, take the toaster apart carefully to locate it and reinstall it - that causes more burnt toast than you can imagine!!

That's right - I'll bet that if you back up that cool-down screw, the overtoasting problem will be solved.

The bolt holding the adjusting screw probably came loose after decades of use.  Last one like this that I serviced, I used a dab of Loc-Tite to hold the bolt in place.  It's still toasting!

I prefer my gravity well-done.

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Oh, Quebecois, don't be so sensitive. Also, you should know that my grandparents were from Trois Rivieres, Quebec. So I would be quite unlikely to mock you about your language.

However, perhaps this is the toaster you're looking for?

C'est vrai, sans doubt?

Knowing when to quit is a huge part of any challenging repair project.  You gave it your best shot.  Another vintage toaster will come along for your daughter.

I'm not ready to give up on my short circuiting vintage Osterizer Cyclomatic blender since there are no broken parts -- yet.