I have a fancy new toaster. Brushed copper finish that resists fingerprints, bagel setting, all of that. It also refuses to toast two items in quick succession–after the first toasting, it won’t stay “down” until it has had some time to cool off.
So the questions are, first, am I correct to assume that this is some kind of anti-overheating mechanism? And second, is it standard?
And third, d’y’think I could disable it?
Toast tends to go from underdone to burnt very quickly, and the heat sensor is what pops the toast up when it’s done. If you disable the heat sensor you are going to end up with a lot of bread shaped pieces of charcoal.
The heat sensor is usually only in one slot, which is marked with an arrow. If you only have one thing in the toaster, make sure you put it in that slot.
Goldarnit. Now the toaster stopped working altogether.
Maybe that no-retoasting feature wasn’t standard.
Simple toasters use a bi-metal thermostat. As the bi-metal element heats, it tries to curl up. One side of the element is fixed in place and the free end is used to release a spring loaded trigger that pops the toast up. After toasting, it takes some time for this bi-metal to cool off and straighten out, so you have to wait a few minutes to use the toaster again. A car cigarette lighter works the same way.
The light/dark selector knob simply adjusts a spring which helps hold the bi-metal down a little longer. Sometimes you can get a second toasting immediately by setting the knob for darker toast.
There is also (usually) a thermal fuse in the circuit as a safety. If things get too hot in the toaster, it shuts off the toaster. Unfortunately, the fuse is a one-time thing and is not really meant to be replaced.
However, modern brushed copper toasters may work differently.
I have a cheapass toaster, and it will retoast at will. But I have to compensate for the fact the toatster is already hot so my 3rd and 4th pieces of toast aren’t overdone.
But this reminded me of the Dave Barry and the strawberry poptart thing. Hah.
Heat sensor? I assume you mean temperature sensor. 
I have to hold the lever down on my cheap-ass toaster. It assumes everything is too hot after the first slice and refuses to hold the bread down.
I don’t use it anymore. I use the broiler and set the timer for 3 min.
It had a spider nesting in it once. Gross.
Crafter_Man, here is an excellent opportunity for some social learning. Try to understand: I am a woman without toast. You do not prod women without toast.
Haven’t the foggiest idea what you were getting at. The temperature is the same as the amount of ambient heat running around in my (now deceased) toaster. One can say it measures the amount of heat energy, or that it measures the temperature. Same difference.
So explain what you meant. I can handle it. I’ve got college diplomas and one of 'em is even a Bach. Science.
I just noticed this thread (8 years later!).
Proctor-silex toasters, and ONLY Proctor-silex toasters (from what I’ve seen), have a temperature sensor that sits right up next to the bread. Instead of sensing the temperature of the toaster’s innards, it senses the temperature of the bread you’re toasting.
This sensor is only present in one slot, however. That’s why on Proctor-silex toasters you’ll see one of the slots labelled “-> One slice ->”.
I’ve found this to be an invaluable feature. If my toast isn’t quite done, I can put it back in, and push the lever back down, and it will only toast for a TINY LITTLE BIT of time. If I put a fresh piece of bread in, it will toast for the full duration. All without having to tweak the light/dark knob at all.
P.S. – I hope Sattua managed to get her toaster working in the intervening 8 years! I’d hate to think that she was a woman without toast for that long.
That may have been true at some point, and I do remember them, but a lot of toasters don’t have a single-slice, preferred slot anymore.
Sattua never did get her explanation of the difference between “heat” and “temperature” in this context.
More’s the shame. I was curious of the same.
zombie or no
you couldn’t be prodded without toast but you might be prodded with a bread stick.
D’oh!
Imagine a tungsten rod that’s a certain size and at 300 degrees (pick your temperature scale). Now imagine a second one that’s 10 times larger and also 300 degrees. They are both the same temperature, but the second one will put out more heat. I think.
I bought a toaster from Aldi for only $40 that has a glass side. So when I toast another slice I can see when to eject it if necessary. Also, my wife likes her toast VERY light brown and the glass window saves her adjusting the settings.
Check it out, http://www.discountstoresau.com/aldi-catalogue/special-buys-week-32-2013-6.html
A better toaster would test the gas emitted … Colour doesn’t work when people have white toast, brown bread, etc 