I doubt a simple on off switch would ramp up the cost considerably. Is there a safety issue? Anyone have the inside scoop?
I don’t have the reason, but a guess might be that an “off” grill is still hot, and some fool might burn themselves on it, then blame the company for their foolishness.
If this is a function you want, it seems to me that you should be able to install an inline switch in the power cord without too much trouble.
'Cause then ya wouldn’t cook as much, so then ya wouldn’t eat as much, and then yer tummy wouldn’t smile as much.
Ok…but the same could be said for just unplugging the damn thing. You unplug it, therefore it’s off, and might be touched, but is still hot.
I have several other appliances that do the same thing: an electric wok and a wafflemaker.
I would guess that an off switch doesn’t make the device safe. If it were turned off and you spilled water on it, it could be dangerous. By forcing people to unplug things when not using them, they can’t give an electric shock when not in use.
What about the blue sparks that come from the plug/socket when I unplug it? Is that safe?
The directions for my grill specifically state not to unplug it until after the light goes out. Otherwise, the current draw will cause sparking when you pull the plug.
If they used an on/off switch, you would just get the same arcing inside the switch. That itself is cause not to have the switch. Too many grills would be returned because customers would not follow the directions and turn it off only when the heating element is not heating.
I imagine it’s like the reason I received from an auto electrician when he was replacing my alternator. He asked if I wanted the same crap one the manufacturer fitted or a good one. I asked him how much more a good one was and he said 10 bucks. I remarked that it was pretty cheap of Mitsubishi to fit a crap alternator when they could fit a good one for only $10 more. He replied, “Yeah but you only buy one car and they make a million. That’s an extra $10,000,000 profit for them.”
So that’s why don’t they spend a extra $2 for a switch for the 55,000,000 Foreman grills, particularly since they are no doubt priced at something like, say, $59.99 and no one would dream of making that $62.99.
And why don’t crockpots have simple timers? I was thinking of buying one because of a recent thread on crockpot recipes. I’m not comfortable just leaving something on. They make “programmable” ones but those seem to start at 5 quarts. There is one Cuisinart 4-quart with a simple 8-hour timer, but it’s $80.
I think because they want you to unplug it when you are not using it. Lets face it, a G.F. grill is not exactly high quality manufacturing, something easy for sweatshop labor to turn out. It’s a device you don’t want millions of people leaving on unattended.
The programable ones don’t shut off when done, but go into a reduced power ‘keep warm’ mode. FWIM’s I have found that most recipes can be adapted to pressure cookers, just cooking time is a matter of a few minutes instead of a quarter of a day, the end result is almost the same.
In addition to adding to the cost, a switch would also be something else to go wrong. More things going wrong = more repairs under warranty = less profit = very sad Mr. Foreman.
I can understand the lack of a on off switch on a small appliance that gets hot. What I don’t understand (other than the cost argument, which I question a bit) is why don’t they put a breaker type switch on the cord as many Asian made lamps have? Also, why are the Foreman Grill cords as short as they are? They are shorter than any other small appliance I have.
Just a guess, but shorter cords are cheaper. For an applance that draws so much current, a longer cord would probably have to be heaver also. Even more cost to manufacture.
I own a somewhat higher end Foreman grill (the kind with removable grill plates) and it does indeed have an on/off switch.
Do you have a photo? I’ve never seen a model with a switch.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding what people mean by on/off switch. My grill has a power button which one presses to turn the heat on or off. In other words, I can (and do) leave the grill plugged in when not in use, and it remains cold unless the button is pushed.
If I’m not misunderstanding, and you still want a picture, I’ll be happy to take one.
This is the George Forman grill that I own and that KayElCee is probably referring to. The round button in the middle is a power switch. The oblong button on the right is adjusts the temperature and the oblong button on the left is a timer. There is a digital display that cannot easily be seen in this picture.
I don’t understand the snide remark about manufacturing quality. We have two GF grills and haven’t found them to be of a lower quality than similarly priced kitchen appliances. They’re not high-tech – just a heating element under metal plates, but that doesn’t make them shoddy.
Our other GF grill is the sort with no controls whatsoever. It’s either plugged in and hot, or unplugged and cool (or cooling). It’s not really a big deal either way.
Perhaps I should redefine what I meant above:
Not so much shoddy, more like it’s a very simple device, and it’s simplicity is it’s strong point (the concept of KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid). In keeping with that concept, a on-off switch makes it much more likely that the device would be left on accidentally and unattended.
Well, I’ve learned some mathematics of note today. But as to the cars, I can’t think an odd $10 on the price of the vehicle would noticeably affect sales.
It is more to do with how price points work. Say the car is $24,990 thewn spending an extra $10 on some bit will either cost Mitsubishi $10 per car profit or put the price over $25,000. They don’t want to do either of those things.
A similar one was a few years ago someone complained about airlines filling passengers glasses with coke rather than leaving the full can. As I pointed out Delta carried 105,000,000 passengers in 2000. Save 25c per passenger and you make an extra $500,000 a week profit without putting up ticket prices.