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Old 13th Jul 2010, 12:09 am   #1
Techman
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Default GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Now don't laugh.....I've been using this toaster up until just recently!

It's been handed down through the family from grandparents etc.

No one but me is allowed to use this lethal device, but everyone says what lovely toast it makes - & you can stack the toast on the top to keep it warm.

The element failed & I 'bodged' joined it, but it didn't last long. I'm really cross that I can't make my toast on this now. I have thought about winding the element wire from a scrap pop-up onto the old former.....

Anyone else got a toaster as old as this one still in use?
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Old 13th Jul 2010, 8:04 am   #2
KeithsTV
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

That looks very similar to the toaster my parents had back in the 50s. I'm sure it was in regular use well into the 70s. I'm not sure what has happened to it but it may be in my loft. Next time I go up there I'll see if I can find it along with the kettle of similar vintage.

Having bought a modern 4 barrelled toaster recently and just outside the warranty period one side failed the older stuff does seem to have been made to last.

Keith
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Old 13th Jul 2010, 11:38 am   #3
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

Quote:
Originally Posted by Techman View Post
Anyone else got a toaster as old as this one still in use?
Not currently in use, as it needs a new mains lead - and probably not as old as your GEC, here is one of my two Swan Brand toasters:
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Old 13th Jul 2010, 1:33 pm   #4
David G4EBT
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

I've gt an almost identical one called the 'Premier Toaster' - CAT No 916. It does work, but it needs renovation and we don't use it - I bought it as a 'curio' at a car boot sale, where they are often seen for a couple of pounds upwards, often in a sorry state. (Pressed aluminium - not chrome BTW)

They're an ingenious design - a triumph of simplicity and functionailty. When you open the door to see if one side of the toast is done, the bread slides down onto the flap and when you close the flap, it turns the slice of bread over so that the un-toasted side is presented to the heater. Neat trick!

Certainly on mine, it would be a simple task to rewind the element onto the four flat vertical mica 'formers' using nichrome wire stripped from a new element or a scrap toaster.

The 'Premier' is rated at 600 Watts at 230V and out of curiosity, I've just checked the resistance, which is 87 Ohms. From Ohms Law, 230V/87R = 2.64A. 2.64A x 230V - 608 Watts!

Hence, in my case - should it be necessary -a length of unwound toaster element wire with a resistance of 87 Ohms would need to be marked off into four, then a quarter wound onto each of the four mica formers. (There are 26 'turns' on each of the four mica formers on the Premier).

A point to bear in mind is that when terminating nichrome wire, the joint (crimped, screwed, whatever), must be very low resistance or the wire may burn out at that
point.

Acatually, the term 'wire' is perhaps a misnoma as many elements, including that on the Premier, isn't so much 'wire' as thin flat strip, perhaps 1/32" wide.

Hope that's of interest.

David
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Old 13th Jul 2010, 9:23 pm   #5
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

Thanks for the info chaps.

I'm definitely going to get mine sorted somehow. I like the flat top to stack the toast. It toasts very evenly when it's working.

Note in the picture below the different spacing & number of turns on each of the three element sections so as to give more heat at the bottom & less heat at the top to compensate for 'heat rising'. If you look closely, you can see the break in the element strip on the top section..........

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Old 14th Jul 2010, 1:37 pm   #6
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

I have something similar that was my Grandmothers.It is missing two knobs so is awkward to use. But it works well and quickly ,unlike my modern one ,which I can walk the dog while its toasting ...
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Old 16th Jul 2010, 7:47 pm   #7
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

I have a Swan Brand toaster that looks the same as in Dave Moll's photo. It's not working The insulation on the mains lead is crumbling away and there's a break in the element. I have thought about repairing it. Replacing the mains lead is easy enough, but replacing the wire element seems more problematic. Years ago, small electrical shops used to repair toasters and sell the resistance wire. Those shops are long gone. I hadn't thought of using the wire from a junk modern toaster - is it the same? Modern toasters seem to have twice the surface area of elements because they toast both sides at once. Wouldn't this mean that the modern element wire is lower resistance than the old one? If I only used half the wire from a modern toaster to fix my old one, wouldn't it have half the resistance and thus get too hot and burn out? Or are the two new elements wired in parallel, meaning they are the same as the old ones?
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Old 16th Jul 2010, 9:28 pm   #8
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

It would be possible to find something suitable to replace the broken elements from this range, I should think.
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Old 16th Jul 2010, 9:33 pm   #9
David G4EBT
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

We have a 'Dualit' two slice toaster which toasts both side of the bread, so that's four elements. It is rated at 1100 Watts - almost twice that of the vintage Premier toaster that I referred to in an earlier posting.

1100 Watts at 230V = 4.78 Amps.

230V/4.78A = 48 Ohms.

(As stated earlier, my 'Premier' 600 Watts is 87 Ohms).

However, given that there are four elements in the Dualit, two could be in series, and the other two likewise, then the two pairs could be parrallelled, so it would be wrong to asssume that each element is only 12 Ohms and that all four are in series.

So whilst it's true that the overall resisitance of a two slice toaster that toasts both sides at once, will be half that of an older toaster that only toasts one side each of two slices, it may not follow that the individual resistance of each element is half, if that doesn't sound too confusing!

You can of course buy nichrome resistance wire and toaster elements on t'internet and often see toasters for a quid or so at boot sales, but you need to have a multimeter with you to make sure that a secondand toaster isn't open circuit!

I was a war baby, brought up with 'make do and mend, dig for victory, sides to middle', pegged rugs ration books, and find it heartening that there are others on the forum who - like me, will spend all day in an often futile attempt at mending something that can be replaced for a tenner.

In contrast, my profligate 'kids' (aged 42 and 46 - you know your getting old when your kids are getting old!) buy bottled water and pour it down the drain if it passes its best before date. (I blame the parents).

David.
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Old 16th Jul 2010, 9:50 pm   #10
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

Hi Techman, If you know the size/ ohms/yd of the nichrome wire I'll see if I have some that would be suitable.

Ed
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Old 17th Jul 2010, 2:13 am   #11
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

Hi all, I think that nichrome wire in the link shown is all 'round section' & the toaster needs 'flat' tape wound.

Cheers Ed, I'll see if I can determine the ohms per yard - it's flat tape section, BTW.
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Old 17th Jul 2010, 11:33 am   #12
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Default Re: Toaster - GEC D5605A

Omega Wire sells flat resistance 'wire', try googling them. Down side is you may need to buy £100 worth...
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Old 17th Jul 2010, 12:15 pm   #13
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Attached is a few images of my Premier (Hotpoint) toaster, with it's now-quite-dilapidated box and catalogue/instructions that was supplied with these items. I've also included a couple of pages from the catalogue, for general interest

I don't remember where it came from and I've owned it for a great many years. It still sees occasional use and I assume the mains flex is original.
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Old 17th Jul 2010, 12:29 pm   #14
Darren-UK
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

By the way, the instructions for the toaster state.....
Quote:
It is advisable that you do not attempt to make French toast with an electric toaster.
I must remember that .
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Old 17th Jul 2010, 4:00 pm   #15
David G4EBT
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Thnaks for posting the pics Darren - most interesting. Your example of a Premier toater looks in pristine condition! I note that it was made by Hotpoint, and stated as suitable for AC/DC. As I recall, most areas of the UK were converted to AC by the mid to late1950s, after which time I guess that makers stopped adversing that facility as a plus point. (I grew up in Nottingham and recall our house being converted from DC to AC about 1957/8).

The styling of the toaster, the literature and other appliances illustrated in the data looks to be that sort of vintage.

I found an interesting American site with lots of vintage toasters for sale, with thumbnails that can be enlarged. Apparently toasters in the style of the Premier, which turn the bread automatically by flipping it over when you open and close the flaps, are known (predictably enough) as 'turnover toasters' or 'easy turn toasters'.

There's a certain austere charm about the simple but ingenious design of these toasters which I find endearing. Instead of being engineered to make them eleborate, the reverse is so. Rather like a mousetrap, there's nothng you could take away which would allow it to still function, and nothing you need to add to make it work any better.

It's in keeping with 'Occam's Razor' (not a shaving razor - a philosphy!) adopted by the UK amateur radio G-QRP (low power) Group as its motto: 'Tis vain to do with more, what can be done with less'.

The American vintage toaster site I mentioned is here:

http://toasterpics.tripod.com/Toasters2Go_Index.html

Looking at the pic of this vintage Hotpoint, notice the twin flex (no earth!) passing through an un-grometted hole in the metalwork. True, it would be on 110V rather than UK mains voltage, but even so!...

http://toasterpics.tripod.com/Hotpoint125T22_01.jpg

Best of luck to 'Techman' in his quest to repair his GEC jobbie.

David
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Old 18th Jul 2010, 1:33 pm   #16
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Can't resist adding my own examples to this interesting thread. There's something a bit special about toast made in a period toaster....

The first picture show my primrose yellow Morphy Richards which is used every morning. This is the earlier type with the white 'eject' button. It works well but once in a blue moon it won't auto-eject and burns the toast quite thoroughly!I had a green one too, but gave it to a mate for his retro styled kitchen.

The second pic shows an unusual copper 'Hammerite' finished version with it's box. I've never seen another one this colour.

Pic 3 shows the later 60s version of these popular toasters, which by then had ditched the eject button. This design lasted into the 70s and you can find some with orange and brown floral designs on the sides. Nice!

Pic 4 shows an earlier teardrop shaped toaster with flip down sides (you rotate the pointer knob at each end). This one is made by 'Hawkins of Drury Lane' which makes it sound like a bespoke suit!

All this talk of toast is making me feel a bit peckish....

Steve J
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Old 18th Jul 2010, 9:27 pm   #17
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Quote:
This one is made by 'Hawkins of Drury Lane' which makes it sound like a bespoke suit!
Ah... I have an original (Ca 1948) Hawkins 'Electric Hostess' awaiting restoration - it's the predecessor to the 70s hostess trolleys, so I imagine that Hawkins were taken over by Ekco at some point. When I can get to it, I'll take a few pics and start a thread.
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Old 19th Jul 2010, 12:22 am   #18
Darren-UK
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
Your example of a Premier toaster looks in pristine condition!
David
Despite the dilapidated box, when I acquired it it had very obviously never been used. Maybe it was given as a wedding present and then just shoved in a cupboard and forgotten for many decades; not an unusual scenario with domestic gadgets. Of course, I've used it so bang goes the pristineness!

The 13A plug means the cord cannot be stowed fully in the box and I have to leave the last few inches, with plug, dangling out. The toaster is earthed and was when new, so presumably it was intended to be fitted with a 5A 3-pin plug, or possibly a 3A as that would handle 600W in theory. Even a 5A plug won't fit in the box with ease though.

Regarding keeping toast warm on top of the thing, I don't know if that's just assumed or was the designers intention. With the side flaps shut and the toaster under power, there's a lot of heat convected through the top which will, I'd have thought, burn the toast if it's left there too long. Perhaps you were supposed to keep the toast warm on top after the toaster has been unplugged, I guess that's more logical.
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Old 19th Jul 2010, 8:38 am   #19
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

At least it would not do what my cheapo Tesco plastic toaster did when I tried to briefly heat something on top of it. The insulating effect of the food on top very quickly caused the thing to overheat and the top edges of the plastic casing started to melt!
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Old 19th Jul 2010, 8:49 am   #20
Mike Phelan
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Default Re: GEC D5605A toaster, plus others.

Sort of "vintage" - ours is a Dualit from the 1980s; the model still in production, and was launched ca 1950.
Completely electronics-free and the only toaster I have seen that toasts bread perfectly evenly to the edges.
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