Ok so I've been slumming it with only 2 of the 4 slices working on my toaster for a few months as one side packed up... now the kettle has gone.
So time for some new appliances.
Must be 4 slices toaster.
This time I want function over form as the Delonghi ones that have packed up despite looking fancy were really sloooooow.
Budget £200 for both.
Recommendations?
Dualit classic toaster and with whatever cash you've got left buy a random kettle. Dualit Classic should be the last toaster you will ever buy as every single component is replaceable by a semi literate user and they are committed to keep that going. Environmentally I think that's awesome - I hate the constant throwing away of consumer goods just because one component has failed. Only functional issue I have with mine is that it is not great with very thick sliced bread.
Tbh that does not leave you a lot left for the kettle but buy something semi reasonable to give yourself 2 or 3 years to save and research for an equivalently good kettle.
Very happy with our breville cafe series toaster. Well built, does the job, good consistent toasting. Not sure about kettles. Our Russel Hobbs has been ok but not great.
STW, last week:
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-kettle-recommendation/
The kettle I recommended there is 20-25 quid and awesome.
Dualit classic toaster
https://www.dualit.com/products/4-slice-newgen
4 Slice NewGen Toaster
From £195.00 to £499.00
"From" 200 pounds?
And Jesus, Mary and Joseph and all the bloody disciples, FIVE HUNDRED QUID FOR A £$%^ING TOASTER? At this point I'd sarcastically normally ask "is it gold-plated?" but it'd seem that in this case yes, it actually is. Who the frell buys a gold-plated toaster?
We have Dualit Architect 4-slice toaster and matching kettle for well under £200.
The toaster makes good toast and the kettle boils water and they both look good in our kitchen.
WE make a lot of toast at work. Dualits are the only toasters that survive a decent length of time
Dualit Classic should be the last toaster you will ever buy
sounds dangerous! 🙂
the Architect is much better than the classic. The old-schoolness of the Classic is very charming and everything but a lot of current shop bought loaves don't fit in it very well
the Architect is much better than the classic. The old-schoolness of the Classic is very charming and everything but a lot of current shop bought loaves don’t fit in it very well
The architect is very nice looking and all, but that's it. It is the lack of built in obsolescence and commitment to keep manufacturing every component that stands the classic apart. Our 4 slice version cost us £155. But you are right, it does struggle with thicker slices. Never had an issue with a shop bought one but homemade doorstops are an issue.
I agree, the gold (looks like copper to me) at £499 is daft.All the other colours are the same price. Classic sliver/stainless for me.
I bought a Dualit toaster that's infinity better than my previous cheap one but as for the kettle, that's a whole trilogy of frustration I'd really don't want to visit right now. See last week's thread as above.
Dualit for sure.
The long slot is good if you want to do pitta.
Or maybe consider the Tickle Toaster?
Kettle? I dunno, if you pay ~£50 it's going to be OK isn't it?
Definitely Dualit.
We got kettle and toaster in a Debenhams sale.
. But you are right, it does struggle with thicker slices
Its not the thickness it’s the length/width
I'm keeping it classy with Russel Hobbs
While dualit might have all replaceable parts in a home use situation I've yet to kill a russell Hobbs without misuse.
I did kill a kettle once but I was using it to fill the washer bottle on the land rover and knocked it off the wing when closing the bonnet.
Dualit or not- no amount of replacing parts was going to make that work again
TIG welder maybe.
And there would be change from half your budget.
While dualit might have all replaceable parts in a home use situation I’ve yet to kill a russell Hobbs without misuse.
In all your years (edit - that sounds worse than I meant it!) you have never had an element in a toaster stop working or the hold down mechanism fail? Which reckons the average life of a toaster is 5.5yrs so we'd expect to go through about a dozen of them in an adult life time.
Thrown out many a crap toaster that's broken and not repairable for various reasons, but the Dualit has been going for 15 years or so. Still original elements, but as said, all replaceable parts.
Breville Kettles are decent too. Though the one I got, similar 15 year-ish lifespan, the plastic bit of decoration on the lid has cracked and fallen off. I had that with toasters with plastic stuff plus they'd fade. Less plastic on stuff that gets hot, the better.
I don't think I've ever killed a toaster. I replaced the last one because it was a cheap nasty thing which made Star Wars toast, and the one before that because I wanted to upgrade from a 2- to a 4-slice.
Kettles on the other hand definitely fall into the "how hard can it be?" category, I've been through a dozen.
I had a Swan kettle - blew up in my face. So I'd not get one of those. Russell Hobbs seem to be reliable. Toaster? Whatever matches the kettle. If the bread don't fit in, cut it down. It's only bloody toast.
We got fed up with branded tasters being crap so bought a Tesco one for £4.
So far it has outlasted the branded ones and gets some real abuse.
Every time it looks like its about to give up just give it a clean and off it goes again.
I can tell when it needs to be cleaned as it trips the smoke alarm.
Tesco one for £4
That's a Asda one for £20 😆
Our Dualit toaster was about £100 from Costco, but that was over 20 years ago. I’ve never had to test the repairability despite toasting things that it wasn’t designed for. I think they were about £140 last time we were in there, which would leave you £60 for a kettle. Our current Dualit kettle has also done well given that our hard water kills most appliances that come into contact with it, but I’m not expecting it to be repairable like the toaster when it eventually dies.
Tempted to buy a delung icona toaster just now as its half price at £40
Cheap morphy dicks can't do bagels properly
Hob top kettle, no electrified parts and therefore lasts for as long as you want to keep it.
As for the Dualit, I have one and it's been going strong for a long time, it does have a cracked part of the case, but it doesn't affect it's toasting so I'm ok with it!
you have never had an element in a toaster stop working or the hold down mechanism fail? Which reckons the average life of a toaster is 5.5yrs so we’d expect to go through about a dozen of them in an adult life time.
I replaced the last one because we lost the crumb tray In a house move and got fed up with loadsa crumbs going all over the worktop every day and the fact it was monsterously over sized for our kitchen worktop space
That was rescued from my parents house when they changed "colour scheme" in the kitchen . It was as old as I could remember.
I replaced it with another Russel Hobbs - it's been in for 7 years - as we bought it when we moved in.
Last element I sawkilled was from my boss trying to make cheese on toast by laying the toaster on its side and putting both the cheese and toast in.
The result was fire
Wasn't there a Youtoob vid where a bloke took a cheap toaster and an expensive toaster apart and they were the same inside? May have been on telly.
Costco was a right good shout. STW comes up trumps again here- Dualit Classic for £149.
Right what kettle for £51!!! I'll have a read of the other thread.
Cheers folks!
I can recommend the one, erm, I recommended.
To recommend what i’ve recently bought:
Bosch.. these
Dualit classic 4 slice been in regular use for nearly 12 years by a family of now 5 people (started off as 2 but we will insist on reproducing). Never missed a beat and never needed any part replacing.