Toaster update, if anybody’s interested (or even if not):
The above post was made nearly four years ago.
At the time, we said, let’s get a good one this time, for once, and stop having to replace the darn things.
I remembered this thread and managed to search it out. Optimistic, wasn’t it?
I’m sorry to report that the DeLonghi toaster has been unsatisfactory for a long time, toasting unevenly and requiring turning between two cycles, trapping crumbs against the heating elements, and chopping off corners of my son’s cheap quasi-poptarts. It may have been subjected to some toaster abuse, but in fact it just didn’t stand up to our ordinary use.
A few months ago, the wire carrier got mangled in someone’s attempt to clear a caught bit of toaster pastry, and it’s been a rapid downhill run since then.
Yesterday I declared the toaster toast.
I recalled the stowed backup and managed to locate the unopened box in the basement, still with my note on it, which ends: “With any luck, we’ll never have to shop for a toaster again.”
Hah. May 2017. Four years, and dead. Fooey.
So last night I opened the box and installed the unused duplicate DeLonghi toaster. Dumped the old one in the trash. And put a $32 unit on order on Amazon.