Product: Toaster
See-Thru Toaster   (+23, -2)  [vote for, against]
Near Invisible Toaster ?

You know how with your toaster, you always push stop to see if your toast is EXACTLY how you want it - exactly the right colour - exactly the right crispiness - thus resetting the timer and in turn completely denying the Toasing machine even it's vainest attempt at automation ?

How about the See-Thru Toaster. A toster made up entirely of transparent plastics and ceramics (wherever possible), so you can see your toast and how golden / burnt it is.
-- dazwah, Feb 20 2002

(?) Baked http://www.ammagazi...,2604,76227,00.html
Well, except for the ends. [Scroll way down or search for "toaster."] [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004]

(?) Inventables: Transparent Toaster http://inventables....Studio.asp?i=11&t=7
Concept only: "Although the glass does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, the vendor explained with some R&D this application may be possible." [jutta, Jan 25 2008]

Magimix Vision Toaster http://www.johnlewi...670825/Product.aspx
- only £160 [hippo, Nov 16 2010]

For the more hi-tech how about a small color video screen on the side of the toaster showing the toasting in progress? No worries about the side of see through toaster becoming discolored with age. Have a video output so you could run it to your TV and watch the toasting on the big screen!
-- rbl, Feb 20 2002


America's Funniest Toast Videos
-- beauxeault, Feb 20 2002


I'd watch that (if I had a TV). Sequels: America's Funniest Pop-Tart Videos.
-- rbl, Feb 20 2002


Scarily enough this is sortof baked. My toaster has a plexiglass window in the side.
-- RayfordSteele, Feb 20 2002


oh what a groovy idea... you'd still walk away and burn it though....
-- fearoffours, Feb 20 2002


Can't see through the window on my toaster oven. Too dark in there.
-- rbl, Feb 20 2002


BAKED. toaster over. Was blissmiss the only one who could figure this out?

rbl, get a different toater oven. My toast is highly visible even when the heating elements aren't glowing red.
-- seal, Feb 20 2002


It could only be "America's funniest toast videos" if people got kicked in the balls while they watched thier toast cooking, that's how it works here in America -

A toaster with transparent sides is not a toaster oven
-- gootyam, Feb 20 2002


You will never overcome the human urge to pop the toast up to see how it is doing. blissmiss, great description, I had to go eat a bagel after reading that.
-- rbl, Feb 20 2002


Toaster ovens dont cut it. Im talking about a PROPER toaster. an invisible one
-- dazwah, Feb 21 2002


Invisible? If you can make something invisible I'm sure we can come up with better uses than building toasters.

How will you find the invisible toaster when there is no bread/toast in it? There would just be a bunch of crumbs hovering an inch off the counter.
-- rbl, Feb 21 2002


Well [rbl], we'll just have to ask Wonder Woman that question won't we?
-- barnzenen, Feb 21 2002


Don't want to be too picky, but wouldn't the heating elements get in the way? I very much doubt you could make transparent heating elements.

Besides, I would have thought that the glow from them would be so bright as to make it incredibly difficult to see much of the toast from the side. As an amateur take-things-apart-to-see-how-they-work-er, I know just how bright those things can get (I could feel my retinas burning for a minute or so afterwards).
-- CoolerKing, Feb 21 2002


You could do away with elements and heat the toast with an infra-red lamp.
-- pottedstu, Feb 21 2002


barnzenen: " Well [rbl], we'll just have to ask Wonder Woman that question won't we?"

"What's with that chick squatting up there at 3000 feet?"

Would need a white light to be able to see the actual color of the toast. I'd buy one of these...

This is not a toaster oven; a toaster oven is a small oven that can make toast. Not a toaster.
-- StarChaser, Feb 21 2002


I don't get the wonder woman thing? Maybe I'm too young to recall.....................

Computers should be able to compensate for the red light from the elements.
-- rbl, Feb 22 2002


ok obviously not completely invisible - i mean you'd make one round of lovely toast and never find it again. i should say ' nearly invisible ' and i imagine it being made rather like the Harmon Kardon iSub bss speaker - or at least looking like it. I imagined translucent ceramic heating elements. Gosh, everyone is really very pedantic here aren't they ? Is everyone a wannabe Tefal head trying to prove how intelectual they are with witty but dry put downs ? Obviously i'm an outsider to your community - but i hung about reading loads of the ideas laughing out loud thinking this was a real fun site... but perhaps i should try and take it all a bit more seriously huh ?
-- dazwah, Feb 23 2002


The pedant stuff is a fact of life here but take heart in the fact that this idea of yours has more positive votes than many, many other ideas in this database and now, it has one more.
-- bristolz, Feb 23 2002


Rbl, in the cartoon <and possibly the older comics. I never read them...> Wonder Woman had an invisible jet. Depicted as an outline of white lines, it was invisible but Wonder Woman was not.

Wonder if it'd be able to factor the red light of the elements into the total light, and make up with blue and green to make effective white...

As bristolz says, you're gonna have to live with the pedantism, which you should have seen if you'd really read lots of the posts, but this is a decent idea. I'd buy one...
-- StarChaser, Feb 23 2002


my oven has a clear glass(?) door so I cannot see a reason why this is not possible. BTW - 12 croissants is some going, don't complain about the pedantry - its not important!
-- po, Feb 23 2002


//..you're gonna have to live with the pedantism...

You did that on purpose, SC!
-- CoolerKing, Feb 23 2002


naughty boys! CK & SC
-- po, Feb 23 2002


See, Peter, it isn't all that hard to do a real 'baked' post...

<grins at CoolerKing>
-- StarChaser, Feb 24 2002


okay. See through WILL NOT WORK. unless u wanna spend a hell of a lot of time in the testing phase... Y? simple. Laws of physics, and common sense. How are you gonna conduct heat through transperancy? In order for heat to conduct, it needs a solid factor of common isotopes. such as metal, iron, copper etc... If u want transparency, u eliminate those elements. Lamens terms... If u use plastic and ceramics, the toaster will melt because heat wont spread in paralell form. heat will be everywhere. To make it work: If You really wanna try this. u need to research a LOT in electronics, heat conduction, and thermodynamics. To make this work, you'd probably need a dual-circut logger, 1 circut (negative power) power to conduct the heat, and 2nd circut power (positive) to keep the exterior cool. also, u need a toggle switch triggered by heat to let u know when the item is done. the toggle could run off of the 1st circut, but crossing over to the toggle would cross the negative and positive power which could be bad... so you'd need a paralell wiring instead. Well, it actually might be kinda fun to figure out, you'd have a hella fun i think actually. Someone go try, and DONT CROSS YOUR WIRES. cause if your wires are crossed, and u plug it in, it will be like, "boom". hehe okay, have fun.
-- Im_Not_Smart, Feb 28 2003


Couldn't agree more.
-- angel, Feb 28 2003


Im_Not_Smart: see link.
angel: with the account name, I take it?
-- DrCurry, Jun 05 2003


Phooey,.........I was all set to invent this thing last night, when I discovered the idea was already out here.

My take on it is, that it isn't invisible, but rather a clear, see-thru version. Using "Pyrex" (heat and fire resistant glass) to construct it. Flat panels of 'Pyrex' with the ni-chrome wire element wrapped around it on the inside. An inner encloser of cast or 'slumped- glass'- formed Pyrex and a 'cool-to-the-touch' exterior enclosure of Pyrex. (cast or formed)

This 'one-with-in-the-other' type construction isolates the heated elements from burning you. My version is more focused on being able to see the hot orange glow of the elements. Like looking at thin Neon strands all a glow. Watching the bread become toasted is the secondary feature.
-- Cosmo, Sep 15 2003


Too many people on this bloody planet. As soon as I come up with my see-through toaster invention to fund my early retirement, it seems several thousand other buggers got there first. Anyone actually built one yet??
-- Franny, Dec 22 2003


Yes, Black & Decker has, according to the [DrCurry]'s link.
-- krelnik, Dec 22 2003


gessus ... wat's this fasination with toasters ???

hehehe think tis a good idea with clear side panels to show the degree of burn your bread's experiencing.

Plastic Material in clear see thru is gonna cost a little much more ... Probably PC, ABS or Acrylic ?

How high a temp is the element ? 300 Degrees Celcius ?
-- whatizhisname, Feb 25 2004


[marked-for-suggestion] we really should come up with an annotations hall of fame/shame. There are some real doozies floating about, one of which is just up ^ there, about 7 back. I would vote [Im_Not_Smart]'s one in for the top 10. I mean it's just too much. Gems like //the toaster will melt because heat wont spread in paralell form. heat will be everywhere// and //1 circut (negative power) power to conduct the heat, and 2nd circut power (positive) to keep the exterior cool.//, and my favourite, //DONT CROSS YOUR WIRES// as if anyone could extract enough meaning from the text to be able to try and prototype this thing.

Reading that really made my day.
-- Custardguts, Feb 05 2008


a wot ?
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 05 2008


I shall leave here an "I was about to post this but found it while searching" bun.
-- wagster, Dec 31 2009



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