Toastmaster Super-Automatic 1B16

[@wryanddry2266]

Thanks for the video, ToasterPhreak. I bought a 1B16 for a dollar at a garage sale. It looked like it had never been used much. It didn't work, but I was able to fix it. When I first plugged it in, the bread carrier lowered itself as if I had put bread in it, but I had not. Then the motor would keep running whenever it was plugged in, sounding strained or locked up, as if it were going to be damaged if I let it keep running. The bread heaters did start to get hot. But I didn't keep it plugged in. The problem was with friction/gumminess/stickiness in the drive train. There is a little ratcheting gear reducer on the output shaft of the motor, and I think that that was probably where the main problem was. The output gear of the reducer is a pinion gear that engages a rack that drives the carriage downward against the force of a coil spring. When the toast is done, it seems that some latch is released, and the carriage pops up under spring force while utilizing the ratchet feature of the reducer. It seems that the motor drives the carriage down, but the motor isn't used to bring the carriage back up. I fixed it by applying about a dozen drops of clear mineral oil in a half-dozen or so places. I'm guessing that motor oil would be okay too. I gave most of the oil to the output shaft of the reducer, about six drops, so that the oil would run down to the insides of the reducer housing. Most of the other lube points got one drop each, including: each of the two motor bearings, the rack and pinion gear, the vertical shaft that is the guide for the carriage (clean it before lubing it, and give a drop to each of its sliding collars), the plunger of the manual eject feature of the dark/light control, the gearing of the dark/light control, and probably some others that I've forgotten about. Tips: (1) After removing the retaining screw of the dark/light control dial/knob, you can remove the dial from its (splined) shaft by grabbing the circumference of the dial gently with a pair of pliers and pulling outward. You will need to remove that dial in order to remove the chrome shell so that you can get to the drive train. (2) There are 16 wires that keep the toast away from the heating coils. If the toaster is upside down when you remove the shell, they will fall out and cost you some time to replace them. If you think ahead, you may be able to tape them in place so that they don't fall out. If you do that, of course be sure to remove the tape upon reassembly. Somebody had been in this toaster before me. I was able to get in and out of the thing and do the clean and lube without losing or breaking anything. It is working fine and has got a lot of zip and pep now. I would say that if you have the same symptoms and take a little time and care, you have a pretty good chance of success.

[@ToasterPhreak]

Thank you, Wry and Dry. Glad to hear about how you solved your problem! Two things: One, don't take the toaster apart upside down, but right side up. The guide wires don't fall out that way. Two: I'd recommend a finer oil, such as sewing machine oil, clock oil, or I just use Liquid Bearings. Ordinary oils get gummy over time, and the presence of excess oil gathers dirt which causes the same problem. I hadn't seen one that continued trying to run the motor after it went down. Usually they go down and just stay there. Lubrication is the answer either way. Keep up the good work!

[@wryanddry2266]

@@ToasterPhreak Thanks for the video explaining how the 1B16 is supposed to work. I wouldn't have guessed about the manual pop-up feature of the light/dark control. Yes, there must have been so much resistance that it wasn't able to bring the carriage down all the way, that being necessary to shut off the motor. I wouldn't say that the slider rail was all that dirty, so yeah, I'm guessing it was the gearbox.. I'll keep an eye on performance, keeping the oil in mind. I'm guessing it will be okay for years. I'm inclined to disassemble the gearbox and give it a good cleaning next time I have trouble. Or maybe some aerosol brake-parts cleaner would clean it up. That may sound toxic, but it's supposed to evaporate completely, unless I am wrong.

[@ToasterPhreak]

@@wryanddry2266 No problem whatsoever with the brake cleaner. That gearbox isn't in the cooking chamber anyway, but you're right, it will just evaporate.

[@ibsoarin]

Thank you for pronouncing Bakelite correctly. Leo Baekeland, a Belgium born American Chemist, invented his Bakelite process in 1907 and is "The Father of the Plastics Industry". I inherited from my in-laws' Sunbeam Radiant Control T-35 toaster years ago and should have listened to my mother-in-law. She said that the T-35 was an excellent toaster. I recently restored it from all of the KZbin toaster repair videos available. I believe her now! It makes perfect toast every time from thawed to frozen bread. My son has laid claim to it one day. I was going to get another Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster but was shocked by the current prices. At this time, the Toastmaster 1B16 toasters are more reasonably priced. Between these two vintage toasters, which would you recommend? I am proficient at restoring and maintaining vintage appliances. Thank you for your toaster videos!

[@ToasterPhreak]

Thank you. At this time I'm leaning a bit more in favor of the 1B16, but, with this caveat: While they're all very good, only the first year production is really exceptional. You can tell the first year by the bronze "Toastmaster" on the front.

[@UltradogMN]

Our Krups toaster recently quit working. My wife mentioned it to her 95 yo BIL and he said he'd give us his. He bought it new in about 1956 and almost Never used it. I gently blew it out with compressed air and hit the sides with some chrome polish. It looks and works like new. There is a youtube video for everything. Thanks to Mr. ToasterPhreak for teaching us how to use it - especially how to cancel it by pushing the button.

[@ToasterPhreak]

Glad I could help. I think you'd have figured out the button on your own.

[@ChristopherCerta]

Thanks for posting your videos! I just purchased a Toastmaster 1B16 Super Deluxe because my parents had one when I was growing up, and I always thought it was amazing. Automatic toast!

[@kenlyons3151]

A great toaster and a most helpful video.

[@ToasterPhreak]

Thank you!

[@bigdaddy934]

My mom got one of these as a wedding gift in 1960 and she still uses it to this day! I think she had it repaired once back in the 1970s if I remember correctly. These were built to last unlike the junk they make today. We've spent a lot of money on so-called "high end" toasters in the last 15 years. Even the expensive ones are crap.

[@ryanrichardson1169]

Thank you for making the video. I enjoyed it, and am now subscribed.

[@peterscott9520]

Hi. I have a 1B14, and a new way to repair a failed element---failed where a ribbon burned through, leaving a gap. So it looks like this: ==== ====. OK, so I drilled a hole where the gap is, a No. 33 drill for a short 4-40 machine screw. Then I inserted the screw, with a fairly large diameter washer under its head, large enough to cover the two ends of the ribbon. Then on the back side of the element, a small washer plus a lock washer plus a nut, which I tightened down reasonably. Works like a charm!

[@ToasterPhreak]

That's great Peter! Thanks for the info!

[@yoseidman4166]

"Toastmaster Powermatic" at our house belonged to my grandmother who must have gotten it in the 1950s. It is the BEST toaster in the world. Going strong daily. I am sure it will work well into this century.

[@RugbyFootballer]

That is cool I never knew Toastmaster made an automatic toaster you hear more about Sunbeam version

[@ToasterPhreak]

Yep. They made two, three, and four slice models.

[@TheLittletroyboy]

Thanks for the info Joe.

[@citaborea]

I have a 1B16 that was a wedding present to my parents. Best toaster ever ... but one of the heating elements has failed. Can I get a replacement part somewhere? @toasterPhreak

[@ToasterPhreak]

Sometimes you can find stuff on ebay, best thing is a non-working toaster to rob the parts from. Just checked, there's one there now.

[@citaborea]

@@ToasterPhreak Thanks. Actually I went through all of your videos and thanks to you, I fixed it myself! One of the nichrome wires had broken at the contact point where it hooks into the screw. I just rewired it and voila. I did write to Joe in Vallejo to ask about how to get the brown knob off my 1B16 - his daughter replied, said that he is now 91 years old and doesn't see well enough to read email anymore. But she read him my note and he replied that there's a small set screw in the middle of that knob. Mine was so grody from use and lack of cleaning that I couldn't see that screw. Anyway - now I've put the whole thing back together and as soon as I plug it in, it turns on. It doesn't wait for me to put toast in. So I'm watching your video on the pop-up mechanism. I assume that's the problem now. Thank you SO MUCH for posting the videos! I love this toaster. It works GREAT and it has sentimental value. :)

[@ToasterPhreak]

@@citaborea I assume it was you who sent me the video? We'll figure it out. No worries.

[@a.j.m2376]

I need the heating element boards that toast the bread for my 1b16 model. Can anyone help me find new or usable heating elements?

[@ToasterPhreak]

How many do you need? The best way to get parts is usually to buy an old toaster off ebay.

[@incipfer]

With the Toastmaster 1B16 is it normal operation for the toaster to drop the elevator and power the elements when you initially power the unit? Yours was already plugged in so it made me wonder if it cycles, leaving the elevator in the raised position. I have a 1B16, unfortunately it never stops or cancels unless you unplug it manually. I've been trying to locate a list of parts to rebuild my 1B16 and 1B14 including the elements but have not had much luck.

[@ToasterPhreak]

Sorry to not reply in a timely manner. There is no source of parts for these toasters other than other toasters. Every part I've ever got was from buying another toaster as a parts donor. The 1B16 will normally cycle whenever the trigger is tripped. If it cycles continuously it indicates that it's not resetting at the end of it's cycle, which is obvious. What's not obvious is why it's not resetting. You'll need to take the shell off and figure out why that is. If you take apart both toasters you'll discover that the 1B16 isn't much more than a motorized 1B14, which isn't much more than a 1B12 with a different shell and a few modifications. They all function in pretty much the same way. I'm happy to give you whatever help I can in figuring out what the problem is, but I haven't actually worked on a toaster recently enough to have the answers off the top of my head. You can contact me directly through my email in the video description.

[@TheLittletroyboy]

Love your reviews, I just purchased a 1b16. Any advice on maintaining the 1b16.

[@ToasterPhreak]

+Troy Cochran Not really. Like any other toaster from this era: Once you've bought one, you've pretty much got a toaster! I would say, clean the crumbs by dropping the trap door every once in a while. Keep the screws tight in the power plug. Don't stick inappropriate stuff in the toaster. And maybe, in ten years or so; take it apart and lube it. Maybe. Congratulations on acquiring a true piece of American engineering. I think you're going to be entirely satisfied, and maybe just a wee bit smug with your choice. Your friends might think it weird you've chosen a 60+ year old toaster instead of one like they're going to use for maybe 60 weeks before they decide to throw it out and vainly attempt to buy a new one to do what yours has done flawlessly for decades and will likely still be doing flawlessly when you leave it to your kids. But that's their problem.

[@wryanddry2266]

Can anyone (hopefully with experience) advise about cleaning burn stains off the top of a CHROME toaster? Thanks!

[@ToasterPhreak]

The nice thing about chrome is that it's unaffected by the things that have the greatest effect on those stains. Any sort of solvent will do the job, but the harsher, the faster. Just don't use any sort of acid, and if you go to something like MEK or acetone, do it outside. The nice thing about stuff like MEK, acetone, lacquer thinner, is that it evaporates completely and quickly. MEK would be my choice, but do it OUTSIDE. This stuff will take the cured polyurethane out of an old paintbrush, it will take the polymerized fats off your toaster and won't even affect the chrome at all.

[@wryanddry2266]

@@ToasterPhreak The stains were there when I got it, and IDK, but I think it's more like burned sugar than fat. I've tried lacquer thinner, Scrubbing Bubbles, some old Spic 'n Span, window cleaner, and 91% isopropyl. The thinner did very little, and the Scrubbing Bubbles was a little better, but not really good enough. The others didn't do much of anything.

[@ToasterPhreak]

@@wryanddry2266 Could have told you the last two wouldn't work. Sounds like baked on carbon. Have you tried Throttle Body/Carb & Choke cleaner?

[@gandl2123]

I have one. I just got it from my mother who passed away and I would like to pull it apart. Do you have any links to good videos that show how to take it apart without destroying it so it can be cleaned and have the cord replaced and updated?? Thank you (mine says Super Deluxe on it...)

[@ToasterPhreak]

Sorry for the delay in responding. I'd have to take one apart to remember how to take it apart. "Updating" the cord doesn't improve it in any way. If the cord is frayed it can usually be shortened to repair it. If I get time I'll post a video taking one apart.

[@gandl2123]

Thank you very much. Mine was working 100%. I got the shell off and when I did...all of the vertical heating pieces fell out of it. I can see where they go and all....I'm going to clean up some and try....just trying to get some intell from you first. ha So, I have the chrome/shell and then the base with button removed. I'm thinking I'm going to have to place those 16? separate vertical rods in there and then place the shell over.....or ? Just don't want to mess it up as it is a very important toaster to me. :) Was my mother in laws.

[@ToasterPhreak]

@@gandl2123 That's the first mistake everyone makes. The shell goes on or off right-side up. I think you'll do just fine.

[@atoasterinc.brandtoaster1501]

Toasters are good.

[@megann7213]

I have a 1B16 that runs dark and no amount of adjustment with the knob will fix it. By dark I mean burnt to a crisp. Is there a video for a repair on a similar toaster that you could recommend?

[@ToasterPhreak]

Thanks for the question Megan. I've been planning to make a video or several, showing the 2, 3, and 4 slice variations. I've never opened up a 1B16 I'm sorry to say. I do know they use a timer the same as a 1B14 or a 1B12; so the same principles will apply. I have to ask the dumb question first. Have you turned the knob in the correct direction? Counter-clockwise is darker, clockwise is lighter; exactly the opposite of what you'd expect. I may sound crazy, but I've fixed at least three of these toasters just by turning the knob in the right direction. Does it ever pop up on it's own? Or do you have to manually cancel the toasting to get it to pop up? Also; do you hear the "click" internally as the mechanism reaches it's maximum? If it never clicks it's probably been overadjusted internally. If that's the case: When you remove the crumb tray you'll find the timing mechanism. Watch as you twist the adjustment back and forth. Does the adjuster move when you twist the knob? If not you'll have to remove the shell entirely in order to fix the problem. If the adjuster moves back and forth, but the toaster doesn't make that "click" in the middle of it's toasting cycle you'll need to adjust the adjuster so that it doesn't stick as far into the chamber. Then you'll probably have to adjust the bimetallic strip to shorten the timing. It works exactly like a 1B14 or 1B12. Let me know if you have any other questions; and please let me know if you get it fixed.

[@megann7213]

Thank you for your quick response! I am a huge fan. Looking at the underside of the toaster with the bottom exposed, the adjuster does move inward and outward as I adjust the knob. I do hear the click mid-cycle as well. I will check one more time on the knob direction by toasting when all the way to the left, then all the way to the right, just to be sure. Will let you know.

[@ToasterPhreak]

That's great Megan. Worst case scenario you'll have to remove the bimetallic strip and bend it so the cycle can end as soon as it needs to. Sometimes the strip will take a permanent bend and you have to physically un-bend it to correct the problem. Chances are you can adjust the adjustment nut in somewhat and change the adjustment on the strip to get it working correctly. In my opinion it shouldn't burn it to a crisp at any setting. I guess it never occurred to me there might actually be fans of ToasterPhreak, but I'm glad to be of help. It sounds like you'll have this solved pretty soon.