Black & Decker TRO962 Dining In 4-Slice Toaster Oven
by Black & Decker
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: Black & DeckerBrand: Black & Decker
Model: TRO962
Color: Stainless Steel
Product features:
- 1350-watt 4-slice toaster oven toasts, bakes, broils, browns, and reheats
- Housed in durable stainless steel; 1/4-cubic-foot capacity
- Electronic toast controls for light to dark toasting; adjustable temperature control
- Cooking-complete bell signal; removable crumb tray; broil rack and bake pan included
- Measures 17 by 9 by 8 inches; 1-year limited warranty
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker TRO962 Dining In 4-Slice Toaster Oven
Customer Review: An awful toaster
Summary: 1 Stars
This is the worst toaster oven I have ever encountered. First off, when you use it to toast something, there is no audible indication (no "pop") when the toasting is done... the oven simple shuts off. So, you get distracted making some other component of your breakfast, and when you remember the toast, it's long since finished and has grown cold. Sure, there is a light that indicates when the toaster is working, but the light is its own disappointment: many toasters have a light with two different brightnesses (or have have two different lights) so you know when the oven has reached the desired temperature in oven mode. This toaster oven has no such thing... set it for 400 degrees and then you just have to guess when it'll get there. A third irritation: the rack inside is connected to the door, in such a way that it slides forward an inch or so when the door is opened. I guess the genius that came up with this thought it would be helpful to bring your toast an inch closer to you (maybe reaching that extra inch is very difficult for the sort of people who built this toaster). The main result of this foolhardy design is that there is a one inch gap at the back of the rack whenever the door is open, making it all too easy to knock your toast off the back of the rack, so that it falls down next to the heating element and instantly produces noxious black smoke, ruining your breakfast and your mood.
Much more frustrating than those minor design flaws, however, is the overall poor construction of the device. The door sticks, both when opening and closing it (perhaps because of the connection to the rack). I actually bent the handle trying to pull the door open this morning. As in many toaster ovens, the bottom can be opened in order to clean out crumbs, but with this model, you will need pliers in order to get the bottom closed again. The knobs (darkness/lightness and oven temperature) are such cheap plastic that they cracked and broke within a month of purchase, and the darkness/lightness knob has the most exquisitely maddening sensitivity: half the range is much too dark and half the range is much too light, so that in order to have your toast come out right, the knob must be set incredibly precisely. Once you get the right setting, you must never ever ever adjust this knob again or it will take you hours of experimentation (and the sacrifice of a loaf and a half of bread) to find your desired equilibrium again. Then, be careful not to breath, or you may lose the correct setting and have to eat either raw bread or characoal. And don't even think about trying to put bread in for a second try if the first try didn't work (or trying to make a second batch for someone else) without first waiting for the toaster oven to cool completely to room temperature. Otherwise this infernal contraption will ignore your darkness/lightness setting altogether and make up its own mind about what duration of toasting will be worst for your blood pressure.
In summary, I recommend against purchasing this toaster, or even visiting friends or family members that own one.
Description of Black & Decker TRO962 Dining In 4-Slice Toaster Oven
Black & Decker Dining In toaster oven with 0.25 cu.ft. capacity, electronic toast controls, broil function, signal bell, reheat function, forward rack.Toaster Ovens
Kitchen and Housewares