[Electronics-Talk] Accessible Stoves / Oens #2

[Gerald Levy]

Just out of cuiosity, why do you need a talking toaster oven when there 
are so many models on the market that have mechanical controls that make 
them totally accessible?  For $500 plus $25 for "special handling", this 
talking Black & Decker toaster oven has to be one of the biggest ripoffs 
yet perpetrated against blind consumers.  To put things into 
perspective, you can buy a Black & Decker 4 slice toaster oven with 
mechanical controls for under $40 that can be made totally accessible by 
placing tactile markers around the timer and temperature dials at 
strategic locations.  No need for speech.  But here's the dirty little 
secret about the talking Black & Decker toaster oven Maxi-Aids won't 
tell you.  It uses the same quartz heating rods as their standard 
toaster ovens, which means that they are no more reliable and will burn 
out within five years.  I know what I'm talking about because I have 
gone through five Black & Decker toaster ovens in a dozen years, and in 
every case the bottom heating rod eventually burned out within three 
years due to crumbs falling on the protective shield and causing the 
underlying heating rod to catch fire. Spending $500 for an appliance 
that may only last five years makes absolutely no sense, and don't 
expect any help from Maxi-Aids if you have a problems because they have 
a long and sordid history of poor customer support, as blind members of 
this and other mailing lists will attest. I became so fed up with Black 
& Decker toaster ovens that I now use a cheapo Mainstay toaster oven 
that I bought from Walmart for $20.  It has only two mechanical dials, 
is easy to use, and works as well for my basic purposes as a $500 
talking toaster oven.  And when the heating rods burn out as they 
eventually will, I can simply buy another one for $20 and won't have any 
buyer's remorse over throwing out $500.


Gerald



On 6/11/2024 2:10 PM, Jen via Electronics-Talk wrote:
> Hi
> I wanted to thank everyone for your suggestions and thoughts. Right now, I'm looking into getting a talking toaster oven from Maxi-aids.
> spiderweb1 at sbcglobal.net
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