Electric toaster for us on shorepower

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jaminb

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When we purchased our boat we bought an electric kettle and toaster for use whilst on marina shorepower for convenience and save on bottled gas. Kettle works fine but toaster rarely works. It is a "smart" toaster and wont hold the toast in the toasting position if the power is switched off. I assume it is not getting sufficient voltage or current to work.

I appreciate this is a first world problem but I like toast and would appreciate knowing what the issue is and can it be fixed. If not can anyone recommend a dumb toaster that will work with shore power.

Thanks
 
Have you tested that the toaster works OK at home? If it does, then I think you need to test your boat mains supply - if the voltage is below 220v (assuming you're not in the US), then there's a fault somewhere - either in your cable/equipment or in that of the marina. It's highly unlikely that a toaster could need more current than the system can supply and, if it did, it would probably cause the fuse to blow.
 
jaminb said:
When we purchased our boat we bought an electric kettle and toaster for use whilst on marina shorepower for convenience and save on bottled gas. Kettle works fine but toaster rarely works. It is a "smart" toaster and wont hold the toast in the toasting position if the power is switched off. I assume it is not getting sufficient voltage or current to work.

I appreciate this is a first world problem but I like toast and would appreciate knowing what the issue is and can it be fixed. If not can anyone recommend a dumb toaster that will work with shore power.

Thanks
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My ordinary "dumb" toaster wont hold the bread in the toasting position if the power is switched off .... It wont toast the bread anyway if the power is off !

FWIW , I recently bought this Morphy Richards toaster. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9465574?clickSR=slp:term:2 slice toaster:3:16:1
Very pleased with it . Nice evenly toasted slices.
 
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I visited my local caravan shop and purchased a low wattage kettle and toaster. Both work well if take a longer time to do what they do.
 
Thanks toast fans. Toaster works fine at home and in some marinas (unfortunately not home port!). I will stick a meter in the shorepower lead and also in one of the boat sockets.
 
Depending on your kettle size, I would assume both toaster and kettle have about the same current draw so probably not a shore power problem, maybe your toaster isn't so 'Smart', on the other hand, it could be too 'Smart'. As others have suggested try at home to confirm either way.
 
jaminb said:
When we purchased our boat we bought an electric kettle and toaster for use whilst on marina shorepower for convenience and save on bottled gas. Kettle works fine but toaster rarely works. It is a "smart" toaster and wont hold the toast in the toasting position if the power is switched off. I assume it is not getting sufficient voltage or current to work.

I appreciate this is a first world problem but I like toast and would appreciate knowing what the issue is and can it be fixed. If not can anyone recommend a dumb toaster that will work with shore power.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Why would you want it to confiscate your bread/toast if the power is turned off?!!
 
jaminb said:
When we purchased our boat we bought an electric kettle and toaster for use whilst on marina shorepower for convenience and save on bottled gas. Kettle works fine but toaster rarely works. It is a "smart" toaster and wont hold the toast in the toasting position if the power is switched off. I assume it is not getting sufficient voltage or current to work.

I appreciate this is a first world problem but I like toast and would appreciate knowing what the issue is and can it be fixed. If not can anyone recommend a dumb toaster that will work with shore power.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Do you perhaps mean that when trying to use the toaster in certain marinas it trips the shore supply? You don't say what wattage the toaster is . There are other considerations. If it is tripping the shore supply, does it trip at the pontoon breaker MCB (Over current protection. What current rating is that)? Or, does it trip a RCD (Earth leakage device) ? As already stated in another post. If the power is off it won't toast!
P.S. Any toaster, smart or otherwise should work on shore supply in a UK marina, it is no different to what comes into your house. It may be limited, by the size of Circuit Breakers, on how much load you can apply. If you work on 4amps / kW that should give an idea if the shore supply breaker is of sufficient capacity. i.e. a 10 amp breaker will trip with a 3kW kettle. A 16 amp breaker should be OK.
 
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If you are not using home made marmalade you are wasting your time.

Personally I like the ritual of sitting relaxed on the steps, waiting for the kettle to whistle, watching the toast brown and then the mixed aroma of freshly made coffee and slightly singed toast to fill the saloon - prior to breakfast (at anchor).

Jonathan
 
Our toaster was bought with belief it might not survive to well on board due to damp, drops etc so sourced from Asda or suchlike on basis it might have a short shelf life-that said it’s lasted for a least 6 years but clearly doesn’t have daily use - my suggestion is to retire the smart toaster to home and live with either a caravan type or a supermarket version. Never had any problem with toaster tripping shore power but I doubt it will run on an onboard inverter but never tried really.
 
What do you mean if the power is switched off ? Do you have a charger / inverter so when shore power is off it runs the sockets off the batteries and it is that not letting the toaster toast? If so then sounds like the inverter can't cope or the batteries can't. I don't know any toaster that works when the power is off. What is the wattage rating of the toaster compared to the kettle?
 
Thanks all for your concern about my toasting dilemma. No tripping, plugged in but won’t hold toast down or commence toasting (as if it was unplugged). Kettle not on at the same time. Sounds like I need a cheap dum toaster
 
Our boat toaster came from Asda years ago It was very cheap and has never given any bother.

A good source of cheap used toasters, and other electrical appliances, is the British Heart Foundation.
 
jaminb said:
Thanks all for your concern about my toasting dilemma. No tripping, plugged in but won’t hold toast down or commence toasting (as if it was unplugged). Kettle not on at the same time. Sounds like I need a cheap dum toaster
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OK, Another one that is difficult to solve without looking at the actual set up. However I would check the marina power supply voltage , both at the shore socket and on board your boat. Ideally you want to check the voltage "Off load" and "On load" see if there is any appreciable difference in value.
If the toaster is OK at home it should be OK on board. Just getting another toaster "that works" may be hiding a more basic fault. If in doubt get the marina to confirm the supply is OK. when loaded.
 
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