When those pricks named their cheap-ass small appliance importer (into Australia)
Heller they weren't kidding; the toaster I have now from them (model TAH2S, 2-slice long slot, 800W nom. @ 230V, stainless-steel/black plastic outer shell, rather flimsy) has what can only be seen as a soldering iron slip mark on the case directly below where the crumb tray pulls out, and they also made the one fan heater I knew that seized up in short order (don't recall the exact model, but it
was a 2000W upright). While virtually no small appliances are
manufactured here in Australia anymore (and indeed lamentably), I
would still gravitate to those brands that at least say "Designed/Engineered in Australia" (Breville, Kambrook, our division of Sunbeam) as at least I can fairly expect these to remain
somewhat reliable.
It's a sad state of affairs, overall, that so many people (including those who should know better) just lump
all resistance heaters into the same "unsafe" category; as when I intentionally focus on Australia's "decent three" small appliance brands, their few overall recall records indeed look to vindicate my inner engineer's feeling that, given
comparable build quality, resistance heaters (simple) should be
more fail-safe overall than air conditioning units (complex); in any case, it's certainly
far less hassle to replace any recalled small appliance than it will be to replace a recalled A/C unit. (Feel free to see for yourself:
Product Safety Recalls Australia > enter the brand name in question into the search box, or choose a relevant category)
