Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffhs
My late grandmother had one of these toasters years ago. However, it did not occur to me at the time how dangerous they could be, given the exposed heating elements.
BTW, I was glad to read in your post that you will be grounding the toaster's chassis, as this will add a measure of safety to it which the toaster didn't have when it was new, in the 1920s. I don't know if the National Electrical Code existed then; it may not have, since most appliances were not grounded as well (or at all) at that time as they are now.
One stupid thing some homeowners did in the 1920s and later (until the '60s-'70s, when the National Electrical Code mandated the use of circuit breakers) was to replace a blown fuse with a copper penny when the fuse opened. This may have gotten things working again, but it also meant the second an overload or short occurred on that circuit, the wiring would begin to smolder, starting a very costly fire.
I was also glad to read that your toaster will be used in a grounded environment, on a circuit protected by a GFCI. As well grounded as today's electric service is (compared to when this toaster was new), this will mean the circuit breaker will trip immediately in the event of a short circuit or an overload. GFCIs are absolutely incorruptible, so when it trips, there is no other alternative but to reset it; there is no way to jump or otherwise bypass these devices, since they are bolted solidly into the breaker box.
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The NEC was around since the early 1900's, when homes were first wired for electricity. It originally was a few pages and now it's several hundred!
Most homes equipped with GFCI's have the GFI type receptacles located in the rooms they were used, bathrooms, kitchens, outdoors, etc. The GFIC breakers were more expensive.