Black and Decker countertop and toaster ovens

The reports, as CPSC published them

101. No one hurt

     Made Jan 16, 2012 · , sent to the company Jan 23, 2012 · , published by CPSC Feb 6, 2012

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker Countertop Oven Model TRO490B Made in China

     Each time I’ve tried to make toast with my new Black & Decker toaster oven (received for an Xmas present 12/25/2011) the toast burned, but the toast actually caught fire three of those times. The last time I tried, (01/15/2012), I had to use a fire extinguisher to prevent my security alarm smoke detector from automatically calling the local fire department. The toaster oven burned up and the bottom tray had started to melt. Luckily there was no damage to my counter top.

     I must admit I was chagrinned when I unpacked the product and saw the instructions printed on the front glass: “In the event of food flare, keep door closed and unplug power cord.”

     The first time the toast caught fire I had left the kitchen area briefly to check on my 22-month-oldgrandaughte who was visiting with me. I had to call the alarm company to cancel the smoke alarm and open al the windows (it was<50 degrees Fahrenheit outside.)

     After this first incident I never left the oven unattended, but I couldn’t make toast. I had had a B & D toaster over for more than 18 years and never had a problem. It finally wore out so I asked for a new one for Christmas. The new model has been redesigned to make it a counter top oven. The knobs have no directional indicators, so you can’t readily see if they’ve been tampered with since the last time you set up the toaster oven to “just toast.”

     I called the B & D help number and am still waiting to hear back from them. I really feel this appliance needs to be recalled for poor product design. I am in the process of giving B & D actual and constructive notice about this situation so they cannot deny the fact that they have been alerted!

     How did this product get past the usual safety inspectors?

     Model

     Black & Decker Countertop Oven model # TRO490B Type 1

     Bought from

     Target

     Bought

     Dec 18, 2011

     Where

     Lexington, South Carolina: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 62, Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker Countertop Oven, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

102. No one hurt

     Made Jan 11, 2012 · , sent to the company Jan 20, 2012 · , published by CPSC Feb 3, 2012

     The product, in the report: Toast-R Oven (TRO 490B Type 1)

     TO: Black and Decker:

     In June I purchased your Toast-R Oven (TRO 490B Type 1) at Wal-Mart. On December 9, 2001 I followed the instructions by turning the dial past the “10” mark and back again to the “light toast” mark to toast an English muffin. Within a few minutes, smoke began to appear from the toaster oven. I unplugged the toaster oven and found a burnt English muffin. I plugged it back in to find that the element was still active. It appears that timer is defective as it sticks shortly before it is supposed to shut off causing the element to “stay hot” indefinitely. I can replicate the problem every time. I have taken the toaster out of service. The only way to turn off the toaster oven is to manually force the timer to off when your food looks ready. This is an extremely dangerous product that could endanger the lives and property of an owner. Please let me know what I should do. Thank you, [REDACTED}

     Model

     Toast-R Oven (TRO 490B Type 1)

     UPC

     unknown

     Serial number

     none

     Bought from

     WalMart

     Bought

     Jun 30, 2011, about then

     Where

     Franconia, New Hampshire: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 65, Male

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

103. No one hurt

     Made Dec 16, 2011 · , sent to the company Dec 27, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jan 11, 2012

     The product, in the report: Unit 1: Black and Decker Countertop Oven TO1455

     Two different Black and Decker toaster oven units, both with similar problems. Unit 1: after 2 1/2 months of use, the timer started to make strange swooshing sounds and started to emit a burning odor. We stopped using the unit before it became worse.

     Unit 2: We replaced the 1st unit with a second unit, and after 1 1/2 days, the timer on that unit got stuck and then never worked after that, and therefore didn’t turn the toaster oven off at all. If we hadn’t been watching it, it would have continue to cook the toast and most probably would have caused a fire. As it was, it turned the toast black.

     We viewed these two units to be extremely dangerous fire hazards because the timers stopped working on both of them and when you would normally expect them to turn off by themselves, they don’t. So any food in the units could potentially catch on fire.. or the units could catch on fire.

     Model

     TO1455

     Bought from

     Target

     Bought

     Dec 5, 2011, about then

     Where

     Unspecified: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

104. No one hurt

     Made Nov 6, 2011 · , sent to the company Nov 29, 2011 · , published by CPSC Dec 13, 2011

     The product, in the report: TOASTER OVEN Model T01420B

     EXPLODING glass door Black&Decker TOASTER OVEN Model T01420B. I was using it to toast bread. No one was hurt this time! But someone could have. I have not seen a recall. But there are a lot of people have had the same thing happen.

     Model

     T0142B

     UPC

     6G22

     Serial number

     E187786

     Bought from

     Kohls

     Bought

     Nov 2, 2010

     Where

     Hayward, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand Black&Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

105. No one hurt

     Made Oct 27, 2011 · , sent to the company Nov 3, 2011 · , published by CPSC Nov 18, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker TRO355 toaster oven

     I had a brand new Black & Decker model TRO355 toaster oven (an older model, circa 2006?) that was still in the original factory retail box. This week (October 2011), I plugged in this toaster oven for the first time and used the toast function. I could see through the front glass door that the upper and lower heating coils glowing red/orange. But in about 1 or 2 minutes, there was a very loud explosion (louder than a firecracker)! Fortunately, I was not looking through the glass door like I was doing just moments ago. The front glass door blew open and there was smoke throughout the kitchen. After yanking the power cord out of the AC outlet, I could see that the 2 bottom heating elements and 1 of the 2 top heating elements had exploded. The metal sheath of each element was torn/twisted open and the coiled wire from inside the heating element was hanging out. The white ceramic/porcelain insulators on the ends of each heating element had shattered. There was white powder from those insulators everywhere inside the oven, on the kitchen counter, on the kitchen cabinets and on the floor. There were small pieces of the white insulators in several places in the kitchen, up to about 4 feet away from the toaster oven.

     This Black & Decker toaster oven was new and not tampered with or damaged in any way as far as I know. I have looked on the internet and find at least a few other people who reported the exact same experience (explosion of the heating elements, white powder everywhere) and coincidentally was the same model: TRO355.

     I have had an older but very similar Black & Decker toaster oven that I used without any problems for over 10 years. But this TRO355 was extremely dangerous and we are lucky that my spouse or I or my children were not injured by this incident.

     Model

     TRO355

     UPC

     050875511668

     Bought from

     Target? (not sure)

     Where

     Unspecified: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 55, Male

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

106. Hurt, no treatment

     Made Oct 17, 2011 · , sent to the company Dec 21, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jan 6, 2012

     The product, in the report: a convection toaster oven.

     Shortly after using the convection oven for approximately 10 minutes on 425 degrees she had just removed the food and powered the appliance in the off position . She closed the oven glass door when she heard a loud explosion.

     She was standing near the small appliance when it happened and noticed that the glass had flew approximately 15 feet away from the counter top that it was placed on.

     The glass was so hot to the touch that some of the pieces of glass melted through the counter top. The plug was immediately unplugged from the wall outlet.

     While trying to clean the glass up from the floor and the counter top she received minor cuts to her fingers on the left hand. The firm was contacted on 10/17/2011 and the representative that she spoke with (name not provided) advised the victim that they were not aware of any other incidents occurring with the product and that they were willing to replace the oven.

     The victim indicated that she expressed her concerns with the safety of the product were expressed and the representative did not show any concerns.

     Model

     TR04075B

     Serial number

     044EH

     Bought from

     Big Lots, Florida

     Bought

     Oct 8, 2011

     Where

     Deltonia, Florida: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 47, Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

107. No one hurt

     Made Sep 26, 2011 · , sent to the company Oct 3, 2011 · , published by CPSC Oct 18, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker 6-Slice Convection Countertop Oven - Black and Brushed Chrome, sold at Bed Bath & Beyond, retailing for $69.99

     The glass front window/door of the toaster oven burst open after toasting bagels one day, causing glass to disperse over the entire kitchen. There was a significant explosion and had an individual been standing in the kitchen at the time, they would have been wounded.

     Model

     CTO4600BC

     Bought from

     Bed, Bath, and Beyond

     Bought

     Jun 9, 2011

     Where

     Bellaire, Texas: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 39, Male

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

108. No one hurt

     Made Sep 9, 2011 · , sent to the company Sep 19, 2011 · , published by CPSC Oct 3, 2011

     The product, in the report: Stainless Steel countertop toaster oven with a pizza bump and convection fan

     While cooking a frozen pizza in my toaster oven the wires over heated and began smoking. There was no fire in the oven itself. The food was still partially frozen, nothing on the bottom was on fire or smoldering and the element was not burning, smoking or sparking. The overheating/fire/smoke event was entirely contained to the portion of the toaster oven on the right hand side where the controls are located as well as the convection fan.

     Bought from

     BJ’s Wholesale Club, Pennsylvania

     Bought

     Dec 1, 2010, about then

     Where

     Holland, Pennsylvania: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand black and decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

109. No one hurt

     Made Aug 18, 2011 · , published by CPSC Sep 22, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black and Decker black counter top oven. 12” pizza capability

     I have a black and decker counter top oven and a fire started inside the coils. There is no way to remove the coils to clean them.

     Bought from

     Kohls, Michigan

     Bought

     Jun 1, 2010, about then

     Where

     rochester hills, Michigan: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker Countertop Oven, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

110. Hurt, no treatment

     Made Aug 3, 2011 · , sent to the company Sep 19, 2011 · , published by CPSC Oct 3, 2011

     The product, in the report: Toaster Oven

     The consumer says the first time he used it he noticed when unplugging it from the wall that the plug prongs were very hot. The consumer says the next time he used it, it took a long time to toast and then he noticed sparks coming out of it. He unplugged it and has not used it since. He tried to contact the manufacturer but all he keeps getting is automated message and never a live person. Consumer says that the plug was so hot it burned his finger.

     Model

     TRO48OBS

     Bought from

     Macy’s

     Bought

     Dec 21, 2010

     Where

     San Francisco, California: Unspecified

     Who was involved

     Male

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

111. No one hurt

     Made Jul 27, 2011 · , published by CPSC Aug 18, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker TRO480BS Toast-R-Oven

     This report is on the Black & Decker TRO480BS Toast-R-Oven. This is the toaster you want if you want to burn down your house. I got this oven as a present 7 months ago and when it works right, it’s a nifty little appliance. It has this little quirk with the timer, however, where it doesn’t always turn off when it’s supposed to. There is a “Stay On” setting that is right next to the Off setting, and the catch between the 2 settings doesn’t always engage. We learned this early on with a mess of blackened toast, and so I am always super careful in setting the timer. This morning I was making toast and the phone rang so I turned the toaster to off and walked away to answer the phone. I came back to find flames shooting out of the toaster and charring the underside of the cabinet above, even though all the settings on the toaster indicated that it was off. It’s a very poorly engineered design. There should be 2 very separate knobs, one to engage for toasting – with a finite timer – and one to engage the “stay on” feature.

     Model

     TRO480BS Toast-R-Oven

     Bought from

     it was a gift

     Bought

     Dec 15, 2010, about then

     Where

     Auburn, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 61, Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

112. No one hurt

     Made Jul 26, 2011 · , published by CPSC Aug 16, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker Toaster Oven model TRO 490B Type 1

     My Black & Decker Toaster Oven, model # TRO 490B failed to turn off when the toast was done. The toast caught file and flamed outside the toaster oven. Thankfully my wife came into the kitchen in time to blow the flames out avoiding a catastrophic event.

     Model

     TRO 490B

     Bought from

     Target

     Bought

     Jul 17, 2007

     Where

     Walnut Creek, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 64, Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     My Spouse

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

113. No one hurt

     Made Jul 13, 2011 · , published by CPSC Aug 4, 2011

     The product, in the report: COUNTERTOP DIGITAL CONVECTION OVEN

     OUR COUNTERTOP BLACK&DECKER DIGITAL CONVECTION OVEN (MODEL CT06301) FAILED TO TURN OFF WHILE UNDER THE TWO YEAR WARRANT.

     CALLED BLACK & DECKER WHO SENT US REPLACEMENT UNIT (MODEL CT067301) ON 3/24/2011 AND IT ALSO REFUSED TO SHUT DOWN TODAY JULY 12, 2011UNLESS WE UNPLUGGED FROM WALL. WE HAVE CALLED BLACK AND DECKER TODAY, AND ARE AWAITING THEIR RETURN CALL.

     AS THIS HAS HAPPED WITH 2 UNITS, THIS MAY BE A TRUE SAFETY ISSUE AS UNIT GETS EXTREMELY HOT IF IT DOES NOT STOP AT TIME TO QUIT.

     Model

     CT06301

     Bought from

     BLACK & DECKER

     Bought

     Mar 24, 2011

     Where

     WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand BLACK & DECKER, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

114. No one hurt

     Made Jun 22, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jul 14, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black and Decker toaster oven...black

     Yesterday I was using my black and decker toaster oven to prepare lunch, it was set to bake, at 450 degrees...I used the timer on my microwave and had it set to 10 mintues.. when the buzzer went off, I turned off the toaster oven, took the baking tray out with an oven mit, and closed the door back up so I wouldn’t burn myself on it when I set the baking tray down on another pot holder on the counter. I had just used a spatula to take my son’s lunch off of the baking tray and put it onto his plate, when the door of the toaster oven exploded and sent glass everywhere and the handle, with a bunch of glass pieces, landing right on the baking tray. There was no smoke, no fire, just exploding glass.

     Bought from

     Walmart, New York

     Bought

     Dec 26, 2010, about then

     Where

     Franklin, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 41, Female

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

115. No one hurt

     Made Jun 7, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jun 28, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black and Decker (Applica) Convection Oven model No. TO1460bjb

     toaster oven did not shut off after timer knob continued past Off by itself. This problem continued each time timer knob was reset. It continued to turn until it entered the Stay On setting. Black and Decker (Applica) Convection countertop oven TO1460bjb.

     Model

     TO1460bjb

     Bought from

     BJ’s

     Bought

     Nov 1, 2010, about then

     Where

     westwood, Massachusetts: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand Black and Decker (Applica), made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

116. No one hurt

     Made May 23, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jun 15, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker Spacemaker Oven model TROS 1000.

     I purchased an under-the-counter Black and Decker toaster oven to replace the one I already had on May 30, 2010. It is model TROS1000. I was skeptical about buying it, in that there were quite a few reviews on amazon.com saying that people had trouble with the mounting system, and many said that the oven kept falling off the cabinet and they sent the oven back. But since some hadn’t had that problem, and I liked my previous Black & Decker toaster oven, I decided to try it out. Well, I DID have problems with the mount and it DID fall down. There are two flimsy clips on the front of the mount to keep it in place. So I sent it back to Amazon.com and they sent me a replacement. I had the same problem with the second one, but was finally able to bend the clips so that the unit stayed in place. However, after some time, it began falling again.

     This is really quite dangerous because if the oven is hot, it can burn you or fall on something that’s underneath it and possibly start a fire.

     So I contacted B&D via email and went back and forth with them on it. They ended up sending me a replacement oven, a $20 cheaper model (with no electronic controls) stating that they could substitute it out based on their warranty. So I asked for it to be escalated to management. They have finally said that they will refund my money, but frankly, I’m really concerned that they don’t seem to care that people are having safety issues with this oven.

     On amazon.com alone, out of 301 customer reviews, 155 are 3 stars or less (out of 5 stars maximum), with many people talking about problems with the mount. This model has an identical mounting system to model TROS1500. 63 fall in the 1 star category.

     Because it is an item that can get very hot, I feel that even when the clips are working properly, the chance of bumping the unit and it falling are great. This is NOT the same mounting system I had on my previous B&D oven.

     I am going to return this and get my money back, but I hope you look into this matter. I hope a terrible accident doesn’t have to happen before you make them fix this problem.

     Model

     TROS 1000 and TROS 1500

     Bought from

     amazon.com

     Bought

     May 30, 2010

     Where

     Valley Village, California: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Unspecified

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Unspecified

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

117. No one hurt

     Made May 13, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jun 7, 2011

     The product, in the report: Black & Decker toaster oven Model TRO480BS

     2 1/2 months ago I purchased a Black & Decker Model TRO480BS toaster oven from Macy’s department store. I loved my oven until tonight. I preheated the oven to 425 degrees and put in a sweet potato to bake. Twenty minutes later, the glass door on the toaster oven exploded into hundreds of pieces. The explosion was so violent, that the handle on the door blew 6 to 7 feet across the room. Had someone been standing in front of the oven, especially a child at counter height, there could have been serious bodily injury. Needless to say, the glass oven door is defective and not properly tempered.

     Model

     TRO480BS

     Bought from

     Macy’s Dept. Store, Colorado

     Bought

     Feb 20, 2011

     Where

     Denver, Colorado: Home/Apartment/Condominium

     Who was involved

     Age 57, Male

     The reporter’s relation to them

     Self

     As this report names them

     Brand Black & Decker, made or sold by Applica Consumer Products, Inc. - NOTIFY SPECTRUM BRANDS

     How badly, in CPSC’s words

     Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources