This Black & Decker takes it's name too seriously!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Looks very nice on my counter.

Cons: Food for the Gods, only burnt offerings.

The Bottom Line: 
This model NEVER worked properly, and proved itself to be a safety hazard in the end.

Author's Review
***
Update April, 2001
This unit finally made it all the way into my garbage can when it stayed on -even when the dial and switch were in the OFF position and the light was out.

I have since taken the old toaster oven from my work area and it is working perfectly -just like it always did- on my counter now.
***

I have had Black & Decker small kitchen appliances for decades. I loved them. From their SpaceSaver lines to the counter top appliances. The Black & Decker line has always served me well until... this new Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven Toaster. Model number TRO200

After last Christmas, Macy's had a sale. The Toast-R-Oven was $27 after sale & coupons. Those who've priced toaster ovens know that this is practically a Steal! The average price for a toaster oven is about $99.

I had a very good working Black & Decker toaster oven, but at this price I figured I could buy myself a new one, take the old 'well-used' one to work, and have a shiny new one for my kitchen counter. That part of the plan worked perfectly. What I didn't count on was that the Black & Decker company took the BLACK part of it's name too seriously!

This Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven Toaster. Model number TRO200 is housed in an off-white casing with a steel-grey control panel (like the one pictured). It is aesthetically pleasing -more so than the older models, and it blended with my kitchen colors perfectly. The gauges indicated that this unit can heat up to 500 degrees F. or toast at Light, Medium or Dark (top brown).

These controls are a waste of panel space. The truth is that the oven heats up to 500 degrees F. no matter what setting you put it at, and the toaster takes it's Dark setting very seriously! I have learned over the months that if I crank the Toaster setting as far counter-clockwise as possible, that I can get unburnt toast. Any other setting before the 'Light' setting is cooking Cajun style! The little rocker switch stays down a very long time on even the lightest setting. It pops up with a Clunk -and at that point I know I left my food in too long.

I have not been able to bake anything -even at 200 degrees F. (according to the dial) & not have the item become an instant Burnt Offering to the Black & Decker Deities. When you turn the dial, the oven part comes on and stays on until you turn the dial back to zero. The exception to this is when the door is open. The oven stops heating at that point.

The Toast-R-Oven comes with a removable rack & broiling pan like my older model. Both units fit 2 slices of bread or one package of biscuits. That's when the similarities between the models ended. I loved my older model Toast-R-Oven. I do not like this new version at all. I am ready to take back my 'well-used' Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven Toaster, & let the guys at work suffer with this very nice looking, but too hot toaster oven! If they don't like it, they can go buy one that doesn't burn food!

I would've thought that I had a bad unit, one with a faulty rheostat or thermistor, but MissFitts came with me & bought one for her new home. Her unit works exactly the same as mine. I asked her for her opinion, and she says it works exactly like mine.

Catfish should cook mighty fine in this here toaster oven! Nice & blackened on the outside, barely warm on the inside! If you've got a new in-law coming into the family & you don't like her, then this would make a great gift (& it's cheap too!) But if you want a more versatile Toaster Oven, (one that works) don't buy this one!