A Guide to Conveyor Toasters & Slot Toasters

How Slot Toasters Work

Just like the toaster you may have at home, a commercial slot toaster accommodates individual bread slices in horizontal slots, with models available to toast two to six slices at a time. Users select the desired brownness level on a dial control and press a lever that lowers the bread into the toaster's heating chamber, where electric elements apply intense radiant heat. When the toasting process is complete, the toaster releases a spring with a familiar "pop" to bring the bread out of the chamber.

How Conveyor Toasters Work

Conveyor toasters rely on chain-driven belts to carry bread through toasting chambers in which they're exposed to a series of radiant heating elements. Users select the desired brownness of the product by adjusting a knob that controls the belt speed, with slower speeds equaling longer times in the chamber and resulting in darker toast colors. Typically, bread is loaded on a rack at the top of the unit in rows of two or three slices and retrieved from a tray at the base of the toaster. Conveyor toasters may be horizontal or vertical, with the latter primarily intended to offer high-volume operations a toasting solution that maximizes counter space.

Volume

Operators with medium- or high-volume production requirements will most likely need conveyor toasters for their establishments because they can typically produce more product per hour than slot toasters. It's not just conveyor belts that make conveyor toasters faster – they're often built with more powerful heating elements that give them an additional performance boost. A typical commercial-grade, four-slot toaster may be able to toast a few hundred slices an hour, depending on the brownness setting. In comparison, the average conveyor toaster can handle 1,000 slices or more an hour, with some models rated at nearly 3,000 slices per hour.

Cost

Slot toasters are typically more economical than conveyor toasters since simpler machines mean fewer control options and lower production capacities. Some commercial slot toasters cost less than $100, though heavy-duty models with four slots are likely to be priced in the range of $700 or more. Complex moving parts and sophisticated electronic controls lead to higher prices for conveyor toasters, with most models ranging from $500 to $3,000. Specialized toasters, which are covered at the end of this guide, typically come at higher price points because of their additional features and distinct design considerations.

Controls

The controls of a commercial slot toaster are nearly identical to those on residential units, with most models providing a brownness control and lever for each slot pair. Conveyor toasters, however, have more sophisticated controls so users can set separate brownness levels for each side of the product. High-tech conveyor toasters even let operators program toasting procedures for individual items like bagels or English muffins into the equipment's memory.

Because they share such a resemblance to the toasters many of us have at home, there's little to no learning curve involved in training staff to use a slot toaster. Conveyor toasters often feature more complex controls than slot models and therefore can require more involved training regimens, though programmable controls can help smooth that learning curve.

Application

Knowing how your operation will utilize this toaster can also help you choose the right model. Because of their familiar design and simple controls, slot toasters can be placed in office break rooms, breakfast buffets, and other customer-facing applications with little oversight from your staff. However, slot toasters may not be able to keep up with the demand of busier operations as they are limited to lower per-hour production capacities than conveyor toasters. Some conveyor toasters are designed with these applications in mind. To find a model guests or employees can use with minimal training, look for units that pair a sleek design with digital controls that can guide new users through the toasting process.

Specialty Toasters

If your toaster will be used exclusively for one type of product – such as bagels or hamburger buns – then you may benefit from investing in a toaster designed specifically for toasting that item instead of a general-use toaster.

Bagel toasters have extra-tall openings, apply toasting heat to only on one side of the product, and are beneficial for pancake houses, diners, breakfast concepts, and other businesses emphasizing early morning menus or all-day breakfast.