Really, starhawk -- Toaster Repair?!?!

S

starhawk

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
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Yep. The title is correct. I have a toaster I want to fix.

The model in question is a 900w Betty Crocker Wide Slot Cool Touch Toaster, model BC-1613. It's old enough that I found a manual on eBay marked as "vintage" -- although I definitely take that descriptor with a couple pounds of rock salt when it's on eBay!

The problem is that the heating wire in the middle of the toaster is producing warm bread where the outer wire (coils?) are producing proper toast. Uneven electrical flow is at work here. Mind you these are just wire wound around what appears to be a mica 'wall' keeping the heat from melting the plastic housing. They aren't spring shaped coils and they aren't thick ribbons -- just thin wire, about the diameter of that typically found attached to a PC floppy drive's power connector (I'm mentally removing the insulation from that wire as part of this estimation).

It's worth noting that I do have a spare toaster on hand... I don't trust it though, it's a $6 do-you-fucking-want-to-die-in-a-fire Wal*Fart Durabrand model, and it's an 800w model to boot (remember that the Betty is a 900w). I'm guessing that --even if I managed to do it correctly-- replacing element from the old toaster with stuff from the new would be a really bad idea... but I'd like someone to confirm that :p

What I *don't* want to do is just get rid of the old one. I really hate the new one, just on the basis of looks and obvious lack of quality -- I've never used it because I'm not that brave!

So what should I look for when I disassemble the old toaster, that might cause the issue I have?

One other thing -- the cord on the Betty toaster gets rather warm at the plug when it's running. It's not dangerous --we've had the thing for at least a damn decade-- but it makes me a little nervous. How would I go about sourcing a replacement? It's polarized but not grounded, looks like it came off a damn lamp.
 
Cheap from walmart doesn't necessarily equal burn-down-your-house dangerous. It's far more likely to just quit working.

Swapping out the heating elements depends on how they're arranged inside each toaster. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, as long as when you transfer the nichrome wires from the new to the old you don't cut them shorter.

Regarding the warm plug, that likely means that the cable at the plug is worn, is producing some sort of voltage drop. If it's old enough that the plug is replaceable, replace the plug, otherwise you might as well replace it with a new cord/plug.

I don't think you'll notice much of a difference between 800 and 900W. If you want to up the power, you'll need to cut the heating element wires shorter by about 10% in order to get the correct power out of them. I don't know the gauge of those wires, though, so you're on your own for that step.
 
My concern is that if whatever regulates temperature is expecting the wires to be 900w and one set is only 800w, that set will go up in smoke rather a bit quickly. That's 100w extra -- not to be taken lightly.

Plug and wire are the molded lampcord style, only black instead of tacky clear yellow. I'll look into a replacement cordset next time I'm at Wal*Mart, they have some moderately trustable stuff in the hardware section. Hey, I wonder if that cord could be the whole problem?

The Durabrand toaster, though, just LOOKS bad. It looks so cheap, like if you glared at it hard enough the plastic would melt off the sides.
 
The temperature sensor doesn't care how much current is going through the wires--it's just watching the internal temperature of the toaster. So you'll be fine there.
 
Got a new cord today. Found that the old one was attached with spade connectors.

Of course I can't find mine, and I didn't buy any.

However, a couple new observations of other sorts...
(1) good god I need to clean out the crumb tray a bit more often!
...and...
(2) it's not the plug getting warm, it's the cord getting really effing hot right where it leaves the plug strain relief!

FWIW, the cord is 18awg which seems a little thin to me. Rated current on that wire (I looked it up) is a tad under 300W continuous (for power transmission) -- 2.3A or 276W@120V. Oops!

I'll have spade connectors in a couple days for sure. Either I can get 'em at Walmart later, or my father can bring me some when he drops by to see me next Wednesday.

Also, my concern was too much power going through the replacement heating wires and melting them... sort of the same phenomenon as the scene in the TV show Home Improvement where Tim Allen breaks the snow heater stuff ;) not a scene to recreate in one's home, particularly with a toaster.
 
If the cord's getting hot near the plug, that means the conductor is partly worn through. Heck, that might even be the cause of not enough power going through your coils--higher resistance in the cord means less than desired current. IIRC, the nichrome wire has a positive temperature coefficient, so the hotter it gets, the higher its resistance. That means if you push more current through a set of parallel wires, they'll get closer in temperature.

What I'm trying to say is this: replace the cord, and see if that improves the quality of the toast it makes, before you replace the heating elements.
 
You can pick them up from your local Home Depot or Lowes or Menards, or Ace or whatever big box hardware store you have.
 
Never heard of menards.

The big prob for me is transportation. I'm in a small town in what passes for "rural areas" towards the east coast. We have an Ace, and a Walmart (where the cord is from) but the Lowe's is in the next town over. Public transit in urban areas of the US is shameful as it is; outside of them it dwindles to barely-there-at-all status. The rule with the local transit group is, IF you call by 11am the day before you want to go somewhere, they'll haul you around. If they aren't booked solid.

Or I can wait till my disabled mother gets a good enough sleep to be able to drive. At least she knows when she should stay off the road! (I know to stay off the road until I learn how to properly operate a vehicle. Driving without a license or knowledge to use one is stupid AND deadly.)

...I'll have them Wednesday night if not sooner. Sooner would mean a trip to... probably Walmart, although Ace is a slim possibility.
 
The reason you cord is so hot is that you are using the wrong type of wire

SPT = Stranded, Parallel, Thermoplastic. This is always followed by a -1, -2, or -3, signifying insulation

HPN = Heater, Parallel, Neoprene. Required for heater type applications, such as irons, toasters, etc

Thank Americord for the glossary

For your toaster you will need type HPN (To get type HPN you will have to order online or find an electrical supply house you also need at least 16AWG 18AWG is too small for the rated load)
 
It's a fucking toaster. Seriously? :) You remind me of that guy in all three Mass Effect games who works hard for three years to get a refund on a defective toaster. Ridiculous. I guess I just don't get the sentimental attachment to things like that. As long as the new one gets the job done well, who cares?
 
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@Format_C: -- the cord I got is still stranded, but it is rated for 13A. It will work fine -- this toaster pulls about 7.5A.

@Dan_D: why put an almost perfectly good toaster in the trash can simply because it has a bad cord? A minor repair like that should not be reason to throw away the whole thing. This is a large part of our environmental problem that NOBODY talks about -- people throw away literally tons upon tons of shit every day that simply needs a little work. They aren't willing to even TRY to fix it, so out it goes. Results: overflowing landfills and other lovely issues. Oh, and by the way, a garbage truck gets lower gas mileage --generally speaking-- than a Hummer H3. I'm told the trucks around here get about 6.5mpg. An H3 gets 9mpg.

Think about that, next time you have something you think is "junk". We've only got the one planet, after all -- quite honestly I'd like to be able to enjoy it in 20 years without a gas mask, biodome, and unhealthy levels of denial.
 
starhawk said:
@Format_C: -- the cord I got is still stranded, but it is rated for 13A. It will work fine -- this toaster pulls about 7.5A.

@Dan_D: why put an almost perfectly good toaster in the trash can simply because it has a bad cord? A minor repair like that should not be reason to throw away the whole thing. This is a large part of our environmental problem that NOBODY talks about -- people throw away literally tons upon tons of shit every day that simply needs a little work. They aren't willing to even TRY to fix it, so out it goes. Results: overflowing landfills and other lovely issues. Oh, and by the way, a garbage truck gets lower gas mileage --generally speaking-- than a Hummer H3. I'm told the trucks around here get about 6.5mpg. An H3 gets 9mpg.

Think about that, next time you have something you think is "junk". We've only got the one planet, after all -- quite honestly I'd like to be able to enjoy it in 20 years without a gas mask, biodome, and unhealthy levels of denial.
Click to expand...

Ahh....it makes sense now. You are a tree hugger. Got it. :cool:
 
Yeah, that would be one term for it, although somewhat inaccurate -- I've never actually hugged a tree. I just like the idea that they are around in the first place. Trees are pretty, dude -- and pretty important considering that they are a major part of how we don't suffocate on the carbon dioxide we breathe out. That's what they breathe in. (But you probably knew that.)

There's a scene in "An Inconvenient Truth" where Al Gore shows a slide from a presentation opposing climate change -- a "scales of justice" style scale with gold bars on one side and a planet Earth on the other. The line is "If you don't have a planet..."

...I guess you'd choose the gold bars then and learn to live in a wasteland with all that money that can't buy happiness? I actually enjoy nature. How strange :rolleyes:

Another point. Humans are part of nature. We are not above it, we're IN it. We do like to forget that, though, since we can do a lot more to it than (generally) it can do to us. We would never have existed, if not for what came before and what is now around us.

Go take a long walk in a big forest. I think you'll enjoy it ;) Nature's good stuff.
 
starhawk said:
Yeah, that would be one term for it, although somewhat inaccurate -- I've never actually hugged a tree. I just like the idea that they are around in the first place. Trees are pretty, dude -- and pretty important considering that they are a major part of how we don't suffocate on the carbon dioxide we breathe out. That's what they breathe in. (But you probably knew that.)

There's a scene in "An Inconvenient Truth" where Al Gore shows a slide from a presentation opposing climate change -- a "scales of justice" style scale with gold bars on one side and a planet Earth on the other. The line is "If you don't have a planet..."

...I guess you'd choose the gold bars then and learn to live in a wasteland with all that money that can't buy happiness? I actually enjoy nature. How strange :rolleyes:

Another point. Humans are part of nature. We are not above it, we're IN it. We do like to forget that, though, since we can do a lot more to it than (generally) it can do to us. We would never have existed, if not for what came before and what is now around us.

Go take a long walk in a big forest. I think you'll enjoy it ;) Nature's good stuff.
Click to expand...

Not sure if serious............................
 
starhawk said:
Should I not be?
Click to expand...
  • Al Gore is a fucking moron. I'd never put stock in anything that comes out of his mouth. That's probably because I can only listen to so much crazy. He's like a male Nanci Pelosi. Pretty much just bat shit crazy.
  • Climate change is bullshit.
  • As for the rest of it, recycling doesn't always make sense. Sometimes it takes more energy and resources than it's worth. Metal and paper aren't that way, but some objects are. I think plastic only sort of recently because reasonable to recycle in any capacity.
  • No walks in a big forest for me. No air conditioning.

Excelsior!



I'm looking for ManBearPig!

 
OK, I'm not gonna argue with you.

Closed mind is closed.

Enjoy your gold bars and your wasteland.
 
Dan_D said:
Not sure if serious............................
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're serious. You have provided no help to the OP. Who are you to judge him about fixing a toaster. If he wants to fix it, so be it. It's not your place to call him out as a tree hugger or pushing any of your views on him. Not only is it completely off topic, its amazingly rude. Good to see the staff keeping it civil.

If you had nothing to contribute to this thread then you should have just stayed the fuck out.
 
Jorona said:
Not sure if you're serious. You have provided no help to the OP. Who are you to judge him about fixing a toaster. If he wants to fix it, so be it. It's not your place to call him out as a tree hugger or pushing any of your views on him. Not only is it completely off topic, its amazingly rude. Good to see the staff keeping it civil.

If you had nothing to contribute to this thread then you should have just stayed the fuck out.
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I'm just questioning the rationale. Few people would bother fixing a toaster. By the tone of the thread title, seemed to me that was expected yet no real information was given about the motivation for it in the OP aside from some statement about not liking newer toasters. Seemed odd. Sorry, just trying to satisfy my curiousity. Relax. The gold bars and the wasteland comment / Al Gore stuff made me scratch my head is all. I didn't think anyone would actually take that nut job seriously. And he's the one who brought up climate change etc.

And it seemed like he got all the help he needed anyway.
 
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Dan_D said:
I'm just questioning the rationale. By the tone of the thread title, seemed to me that was expected yet no real information was given about the motivation for it in the OP aside from some statement about not liking newer toasters. Seemed odd. Sorry, just trying to satisfy my curiousity. Relax. The gold bars and the wasteland comment / Al Gore stuff made me scratch my head is all. I didn't think anyone would actually take that nut job seriously. And he's the one who brought up climate change etc.

And it seemed like he got all the help he needed anyway.
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The matter is that you came in here just to crap man. He's just asking for help. He obviously wants to fix it. He already said he has one to replace it if he wanted to. Your original post had no place. Your original post was rude and derogatory right off the bat. Seriously, who are you to question his motives? Just completely unnecessary.

If I were you, I'd simply apologize and move on. If you absolutely want to continue arguing about this, feel free to PM me.
 
Well I found this thread to be entirely more entertaining than the title led on.

<3 u guys.
 
Jorona, I'm not sure that's a wise approach.

Dan_D: Al Gore is not a nut job from where I'm standing, unless you consider EVERY environmentalist and similarly-thinking person a nut job... in which case I'm forced to question your standards for determining that. I don't have much tolerance for those who ignore or (attempt to) refute science simply because they don't like what it says -- or it disagrees with something else they want to believe more strongly.

Note that I've yet to bring politics into this -- that opens up a BIG can of worms that I really don't want to deal with. However: for the record, I am a Democrat, I am NOT a Marxist (Marxism terminates in a form of cooperative anarchy that I just don't see working out too well) although I do have some other Socialist (NOT COMMUNIST -- they're different, and Communism demonstrably doesn't work) leanings that I'll probably have to square with someday. I do not belong to PETA or even the Sierra Club. (My only organizational claim at the moment is the Democratic Party, and then only once every four years. I'm a bad citizen because I don't vote enough -- or research enough to vote enough!)

What it boils down to is this...

We have only one planet. On this one ball of dust and mud and water is all of human history. Almost everything we know has happened here (the exceptions being what we can see FROM here with telescopes and space probes and such, and the moon missions). Do you really think it's worth even the possibility of wrecking our one and only home in the name of profit?

I, personally, do not.
 
Jorona said:
The matter is that you came in here just to crap man. He's just asking for help. He obviously wants to fix it. He already said he has one to replace it if he wanted to. Your original post had no place. Your original post was rude and derogatory right off the bat. Seriously, who are you to question his motives? Just completely unnecessary.

If I were you, I'd simply apologize and move on. If you absolutely want to continue arguing about this, feel free to PM me.
Click to expand...

Nice, the comment I made was for and to the OP. Why the fuck would I PM you to continue an argument with someone else who I wasn't even talking to in the first place? I was curious as to why someone would bother to fix a toaster. The answer given in the OP about this very question was a little vague. I wanted clarification.

Relax.

I made a comment in jest about him being a hippy and it making sense all of the sudden. There was a smiley used in that post. The :cool: one as I recall. Isn't that supposed to mean that it's OK and that it's not serious? Starhawk was the one who responded with Al Gore stuff about climate change, gold bars, wastelands, etc. I was responding to that stuff. I wasn't trying to soapbox the thread but that's where this seems to be headed.

And to Starhawk, there is no point in getting into those discussions. Interesting topics for sure, but this would only end up in the soapbox if we went there. I'll just say that I have no issues with anyone looking out for the planet, but many who champion such causes are morons who are prone to extreme behavior and know little to nothing about the subject matter they fight and argue about. Not saying that's you either. So don't misunderstand. I'm fairly certain Al Gore fits into the whack job category. He is an idiot who can't spell potato among other failings. You have to admit, talking about fixing a toaster seems pretty whacky these days. The title drew me to this thread. I just wondered why someone would do it. My query has been answered.
 
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I think it's a cool project. Not for any environmental reason, but because I like to fix things (and help others do the same). Especially well-built older stuff.
 
@Dan_D: one last thing. The Potatoe incident was Dan Quayle, not Al Gore. Al Gore was the guy who "invented the Internet" (a common, if humorous, misquotation).

@Mohonri: I like to fix things too -- especially, as you say, "well-built older stuff". They don't make, well, much of anything the way they used to!
 
starhawk said:
@Dan_D: one last thing. The Potatoe incident was Dan Quayle, not Al Gore. Al Gore was the guy who "invented the Internet" (a common, if humorous, misquotation).

@Mohonri: I like to fix things too -- especially, as you say, "well-built older stuff". They don't make, well, much of anything the way they used to!
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So it was. Not sure why I thought it was Al Gore. They both come off as idiots and that's probably where my confusion lies.

As for why, that would have been a fair answer that would have satisfied my curiosity as well. I still may have countered that it's a toaster and not worth caring about that much as long as it works, but to each their own. I know my frier is older and much better built than all the others I've seen, so I guess I can see that from both sides.
 
how did a thread about repairing a toaster evolve into politics? :D
 
starhawk said:
@Format_C: -- the cord I got is still stranded, but it is rated for 13A. It will work fine -- this toaster pulls about 7.5A.

@Dan_D: why put an almost perfectly good toaster in the trash can simply because it has a bad cord? A minor repair like that should not be reason to throw away the whole thing. This is a large part of our environmental problem that NOBODY talks about -- people throw away literally tons upon tons of shit every day that simply needs a little work. They aren't willing to even TRY to fix it, so out it goes. Results: overflowing landfills and other lovely issues. Oh, and by the way, a garbage truck gets lower gas mileage --generally speaking-- than a Hummer H3. I'm told the trucks around here get about 6.5mpg. An H3 gets 9mpg.

Think about that, next time you have something you think is "junk". We've only got the one planet, after all -- quite honestly I'd like to be able to enjoy it in 20 years without a gas mask, biodome, and unhealthy levels of denial.
Click to expand...

The garbage truck is going to come if you put your toaster in the trash can or not. Your garbage company probably takes scrap metal and recycles it.
 
Wait, wait, wait...how in the hell can an H3 only get 9 mpg? My crew cab 4x4 F-150 gets 12 city(with my lead foot)! It's got to weigh 1500 lbs more than an H3!
 
Actually, in Chatham County NC it's a bit of a combination of things.

Within town limits, one gets regular collection -- but we're out in the county a little bit. We take it to a collection center in our Saturn station wagon (probably around 18mpg although that's from a spec sheet not a measurement). The collection center is about a mile from my house.

Then it hops on a garbage truck for a ride from Chatham County to the landfill in Sampson County -- a trip of just under 87 miles according to gooooooooogle. (Mods: neither address is mine, and both are state and/or county property.)

Garbage trucks are not well-known for their efficiency. I can't actually speak to the Chatham County trucks, but if they're the same make/model/vintage as the ones in Guilford County, then the mpg I gave is correct -- that number appeared on an environmentalist flyer distributed around campus at my college (little bitty Guilford College in Greensboro NC) approximately four or five years ago. The precise number --as I recall-- was 6.4mpg but I could (of course) be wrong as it has been quite some time!

...actually, a quick gooooooooogle search as I was writing the above reveals typical fuel consumption for a garbage truck to be just under 3mpg in the US, so that number I gave is almost certainly way the crap off and probably closer to 2.4mpg which is fucking disgusting. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the flyer in question (IIRC it was in the campus cafeteria and so was supposed to remain there) so I can't exactly verify this.

@baldrik: didn't see your post till now, sorry for not addressing it. Apparently the answer is partially "hearsay" and partially "in the city running E85 fuel in an 8-cylinder engine". See here --> http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2010_Hummer_H3.shtml That thing is damn thirsty! (But not nearly as thirsty as I thought.) The 9mpg figure is something I believe I got from my father a year or two ago, and he either misremembered or misheard it from somewhere else. Of course I never bothered to fact-check :rolleyes: oops.
 
This is actually much more interesting than I anticipated. Actually I had no idea what to expect by the thread title.

I agree with both starhawk and Dan. However, I question starhawk's logic of reducing environmental impact by purchasing a new toaster and replacing parts in the old toaster. What will happen to the useless toaster parts from the old & new toaster?

Another aspect for consideration:
How could OP have helped the environment by spending 10 hours doing something else instead of spending it on replacing toaste guts? Would that 10 hours have helped the environment more than one toaster being scrapped for metal recycling?
 
I haven't spent 10 continuous hours first of all... second of all, even if I had it would have probably been at my laptop pulling 90w out of the wall ;)

I did not purchase the new toaster to repair the old toaster. It just sort of got bought somehow, I don't remember the circumstances. The cord is the primary thing to repair for the old toaster, and that has also been purchased new -- only because I don't have another cord in the house that would have worked without doing some modifications to either cord or toaster (if it were a 3prong plug off the toaster [do they even make toasters with a ground lug?] I would've used a PC power cord, I've got several to spare).

If the cord doesn't fix it, I'll probably replace the toaster after all, keeping the new cord for something else that needs it in the future. I'm a packrat, but thankfully I'm nothing more than a packrat... ;) WalMart has what appears to be a trustable toaster for $25 at the moment so that's what I'll likely get. If I don't do more research and buy off Amazon or Newegg (yes they sell more than just compy parts!) that is...

EDIT: haven't spent 10 continuous hours and won't spend 10 continuous hours either ;) sorry, hit submit too soon, common problem with me.
 
starhawk said:
Actually, in Chatham County NC it's a bit of a combination of things.

Within town limits, one gets regular collection -- but we're out in the county a little bit. We take it to a collection center in our Saturn station wagon (probably around 18mpg although that's from a spec sheet not a measurement). The collection center is about a mile from my house.

Then it hops on a garbage truck for a ride from Chatham County to the landfill in Sampson County -- a trip of just under 87 miles according to gooooooooogle. (Mods: neither address is mine, and both are state and/or county property.)

Garbage trucks are not well-known for their efficiency. I can't actually speak to the Chatham County trucks, but if they're the same make/model/vintage as the ones in Guilford County, then the mpg I gave is correct -- that number appeared on an environmentalist flyer distributed around campus at my college (little bitty Guilford College in Greensboro NC) approximately four or five years ago. The precise number --as I recall-- was 6.4mpg but I could (of course) be wrong as it has been quite some time!

...actually, a quick gooooooooogle search as I was writing the above reveals typical fuel consumption for a garbage truck to be just under 3mpg in the US, so that number I gave is almost certainly way the crap off and probably closer to 2.4mpg which is fucking disgusting. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the flyer in question (IIRC it was in the campus cafeteria and so was supposed to remain there) so I can't exactly verify this.

@baldrik: didn't see your post till now, sorry for not addressing it. Apparently the answer is partially "hearsay" and partially "in the city running E85 fuel in an 8-cylinder engine". See here --> http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2010_Hummer_H3.shtml That thing is damn thirsty! (But not nearly as thirsty as I thought.) The 9mpg figure is something I believe I got from my father a year or two ago, and he either misremembered or misheard it from somewhere else. Of course I never bothered to fact-check :rolleyes: oops.
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I can't speak to the garbage trucks. Which typically run deisel in most areas. Within their payload limits and proper maintenence they should fit within their specs just fine. Whatever they are. As for consumer pickups, newer trucks are fairly efficient. My 2008 F-150 qualfies for ULEV emissions status and gets about 16MPG in the city and over 20 on the highway. The EcoBoost trucks are even better getting around 24MPG off a twin turbo V6. Desiel trucks may not always get good MPG but the fuel burns cleaner than gas does and now those trucks are conforming to more and more stringent emissions standards. This varies by brand too. At one point a few years ago the Dodge RAM with the 5.9L (I think it was) engine was getting HORRID gas mileage. They did around 12MPG or something like that. Not sure if that was city, average, highway or what but it was far below the GM and Ford trucks of the day. Now RAM trucks are better than that, but I think they are still outclassed by GM and I know Ford beats them. At least on some models like the EcoBoost trucks.

Now trucks aren't economy car efficient, but they are large and heavy and are better than they were. It isn't their V8 engines that are the issue, but rather their weight, aerodynamics etc. that are the factors. The LS2 in my GTO is a variant of the engine found in GM trucks at the time like the LQ9 and LQ4. Those engines were cast iron instead of aluminum and have different tuning, heads, etc. but are essentially the same design. They produced more power in the Corvette and GTO while getting up to 28MPG in the GTO and about 32MPG in the Corvette on the highway. In the city it varies by how you drive them, but with a manual transmission I can get around 18MPG or so in the city, but where I live almost every place I'd go would be 90% or more highway driving. I've seen so called economy cars that don't do substantially better on the highway despite having much smaller engines. I'm not precisely sure of the H3's fuel efficiency, but 9MPG seems very low considering a Chevy Avalanche weighs more and gets better mileage than that. MUCH better.

On a more related topic, I bought a General Electric toaster from Wal-Mart recently for around $30 or so and it has four large slots in it and it's done great so far. Build quality isn't exceptional or anything but compared to most of the toasters I checked out it seemed like a more durable and well built unit than most.
 
starhawk said:
@baldrik: didn't see your post till now, sorry for not addressing it. Apparently the answer is partially "hearsay" and partially "in the city running E85 fuel in an 8-cylinder engine". See here --> http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2010_Hummer_H3.shtml That thing is damn thirsty! (But not nearly as thirsty as I thought.) The 9mpg figure is something I believe I got from my father a year or two ago, and he either misremembered or misheard it from somewhere else. Of course I never bothered to fact-check :rolleyes: oops.
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According to that site, a 2010 F-150 4wd w/ 5.4L does get better gas mileage than a 2010 H3 w/ 5.3L. A little spec checking shows the F-150 has a base curb weight 700 lbs more than the H3.

I guess it's just those sleek pickup truck aerodynamics at play :p
 
baldrik said:
According to that site, a 2010 F-150 4wd w/ 5.4L does get better gas mileage than a 2010 H3 w/ 5.3L. A little spec checking shows the F-150 has a base curb weight 700 lbs more than the H3.

I guess it's just those sleek pickup truck aerodynamics at play :p
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Probably more like the variable valve / cam profiles in the modular engine that trumps the older design of the LSx based (LM7 I believe) 5.3L engine in the H3.
 
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