Hey peeps wondered if anybody has had same problem as me.

Bought my toaster a year ago and brought it to Spain with me. In the last couple of weeks the elements have been very weak so have had to have the setting on the highest to get the bread to brown, which sometimes means the bread is hard but only just brown

Is this a common issue that happens eventually or do you think it is just a fault?

I'd love to buy another one of the same type as love the type and it fits in my kitchen decor perfectly (and I don't want to have to change the kettle too!) but worried that a UK purchased appliance could have this problem after such a short time.

Was it OK to start with? If yes then either there is a fault or, where you are, the voltage has been lowered which happens fairly frequently where we are but usually for only an hour or so. We can tell because the lights go dimmer. If you have a multimeter test the mains voltage which should be 230V (I think).

European Voltage Harmonisation

The nominal European voltage is now 230V 50 Hz (formerly 240V in UK, 220V in the rest of Europe) but this does not mean there has been a real change in the supply.

Instead, the new "harmonised voltage limits" in Europe are now:
230V -10% +6% (i.e. 207.0 V-243.8 V)
in most of Europe (the former 220V nominal countries), and

230V -6% +10% (i.e. 216.2 V - 253.0 V)
in UK (former 240V nominal)

This is really a fudge and means there is no real change of supply voltage, only a change in the "label", with no incentive for electricity supply companies to actually change the supply voltage.

To cope with both sets of limits an equipment will therefore need to cover 230V +/-10% i.e. 207-253V.

It's not uncommon with older installations where you are on the end of the line for the voltage to fall considerably lower than the legal limit. A friends used to occasionally be down to 167v around 2pm .

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Todos con Lorca .

We quite regularly get only 190 volts and our Dualit commercial toaster brought from England then produces only warm bread...you get used to it