Steam oven toaster BALMUDA The Toaster K01A-KG (Black)

My wife bought me one of these as a gift.It is running on US 120VAC electricity. It appears to work, and the plug will fit in a US socket, but the BALMUDA is not working correctly.The BALMUDA has been designed to cook toast at precisely 60C, 160C and 220C when running on Japanese 100VAC electricity. So running the BALMUDA on 120VAC means the heating elements are being over driven by 15-20% higher voltage and 44% higher power. You might also damage the electrical components by over driving them over a long period of time.But the main problem is you will burn your toast if you run the BALMUDA directly on US 120VAC. The whole point of the BALMUDA is to cook perfect toast!The solution is to get a US to Japanese voltage conversion transformer. We are using one of these: VCT VT-2000J.Voila! No more burned toast.UPDATE: The VCT VT-2000J transformer stopped working after 4 months!

I dropped the rating down by one star strictly because of the high price and the manual printed only in Japanese, As to function and appearance, it is what I wanted...small footprint, attractive styling, intuitive and simple controls...just what I would expect from a product designed for the Japan market, where small and efficient form factors are desired. I particularly like the approach to heat control, pretty much exactly like the way a microwave works, where the heat unit only operates in a "high output" mode, and internal heating is done by cycling the heating elements off and on incrementally. On this unit the heating elements are quarts tubes, and as the unit turns the elements off and on, the cavity emits a nice warm orange light which is bright enough to see the state of toasting, which is nice. The control knobs have a very solid feel, almost like high-end stereo equipment, and the timer knob has a ring of lights around it corresponding to the amount of time selected, which then incrementally turn off as the timer counts down. I have yet to try the steam function, but I think for some foods it could be very useful. This is about the 8th toaster oven I have owned, and it is the first one that I really love the look of in my recently remodeled kitchen.update...youtube video showing it in use (...)

The precision steam and toasting process of the Balmuda makes a product that is incredible.The need for a step down transformer and the high price are negatives but well worth the investment if you use a toaster regularly and want a product that is better (lighter, crisper, softer, tastier) than you could imagine.

We loved our Balmuda. Best toast ever. But, after 13 months it’s broken. The top heating element stopped functioning. I suspect it failed because it’s designed to operate on Japan’s lower current.☹️

User instructions were in Japanese only, and consequently unintelligible to this non-Japanese speaking purchaser. Device itself was of flimsy, fragile-seeming construction. The door had no proper latch, and wouldn't stay closed. Returned the item - unused - for full refund.

How to get the same effect for a fraction of the price:1. Buy one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-31140A-4-Slice-Toaster-Oven/dp/B00KNMIWKU2. ...and one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Winco-SCP-15-Stainless-Steel-1-5-Ounce/dp/B0076AC5QY3. Add a tablespoon of water to item 2, and set inside item 1 on the rack next to your (soon to be toasty) bread.4. Cook as normal.5. Enjoy steamy toast./actually, I have no idea if this would work, but for 1/10 the cost, it'd be worth a try.