Commercial conveyor toasters

A conveyor toaster is a piece of equipment that uses chain-driven belts to carry, or convey, several slices of bread at once through toasting chambers.

These chambers are exposed to upper and lower radiant heating elements (sometimes convection too, to draw moisture out of the product and speed up the process).  

Bread is gravity-fed into the toaster via a sloping entry rack (also known as a slide loader). The conveyor belt keeps the bread moving so it toasts evenly on the top and/or bottom and doesn’t burn.

When it reaches the end of the conveyor belt, the toast rolls down an exit chute into a feeder area, ready to be eaten.

Conveyor toasters can be used to toast, among other things:

• bread slices
• buns
• rolls
• muffins
• crumpets
• waffles
• bagels
• croissants
• tortillas.

They can toast frozen and irregularly sized slices of bread and, in some cases, bread pre-seasoned with butter or oil.

Conveyor toasters require single-phase electricity ranging from 120 to 240 volts.

The higher the voltage, the more watts a machine can generate, and the more slices of bread it can toast.

Among the most critical things to consider when shopping for a conveyor toaster are:

• capacity — the bigger and more powerful the toaster, the more it can toast (output generally ranges from 250 to 1,800 slices per hour).
• belt width — base models can accommodate two slices of bread side by side (a.k.a. a double conveyor toaster). However, you'll need a bigger opening for items like buns, rolls and bagels.
• heating elements — metal sheath coil elements take longer and use more power to toast bread than quarter elements but are very durable. While quartz elements toast faster, saving time and electricity, they're more prone to breakage and wear out faster than metal elements.
• conveyors — the belts are typically made of stainless steel; look for ones with heat-resistance bearings, which will last longer.

Generally speaking, compared to base-model conveyor toasters, premium conveyor toasters have:

• better build quality and durability, which means they're likely to last longer and need less maintenance
• higher conveyor speeds and ability to handle more slices per hour — the sort of efficiency needed in busy foodservice operations
• more features and customisation options (e.g. adjustable conveyor speed, temperature control, different toasting settings for different types of bread)
• more consistent and high-quality toasting results thanks to, for example, advanced heating elements and sensors
• more user-friendly user interfaces and removable crumb trays and non-stick surfaces that are easier to clean.

Note that the differences between premium and base models vary, depending on the make and model.

When choosing a conveyor toaster, it's important to carefully consider your needs and budget to ensure you get the best value for your money.

Conveyor toasters are typically positioned on countertops and used by customers in breakfast buffet and other self-serviceareas.

Some conveyor toasters let the hospitality owner/operator set the belt speed and/or the temperature to control the toasting cycle and/or you can program pre-set toasting cycles for different types of bread.  

Some models have sensors and automatically adjust the heat or speed to achieve consistent results.

Models featuring separately controlled upper and lower heating elements give you the choice of one-sided toasting (e.g. bagels) and two-sided toasting.