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The Truth About Electric.....

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by The Electric Me, Feb 1, 2019.

  1. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    ...Tea Kettles.
    Yes, I've gone "Electric".

    Well, I didn't ask for it. But received an electric kettle for Christmas.
    For countless years, I've used an old, probably unsafe, whistling stove top tea kettle. But this Christmas, I was given a fancy, all glass, "cordless" electric tea kettle.

    So here's the story.
    At first I hated it. I didn't want to use it. But I tried it, and really got to like it. Seemed a little faster, and I get up early, and I liked the auto shut off feature, so I could boil water in the morning for Tea or Instant Coffee, and NOT wake up neighbors with a stove top tea kettle suddenly whistling because I got distracted.
    And it was easy to clean and keep clean.

    But just as I got to like it? It broke. Suddenly now I can't turn it on. The auto on/off switch seems broken. So basically useless. Certainly unsafe.

    But my question is?
    Should I replace with a different version? I see they sell many, many different types by different manufacturers. Could I expect better durability from a different brand?

    I'm torn between trying the "new technology" one more time...yeah I know it's not rocket science, and buying another electric tea kettle, and/or simply buying a new place it on the burner tea kettle. Say what you will about my old "Revere" copper lined stove top tea kettle...which you really couldn't clean inside, but it never broke.

    Kind of wondering what a general population opinion is about the durability of the electric tea kettle product as a whole?

    I can't afford an EV. So my question is...should I go electric with my Tea Kettle? Or stay with the "Hybrid" fusion of solid kettle...and stove top?
     
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  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    The simple fact is you bought a crap kettle. Electric kettles are used by the majority of the worlds population every day all day. There are entire peaker power plants in certain areas of the world that turn on during television commercial breaks when everyone gets up and makes a cuppa. These things are used most likely a minimum of 4 or 5 boiling cycles a day, and often 2x or 3x that for years and years and years.

    If you got a single month of use out of your kettle, then it was just bad quality. The only difference your kettle is versus the rest of the world is 110VAC vs. 240VAC. But if you're serious about your new passion, just buy a real kettle from overseas that's 240VAC and plug it in where your electric range goes. Bam, 240V kettle. It will heat up much faster too.

    While you're going electric appliances, check out some of the awesome electric rice cookers you can buy in Japan. Worth it even if you don't eat rice with every meal.
     
  3. lvidmar

    lvidmar New Member

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    I'm still on the fence about an electric kettle. I have access to a few at work, and have used them a couple times for tea. I think I'd get one for home if I had a burr grinder. But for now I have a whistling kettle for tea water, and good ol' Mr Coffee drip maker for coffee.
     
  4. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Actually, blame Santa. I was given this tea kettle as a gift.
    But yeah, I'm very disappointed in the overall quality.

    The funny thing, is as a aesthetic piece of art? A lot of work went into it. Evidently some highly tempered German Glass, beautiful stainless steel heating element. Watching it boil water was actually kind of fun.
    It doesn't appear to be cheaply constructed.

    But...it's pretty much useless now.
     
  5. William Redoubt

    William Redoubt Senior Member

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    This is what I use. It's the Tesla of Electric Kettles. And since it is always plugged in to the supercharger, I always have hot water instantly. I prefer to avoid range uncertainty in my hot water devices. 2019-02-01_09-49-00.jpg
     
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  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...well they don't call him 2k1Toaster for nothing! Now we know.
     
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  7. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Could you share the brand model? I'm considering getting one, and have several listed on Amazon.

    As @2k1Toaster stated, most of the world uses them, and do so because they are more efficient than the stove. Some of the energy boiling water on the stove goes into heating the surrounding air and the pot. Electric kettles' heating elements are right in the water. I got interested in getting one after reading that people use theirs to pre-boil water for pasta and other dishes.

    Got a Japanese rice cooker; it is awesome. The gauge of the pot's metal is at least twice as thick as our previous cookers'.
     
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  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Sorry, to NOT be helpful but I don't really want to disclose the brand name or model, because I don't want to indirectly disparage the product.- Even if it did fail me in less than a month.
    I'm pretty sure, I just got a lemon. It happens. But as stated, it doesn't feel cheap or appear to be cheaply made. And the person who gave it to me? Owns one themselves, and they claim it's been great for over a year.

    Oddly, however I have done some research on Amazon. I didn't realize how many of these are produced, and sold under various brand names. Glass ones, Stainless Steel ones, Ceramic and Plastic ones. It is kind of hard to get a line on overall quality, as it also seems the reviews, even highly rated ones, really are very contrasting. Most people it seems love them, and seem to be getting good reliability, but even the highest rated ones, have some percentage of buyers that claim they almost instantly fail or don't last too long. So it really seems like they are mostly hit, and rare miss.

    I'm probably just going to try again. Probably not with the same brand.
    If this second one fails prematurely...I'll go back to stove top.
     
  9. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    There's nothing in them. The most basic is the most reliable when it comes to a kettle. Everything else is just something to eventually break or be broken from the factory.

    Most fail, and yours probably as well, because shipping is tough. All they are is an electrical element that is connected to the mains via a switch of some kind. That's it. This element is usually a hard material, sometimes coated in things like ceramic. If they crack, they will work fine for a bit until the crack expands and contracts enough to finally snap. No connection, no heat. It's like the old electric stovetop burners basically. The better designs have the element encased in something and that encasement makes it more robust and then that is encased in a stand and then that is put in the box. A $5 kettle boils water the same as a $500 kettle from the tap because it is the same power output. You pay for design aesthetics and "extras" like wireless connectivity or capacitive buttons or a pre-heat function that keeps the water warm all the time so when you want boiling, it is almost done, etc.
     
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  10. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I'd give customer service a call first then. Your kettle may still be under a warranty of some kind. Getting a replacement may not be too much hassle.
     
  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Yeah....but by that approach, I should just get a new stove top kettle.
    No attached sensors, cord, or base, or individual heating element is a lot more basic.
    Can't get too much more basic than Cowboy Kettle over the Fire.
     
  12. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Sure, but there are extenuating circumstances. This being a gift.
    I'm pretty sure the giver, has long abandoned the receipt. I no longer have the box, or any written material accompanied. I read the owners manual, but I threw it away. Operation was so basic.

    From a convenience standpoint, just quietly trying again I think might be my best move.
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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  14. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I have an old Revere stove top tea kettle that I used for so long, I literally can NOT remember how long I've had it.
    But except for the spout, it's fully enclosed, you fill by pouring through the exit spout.
    It's always made me a little nervous that I can't really see inside or get inside to clean.
    It's always only been used for boiling water so I assume nothing is growing in it that would kill me...and it get's "boiled" every time I use it.

    I don't know....I was perfectly happy with my stove top one...until I was given this new fangled piece of performance art. Now like with Prius and Push Button Start and Keyless entry, I'm spoiled by auto shut off, and being able to see the bubbles as they form. As well as maybe the 40 seconds faster it boils the water.

    I'm getting an electric....one more time. It's really my first purchase....because the 1st was a gift.
     
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  15. dbf

    dbf Member

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    We love ours mostly because it shuts off automatically. You can put the water in, turn it on, and then do something else in another room and not have to worry about it. There were a few times before when someone would forget about leaving the burner on the stove on and would burn up the kettle. It didn't happen frequently, but it's just one less thing to think about now.
     
  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    My semi-automatic, espresso machine disburses espresso, weak espresso, hot water, or steam. Hot water is perfect for tea. Steam makes a cup-of-noodle or for heating coco.

    Bob Wilson
     
  17. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Electric kettles are great. Much faster and less electricity wasted than a whistler on a stovetop.

    I have a miniature collapsible one for my travel work, and a large glass one at home, probably the same one you're talking about. Santa hit here too, but this one still works. For now.

    While you are boiling out anything alive, you may still get mineral scale within. You boil off the water, but you retain all the mineral content. Depends on how hard your water source is.

    Usually you can de-scale it with a vinegar solution.

    @Trollbait mine is a Hamilton-Beach. Amazon doesn't seem to list the one I have, but this is its slightly smaller cousin. Capacity seems to be the only difference- mine goes to 1.7L

    I run into these things in hotels and short term apartments all over the world. I don't think they've caught on as well here in the USA, but we are apparently closing the kettle gap...
     
    #17 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Feb 5, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2019
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  18. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Kohl's has a sale going. So I plan to see what the local one has in stock this weekend. The Hamilton was listed on their site.
     
  19. Greenteapri

    Greenteapri Active Member

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    I'm rocking this one. I love tea, hence my screen name.

    Cuisinart® PerfecTemp™ Stainless Steel Cordless Programmable Electric Kettle 14528317391690p.jpeg.jpg
     
  20. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    I remember using a stove burner one time to light a young lady's cigarette.
    Yeah.
    You can do that if you have to, but why waste the energy and the time waiting for some 3000 watt stove-top coil to spool up?

    We use three electric kettles, and have for several years.
    Mine at work is a cheap AICOK unit that's been on the roster for two seasons now and I use it every day I'm at work, even if only to preheat a contigo mug for coffee out of a Keurig, sterilize some post lunch dishes, or occasionally re-locate a fire-ant mound in my parking lot.

    Sometimes we even make tea with them.

    We have a whistler somewhere in our house...somewhere, maybe, but I cannot imagine why we do or what we would now use it for.