What kettles are we supposed to have these days?

[tarannau]

They know fuck all. Looks alright though.

Tbh.. the bog standard Robert Dyas kettle I have at work is the best, fastest boiling kettle I have ever seen. I stared at it all the way through a boil once and it still didn't slow down!

I've got a decentish Morphy Richards in a more traditional rounded kettle shape (no tall flask-style business going on here, no sirree) and it's fine. Boils water, quickly. And without a cord and everything. Perfect.

Think it even came reduced from Robert Dyas iirc. Looked the best for the price.

Dodgepot and Tanky's nice, but impractical for me. Same model as Hatboy's iirc - if I had range cooker maybe, but cooking space is at a premium.

 

[geminisnake]

note: electric kettle is more efficient than gas hob for boiling water

But whatever wiskey's hob is is even better than electric kettle. It boils VERY quickly and is cool/cold straight after but

 

[madzone]

Mine started working again this morning

 

[Hi-ASL]

Kettles with built-in water filters that filter as they boil - any cop?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-Brita-filter-kettle-JK119/dp/B000I5Y5E4

ie does your brew taste better?

 

[RubyToogood]

I've got one of these on my xmas list: http://www.johnlewis.com/230418406/Product.aspx

 

[dodgepot]

Yep. But style issues aside, that extra hob without the ponce kettle on is useful for cooking things. And you can have extra boiling water efficiently heated using that marvelous electricity stuff.

we rarely need to use all 4 rings on the hob, and we haven't got that much space in our little kitchen to have an electric kettle sitting on a work surface in the way, so a hob top one is ideal for us.

 

[zenie]

we've got this one

I've got a hob one but I heard it was less efficient to heat on a hob.

Understand your space issue though.

 

[RubyToogood]

Couple of articles about energy efficiency in kettles:
http://www.reuk.co.uk/Energy-Efficient-Eco-Kettle.htm
http://www.sokitt.com/blog/?tag=kettle

Looks like the Eco Kettle is the only substantially more energy saving one - price around £35. BUT we could basically all cut our energy use on kettles just as much by only boiling exactly the amount of water we need and keeping an eye on the kettle so we don't have to boil it twice.

 

[dynamicbaddog]

whatever you do don't get a Tesco's value kettle
I thought at £4.95 I was getting a bargin but I guess it's true that you get what you pay for, it's a cordless but I have to hold it by it's handle and press it on the base because it won't boil propely otherwise - shitest kettle ever

 

[dodgepot]

keeping an eye on the kettle so we don't have to boil it twice.

that's the beauty of a whilstling kettle - you can't ignore and forget about it

 

[Chz]

Tefal Quick Cup

Hot enough for coffee, but not hot enough for tea - it doesn't actually boil the water, merely makes it very hot. We got rid of it. Which is a pity, because the idea is brilliant.

 

[beeboo]

It's my theory that they let all the work experience students loose on kettle design. 90% of kettles are ugly, or impractical, or ugly and impractical.

 

[spacemonkey]

Mine has a blue neon light inside, that's all I need in a kettle.

 

[Chz]

Heh, that's what we got to replace the Tefal thing. Bright blue light inside.

 

[manstein]

Our waters quite soft but stinks of chlorine. Got one of the Breville filter kettles and it gets rid of the chlorine and has lasted well.

 

[citygirl]

Mine has a blue neon light inside, that's all I need in a kettle.

is it this one? - this is mine. it's got one of them in it. feels a bit plastic-y, but best kettle i've had yet i reckon.

 

[matrix_22]

Kettles with built-in water filters that filter as they boil - any cop?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-Brita-filter-kettle-JK119/dp/B000I5Y5E4

ie does your brew taste better?

I got a Brita filter kettle (was a gift) not sure if the water tastes better but then I always used to use filtered water in my standard kettle anyway - save on descaling - think it's bit of a gimmick and they're a bit on the large side - if you have a water filter thing anyway why bother?

 

[baldrick]

We have one of these, but unless you flip the lid up it drips when you pour water

it is easy just to boil the water you want though as it's plain glass.

supposedly it's "energy saving" but i'm not sure how they came to that conclusion.

 

[pogofish]

I recently got the Kenwood eco kettle:

In chrome finish.

Not cheap - @£30 but being clear & well marked does make it so much easier to boil only the water I need each time. Nice & fast too. Not had a problem withy it dripping myself. I also had the steel Dualit for a few days but it went back to the shop for a refund because it pissed water left right & centre & the scale on it was almost impossible to read accurately.

Dit it as part of a round of repairs & economy-minded improvements that took several months overall, so it will be the next bill before I see how well they are working fully but I got the last quarter bill just this week & there is an appreciable reduction so far.

If you have a kettle that is difficult to read, keeping a flask/thermal jug beside it & pouring the excess water into that is a good way of helping to keep the power consumption down.

 

[bi0boy]

note: electric kettle is more efficient than gas hob for boiling water

But more expensive per boil.

 

[baldrick]

Not cheap - @£30 but being clear & well marked does make it so much easier to boil only the water I need each time. Nice & fast too. Not had a problem withy it dripping myself.

I didn't know they did a chrome one, damn!

It is a good kettle, I won't deny it - loads faster than our old one and the fact it's clear glass is ace. The dripping isn't a major issue, but it is annoying when you make as much tea as i do.

we were gonna go for one of those tefal 3 sec ones, but the shopguy was horrified. Said they're just not hot enough for drinks, which was enough to dissuade us, the price was bad enough.

 

[Farmer Giles]

Got a Krupps stainless steel one. Looks like the Siemens, but is much better built. £35 off ebay.

 

[ringo]

I just got a disco kettle from Argos. When you put cold water in it lights up blue, then goes purple when it's getting hot, and changes to red when it boils and a buzzer goes off. It also has some sort of keep warm facility which makes a buzzing noise, lights up purple and wastes a lot of electricity. Not sure of the point of that one.

I don't think it's actually called a disco kettle, but it should be.

 

[baldrick]

I just got a disco kettle from Argos. When you put cold water in it lights up blue, then goes purple when it's getting hot, and changes to red when it boils and a buzzer goes off. It also has some sort of keep warm facility which makes a buzzing noise, lights up purple and wastes a lot of electricity. Not sure of the point of that one.

I don't think it's actually called a disco kettle, but it should be.

chez aqua-bees has one of those for all their tea-loving pillhead friends.

they don't drink tea, but they got one of those purely for our entertainment = truly ace friends

 

[ringo]

chez aqua-bees has one of those for all their tea-loving pillhead friends.

they don't drink tea, but they got one of those purely for our entertainment = truly ace friends

 

[berniedicters]

My Top Tips.

If fast boiling is a real priority, try and get a 3kW one. It's depressing how many are sold that are 2kW or less. It takes a given amount of kilowatt/hours to heat a kettleful of water (go away, Crispy, I'm not talking about boundary cases here! ), so you use the same amount of electricity to heat your teapot's worth...it's just that a higher power kettle will achieve it in a shorter time.

Definitely go for the concealed element - you can usually boil the proverbial eggcup of water in those, while the twisty element ones often need a good deal more than a cupful to ensure the element is covered. I think concealed element jobbies tend to be easier to descale, if that sort of thing is a problem in your neck of the woods...

I'd always swear by cordless - it's one less thing to snag and cause you to pour boiling water over your foot.

Jug kettles take up less countertop space and are usually easier to fill, especially if the lid has one of those little thumb catch things to flip it open.

 

[berniedicters]

The only time I use the kettle is for a quick caffeine kick in the morning. So the 3 second claim isn't true then.

Here's your 3 second option:

http://www.aquahot.co.uk/index.php?action=store&id_prd=1040

A couple of places I work have this kind of thing, and they are teh shitz

Leaving it on all night probably won't do a lot for your enviromentalist credentials, though...

 

[RubyToogood]

I have heard, but don't know the details, that a catering urn (which heats the water and then keeps it hot) can be more energy efficient than a kettle if a good many people are making drinks through the day. You can put it on a timer so that it goes off at night.