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Dualit cordless jug, the transparent plastic window cracked, and the spout started leaking (which I temporarily fixed with JB Weld). I got a few years out of this one.
SMEG, absolute junk - the base didn't connect with the kettle unless it was within a rotational angle of about 5 degrees, then stopped powering it completely - lasted about three months longer than the warranty.
The Salter I bought when I got tired of spending £££ on the crap above is now leaking out the base.
Spec me a new kettle? Electric, before the safety razor brigade arrive with their stovetop arcana 😉 .
In before the Dualit crowd... We have one of these, it's the cheapest one Dunelm do, it's used to brew up all day, and it's been fine for three years.
Are you lobbing them around the kitchen!?
Don't think I've had a kettle go wrong!
Got a cheapy Cookworks one at work and a Tefal at home.
Nothing from Russel Hobbs (if they still exist) as every kitchen appliance from them has failed basic functionality tests such as can a kettle pour boiling water into a cup without affecting the 3 feet area around the cup?
My mother seemed to like Russel Hibbs and kept buying them even after several requests not to. We ended up just giving them back to her.
Are you lobbing them around the kitchen!?
Don’t think I’ve had a kettle go wrong!
Got a cheapy Cookmaster one at work and a Tefal at home.
No! I don't even drink *that* much tea. My partner and I do WFH though, so it probably gets used around five times a day.
Which? currently have a pretty plasticky looking Bosch one for £35 as their Best Buy, I might just get that.
Surely the STW answer is a Quooker hot water tap costing £20k and a £3k coffee machine!
(We're actually rocking a Breville kettle ATM which seems OK but is only used to tea making duties)
AEG thermostatic is the correct purchase.
I've just got a cheap Breville one that I've had for 20ish years. Still boils water, doesn't leak.
Surely the STW answer is a Quooker hot water tap costing £20k
Okay, I'll admit it. We went full middle class and got a hot water tap. It is bloody brilliant. Firmly in that category of things you never think you want, until you have one and realise how good they are. It certainly didn't cost £20k though. It helps that we are in a soft water area so I never need to change filters or do any sort of maintenance.
I have a 3000w Russell Hobbs one. It was £18. It boils water.
What am I missing!?
Breville one that I’ve had for 20ish years
Our Breville is about 10years old, so I'm now wanting another 10 from it. Full of limescale, used and abused 5 times a days and refuses to die.
Kettles are the one appliance that seems to last these days.
Agree about avoiding Russel Hobbs.
I've had toasters that don't toast and kettles that add a weird flavour to the water.
We currently have a John Lewis 3KW own brand metal one (which I was somehow persuaded to buy in a moment of weakness), which seems OK but I don't think it's any better than any other own brand jobbie. I'd say get the one that you like the look of the most, but which has a decent KW rating so you don't have to wait seven hours for it to boil.
Having dropped my fancy Berlinger Haus one and had it shatter, after putting it down incorrectly on the base with my dodgy arm, we've been using my backup dunelm plastic special, but it drips ffs!. Timely thread
berlinger-haus glass kettle was nice, lit up looked fancy (if only the did the light in purple, my partner would be sooo happy) but our hard water meant it had streaks all the time
Which Bosch model was the best buy?
Off topic but is that why electric kettles aren't really a thing in America? Is it because they are only on 120v mains so they take ages to boil?
Is it because they are only on 120v mains so they take ages to boil?
Yes
It certainly didn’t cost £20k though.
That bit may have been a bit of an exaggeration 😉
It helps that we are in a soft water area so I never need to change filters or do any sort of maintenance.
Blah blah blah.... admit it you're posh 🙂
(thought they needed 'servicing')
berlinger-haus glass kettle
It looks nice but the list of features amused me:
Automatically turns off when the water boils
Wow! Must get one. <rolleyes emoji>
It's like when you see car ad that says something like "electric windows" or "air conditioning" it just makes me think that they've run out of things to say and maybe it isn't actually *that* good if they're reduced to touting things like this as good features.
I have a 3000w Russell Hobbs one. It was £18. It boils water.
What am I missing!?
My Russell Hobbs kettle has been doing a perfectly good job for 10+ years.
Paint finish is looking a bit battered now, but it still boils water quickly and turns off when it's finished.
I'd have said kettles were one of the least problematic home appliances.
AEG thermostatic is the correct purchase.
Interesting, I never would have thought of that brand. Looks nice but I'm not convinced by temperature settings on a kettle as a feature, just seems like more to go wrong and I don't want a lukewarm green tea because it allegedly brews better.
@z1ppy Which? Currently have on their website:
1. This Kenwood at 87% (don't ask me why but I have a unreasonable dislike of Kenwood, much like Russell Hobbs): Kenwood ZJP09 Dawn Kettle, 1.7L, Black
2. This Bosch at 84%: Buy BOSCH MyMoments TWK1M123GB Jug Kettle - Black | Currys
3. This Russell Hobbs at 81%: Buy RUSSELL HOBBS Classic 26080 Jug Kettle - Black & Glass | Currys
4. And this £150 KitchenAid monstrosity also at 81% (and there's currently several of these on eBay "for parts or not working".... hmm, nice one Which?): Onyx Black KitchenAid 1.5L Kettle | Fenwick
I have to apologise, the kettle up there what I said we had is not the one we've got. I think that's the one my folks have got.
We have this one, it was twenty quid, used multiple times daily, it's, you know, fine.
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/logik-l17skbu21-jug-kettle-blue-10223936.html
Kelly Kettle ftw
The kettle with added adrenaline.
Recently smashed the big glass side on our Amazon Basics kettle, by catching corner of high cupboard, replaced it with a plastic Bosch one and all is well a month later.
Yeah, been through the same. Cheap/expensive - all rubbish. However been on the current Breville for a while now and it's fine. Dull, but fine.
Also have a kelly kettle like that ^. Exciting, reliable and also fine.
In that pic, have you left the bung in?
Will respectfully disagree about having temp options. Coffee tastes nicer with not boiled water, tea needs freshly boiled water.
However, don’t get a sage one, £100 of disappointment. Min amount is 500ml (my last one had accurate mug markings and a minimum for boiling of 1 mug). Worst though, it beeps loudly every time you do anything. As in, taking it off the base to fill it, putting it on the base, changing the temp, starting it all have a beep. Then it beeps 3 times when it finishes and another 2 times when you take it off base, pour it, and put it back on. 9 bloody beeps! 10, if you turned it on at the wall. 10 beeps for a cup of tea! 60 beeps a day!!
BEEP!
Will respectfully disagree about having temp options. Coffee tastes nicer with not boiled water, tea needs freshly boiled water.
My sister would agree with you, and has a very expensive Fellow EKG swanneck kettle for pourover coffee. You can even play a Nokia Snake-type game on the temp control screen while it's boiling. I've never really noticed whether it beeps or not 😀 .
I’ve just got a cheap Breville one that I’ve had for 20ish years. Still boils water, doesn’t leak.
My kettle dates from my first halls at uni in late 90's so not far off 30 years old. Still boils water, doesn't leak. No idea the brand, that wore off years ago! 😆
don’t think I’ve ever had a kettle that didn’t last a decade. What are you doing with them?
mattyfezFull Member
I have a 3000w Russell Hobbs one. It was £18. It boils water.What am I missing!?
Nothing. I too have a cheap Russel Hobbs thing. It boils water quickly and is pretty quiet.
Base lights up blue when I turn it on.
Lid has a button to open it.
All of these things continue to work.
Prev kettle finally died after maybe 15 years - think the heating element / wiring interface went, but as it was bloody noisy and a stupid conical design making it awkward to fill I didnt bother trying to repair it.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a kettle that didn’t last a decade. What are you doing with them?
I wish I knew. I can't even begin to understand why the current Salter one is leaking from the base, I'm dicing with death every time I use it...
Dualit temp controlled gooseneck for me, 3 years of daily use and aside from needing a descale as our water is harder than your Dad, it's ideal. Also, am a coffee w***er so suits my delicate pouring needs.
don’t think I’ve ever had a kettle that didn’t last a decade.
Ours tend to last about four or five years. Very hard water doesn’t help, even with regular descaling. It’s the auto shutoff on boiling mechanisms that tend to fail as you can’t easily remove scale from that part
I always thought kettles were kettles, no matter how cheap. Posh fancy looking ones are for idiots with too much money.
But my Russell Hobbs actually exploded!
I bought some "quiet boil" thing from Amazon, which with my areas hard water became an "even noisier boil" than every other kettle I've had within a few months.
My latest is actually from SportPursuit (indeed), some German make that needs an adapter plug. But the thing works and is fast 🙂 (Koenig? Hoenig? Summink like that)
We very rarely use a kettle these days, boil most stuff on the induction hob, or use the coffee machine
I have a cheap unbranded one. It was bought by builders for site work when the site was my house. They left it behind when they finished. That was 8 years ago, and it's still working just fine.
Our current one is a cheap thing from Argos, boils the water. That’s all I need it to do.
In that pic, have you left the bung in?
Not my pic, but looks like they have. I suspect the fire isn't real.
Surely the STW answer is a Quooker hot water tap
Not if we're comparing monthly energy bills and want to keep polar bears in the arctic.
Bosch is the answer. My previous one lasted about 15 years before it started leaking so bought another. And the kettle gets a LOT of hammer in our house especially with me working from home.
Got one of these, has lasted fine for the 8 years we've had it and showing no immediate signs of giving up on life:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2137074
I don’t want a lukewarm green tea because it allegedly brews better
Who reckons that?
Green tea stops infusing as soon as the temperature drops, so it cannot "stew". In China the water they put on green tea is thermonuclear. you can't think about drinking it for about 1/2 an hour.
Anything which isn't plastic. I have a stainless steel Russell Hobbs, it's the first kettle I've owned which wasn't crap.
Had a fancy Bosch one for about 15 years before it wouldn't stay on, replaced with a Russel Hobbs (would usually avoid but was on offer and wanted something quickly), been wanting to replace it with a Ninja one but it's lasted 10+ years now so there's no need.
To help offset the Russell Hobbs hate, my kettle has been boiling water without leaking, dripping or exploding since 2009. It was one of their posh stainless steel ones and cost me £24.79 from Argos.
So I'd get one of those 2009 kettles, they were good back then.
Our Asda one is great, even for pourover coffee the spout seems to work well.
Is OP's kettle thick with limescale? Our work one is, it gives me a kidney stone just looking at it!
Just gone into my amazon history and can see that i've bought 6 kettles since 2012. Hopefully this Bosch skyline will last more than 2 years.
Is OP’s kettle thick with limescale? Our work one is, it gives me a kidney stone just looking at it!Is OP’s kettle thick with limescale? Our work one is, it gives me a kidney stone just looking at it!
Nope again. I lived in Sheffield and now Scotland and the water is nice and soft in both locations. It really is a mystery why they keep crapping out on me so quickly.
I have a 3000w Russell Hobbs one. It was £18. It boils water.
We likely have the same plastic jug at the office. Does for up to 8 of us daily, and has done for 8 years.
I got a nasty electric shock off a decent make kettle - not cheap (off the plastic switch). Possibly a RH. Currently on an Aldi special that's been great.
Mine is 95% great. Had it for years, it's quick, it has a nice blue light, it's never missed a beat. But it pours like a bulldog that's just had dental work. It's just incredible, how do you get all the technical parts right and then forget that at some point someone's going to want to take the water back out?
Agree about avoiding Russel Hobbs.
Mine is over 20 years old. Still boils water.
lukewarm green tea because it allegedly brews better
You know that bitter taste you're getting with green tea. It's not supposed to taste like that 😉
I suspect the fire isn’t real.
Conspiracy theorist!
My kettles have been pretty good.
I think the last kettle that died on me was pretty old 15+ years for sure can’t recall what brand
one of the children took away my £20-£30 amazon-supplied multi-temperature one that was fine when I’d had it a year and has continued being OK for the last 2+ years.
I replaced it with a Bosch stainless steel dual wall multi-temperature kettle that’s been fine. That was a bit more than £30 and despite looking a bit prettier isn’t much better otherwise. The handle is a bit fat too and my hands aren’t small.
and I’ve a Fellow Stagg gooseneck kettle for coffee. That’s been great. Though a gooseneck isn’t ideal for making tea with. I couldn’t justify getting the Fellow Corvo as well despite its cool name as I had that Amazon-supplied kettle at the time.
just checking to see if any of the coffee puritans have chipped in with a 'gooseneck' kettle yet. yours for £50 -200
Green tea stops infusing as soon as the temperature drops, so it cannot “stew”. In China the water they put on green tea is thermonuclear. you can’t think about drinking it for about 1/2 an hour.
I am currently feeding my friend's cat as she visits her parents in China. I took this photo of her kettle earlier because I was frankly gobsmacked how overdesigned it is.
If the above comment is true then it makes even less sense for her to own a kettle whose designer very clearly over thought "the problem", as she only drinks green tea and which she only purchases from China (apparently the green tea from even the Chinese supermarket isn't good enough)
I thought perhaps there was some weird belief that only water heated to 95° makes the perfect cup of Chinese tea or sumfink. I'm going with the "too much money" theory now.
OP, It's you. 🙂
Just been to check, Russel Hobbs 10 year ago, under 20 Quid
OP, It's you. 🙂
Just been to check, Russel Hobbs 10 year ago, under 20 Quid
Aldi special working fine in our house. Replaced a Russell Hobbs that now lives by the utility sink that has no hot tap. Russell Hobbs was relegated after about 7 or 8 years in the kitchen as apparently it no longer scrubbed up to standards.
I think that the Kelly Kettle on the previous page probably has a whistle in it. Yours for £6.95 allegedly https://www.kellykettle.com/uk/whistle-large
There's lots of types of green tea - but generally it is recommended to be steeped at lower temperatures (70-80c) and for a relatively short period.
Really ^^ ? I am surprised that you can brew tea at temps as low as 70°. Although tbh I always thought you can easily over-brew green tea by leaving the teabag too long, if you use teabags.
A surprising thing I have learnt from my Chinese tea making friend is that the second brew made from loose tea taste significantly nicer than the first brew (less bitter) apparently that is to be expected. And also that filtered water (she goes as far as using distilled water) also makes a significant difference.
I was sceptical, too ... but try a web search
I bought one from Tesco for a tenner when I moved house. I just wanted a spare kettle so there was one at either end while I was moving furniture. That was 5 years ago and it's still going.
No name on mine probably a Morrisons own at least 4 years old. It boils water. Soft water area so no limescale.
Timely thread this as my electric kettle has started leaking at the base. I think it’s 2 years old but it’s a black plastic cheapo kettle from Tesco. I think it cost a tenner. Need to do the man maths now 10 for two years is a fiver per year. If I buy a £35 kettle will it last 7 years?
Splashed out on a Black Friday offer on a half price Bosch temp regulator- it’s very good
I've got a De'Longhi one, matches the toaster.
Bought them both when i redid the kitchen, 14-15 years ago. The kettle is still spot on, no scale, boils water, doesn't leak, doesn't drip. Catered for two tea drinking adults and all the boiled water needs for two kids and multiple housefuls of guests, plus 2 years of WFH (6-8 cups of tea daily)
Unfortunately the toaster is on it's last legs, so i'm *probably* going to have to replace both...
Not just the OP. Our previous kettle lasted a good while. Maybe 7 or 8 years?
Replaced with a Russell Hobbs Luna based on reviews and wanting a quiet kettle. Yes it's quiet but after max 1.5 years it often makes quiet crackling sounds when on at the wall but not boiling. Like there's a bit of variable contact/shorting somewhere. So now we turn off at the wall when we're not using it and need another one. Next one won't be Russell Hobbs.
Not if we’re comparing monthly energy bills and want to keep polar bears in the arctic
We can if you want? About 3p a day. I don’t have kids, and I’m not buying ‘disposable’ appliances. I’m good with my carbon footprint.
We have got a RH camping kettle which is fine when on hookup. The one we bought from Amazon was recalled even before we were able to switch it on due to risk of electric shock. It literally was delivered, then an urgent message a few hours later saying don't use.
I bought one from Tesco for a tenner when I moved house.
Roughly the ssme, so ours is about ten years old now. Don't really see the benefit of spending £££ on a kettle - put water in, boil it, take it out. Boiling water is boiling water - an expensive kettle won't boil it any nicer than a cheap one, surely?
The one we bought from Amazon was recalled even before we were able to switch it on due to risk of electric shock. It literally was delivered, then an urgent message a few hours later saying don’t use.
I bought a wallpaper steamer from B&Q once and it leaked from around where the cable plugged into it. I returned it to the store and met an obnoxious manager who flat out refused to refund even though I'd bought it a few days earlier because I didn't have the receipt (in the past, they've been happy to look it up on their system by the card number used to pay for it). He was focused on that and ignoring my main complaint which was: forget the refund, this is bloody dangerous and needs a check/recall!
...Yes this is relevant. A steamer is basically just a kettle, after all.
I'm a Russell Hobbs fan, if you register you get a three year guarantee. They fail after about 2 years (usually the plastic switch paddle breaks or the window starts to leak) so I get a half price kettle every 4 years.
an expensive kettle won’t boil it any nicer than a cheap one, surely?
An expensive kettle can defy the laws of physics and boil water at a variety of different temperatures, apparently.
Oops, double post. Please see below.
Surely the STW answer is a Quooker hot water tap
"Not if we’re comparing monthly energy bills and want to keep polar bears in the arctic."
https://tinyeco.com/boiling-water-taps-energy-efficient
"Here’s the short answer:
Yes, boiling water taps use less energy than standard kettles on a cup for cup basis.
However, there’s not that much in the energy usage and an instant hot water tap will cost you much more to buy."
I have a Qettle that I got cheap from factory shop on eBay as the lasered logo was missing.
It’s a total game changer in the kitchen especially when you need boiling water for vegs or spaghetti. Can do a brew in seconds so great between meetings as well when working from home. Never go back to a kettle.