long lasting kettle

londonTiger

I live in a house of 5 adults who all love their brew. I personally drink around 5 cups a day..

Sometimes people stew their food and use the kettlebell to boil water to use on a pan as well.

it seems that the average life expectancy of a kettle is around 6 months. after that they eventually break.

Just today the on of switch just broke off from using so much.. yeah the ON/OFF SWITCH!!

I think we're in need of a more heavy duty kettle, rather than a small kettle designed for a small family.

Are there any long lasting kettles you can recommend?

p.s. on a sidenote I found that the only warranty that's worth buying is for the refrigerator, washing machine and kettle. Always get extended warranty for kettles!

Middy

Get this http://www.amazon.co.uk/SWAN-CATERING-SIMMERSTAT-CONTROL-LATEST/dp/B0010VMWZY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318522773&sr=8-2 and its the same price as the top end kettles.

londonTiger

Very nice Middy.

I'm concerned a little bit about the energy consumption, how is like for energy consumption?

spookybuffy

my electric kettle has just broke i just ordered one of these http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8615930/Trail/searchtext%3EKETTLE.htm
there on sale too. they very good.

bcl999

If i were you, I'd just buy on price (i.e. the cheapest) and accept that it will likely only last 6 months. I think you'll find the dearer ones nowadays don't last any longer (although that urn suggested above may be a solution).

Bongedone

londonTiger wrote: »

Very nice Middy.

I'm concerned a little bit about the energy consumption, how is like for energy consumption?

From the advert:

Boiling: 1600 Watts Keep Hot: 150 Watts

Of course it will you will need to know how long it takes to heat 8l to boiling. I'm sure there are websites that will give you the math needed

EDIT: Here is the formula. My brain cannot be bothered to try and work it out:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/boerderij_kabouter/547-how-many-watts-do-you-need-my-boil-kettle-hot-liquor-tun-math-involved.html

MarilynMonroe_2

I always bought dearer kettles - my last one was £50 and lasted less than a year, so I bought just a £10 Asda make one and it's lasted years! Microwaves and kettles I think I will just buy cheap from now on.

geordie_joe

londonTiger wrote: »

Are there any long lasting kettles you can recommend?

Get a gas kettle with a whistle, no moving parts and last forever. Or until you boil them dry, which ever comes first.

londonTiger wrote: »

p.s. on a sidenote I found that the only warranty that's worth buying is for the refrigerator, washing machine and kettle. Always get extended warranty for kettles!

I believe Homebase do a good warranty, if it stops working they replace it, no questions or trying to say you missused it in some way to get out of replacing it.

londonTiger

Bongedone wrote: »

From the advert:

Boiling: 1600 Watts Keep Hot: 150 Watts

Of course it will you will need to know how long it takes to heat 8l to boiling. I'm sure there are websites that will give you the math needed

EDIT: Here is the formula. My brain cannot be bothered to try and work it out:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/boerderij_kabouter/547-how-many-watts-do-you-need-my-boil-kettle-hot-liquor-tun-math-involved.html

yeah the energy consumption is far too much, 150w is what my desktop gaming computer uses. I don't think it's wise to leave that running all day. Ideal for the office and canteen where people can get a cuppa very quickly, saving the company money. But for home use the energy consumption is far too much

geordie_joe

londonTiger wrote: »

yeah the energy consumption is far too much, 150w is what my desktop gaming computer uses. I don't think it's wise to leave that running all day. Ideal for the office and canteen where people can get a cuppa very quickly. But for home use the energy consumption is far too much

You are completely wrong.

It won't use 150 watts all day, it will use zero watts far more than it uses 150 watts.

It's a keep warm function, it will heat the water to the required temperature, then switch off, and when the water cools to a set temperature it will kick in to bring it back up again.

As an example, it will use 1600 watts to boil the water, 100 degrees, then it will switch off. When the water cools to a set temperature, say 95 degrees, it will kick in and use 150 watts to bring it back up to 100 degrees. Then it will switch off again until the water cools to 95 degrees.

It all depends on how good the insulation is, and how long it takes the water to cool down.

It could be that once the water is boiled it takes 20 minutes to cool down enough for the 150 watts to kick in and bring it back up to the boil. And it may only take 1 minute to bring it back up to the boil.

So, if it is on for 1 hour it is actually only using electricity for 3 minutes.

I did an extensive study when I got my leccy meter, and things that heat up, or cool down, are off a lot more than they are on. Electric ovens, halogen ovens, microwaves, slow cookers. They all heat the contents until it reaches the required temperature, then switch off. They only come back on again when the contents cools to a certain temperature and once it is brought back up they go off again.

It's the same with the fridge and freezer, they are off a lot more than they are on.

And don't forget, the watts quoted for electrical items are the maximum they can use, not what they will use for every second they are on.

bcl999

geordie joe is correct.

However, there are two schools of thought. In the "old days" when we had an immersion heater, my father woud swear blind it was cheaper to just turn on for as long as needed and my uncle would swear blind it was cheaper to leave it on all the time! Ah, those were the days.....not!

Thank you, whoever invented the combi-boiler.