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How to boil a kettle, with min. water, without ruining it!
Aspect_of_Ratio
Posts: 1 Newbie
in Energy
Here is a tip for people with standard flat element (not old style curly) kettles.
I take no notice of the 'min' marker. If I only need one cup of water, that is all I heat. You could use the cup to measure it out or just judge from experience. Nothing new in that , you may say.
The key thing when heating such small quantities is not to wait for it to switch off automatically- there is no need and the auto system doesn't work properly with such small quantities. Just use your judgement and manually switch it off when it is just starting to bubble.
The second key thing is not to pour straight away, leave it about 10 sec so that the powerful element has time to stop transferring heat to the water. If you pour straight away you will expose the very hot element, trip the secondary thermal cut off and shorten its life.
In my opinion if you follow these instructions you will be able have water plenty hot enough for your drinks, very quickly, using the minimum amount of expensive electricity, using a standard simple kettle with less of a risk of it conking out prematurely.
I take no notice of the 'min' marker. If I only need one cup of water, that is all I heat. You could use the cup to measure it out or just judge from experience. Nothing new in that , you may say.
The key thing when heating such small quantities is not to wait for it to switch off automatically- there is no need and the auto system doesn't work properly with such small quantities. Just use your judgement and manually switch it off when it is just starting to bubble.
The second key thing is not to pour straight away, leave it about 10 sec so that the powerful element has time to stop transferring heat to the water. If you pour straight away you will expose the very hot element, trip the secondary thermal cut off and shorten its life.
In my opinion if you follow these instructions you will be able have water plenty hot enough for your drinks, very quickly, using the minimum amount of expensive electricity, using a standard simple kettle with less of a risk of it conking out prematurely.
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Comments
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But also consider if it's worth the hassle. Last time I checked, it cost me 0.96p to boil 1 litre of cold water in my electric kettle.
I'd have to make a lot of cups of tea, even if I could reduce the cost by 25%, to save anything significant.
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As i am tight, i have measured two mugs of water into my kettle and marked the scale with a felt pen
Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..0 -
Why don't you just boil the kettle at capacity, make a brew and then fill a couple of flasks with Tea / Coffee with the remaining water to last the rest of the day??"Dont expect anybody else to support you, maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when each one, might run out" - Mary Schmich0
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perhaps you could think about the effect on the environment as well as your pocket?But also consider if it's worth the hassle. Last time I checked, it cost me 0.96p to boil 1 litre of cold water in my electric kettle.
I'd have to make a lot of cups of tea, even if I could reduce the cost by 25%, to save anything significant.0 -
If you're that bothered, boil the kettle at work and fill a flask for the evening 0
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I tend to do this automatically, but then I drink about 10 cups of tea a day
(that's including a flask at work) 0 -
PasturesNew wrote: »If you're that bothered, boil the kettle at work and fill a flask for the evening
Brilliant! I never thought of that... Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..0 -
C_Mababejive wrote: »As i am tight, i have measured two mugs of water into my kettle and marked the scale with a felt pen
How do you factor in different capacities of mug?0 -
Different colour pens, obviously.
:rotfl: 604!0 -
How do you factor in different capacities of mug?
All the commonly used mugs are the same ..simples. Generally there are only two in use.
UPDATE have now switched to gas whistling kettle as gas is cheaper. I still pour two mugs of water in it,preferably from the hot tap.Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..0
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