> I saw in the small appliances thread that some use an electric kettle
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As a non-user of such, I cant recommend a brand but they can be useful to have hot water always ready for making tea, powdered coffee, noodle packs (ramen bowls). They are not all that energy efficient in themselves but if you find you need hot (almost boiling) water always ready due to use patterns, it would be cheaper than heating it over and over on the stove or in the microwave.
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Cost isn't an issue - though I am not a energy hog.
I try to be energy efficient, but can easily afford the cost of running electrical toys ;-)
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I am looking for a replacement for the yucky looking "stainless" model on my stove top.
Oh? I like mine! Very retro 50's and highly functional.
I do like the look of a retro kettle. I just hate trying to keep the thing clean.
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I think of it much like a rice cooker. Useless waste of space to a person who eats rice at best once a week. An energry saving essential for folks like me who have it 2-3 times a day and need to keep a batch warm from breakfast to dinner time. Useless to me are rice units that just cook then turn off.
I agree. My husband has been bugging for a rice cooker, but we eat rice about once a month. I don't see the need.
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Grin, I see on the appliance thread I am abnormal. I can easily afford 300$ a month electric bills but my habits run me far less stateside. My only electric bill so far came in and was 87$ (5OCT-15NOV). I'm augmenting the gas heat and electric blower with the fireplace (have a real one, functional and 2 cords of wood). The stove and water heater are also gas. Havent got a gas bill yet but I think it will be pretty low comparitive to my area.
We put our son to the task of helping lower our electric bills. He is constantly turning out lights on us...saying things like "do you really need this 3rd light on?" We created a monster.
We also recently moved. Our new apartment has a timer on the thermostat. I love this! I can set it so the heat goes off during the day when we aren't home and at night for sleeping (I set it to 58-60F) It comes on in the am for a bit and when we come home from work. 68F in the winter - on really cold days like today - 27F right now. I can deal with 64 or 65 if it is not below freezing outside.
"Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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I do like the look of a retro kettle. I just hate trying to keep the thing clean.
The easiest way to keep a stainless steel cooking thing clean is to be able to use lots of water. Check with owners of electric kettles to find out if the things are submersible, or can be freely exposed to as much of a slosh as your typical frying pan.
"Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...
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Cost isn't an issue - though I am not a energy hog. I am looking for a replacement for the yucky looking "stainless" model on my stove top. -Tracy
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What will happen when the electric kettle gets yucky looking?
It won't get yucky because it won't be sitting on my stove getting hit by all the cooking splatter. At least that is my hope... I will set it next to the coffee maker where it will be out of splatters way.
Exactly. That's just one of the reasons I got rid of ye olde stove top tea kettle, the exterior chrome needed constant scrubbing... my Braun has been sitting on the counter top far away from the stove near the sink, near the water where it belongs, the exterior gets an occasional wipe with a damp towel, the interior is still as spotless as new. And it's faster than the stove top by at least double, beats the microwave by a mile... boils water at the rate of a minute a cup. And the Braun requires no hot pad, the entire exterior remains cool to the touch. I used to have a counter top electric kettle made in the UK (Russell Hobbs) but it had to remain plugged in, was expensive, like $100 some 20 years ago, and even though it was 3,000w it was very slow, and had no water level indictor plus the fill lid was difficult to remove, and it didn't always shut off when the water reach boil... I was so glad the day that UK POS died. Russel Hobbs doesn't make that style anymore: http://www.russell-hobbs.com/tea.shtml
I like my Braun, I even like how it's relatively narrow, has a small footprint. But it's not very exciting, no bells and whistles... all it does is boil water... right!
"JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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"zxcvbob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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JoeSpareBedroom said:
"Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > JoeSpareBedroom wrote: >> "Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >> news:[email hidden]... >>> Cost isn't an issue - though I am not a energy hog. >>> I am looking for a replacement for the yucky looking "stainless" >>> model on my stove top. >>> -Tracy >> >> What will happen when the electric kettle gets yucky looking? > It won't get yucky because it won't be sitting on my stove getting hit > by all the cooking splatter. > At least that is my hope... > I will set it next to the coffee maker where it will be out of > splatters way. > > -Tracy
I'm just being a pain in the neck by asking, but what if you bought a nice thick ceramic trivet, and when you're done using the existing kettle, put it on the trivet next to the coffee pot? Cheap, simple solution.
But then there wouldn't be anything to talk about. Think about it.
Bob
This is true, although it could morph into a discussion of the relative merits of various trivet materials, and the time a trivet exploded and injured someone's aunt Betty.
Right on. Then you have company coming and a broken trivet so at the last minute you go out and run around store to store to find a suitable replacement trivet, and of course they are all too small or too big or too ugly. God, I hate playing trivet pursuit.
HI good topic!!! I was impressed by my friend's $90 electric kettle but after a few days I got smart and returned oit to BB and Beyond and got a smaller, lighter RIVAL electric kettle for $12 including tax and I am so happy about the switch: there is no heating element running down the side like the expensive ones have, prventing a decent clean-up, it is less obnoxious because of it's size, it has a sort of heat controll but I judge the temperature by observation alone. It doesn't have an on-off switch but I have a small on/off switch between the cord and the outlet so I am just one happy (and richer) fella. It does not have a billion watts/amps so it is a few seconds slower than the big expensive ones : SO keep your money in your pocket, get the RIVAL and enjoy ( unless you do have a hole in your pocket). oel "Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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Tracy said:
I saw in the small appliances thread that some use an electric kettle instead of the traditional stove top type. Just wondering why you prefer the electric version. I am thinking of getting one myself. Brand recommendations?
Maybe it is a cultural thing. Everyone I know uses en electric kettle, except my brother's neighbour, whose wife is American. The neighbour's daughter ruined my brother's kettle when she was asked to heat up some water, filled the electric kettle, put it on the stove and turned on the burner :-)
I have tried stove top kettles and find the electric models much faster to heat up. They are pretty well contained and the heating element is immersed in the water so there is less heat wasted into the air. Most of them have automatic switches to shut them off after the water has boiled for a few seconds.
"Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...
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JoeSpareBedroom wrote: > "Tracy" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden].... >> Cost isn't an issue - though I am not a energy hog. >> I am looking for a replacement for the yucky looking "stainless" model >> on my stove top. >> -Tracy
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> What will happen when the electric kettle gets yucky looking? It won't get yucky because it won't be sitting on my stove getting hit by all the cooking splatter. At least that is my hope... I will set it next to the coffee maker where it will be out of splatters way.
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-Tracy
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I'm just being a pain in the neck by asking, but what if you bought a nice thick ceramic trivet, and when you're done using the existing kettle, put it on the trivet next to the coffee pot? Cheap, simple solution.
I have thought of that...I have trivets. �I have tried the "put the kettle away" method. �It just ends up back on the burner - gettingall greasy and gross.
Plus, I am really intrigued by this whole electric kettle thing and I am not really a gadget person either.
The kettle on the stovetop is much more a gadget... and they'e not only filthy inside and out, they're dangerous when they boil out and melt snd then ignite.
Stop dancing all around... go for the 40 bucks and order the Braun... then after a week report back. If you're not happy you pay the shipping and I will take it off your hands for $40.
The message <[email hidden]> from "Cshenk" <[email hidden]> contains these words:
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"Tracy" wrote
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Curious how much is costs to boil water on the gas stove versus boiling in an electric kettle?
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About the same I think just to get it hot? It's the keeping it hot that costs a bit of energy so if you don't need it hot for hours on end, it isn't an item I would use. We fire up the gas stove for the teapot about 2 times a day. Our usage is too low to make keeping a hot water pot around all the time, a sensible thing.
In the UK, electric kettles are more or less universal in domestic kitchens (even among gas stove users) because they are so much faster and turn themselves off as soon as they boil; a more efficient use of energy.
If however you use the hot water every hour for the
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first 4 hours of the morning and perhaps again at lunch, its more energy efficient to just keep it warm with the electric types then turn it off when your main use time is done.
But we aren't aiming to keep water warm in a kettle!.I just turn it on whenever I want boiling water to make tea and hot drinks, or a pan of boiling water to cook veg or pasta etc. Mine boils a litre of water in less than one minute then turns itself off.
Curious how much is costs to boil water on the gas stove versus boiling in an electric kettle?
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About the same I think just to get it hot? It's the keeping it hot that
With the kettle the heating element is usually immersed in the water so there isn't any, or very little, heat lost outside the kettle. Can't say the same for a gas stove. A lot of heat goes around the outside and off into the air. Then the price of gas vs. electric comes into play. It's probably pennies either way.
On Dec 6, 4:23�pm, Tracy <[email hidden]> wrote:
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It won't get yucky because it won't be sitting on my stove getting hit by all the cooking splatter. At least that is my hope... I will set it next to the coffee maker where it will be out of splatters way.
Exactly. That's just one of the reasons I got rid of ye olde stove top tea kettle, the exterior chrome needed constant scrubbing... my Braun has been sitting on the counter top far away from the stove near the sink, near the water where it belongs, the exterior gets an occasional wipe with a damp towel, the interior is still as spotless as new. And it's faster than the stove top by at least double, beats the microwave by a mile... boils water at the rate of a minute a cup. And the Braun requires no hot pad, the entire exterior remains cool to the touch. I used to have a counter top electric kettle made in the UK (Russell Hobbs) but it had to remain plugged in, was expensive, like $100 some 20 years ago, and even though it was 3,000w it was very slow, and had no water level indictor plus the fill lid was difficult to remove, and it didn't always shut off when the water reach boil... I was so glad the day that UK POS died. Russel Hobbs doesn't make that style anymore: http://www.russell-hobbs.com/tea.shtml
I like my Braun, I even like how it's relatively narrow, has a small footprint. But it's not very exciting, no bells and whistles... all it does is boil water... right!
Sheldon
This is exactly why I want to switch to electric. I hate the constant scrubbing. I have a stainless kettle now that I am constantly trying to keep clean. I usually use Bon Ami on it. It works great - mostly - but I hate that I have to do it.
If Christmas wasn't right around the corner - I'd buy this for myself today. But alas, my husband has trouble enough finding gifts for me....and I happen to like practical gifts. I got cookie sheets one year....
The message <[email hidden]> from "JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> contains these words:
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What will happen when the electric kettle gets yucky looking?
rarely happens; unlike stove-top kettles. Electric kettles don't get anything yuckier than clean finger prints and they wipe off in a second with a damp cloth.
HI good topic!!! I was impressed by my friend's $90 electric kettle but after a few days I got smart and returned oit to BB and Beyond and got a smaller, lighter RIVAL electric kettle for $12 including tax and I am so happy about the switch: there is no heating element running down the side like the expensive ones have, prventing a decent clean-up, it is less obnoxious because of it's size, it has a sort of heat controll but I judge the temperature by observation alone. It doesn't have an on-off switch but I have a small on/off switch between the cord and the outlet so I am just one happy (and richer) fella. It does not have a billion watts/amps so it is a few seconds slower than the big expensive ones : SO keep your money in your pocket, get the RIVAL and enjoy ( unless you do have a hole in your pocket). oel"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
Well, maybe, if cost is the most important consideration. If convenience and safety are important, the automatic shutoff is a very good thing to have. Mine is an Oster and it may have cost a few bucks less than the Braun, I don't remember. I like the window that shows me the water level, I like the speed, and as I said, I really like the automatic shutoff.
Somebody suggested electric kettle usage was "a cultural thing." I think it's more a matter of learning that they exist. We didn't know about them until we went to Australia, where we saw them in every motel/hotel room wherever we went. They were so convenient we went and got one as soon as we came home. For months after that, many people who saw them in our house got them, too. -aem
The message <[email hidden]> from "JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> contains these words:
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What will happen when the electric kettle gets yucky looking?
It won't get yucky because it won't be sitting on my stove getting hit by all the cooking splatter. At least that is my hope...
You're right. The only marks on an electric kettle will be dust, or clean fingerprints..I just wipe it with a damp cloth occasionally.
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I will set it next to the coffee maker where it will be out of splatters way.
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I'm just being a pain in the neck by asking, but what if you bought a nice thick ceramic trivet, and when you're done using the existing kettle, put it on the trivet next to the coffee pot? Cheap, simple solution.
Uh, she may also get an electric coffee percolator. They are very cheap fast and efficient too, and make much better coffee that a coffeepot. I put in cold water in one hole and fresh coffee in another, and it starts percing seriously good coffee into its jug within one minute. The jug sits on a little heatspot with a thermostat and keeps it hot for as long as you want.
The message <[email hidden]> from "JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> contains these words:
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The easiest way to keep a stainless steel cooking thing clean is to be able to use lots of water. Check with owners of electric kettles to find out if the things are submersible, or can be freely exposed to as much of a slosh as your typical frying pan.
They aren't submersible, but they don't need "lots of water" to clean them, either, because they don't get food splashes and smears.. Just a wipe over and it looks like new..
I saw in the small appliances thread that some use an electric kettle instead of the traditional stove top type. Just wondering why you prefer the electric version. I am thinking of getting one myself. Brand recommendations?
Tracy (who has gone through more stove top kettles than she can count on both hands....)
In the UK where they can get 3,800 Watts + from their 240V outlets, the countertop electric kettles are popular. The US versions which can only get 1,800 Watts from the 120V outlets aren't nearly as useful.
The US alternative is the instant hot water taps that install at the sink. Since these are typically hardwired, they can get a 240V feed with enough capacity. These are more expensive than the countertop kettles, but you don't have to fill them, wash them, etc. Just put the cup, pan, or whatever under the tap and push the handle and get as much near boiling water as you want.
Curious how much is costs to boil water on the gas stove versus boiling in an electric kettle?
The cost depends on your gas and electric rates. The efficiency however (considering local efficiency only) is much higher for the electric since all the electricity consumed is converted to heat and nearly all of that goes directly into the contents of the kettle, vs. the gas stove where a good deal of the heat generated by the gas flame flows past the kettle and into the room.
On Dec 6, 3:50 pm, "J F Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote:> HI good topic!!! �I was impressed by my friend's $90 electric kettle but
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after a few days I got smart and returned oit to BB and Beyond and got a smaller, lighter RIVAL electric kettle for $12 including tax and I am so happy about the switch: there is no heating element running down the side like the expensive ones have, prventing a decent clean-up, it is less obnoxious because of it's size, it has a sort of heat controll but I judge the temperature by observation alone. It doesn't have an on-off switch but I have a small on/off switch between the cord and the outlet so I am just one happy (and richer) fella. It does not have a billion watts/amps so it isa few seconds slower than the big expensive ones : SO keep your money in your pocket, get the RIVAL and enjoy ( unless you do have a hole in your pocket). oel"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
Well, maybe, if cost is the most important consideration. �If convenience and safety are important, the automatic shutoff is a very good thing to have. �Mine is an Oster and it may have cost a few bucks less than the Braun, I don't remember. �I like the window that shows me the water level, I like the speed, and as I said, I really like the automatic shutoff.
Somebody suggested electric kettle usage was "a cultural thing." �I think it's more a matter of learning that they exist. �We didn't know about them until we went to Australia, where we saw them in every motel/hotel room wherever we went. �They were so convenient we went and got one as soon as we came home. �For months after that, many people who saw them in our house got them, too. � �-aem
It took a while fro folks to accept electric perculators too... and even longer to accept ADCs... now everyone who drinks coffee has an ADC on their counter top even if they have nothing else. The only electric appliances I have on my counter top is my ADC, my burr coffee grinder, my Braun kettle, my microwave, and bread toaster... all others are put away in cabinets.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
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I saw in the small appliances thread that some use an electric kettle instead of the traditional stove top type. Just wondering why you prefer the electric version. I am thinking of getting one myself. Brand recommendations?
Tracy (who has gone through more stove top kettles than she can count on both hands....)
If you find yourself needing hot water throughout the day for coffee, tea, instant noodles or the like, you also might want to check out the Zojirushi electric hot water kettles/dispensers.
Google on "zojirushi kettle" and you'll get plenty of links.
We've used their vacuum air-pots and plug-in hot water kettle/dispensers for years, and their stuff is top quality and energy efficient.
Curious how much is costs to boil water on the gas stove versus boiling in an electric kettle?
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About the same I think just to get it hot? It's the keeping it hot that
With the kettle the heating element is usually immersed in the water so there isn't any, or very little, heat lost outside the kettle. Can't say the same for a gas stove. A lot of heat goes around the outside and off into the air. Then the price of gas vs. electric comes into play. It's probably pennies either way.
Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.
It's pennies for sure. I once considered being "green" and line drying my laundry (TX so warm enough a good portion of the year). I calculated the cost to run a typical cycle in my electric dryer (runs a lot longer and higher power than an electric kettle) and determined that a cycle cost about $0.30 which killed that idea real quick. My time to hang and retrieve laundry and shake bugs off is worth a lot more than $0.30.
I saw in the small appliances thread that some use an electric kettle instead of the traditional stove top type. Just wondering why you prefer the electric version. I am thinking of getting one myself. Brand recommendations?
Maybe it is a cultural thing. Everyone I know uses en electric kettle, except my brother's neighbour, whose wife is American. The neighbour's daughter ruined my brother's kettle when she was asked to heat up some water, filled the electric kettle, put it on the stove and turned on the burner :-)
I have tried stove top kettles and find the electric models much faster to heat up. They are pretty well contained and the heating element is immersed in the water so there is less heat wasted into the air. Most of them have automatic switches to shut them off after the water has boiled for a few seconds.
It's not cultural, it's practical. Your UK electric kettles are about twice the wattage of the US due to your 240V power, so the US version is slower than dirt and therefore not popular.
The US alternative is the built in instant hot water dispenser, usually mounted at the sink, which is hardwired to a 240V circuit as well as the water supply, and provides as much near boiling water as you want, whenever you want, without having to fill a kettle.
It's not cultural, it's practical. Your UK electric kettles are about twice the wattage of the US due to your 240V power, so the US version is slower than dirt and therefore not popular.
No. We use 110v here too. I find it much faster to heat water in an electric kettle than on top of my (electric) stove.
