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Gadget WEEKENDS

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Renegade:
Some people like to have their water boiling for a bit (decrease dissolved gases for example), and AFAIU that doesn't necessarily happen so well with some (many?) electric kettles.  IIUC, some (many?) models stop / turn off shortly after reaching 100 C (I've heard but not verified that some don't even reach 100 C) and this is not as effective as boiling (maintaining temperature at 100 C) for longer.  Excuse the inaccuracies for not taking into account pressure and such :)

Plastic electric kettles are a bit of a concern for me too for reasons having to do with heating plastic (too much for too long) that's in contact with a liquid that one is about to ingest.  Non-plastic ones I've looked for tend to be a bit less safe because of pilot error (unwariness leading to skin contacting heated metal) -- on a stove top for just the period of boiling I am more wary than when an electric kettle is sitting on a tea table for longer periods.  I'm an ex-user.

Just trying to point out here that depending on what you want to do with the water (in my own case it's green tea preparation) and what sort of water you get, the type of kettle may make a difference.
-ewemoa (November 17, 2012, 03:01 AM)
--- End quote ---

Good points. Especially about boiling for longer.

We have a glass electric kettle because, well, using plastic is just slightly bonkers. I can hold the button down and force it to continue boiling if required, but it's certainly a PITA.

I do wish that they'd have a thermometer on the outside though.

And no pressure about pressure. ;) I was just flipping through and reading my Pocket Ref. :)

NigelH:
As Renegade said, boiling is boiling - doesn't make one iota of difference whether stovestop or electric.
Many electric kettles also have specific temperature controls, besides the obvious one of switching off when reaching boiling point.
The "plastic" problem can be of concern, I can understand that.
I've been boiling water in them for 40 years but as you rightly mentioned, electric metal kettles are available.

My point really (which I didn't mention) was that many people in the US do not know that electric kettles for home use are even available.
I posted this gadget comment, as evidence of that fact came up in conversation again just yesterday.
Ten years or so ago, it was unusual to find more than one (if you were even that fortunate) in common discount stores.

NigelH:
Well ewemoa, I have to say thanks for prompting me about the plastic issue.
So I'm retiring this kettle after many years of reliable service and moving on to stainless steel.

Renegade:
Well ewemoa, I have to say thanks for prompting me about the plastic issue.
So I'm retiring this kettle after many years of reliable service and moving on to stainless steel.
-NigelH (November 17, 2012, 07:39 AM)
--- End quote ---

See if you can find a glass one. They're quite attractive, and probably even safer than metal.

joiwind:
re boiling water : as most real tea drinkers know, you should not boil water when making tea - it makes the water "flat" and affects negatively the taste of the brew, just bring the water up to nearly boiling (no jokes please about whether tea tastes of anything anyway ... I'm English).

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