Author Topic: Gadget WEEKENDS (Read 1,149,626 times)

Renegade · « **Reply #25 on:** November 17, 2012, 12:23 PM »

Quote from: ewemoa on November 17, 2012, 09:01 AM

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.

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 · « **Reply #26 on:** November 17, 2012, 12:40 PM »

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 · « **Reply #27 on:** November 17, 2012, 01:39 PM »

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 · « **Reply #28 on:** November 17, 2012, 01:57 PM »

Quote from: NigelH on November 17, 2012, 01:39 PM

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.

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

joiwind · « **Reply #29 on:** November 17, 2012, 02:30 PM »

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).

4wd · « **Reply #30 on:** November 17, 2012, 05:16 PM »

Quote from: joiwind on November 17, 2012, 02:30 PM

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).

And you don't boil water for making coffee either.

Up until about 18 months ago, we used a plastic cordless electric jug to boil our water but it finally died after 15 years of service.

It got replaced by a cordless stainless steel version...it died last week.

Screw what it's made of, just give me something that lasts as long as the plastic one.

The plastic one was more efficient also since the element was in the water, (direct heat transfer), and not heating up the base as in metal versions, (indirect transfer).

Yep, still a tech, give me something that's efficient, does the job and lasts a long time.

Renegade · « **Reply #31 on:** November 17, 2012, 10:37 PM »

The problem with plastic is that it can include toxins, like bisphenol A, which is linked to cancer and all kinds of nastiness. It gets worse though... While many manufacturers have eliminated it, they have replaced it with bisphenol S.

20 years ago, nobody really knew about the problems, but more recently, research has been published on it.

IainB · « **Reply #32 on:** November 18, 2012, 01:19 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on November 17, 2012, 10:37 PM

The problem with plastic is that it can include toxins, like bisphenol A, which is linked to cancer and all kinds of nastiness. It gets worse though... While many manufacturers have eliminated it, they have replaced it with bisphenol S.
20 years ago, nobody really knew about the problems, but more recently, research has been published on it.

There's a whole alphabet of bisphenols for food-plastics manufacturers to get through yet, to discover whether they are harmful. Give the experiment more time.

Renegade · « **Reply #33 on:** November 18, 2012, 01:30 PM »

Quote from: IainB on November 18, 2012, 01:19 PM

There's a whole alphabet of bisphenols for food-plastics manufacturers to get through yet, to discover whether they are harmful. Give the experiment more time.

Yep. More or less from A-Z:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol

Onward with more live market human experimentation~!

cranioscopical · « **Reply #34 on:** November 18, 2012, 05:22 PM »

Quote from: Renegade on November 18, 2012, 01:30 PM

Onward with more live market human experimentation~!

I'm stunned, call me Poly and send me back to Norway!

joiwind · « **Reply #35 on:** November 18, 2012, 07:00 PM »

Quote from: cranioscopical on November 18, 2012, 05:22 PM

Quote from: Renegade on November 18, 2012, 01:30 PM
Onward with more live market human experimentation~!
I'm stunned, call me Poly and send me back to Norway!

Poly, polycephaly, bicephaly, bisphenols ... or the other way round.

mouser · « **Reply #36 on:** November 24, 2012, 01:23 AM »

I almost forgot about Gadget Friday!

Ok here's mine for this week: An Electric Toothbrush.

I've used two brands, Sonicare and Oral-B, they are both excellent, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend one over the other:

ewemoa · « **Reply #37 on:** November 24, 2012, 01:31 AM »

I've heard it's good to rotate through multiple toothbrushes of different types -- perhaps it has to do with no single type being able to reach quite the same places

ewemoa · « **Reply #38 on:** November 24, 2012, 01:33 AM »

Recently got a SATA extension cable. Found that it's helpful for making it easier to swap out HDDs for a notebook PC.

Renegade · « **Reply #39 on:** November 24, 2012, 01:55 AM »

Something that has proved its worth over and over:

Kensington 33117 International All-in-One Travel Plug Adapter

[attachimg=#]

One of the best things about this particular model, is that it has a fuse. So, if there's a problem, you just replace the fuse, and keep on going rather than throw it out and get a new one. I've had to replace the fuse once.

I have a different brand adapter that does the same basic thing, but it's sticky and hard to use - switching the plugs can be a nightmare sometimes. Not recommended there. The Kensington on the other hand is smooth and easy to use.

We have things with 4 different kinds of plugs, and quite a few different adapters.

What I really wish is that they'd simply manufacture things to a single, sane standard, and that all these adapters and different power bars weren't needed. Even having 2 form factors for 220~240 and 110 power would be a significant improvement.

ewemoa · « **Reply #40 on:** November 24, 2012, 03:30 AM »

Quote from: Renegade on November 24, 2012, 01:55 AM

Kensington 33117 International All-in-One Travel Plug Adapter

Now why couldn't the model number be 1337?

Looks quite nice! If any of the ones we use break, may be we can remember to look for this one as a replacement.

mouser · « **Reply #41 on:** November 24, 2012, 08:54 PM »

I have taken the liberty to change it from Gadget Fridays to Gadget WEEKENDS.

So you may now post a new gadget on fridays, saturday, or sunday.

app103 · « **Reply #42 on:** November 24, 2012, 09:29 PM »

Quote from: NigelH on November 17, 2012, 03:58 AM

I'm really baffled as to why people still use non-electric kettles.

What would you suggest people use when the power goes out? If I had not owned a stove top kettle, we would have gone through Hurricane Sandy without tea or instant noodle soup. Yeah, sure I could have just boiled the water in a small pot, but the small pot I had died a horrible death at my husband's hands and he threw it away without telling me, because he knew I'd freak out over him destroying the very pot my father heated the water for my tea when I was a little girl. I didn't know we didn't own it any more till the power went out and I needed it to heat up some canned vegetables (couldn't use the microwave).

This is the one I have (this color, too): http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Ray-Teakettles-2-Quart-Porcelain/dp/B004WLJAJU/

The whole thing can be submerged and scrubbed down, inside and out, to remove mineral deposits and gunk that builds up (don't try that with your electric kettle). The enamel finish is on the inside as well as the outside and the quality is very good, so there is no issue of it rusting like you get with the cheaper ones. It is very well made and worth the price. So far, it seems to be "husband proof".

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #43 on:** November 24, 2012, 09:37 PM »

As with any typical geek, I love my coffee, but I hate the wait associated with making it...So I grabbed myself a bargain at my local Tesco Extra (Kinda like Walmart for you non-brits) - Only cost me £49.99...Could NOT say no!

It takes little cartridge things which actually make a very quick, very nice job of making a coffee...VERY easy to use, and very handy to have on a desk in the office.

vrgrrl · « **Reply #44 on:** November 24, 2012, 09:40 PM »

Re: Hurricane Gadgets -- I agree April -- we were out of power for a week and thank god we have gas stoves and pans or we'd have been dead. Chris was making coffee using our coffee pods from our Keurig using water heated from the stove -- all coffee pots are pretty useless in power outage so you need to at least have a French Press!

NigelH · « **Reply #45 on:** November 24, 2012, 09:56 PM »

Ok, so I'm a tad less baffled. Emergency use is minuscule though.

tomos · « **Reply #46 on:** November 24, 2012, 09:59 PM »

Quote from: vrgrrl on November 24, 2012, 09:40 PM

-- all coffee pots are pretty useless in power outage so you need to at least have a French Press!

had to look up French press - I know them, but not the name.

These are suitable for stoves, and possibly suitable for gas cookers.
[attachimg=#]
Expresso

well actually I always add whisked hot milk, so I guess homemade cappucino really.

app103 · « **Reply #47 on:** November 24, 2012, 10:06 PM »

Quote from: vrgrrl on November 24, 2012, 09:40 PM

Re: Hurricane Gadgets -- I agree April -- we were out of power for a week and thank god we have gas stoves and pans or we'd have been dead. Chris was making coffee using our coffee pods from our Keurig using water heated from the stove -- all coffee pots are pretty useless in power outage so you need to at least have a French Press!

I was going to post this one as my gadget of the week. Glad it fits in nicely with the discussion of emergency low-tech gadgets.

Here is how I make coffee, one cup at a time, right in the cup, without electricity. I use it for brewing loose tea most of the time, because it filters better than a traditional tea ball.

You don't need to use it in the microwave as the item description suggests, just use a bit more coffee in it. I have a large cup, so I fill mine almost to the top.

I bought mine in a dollar store and got a package of 2 for a buck, about 15 years ago.

http://www.wdrake.com/WalterDrake/DisplayItem.aspx?id=337095

vrgrrl · « **Reply #48 on:** November 24, 2012, 10:08 PM »

Well, the Tassimo now looks very different than it did when first got one -- I had very early versions on it and the Nescafe machines and the coffee tasted like plastic.

But it seems like at least the Tassimo now has pods that look more like the Keurig pods...and speaking of...

I love my Keurig coffee machine!

There are tons of K-Cup options (tea, coffee, hot chocolate) but you can also buy your own refillable pod and then make up your own recipes! So if you want to use some special imported coffee that they don't make K-cups for, you can put that coffee into the refillable pod...but more than that...you can make your own blend of coffee/tea/hot chocolate and it can be a fun game for guests to make their own special hot beverage blend. So if you want blueberry tea/coffee blend, just mix the two together and you have your own coffee invention! Keurig might not be the only single serve coffee company that allows this so take that as a fun tip for all you coffee pod machine owners!

The only issue I've learned after a few years of owning my Keurig is that after a while you do have a "priming" issue -- so you have to remove the water tank and put it back in to "reset" it -- it's not hard but a bit annoying. All these machines have issues with the mechanisms getting mucked up -- even regular coffee machines can get calcium build up issues so it's just a "thing" with coffee I suppose.

Hope the picture comes through!

http://www.keurig.com/accessories/platinum-brewing-system-bundle?cm_mmc=Google-_-QU_Keurig%20Brewers-_-ATH_Brewers%20-%20Products%20-%20B70%20/%2075%20/%2076%20Platinum-_-keurig%20b70%20platinum%20brewing%20system&gclid=CKyc46nK6LMCFcRa4Aodg1kArQ

NigelH · « **Reply #49 on:** November 24, 2012, 10:09 PM »

Not sure if this really "qualifies" as a gadget.

Blu-Tack Reusable Adhesive
http://www.blutack.com/

Example use case.
You need a screw attached to a screwdriver for a difficult location (no magnetism, one handed etc).

I've used this stuff for decades, albeit by a different name though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestik