Simviation Forums

My cheap-o plastic electric kettle, which I purchased some 13 months ago, has suddenly decided to got to the cheap-o plastic electric kettle heaven in the sky.

It firmly refuses to switch on (something has probably gone awry with the cut-out mechanism), and firmly rejects any attempts to dismantle it to examine the problem...(its all clipped together by someone in Taiwan, and is guaranteed to snap everything off if dismantalisation is attempted).

Checking with my documentation which accompanied it, I see that it has/had a 12-month guarantee, but I suspect that it is/was programmed to expire on the 13th month.

I now have to make two trips tomorrow:
(1) A trip into Sainsbury's Superstore to purchase a new cheap-o plastic electric kettle to enable me to boil water to make tea and coffee for the next 13 months, until the guarantee expires again.
(2) A trip to the Recycle/Council Tip site to bury my deceased cheap-o plastic electric kettle.

....its just the way life goes...Hey-ho!.... ...!

Paul....boiling water in a saucepan on the gas stove...until tomorrow... ...!

You could get a regular teakettle.

13 months is a pretty good run for an electric kettle, especially when your putting tea bags in it.

I have a bakelite one I've had for 20 or 30 years now....still boils water pretty fast

Pat☺

Just bought a new Water Otter from my local Superstore...>>> http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/shop/ho ... 4294892689

Nice 'n shiny*... ...!

Quicker and cheaper than boiling water in a saucepan/kettle on the Gas Stove!

Paul.... ...!

* When I rub it (the kettle ), a magic genie tea lady pops up and makes the tea for me!
...which is nice!.. ...!

I remember some of the problems you've mentioned before, about having Lady's in the house!!!
BUT your new Aladdin kettle seems to do the job perfectly

As far as I know, guarantees in EU for this kind of products are two year.

Fozzer wrote:cheaper than boiling water in a saucepan/kettle on the Gas Stove!

That would be an interesting experiment. Is it actually cheaper to heat water with the electric device?
There's a few things to consider:
1) Natural gas is usually (in my part of the world anyhow) cheaper than electricity per kw/h.
2) In some parts of the world (maybe yours, maybe not?) gas or coal, or some other combustible energy source is used to heat water to make energy to be converted into electricity. This is a major degradation of energy efficiency.
3) certain vessels used for boiling water, be it electrical or stove top gas types, are going to vary in their energy absorption and radiation properties. I bet there is a substantial difference between plastic and steel electric kettles in so far as energy consumption to boil water goes.

Just thought these points were worthy of consideration whilst "watching the pot boil". Obviously we are a society that embraces convenience over conscience most of the time (myself included), but it does make you think doesn't it?

pegger wrote:

Fozzer wrote:cheaper than boiling water in a saucepan/kettle on the Gas Stove!

That would be an interesting experiment. Is it actually cheaper to heat water with the electric device?
There's a few things to consider:
1) Natural gas is usually (in my part of the world anyhow) cheaper than electricity per kw/h.
2) In some parts of the world (maybe yours, maybe not?) gas or coal, or some other combustible energy source is used to heat water to make energy to be converted into electricity. This is a major degradation of energy efficiency.
3) certain vessels used for boiling water, be it electrical or stove top gas types, are going to vary in their energy absorption and radiation properties. I bet there is a substantial difference between plastic and steel electric kettles in so far as energy consumption to boil water goes.

Just thought these points were worthy of consideration whilst "watching the pot boil". Obviously we are a society that embraces convenience over conscience most of the time (myself included), but it does make you think doesn't it?

Nah.... ....

That amount of concentrated thinking always gives me a headache.....

....I finds its much easier just to boil a kettle of water and not to think too much about the process.....

... and the tea tastes just the same.....trust me... ...!

Paul..... ...!

I just noticed on the specifications page you posted, that your new water otter is made in China. Presumably you use Tetley's or Brooke bond India tea. If I were you, I'd demand a demonstration before I left the store with it. Does it make Tchai or Char?

logjam wrote:I just noticed on the specifications page you posted, that your new water otter is made in China. Presumably you use Tetley's or Brooke bond India tea. If I were you, I'd demand a demonstration before I left the store with it. Does it make Tchai or Char?

Everything is made in China nowadays, Log...

Even my Japanese Motor Bikes are made in China....

Even the Magic Genie Tea Lady is Chinese.

Paul....AKA: Ho Flung Dung.... ...1

Fozzer wrote:Quicker and cheaper than boiling water in a saucepan/kettle on the Gas Stove!

I wouldn't do that either. I'd stick a mug of water in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

RAF Apprentices at Locking (#1 Radio School) used to tape up their eating irons and plug them in the wall socket. Then they'd stick 'em in a mug of water.

logjam wrote:RAF Apprentices at Locking (#1 Radio School) used to tape up their eating irons and
plug them in the wall socket. Then they'd stick 'em in a mug of water.

...Its all part of growing-up. Log....Learning to be a real man!....

Webb wrote:

Fozzer wrote:Quicker and cheaper than boiling water in a saucepan/kettle on the Gas Stove!

I wouldn't do that either. I'd stick a mug of water in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

WOW...!
...you've just reminded me that the Microwave Oven sat sulking in the corner of my Kitchen hasn't been use since it was given to me many, many years ago!
I could NEVER trust it to cook meals, etc, safely for me, using its timer!... ...!
So, I ALWAYS use my trusty Gas Cooker, with its top burners, oven, and grill, to do ALL my cooking and heating, no matter how short a time involved!
That way, I can observe exactly what is going on, and everything is heated/cooked properly...and NEVER under-cooked!
Its very important for me that all my meals are cooked properly...and I've never suffered from the dreaded Delhi-belly so far!.... ...!
(I avoid other folks outside Barbecued meals like the plague...death by undercooked sausage/burger/steak, etc!... ...!
"Cremated" dinner is the name of the game for me!... ....!
The sight of folks eating rare/raw steak, with blood dripping from it, terrifies me!.... ....(Very well done, for me!)... ...!

The Electric Kettle is just used to boil water for Tea and Coffee (very quickly), and chatting to the Chinese Magic Genie Tea Lady.... ...!

Paul....Oven Roasted.... ...!

logjam wrote:RAF Apprentices at Locking (#1 Radio School) used to tape up their eating irons and plug them in the wall socket. Then they'd stick 'em in a mug of water.

Great way to cook a quick hot dog too! fork in either end, wires to the nearest outlet, about 10 seconds cook time
Course, as I got further ahead in schools, we very quickly abandond those silly school-boy primitive forks. WE learned to use the radar bench output, before the dummy load, to cook our hot dogs. 2 screws, open up the waveguide (it was hinged cause there are fungi like to grow in waveguides and dummyloads, and need to be cleaned out once in a while ), in goes the papertowell-wrapped dog, about 2-3 seconds TX time, bang, steamin hot dog!
Gotta make sure to keep the waveguide clean tho, or the power dissipates THERE and burns a hole in the waveguide...

Great days and happy flights to all!! And always remember what Dirty Harry once said: "Only A#$%^^%s put ketchup on a hotdog!"

Pat☺