Electric Kettles

[Bourder]

Recently I've dug out an electric kettle that I want to make use of. The parts that have contact with water are stainless steel, but the lid, the handle, and everything else is plastic. It does smell like a factory new DVD player. Do you have any reliable methods of removing such odors? I've tried boiling water repeatedly and it doesn't help much. Any advice would be appreciated.

[aet]

This is my bonavita, 3 months of use

I've seen that with cheap CN pots.
We use K-Kou chich is the probably the best. It is commonly used on tea markets.

[Victoria]

Recently I've dug out an electric kettle that I want to make use of. The parts that have contact with water are stainless steel, but the lid, the handle, and everything else is plastic. It does smell like a factory new DVD player. Do you have any reliable methods of removing such odors? I've tried boiling water repeatedly and it doesn't help much. Any advice would be appreciated.

If there is any plastic inside the kettle including -inner lid, temperature gauge, spout, lid closure then plastic odor and contaminants will be persistent. If the odor is only coming from outside surfaces I can’t think of any resolution either. Basically, avoiding kettles with any plastic inside is recommended way to go. I recently used this one that is economical, has no internal plastic and works fine JOYHILL Electric Kettle Temperature Control not as nice or well engineered as Stagg or Bonavita but it works fine. It is too big and loud, can’t be filled more than half (boiling point is high) but pour is fine, clean design pleasant to look at, and temperature readings seem to be accurate and are useful.

p.s. Something I’ve noticed with Chinese knock-off designs (like the one I referenced) are that proportions are usually off and they’re likely to break down sooner, with no replacement parts.

[Bourder]

Thanks @Victoria. I guess I'll just start having tea in the kitchen near the gas stove and use the ordinary stainless steel kettle that I have that has no plastic elements in contact with water. It works well, is pretty quiet, and doesn't smell at all.

[Vinski]

I have this inexpensive Electrolux kettle. There was no extra smell in the kettle.
https://www.electrolux.pl/kitchen/small ... /eewa7700/

[Victoria]

My next kettle might be Stagg Corvo EKG Pro Electric Kettle, it’s pricy so on sale . It has a faster pour than the gooseneck version, which is pretty slow.

[Ethan Kurland]

Thank you Bourder & Victoria. Your posts helped to make a decision that I have put off for about a year.

My last Bonavita stopped working about a year ago after 7 years of service. I've been using a stove-top gooseneck kettle that a neighbor was throwing away. It is ugly from abuse but has a gooseneck spout & no problems. I did pretty well as I hoped to be able to decide on a cheap brand while praying Bonvita would somehow be greatly discounted.

But I came home w/ some great teas, & not having the features that can assure ideal preparation, has frustrated me. I haven't had any bad sessions, but I don't seek good & great sessions. For teas that took a lot of time & $ to obtain, all sessions should be great.

So just now I ordered a bonavita for $89 & change (including taxes). That is < $15 a year if I live another 7 years. What was I thinking?

Cheers

[debunix]

I recently bought a Stagg without a gooseneck spout for work. I had a combination that had been working reliably for a very long time, I think it was a Bonavita base and a Gourmia kettle body, and apart from occasional descaling, everything was OK except...no hold mode.

As soon as it gets up to temperature, the heat turns off. And if I got a phone call, or suddenly something acute popped up in an email or other message, and I got distracted for 10 or 15 minutes, my water cooled off considerably (it didn't hold in heat very well), and then I'd find myself heating it up again to actually make a cup of tea or going without as I dashed out the door to another meeting. The longer I had the gooseneck Stagg at home, the more annoying this got, and recently I caved in replace the still working Bonavita/Gourmia combo, and I'm very glad that I did.

I change the spout in the Office kettle for one that is not a goose, because I often find myself in the situation of trying to pour enough to fill one of my giant thermoses quickly before I run out the door. At those times, fast Puer is more important than controlled pour with the gooseneck at other times--I don't have a lot of very small teawares at work.

[Ethan Kurland]

I bought another bonavita from Amazon a week ago or so. At least I thought I had. The next day I was notified that the purchase was put on hold because of a security concern. (I told Amazon about my new phone # but had failed to notify my credit card company.)

I got straight w/ the card company but that was not enough for Amazon. I gave up.

That was the beginning. I just ordered a new brand (no reviews to consider) Vevor from Ebay. I'll report whether the gamble worked out. (It cost half as much as Bonavita.)

[Ethan Kurland]

Vevor brand, kettle: I ordered the wrong one! Wow, do I have a problem w/ websites! Anyway for only about 15% less $, I got a kettle w/o variable temperature control. Actually, I think I don't mind.

I am enjoying the light weight of this kettle, quicker heating, slimmer shape, better handle (like Skagg).

Nonetheless, I do not currently recommend it. The stainless-steel lid has a rubber gasket which gave off an odor for the first few uses (w/o effecting taste) & which might wear badly or quickly. The weight of the base is light, making me wonder about its longevity. Yet, somehow, the kettle seems to suit me. I seem to have a feel for how to grab the kettle before it boils water that I want cooler.... or how long it takes water to cool down from boiling. (Not a to the desired degrees feel, but close enough.)

We will see. I do understand how other members have valued the better handles of some brands & how some kettles fit into the space where they will sit. It does make a significant difference to life.

[Victoria]

I recently bought a Stagg without a gooseneck spout for work. I had a combination that had been working reliably for a very long time, I think it was a Bonavita base and a Gourmia kettle body, and apart from occasional descaling, everything was OK except...no hold mode.

As soon as it gets up to temperature, the heat turns off. And if I got a phone call, or suddenly something acute popped up in an email or other message, and I got distracted for 10 or 15 minutes, my water cooled off considerably (it didn't hold in heat very well), and then I'd find myself heating it up again to actually make a cup of tea or going without as I dashed out the door to another meeting. The longer I had the gooseneck Stagg at home, the more annoying this got, and recently I caved in replace the still working Bonavita/Gourmia combo, and I'm very glad that I did.

I change the spout in the Office kettle for one that is not a goose, because I often find myself in the situation of trying to pour enough to fill one of my giant thermoses quickly before I run out the door. At those times, fast Puer is more important than controlled pour with the gooseneck at other times--I don't have a lot of very small teawares at work.

I walked into a Stagg store on now posh Abbott Kinney in Venice, CA and they are promoting getting one Stagg base with two kettles, one gooseneck the other stout. They come in a steel blue, black and white. +-$80 for just the kettle. Very tempting.

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Then a few doors down in a home goods store they have a Swedish camping kettle that has super nice feel and proportions. Tempting as well.

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[baldheadracing]

FYI, Fellow does sell refurbs - $132 for the Corvo (for tea) or the Stagg for pourover. https://fellowproducts.com/collections/refurbished-gear

FWIW, I've had my Stagg EKG from the KickStarter for six years now - still going strong except for the temperature controlling circuitry needing a reboot a couple times a year.

[Victoria]

FYI, Fellow does sell refurbs - $132 for the Corvo (for tea) or the Stagg for pourover. https://fellowproducts.com/collections/refurbished-gear

FWIW, I've had my Stagg EKG from the KickStarter for six years now - still going strong except for the temperature controlling circuitry needing a reboot a couple times a year.

Good to know this. How do you reboot temperature circuitry?

[baldheadracing]

Good to know this. How do you reboot temperature circuitry?

The symptom is that the water temperature display seems frozen.

When that happened I would have to unplug the base from the wall outlet, wait a few seconds, and then plug the base back in (with the kettle on the base). You'll know the Stagg has rebooted as the kettle will go back to its default temperature of 212F.

There is a separate temperature issue that can arise where the actual temperature is different from the hold temperature by about 10F-20F. The causes there seem to be limescale around the temperature sensor (the little nub on the inside bottom of the kettle), or aggressive descaling causing a leak around the o-ring that is around the temperature sensor, or water ending up in the base and causing some residue buildup on the circuit board inside the base.