Electric Kettles

Janice
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Thu Jun 20, 2019 6:31 pm

Victoria wrote:
Thu Jun 20, 2019 6:19 pm
I forgot about the Hold button, maybe a good feature for higher temperature settings (although maybe not if it's continuously boiling), but not good for lower temps since the kettle seems to continue to heat past whatever temp setting is applied. If I'm aiming for 155F I'll set it at 154F or 153F so it doesn't get too hot for Japanese greens.
Mine does that also, but it just overshoots and stays a few degrees above the temp I set. I usually use the 140° Preset and then use a pitcher to cool it down a bit on the way to the teapot. Anyway, handling the kettle with its gooseneck spout cured my injured shoulder.
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pedant
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Thu Aug 08, 2019 3:04 am

stagg ekg electric kettle is on sale at costco for 115usd shipped (normal msrp 150usd) but requires costco membership. decent deal if you've been considering one of these:

https://www.costco.com/Fellow-Stagg-EKG ... 81042.html

black color, 0.9L, 1200W

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Tor
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Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:04 am

Contrary to some people’s belief, oxygen solubility in water is zero when the temperature is even below 80C. Reboiling may do something to the water, but that has nothing to do with oxygen.


https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Oxy ... _266049140
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Victoria
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Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:11 pm

pedant wrote:
Thu Aug 08, 2019 3:04 am
stagg ekg electric kettle is on sale at costco for 115usd shipped (normal msrp 150usd) but requires costco membership. decent deal if you've been considering one of these:

https://www.costco.com/Fellow-Stagg-EKG ... 81042.html
How would you compare this Stagg kettle next to Bonavita variable temp gooseneck? It certainly is beautifully designed.
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pedant
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Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:54 pm

Victoria wrote:
Thu Aug 08, 2019 2:11 pm
How would you compare this Stagg kettle next to Bonavita variable temp gooseneck?
i've never used the stagg ekg. i think @Shine Magical has one though. maybe he can chime in?
not sure if he has experience with the bonavita however.
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d.manuk
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Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:33 pm

I haven’t used the bonavita, but I love the stagg. It is beautiful and extremely quiet and even comes in white.
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Victoria
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Mon Aug 12, 2019 2:01 pm

Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 1:33 pm
I haven’t used the bonavita, but I love the stagg. It is beautiful and extremely quiet and even comes in white.
I like almost everything about the Bonavita except it’s noisy, you can’t set it under 140f/60c, and the design is just okay, not stellar like Stagg. You can set increments from 140-212f, hold, and has auto shut off. A good workhorse.
Ethan Kurland
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Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:53 pm

The new kid on the block holds less water than the bonavita; so, it should heat faster. Bonavita has a new black one, that costs about twice as much as its original just to look nicer. Since its competitor cost about twice as much as the pretty bonavita, one gets lots of perspective on how much one must pay for a better look & then more for the best look.

Sometimes the noise bothers me; sometimes noise is a good reminder that I am having a tea session & not just daydreaming while I sit.
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pedant
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Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:30 pm

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:53 pm
The new kid on the block holds less water than the bonavita; so, it should heat faster.
you don't have to fill a kettle up all the way. what really matters is the heating element power.

the new bonavitas are 1000W
the old 1L bonavita is also 1000W
stagg ekg is 1200W
the old 1.7L bonavita is 1500W

since they can all hold at least 0.9L, the time it takes to heat 0.9L of water from 20°C to 100°C (room temp to boil) is:
  • 1000W: 5.02 min
  • 1200W: 4.19 min
  • 1500W: 3.35 min
i bought the 1.7L bonavita because of its more powerful heating element even though i rarely fill it up all the way.
another 1.7L advantage: i find a kettle is easier to pour when it's half full or less because of pour angle when it's closer to empty. because you have to tilt it more before it begins pouring when it's close to empty, the spout ends up further down and closer to the teapot/gaiwan.
however, the old bonavita is noisy, and the interface could be better. i wonder how the new ones are...

speaking of the new ones, i like how this one looks:
http://bonavitaworld.com/products/cosmopolitan

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1.3L, 1000W
$120 on amazon

i notice it has a dedicated boil button. i wonder if it runs full power all the way up to boiling instead of farting around with PID (relay annoyingly clicking on and off when it gets around 200°F). that would be nice.
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d.manuk
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Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:59 pm

The stagg is worth 150g of good quality DaYuLing... that seems extremely reasonable to me. I've had a loud kettle before and since my apartment is extremely quiet, it was quite distracting from a session, especially if were guests over trying to have a conversation. Aesthetics are also extremely important to me in a tea session and a kettle is a constant in every tea session.

Basically I don't think its reasonable to skip out on a high performance kettle if you're drinking high quality tea. The only thing I wish it had built in is a stopwatch setting, but I am probably in a niche for wanting that.
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Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:32 am

Shine Magical wrote:
Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:59 pm
The stagg is worth 150g of good quality DaYuLing.... The only thing I wish it had built in is a stopwatch setting, but I am probably in a niche for wanting that.
Shine Magical, That's a good way to think about it. The tea will be gone a lot quicker than the kettle is. The higher price of the kettle over several years or so, might equate to paying a penny more for each tea session. (Better, quiet sessions,)
The built-in stopwatch is not that convenient w/ bonavita because to use the timer, one must keep the pot off of its base. I don't like putting the bottom of the kettle on my table or holding it while tea steeps.
Pedant, Thanks for the statistics. I now understand that the larger kettle would heat 600 ml of water faster than the 1L kettle. As you do, I also like to have the end of the spout close to where I want the water to go; so, I have teaware near the edge of my table which enables me to have the bottom of my kettle lower than the table when I pour (while standing).
As Victoria wrote, I have a kettle that's been a "workhorse". It's outlived most of my friends; so, the noise is okay.
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Mon Aug 26, 2019 5:10 pm

Pedant's list of the time a few pots take to boil .9L of water led me to time my 1L bonavita kettle. I have not set it at 100C for years. It seemed to be unable to reach 100C! I watched & watched. I heard water boiling.... Somehow my pot (bought when the variable temp. kettles first came to market) now won't register 100C though the water is boiling.

When it is time to buy a kettle, I think I'll go for the 1.7L size of the bonavita. I usually start a day with about .6L in the kettle which should get to set temperatures quickly in the bigger size. The difference in cost between them is minimal.
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Z.Zhu
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Sun Sep 01, 2019 6:16 pm

I bought myself an EKG Fellow Stagg for my birthday recently, a huge spurlge for the hobby, but it has been so worth it!
as a designer, the aesthetics of the product definitely attracted me. That being said, I always do a lot of research before purchase, and after many months of consideration, I finally bought it.
I 've been using for over 2 weeks on a daily basis, and it has proven to be as good as I expected. I live in London and have the European plug, with a converter.
Fantastic control with the weighted handle, and precise circular pouring either in gaiwans or clay teapots with small openings.
The "hold" temperature function is fantastic, very useful in a session over many steepings.
The only thing I've noticed is the "no water" function is not completely reactive during use, as it doesn't always pick up that the water has been depleted. Otherwise, highly recommend it!
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pedant
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Sun Sep 01, 2019 7:05 pm

I have also been using the stagg.

I will review it soon in more detail, but I think I like it more than the 1.7L bonavita so far. It's quieter (though not silent!), the temp knob is easier and probably faster than buttons, and the temp hold feature is superior because it stays enabled via a switch. there is no need to re-enable temp hold each time you set the kettle on the base.

A main downside is the display is only readable when viewed from directly overhead.
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tjkdubya
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Fri Sep 27, 2019 6:55 pm

I'm interested in the non-gooseneck version of the Stagg to replace my Bonavita.



Is there a reason people are opting for the gooseneck version? Sometimes I want to be able to pour a thicker, more powerful stream of water, and goosenecks of course are designed precisely for the purpose of limiting flow rate variations.

With goosenecks you also need to pour out what's in the neck before pouring into a vessel, when you're trying to brew as hot as possible. I'm too lazy to do this most of the time but when brewing in very small vessels, it does matter.

The Bonavita gooseneck has served me well for a long time but these are some of the things I'm thinking of when looking for the next kettle.
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