Help me find the perfect kettle!

January 26, 2012 11:12 AM

I need a new kettle. Be forewarned, my wife and I are over-thinking this like five plates of beans...

Our old kettles element went and we purchased this one at Costco, only to discover that it wasn't a cool touch unit (a no-no with young kids), had a tiny base so the whole thing wobbled if you brushed it, and it was extremely loud to boot.

We returned that one, and purchase this one from Amazon, only to find that it is even louder, and pours everywhere when you try and pour from it.

So, we returned that and went for a simple plastic one on a base, and once again it pours out all the way around the lid, not just from the spout and it takes forever to boil.

At this point my wife is now on the hunt for the perfect kettle and refuses to . Her requirements are:

- Electric
- Capacity of 1.5 - 2 L
- Plastic exterior or body that stays cool(ish) to the touch
- Sturdy base e.g. the base isn't smaller than the kettle
- See-through panel at the side so the amount of water is easily visible e.g. no fill line on the inside of the kettle body
- Suitably shaped pouring spout and/or seal on the lid so that, when you pour, water doesn't come through the gaps in the lid as well (spilled water everywhere)
- Non-whistling and not overly loud when boiling
- Auto shut off when boiling
- Auto shut off if turned on with no water in it
- Prefer a concealed heating element within the kettle body but not necessary
- Cord or cordless is fine

So how about it AskMe?

posted by WinnipegDragon to Home & Garden (35 answers total)

I love this one. It does have fill line inside.
posted by bearwife at 11:15 AM on January 26, 2012

We've had a Braun AquaExpress for a decade, and it is very good.
posted by scruss at 11:26 AM on January 26, 2012

bearwife, that appears to be the same one the OP bought from Amazon and returned.
posted by Grither at 11:27 AM on January 26, 2012

I have this Cuisinart one which is completely amazing. My only complaint is the alert sound when the water is ready is too quiet to hear from another room, but for you that sounds like a good thing.

If you're a tea snob it even will heat the water to different temperatures (because some teas shouldn't be brewed with boiling water).
posted by misskaz at 11:31 AM on January 26, 2012

I own and love this Proctor Silex. I think it fulfills all of your requirements.
posted by insectosaurus at 11:32 AM on January 26, 2012

This one isn't as pretty as the stainless ones you've chosen previously, but it's the one I bought for my grandmother about six or so years ago, as she was elderly and infirm and needed something safe for her daily oatmeal and nightly tea. I chose it for all the reasons you mentioned, and I believe it has all the features. I don't recall it being loud when it boils (as the review mentions and as was a concern to you); and I haven't used it myself lately to see how it pours - but I remember the lid was fine and safe for my gram while she was using it. But since she passed about four years ago, it's now in the staff room at school where it's still working and boils so quickly that the teachers love it for its efficiency. I won't get a chance to try it to check the lid and the noise until next week, but I really thought it was great and would buy it again.
posted by peagood at 11:38 AM on January 26, 2012

My eight-year-old Black and Decker SmartBoil meets all your requirements. Sorry, but I'm not on a real computer and can't look up current models.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:39 AM on January 26, 2012

I have this Zojirushi dispensing pot and love it like it was my child. Super sturdy, cool to the touch, has a lock button, see-through panel, auto shut-off, concealed heating element, pretty much your every requirement.
posted by word_virus at 11:40 AM on January 26, 2012

Oh, mine's the same as peagood's.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:41 AM on January 26, 2012

Another vote for the Braun Aqua Express. Ours has been happily, quickly, safely and quietly boiling our water for years now (both pre and post having a kiddo).
posted by goggie at 11:42 AM on January 26, 2012

Zojirushi is the gold standard -- spendy, but impeccably designed, with smart features like magnetic plugs (so that you can't accidentally knock it off the counter if you catch on the cord) and timed water heating. I've never used their smallest kettle -- only the large tower-style boilers -- but I have found them to be worth every penny.
posted by ourobouros at 11:43 AM on January 26, 2012

Oh, and to answer some of your more specific concerns: in my experience, the Zojirushi kettles are completely silent, 100% cool to the touch, and built like a tank.
posted by ourobouros at 11:47 AM on January 26, 2012

What are you using it for? If its just tea you might consider getting a Kuerig coffee maker instead. I use mine for just hot water all the time. Mine holds 64 oz (you can larger and smaller sizes) and it is instant hot if you keep it on.

We like it for coffee and tea also :)
posted by yb2006shasta at 12:12 PM on January 26, 2012

Oops, sorry, Grither, you are right. I wonder why mine is quiet and pours only where directed.
posted by bearwife at 12:13 PM on January 26, 2012

I have that Proctor Silex. I hate it and its hard-to-fill, not-cordless just removable-cord face. I'm watching this thread to find its replacement. It is pretty quiet though.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:17 PM on January 26, 2012

Thirding Zojirushi. I like the water dispensing pots instead of kettles since I like to have hot water handy for tea any time.
posted by needled at 12:24 PM on January 26, 2012

I bought this Bosche for the wifely sort's tea, like 5 years ago. Not plastic. Looks beautiful and works great. Would def buy it again if it ever goes out.

Ack, looks like it's been discontinued. I'd search around for one, anyway.
posted by artdrectr at 12:50 PM on January 26, 2012

First of all: 16 replies? This is why I love you Metafilter!

And to answer your questions, we use it for everything - Tea, Aeropress coffee, hot chocolate, warming up veggie dogs for the kids, making bouillon, boiling water for cleaning purposes, you name it.

I never thought about Zojirushi, but we have a ZCC-10 rice cooker so I know just how good their stuff can be. We'll look into them.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 12:55 PM on January 26, 2012

misskaz, is the Cuisinart model a cool-touch one? It looks as though only the handle is?
posted by WinnipegDragon at 1:00 PM on January 26, 2012

I have the Cuisinart pot. The handle is cool, but the body of the pot gets hot (not wildly hot, but hot).
Great pot, though. I'm a big fan.
posted by willpie at 1:25 PM on January 26, 2012

I too have the Cuisinart that misskaz has and while I also love it as though it were my child it is most emphatically not cool-touch. I love it. I hate to say anything bad about it. I know it would never mean to hurt me because we are soulmates but ... not cool touch.
posted by AmandaA at 1:40 PM on January 26, 2012

I have a 12$ salton kettle which is about as bottom-end as you get but fulfils all your criteria, I think:

- Electric
- Capacity of 1.7 L
- Plastic exterior, quite warm to the touch but won't burn if you touch it, althugh it might if you held onto it for like...more than 5 seconds. I've never tried.
- Sturdy base - almost too sturdy, it can be annoying to take off the base cleanly
- See-through panel
- I've never had problems pouring, although I suppose it may depend on your technique....the lid should be fully closed though if you don't want to pour carefully
- Non-whistling and not overly loud when boiling - very quiet actually, I often don't notice when it boils
- Auto shut off when boiling
- Auto shut off if turned on with no water in it - pretty sure, although it takes a bit of time for it to realize
- heating element is not concealed
-cordless

http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/salton-cordless-electric-jug-kettle-1-7-litres-quarts/10030678?trail=&ancestorID=&searchString=&moduleName=&startSearch=&fromSearchBox=&addFacet=

It seems to heat water as fast as your average kettle. Very quiet by my standards. I've had it for over a year now and it's still working fine despite the cheap quality. It does the job.

*You might actually find this to be an advantage, but I don't like that it has an irregular (so very stable) pedestal-thing and it's sometimes annoying to slip on/off since it has to be positioned just right. Perfect for me other than that, which is why I haven't replaced it.

*I had the exact proctor-silex linked earlier and I LOATHED that stupid thing. Cordless is just not for me, I guess - the cord on that model is also way too short so you can't even pour the water without unplugging the cord, which is annoying, especially after you had to unplug it to fill it in the first place.
posted by randomnity at 1:53 PM on January 26, 2012

I also have that awesome Cuisinart and just happened to have fired it up to make my afternoon cuppa... I can confirm that the only part of it that stays cool is the handle. The rest of it, being stainless, is now at boiling temp.
posted by Runes at 1:54 PM on January 26, 2012

Oh, drat. Sorry, WinnipegDragon. I've never touched the body of the pot so I didn't even think about it.
posted by misskaz at 1:55 PM on January 26, 2012

Love my Breville.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:31 PM on January 26, 2012

Not a cool touch unit though. That being said, it's very stable!
posted by oceanjesse at 4:33 PM on January 26, 2012

I went through this reseach process last year and went with the Breville stainless kettle, which I really like. It fails two of your criteria: the exterior is metal instead of plastic, and it gets hot to the touch. These shouldn't be dealbreakers though - I'd never grab a hot stovetop kettle by anything but the handle, so why would I do so with an electric? I imagine it would really drive up the cost to insulate the kettle walls. More important, from my perspective, was that the boiling water was not in contact with any plastic that might leach unpleasant aromas or toxic chemicals, and the Breville's all-stainless steel interior was a strong selling point for me. You don't mention this but may want to consider it. Good luck with your search.
posted by Mendl at 4:39 PM on January 26, 2012

Definitely get a Zojirushi dispensing pot or their little kettle.

I went through many long and arduous hours of kettle research last year and bought the small Zojirushi kettle. It fits all of your requirements EXCEPT it has only 1 liter capacity and has no water level indicator. Also, it pours very slowly compared to other kettles and, sometimes, 'splatters' a little when pouring...water doesn't come out of the sides or anything, it just comes out of the spout a little funny and can get water where you don't want it. This doesn't happen if you pour at kind of an angle (and honestly could be a defect with my kettle, or something wonky with the spout), and it never bothers me now.

I love it and use it four or five times a day, it's really easy to use...super cute (bonus for kids...you can put stickers on it!), very fast to boil, very easy to clean, very sturdy and well made.

It isn't silent, but it isn't very loud.

The dispensing pots look awesome, and I'm looking forward to the day that I can add one to my water boiling arsenal, but I really like the flexibility and style of the little kettle.
posted by soy bean at 4:48 PM on January 26, 2012

Shoot -- I wish this thread had been started about a week ago. I just bought one at Target and went real low end. It works OK, but is really loud and doesn't keep the water warm. Really wish I'd heard all these opinions.
posted by la petite marie at 8:35 PM on January 26, 2012

This is not a helpful answer, but after reading these answers and searching Google images looking for the twin of my old-fashioned, teapot-dome shaped electric kettle I realize that it doesn't seem very common any more -- which means I'm never going to be able to replace it. And it's perfect: it's stable, it boils very quickly because of its shape, it doesn't get hot, it whistles but is otherwise not noisy, and no small child is going to be able to pull it over and scald themselves. It also doesn't spill all over the counter when making tea.

Suddenly a 20.00 London Drugs purchase looks precious.
posted by jrochest at 10:31 PM on January 26, 2012

Well, we went with a Zojirushi dispenser. I had never really looked at them before, but we do tend to use a lot of hot water, and it should be cool, quiet, and it completely scratches my gadget itch too!
posted by WinnipegDragon at 10:52 PM on January 26, 2012

Oh, good. Having a dispenser is life-changing in a very tiny way :) Hope you like it.
posted by word_virus at 8:22 AM on January 27, 2012

I withdraw my recommendation of the Black and Decker SmartBoil. I just noticed that the lid has slightly melted and is disintegrating. Presumably I've been drinking crumbs of plastic along with my tea. It isn't lime or calcium; a small part of the lid, right above the spout, is definitely crumbling away.

peagood, you might want to check your kettle.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:11 PM on February 9, 2012

Thanks! I will!
posted by peagood at 12:17 PM on February 9, 2012

Just thought I would come back to this and say the dispenser is TERRIFIC. A million times better than a kettle. I'll never own a kettle again.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:47 PM on February 9, 2012