Mysterious one-of-a-kind electric kettle?!
May 11, 2018 9:58 AM Subscribe
I covet this Kitchenaid kettle, in this colour. Hard. But very suspiciously/confoundingly, that particular site is the only place I've seen it for sale in this colour, or even referenced as existing, including after searching resale sites like ebay. The kettle is widely available in other, less desirous (to me) colours all over the internet. But the green apple version seems to be a kitchen-gadget version of the Polkaroo....
So: Is this site a scam? Is my google-fu just awful? (spoiler: probably yes to both...) Can you make my day and find me this kettle for NOT one billion dollars?
So, I am a terrible bougie person who wants my electric kettle to match my stand mixer (and who wastes AskMe questions on trivialities about Kitchenaid products). I want this kettle in "Green Apple".
I'm very confused as to why a single German kitchen retailer is offering this kettle for sale, when I can find no reference to it anywhere else on the internet (not as a discontinued colour, not as a used item, nada). I was able to add the item to my cart and go through the checkout process up until the point of hitting "Submit", so I don't think the page is just an unexpurged relic of a product that they no longer sell.
I want this to be a product that exists. I REALLY want it to be a product that exists somewhere for less than 200 Euro plus shipping.
Is it? Or shall I be doomed to purchase an electric kettle that (HORRORS) does not match my stand mixer exactly? If the site linked is not on the up-and-up, what is their angle? It seems such an oddly narrowly targeted scam....
Thanks for wasting your time on my consumerist inanity, friends!
So, I am a terrible bougie person who wants my electric kettle to match my stand mixer (and who wastes AskMe questions on trivialities about Kitchenaid products). I want this kettle in "Green Apple".
I'm very confused as to why a single German kitchen retailer is offering this kettle for sale, when I can find no reference to it anywhere else on the internet (not as a discontinued colour, not as a used item, nada). I was able to add the item to my cart and go through the checkout process up until the point of hitting "Submit", so I don't think the page is just an unexpurged relic of a product that they no longer sell.
I want this to be a product that exists. I REALLY want it to be a product that exists somewhere for less than 200 Euro plus shipping.
Is it? Or shall I be doomed to purchase an electric kettle that (HORRORS) does not match my stand mixer exactly? If the site linked is not on the up-and-up, what is their angle? It seems such an oddly narrowly targeted scam....
Thanks for wasting your time on my consumerist inanity, friends!
I believe that color is called Sunkissed Lime in the US. That said, I couldn't find it with cursory searching. The hunt continues.
posted by carmicha at 10:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 10:26 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
There's a live chat feature on the KitchenAid website where you can speak to someone who specializes in counter top appliances. Per this page of electric kettles, they're not offering that color but maybe you can get some help that way. Good luck.
posted by carmicha at 10:31 AM on May 11, 2018
posted by carmicha at 10:31 AM on May 11, 2018
Why not call KitchenAid? Wouldn't the manufacturer be the #1 source to answer this question?
posted by topsykretts at 10:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by topsykretts at 10:45 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
No luck but I'm seeing that the other colors in this line are $140 USD , and 200 euro is currently like $240, in which case..... I'm looking at the electric kettle my wife has had for at least 15 years?? and giving you permission to just spend the extra money if it will make you happy every day.
posted by nakedmolerats at 11:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 11:02 AM on May 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Assuming you live in North America, you don't want to buy any Kitchenaid electric kettle whose product number starts with a 5, such as 5KEK1522EGA. Those are built for European power (220V), and will not run well on US power (110V).
The US versions just leave out the initial number, and are stuff like KEK1522CA. The European ones not only need higher voltage, they also draw more total power than US house wiring can normally supply. The 5KEK1522 draws 2400W, which I'm sure would heat your water right quick, but is more than typical US house wiring and circuit breakers are able to deliver.
Limit your search to kettles that are made to be sold in North America. Sadly I think that means you aren't going to be able to find this kettle in this color.
posted by aubilenon at 11:19 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
The US versions just leave out the initial number, and are stuff like KEK1522CA. The European ones not only need higher voltage, they also draw more total power than US house wiring can normally supply. The 5KEK1522 draws 2400W, which I'm sure would heat your water right quick, but is more than typical US house wiring and circuit breakers are able to deliver.
Limit your search to kettles that are made to be sold in North America. Sadly I think that means you aren't going to be able to find this kettle in this color.
posted by aubilenon at 11:19 AM on May 11, 2018 [14 favorites]
go through the checkout process up until the point of hitting "Submit"
From experience many of these smaller websites will go through the whole process right down to charging your credit card before discovering, a few days later that actually no we can't get that exact product any more.
posted by Lanark at 11:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
From experience many of these smaller websites will go through the whole process right down to charging your credit card before discovering, a few days later that actually no we can't get that exact product any more.
posted by Lanark at 11:36 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
I happened across How To Paint a KitchenAid Mixer just the other day. So you could get one of these in a different color and match the paint yourself (with some work, of course).
posted by cardioid at 7:30 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by cardioid at 7:30 PM on May 11, 2018
I don’t think anything you paint yourself is going to be able to withstand cold-to-boiling temperature extremes 1000+ times.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:33 PM on May 11, 2018
posted by iamkimiam at 11:33 PM on May 11, 2018
The European ones not only need higher voltage, they also draw more total power than US house wiring can normally supply. The 5KEK1522 draws 2400W, which I'm sure would heat your water right quick, but is more than typical US house wiring and circuit breakers are able to deliver.
That's not how electricity works. Power equals current times voltage, and current equals voltage divided by resistance. The heating element's resistance doesn't change spontaneously when you ship it from Germany to the US, so if you plug a kettle meant for 230V into a 110V socket, it will draw roughly half the current, and therefore only a quarter of its rated power. That's about 600W, well within the capabilities of an US house installation. Hence, it will take a bit over twice as long as an US-spec kettle to boil the same amount of water.
From experience many of these smaller websites
Galeria-Kaufhof isn't a 'small website', and neither is amazon.de
I don’t think anything you paint yourself is going to be able to withstand cold-to-boiling temperature extremes 1000+ times.
It's double-walled, so the outside isn't going to get to 100C/212F.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's not how electricity works. Power equals current times voltage, and current equals voltage divided by resistance. The heating element's resistance doesn't change spontaneously when you ship it from Germany to the US, so if you plug a kettle meant for 230V into a 110V socket, it will draw roughly half the current, and therefore only a quarter of its rated power. That's about 600W, well within the capabilities of an US house installation. Hence, it will take a bit over twice as long as an US-spec kettle to boil the same amount of water.
From experience many of these smaller websites
Galeria-Kaufhof isn't a 'small website', and neither is amazon.de
I don’t think anything you paint yourself is going to be able to withstand cold-to-boiling temperature extremes 1000+ times.
It's double-walled, so the outside isn't going to get to 100C/212F.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:19 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Power equals current times voltage, and current equals voltage divided by resistance
Yeah that is true if everything inside is purely ohmic. The heating element itself certainly would be but there’s other circuitry in there too — at least also a thermostat. Certainly some kettles have more advanced circuitry that won’t necessarily work with whatever power you throw at them. I personally don’t really know how likely it is that this kettle will work on Canadian power. The good news is underpowering it is unlikely to damage the kettle or start a fire, so I guess go ahead and try it if you want.
posted by aubilenon at 9:33 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah that is true if everything inside is purely ohmic. The heating element itself certainly would be but there’s other circuitry in there too — at least also a thermostat. Certainly some kettles have more advanced circuitry that won’t necessarily work with whatever power you throw at them. I personally don’t really know how likely it is that this kettle will work on Canadian power. The good news is underpowering it is unlikely to damage the kettle or start a fire, so I guess go ahead and try it if you want.
posted by aubilenon at 9:33 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
(My mention of total power draw was initially in the context of if you could use some transformer to supply it the specified voltage, but that got lost in some bad editing. Sorry!)
posted by aubilenon at 9:35 AM on May 12, 2018
posted by aubilenon at 9:35 AM on May 12, 2018
If you're really hardcore, you could get an electrician to add a 240V outlet for your Euro-kettle. If your kitchen is somewhat modern, you should have at least two 20A branch circuits, and they normally would be on opposite phases. If two out-of-phase circuits pass through the same junction box, it wouldn't be difficult to do at all. (Tap in to the 'hot' wire of two out of phase 120V circuits and the voltages will add, equalling 240V @20 Amps.)
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 9:46 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 9:46 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
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