What is the best electric kettle in the UK?

October 3, 2020 5:03 AM

Please tell me what kettle to buy! My main criteria is that unlike the cheapo plastic one my flatmate got from Sainsbury's this one pours properly without dribbling water everywhere.

I don't want to spend more than £40 but that shouldn't be too much of an ask given that I just want to make tea without getting a pool of water on the floor every. sodding. time. I'm generally not crazy about stainless steel finishes as they will soon look grubby in our heavily-trafficked under-maintained shared kitchen, but it's not a deal breaker.

posted by Gin and Broadband to Shopping (13 answers total)

Russell Hobbs 21600-10 works well enough. Usually available at Sainsbury's, Currys etc as well. Whatever you buy, make sure it's 3kW. Life's too short to wait for a kettle to boil.
posted by StephenB at 5:40 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Any kettle with a steel spout will dribble less than any kettle with a plastic one, purely because the radius of the lip that the water exits over will be so much smaller for thin steel than for thick plastic.

Also, if not looking grubby is a thing you care about, you probably don't want a transparent body on the electric kettle in an under-maintained share-house kitchen. Better for all the scale buildup and general grossness to be hidden down inside the dark recesses of an opaque kettle body.
posted by flabdablet at 6:07 AM on October 3, 2020 [3 favorites]

I’ve been well pleased with Bodum kettles in a number of different styles over the years. (Although I am in the US, I have checked and they are available in the UK.)
posted by ocherdraco at 6:17 AM on October 3, 2020 [3 favorites]

I recently got the Top Pick from this Wirecutter article and haven’t been disappointed! (30+years UK kettle user!)
posted by atlantica at 6:45 AM on October 3, 2020

Best answer: After years of thinking kettles had to be stainless steel and plastic was just crappy, I was given a decent (Philips, so not posh, just not bargain basement) plastic kettle, and it was so much nicer, because the sound of it boiling doesn't reverberate around the place. And also, it's lasted me 6 years without springing a leak, which was an issue with steel kettles after 3 or 4 years (and why someone else bought me a kettle).

The model I've got's discontinued, but my parents have had one of these Bosch ones for a few years, and it's holding up nicely. Quiet, nice pourer, quick boiling. The release mechanism for the lid's a bit creaky, though.

The fact that the base is narrow makes it easier to fill it up while there's something else in the sink, which may or may not be useful.
posted by ambrosen at 6:53 AM on October 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

the Top Pick from this Wirecutter article

The hinges on our Cuisinart lid got bent, and it’s now a pain to open and close. Additionally, the water level is under the handle, so it’s difficult to see while you’re holding the kettle.
posted by zamboni at 6:56 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Unlike atlantica (although sharing the 30+years UK kettle UX), I find the Cuisinart the most dismal kettle I've ever owned. I do hope it's not available in the UK, because it's too tall, too heavy, too slow (though that's 120 V for you) and randomly flips back to tepid mode.
posted by scruss at 7:00 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

We got one of these recently and it pours fine. The hard water particle filter in the spout is worse than the one on the previous kettle we had, though, so if you live in a hard water area you might want something with better filtration.
posted by terretu at 7:08 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have a Breville VKJ557. The fancy blue light has become unreliable after five years of use, but it doesn't dribble when I pour from it, it boils fast enough not to annoy me, and it's easy to see the water level; the only complaint I have with it is that the lid doesn't flip all the way up, which means I sometimes pour water on the counter or floor when filling it from a filter jug.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:10 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Bodum kettles. I sadly had to say goodbye to one after more than 20 years of hard work (we have very hard water here), and now one of my roomies has brought out a thing that is a PITA to clean and decalcify, and yes, can't pour properly. The specific model I had doesn't exist anymore, but I believe they still make good kettles, I think mine was their cheapest model, now IBIS.
posted by mumimor at 8:15 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Very happy with our Russell Hobbs Luna 23210. Looks good, boils quickly and quite quietly.
posted by knapah at 9:51 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I went with the Bosch that ambrosen recommended, as a quick scan of reviews had "good pourer" prominently featured, but I really appreciate all the feedback and kettle know-how.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 10:04 AM on October 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm a bit late, but if you rarely use your kettle for anything other than single cups of tea, I cannot recommend a Breville One Cup Kettle enough, boils exactly the right amount of hot water in under a minute.
posted by sarahdal at 12:03 PM on October 3, 2020 [2 favorites]