Boiling water, sink supplies

[F Murtz]

How much volume do you think a piece of pipe with a quarter inch or so of bore and a foot and a half long holds?

[dom]

A vacuum-insulated tank.

Standby power consumption is low.

[Donwill]

Wall mounted glass kettles were all the rage in the early 60s, had a chromed spout as I remember and a rubber filler hose to fit on the tap. Can't remember what they were called. Don

[Bolted]

Easily DIY-able. On the water side it has an inlet connector which fits to a washing machine valve. There's a safety overflow hose from that valve which needs to be attached to a drainage pipe but the kit includes a solvent weld (and threaded) hose barb and the right tap. You obviously need a drainage pipe (and an electric socket) in the relevant cupboard.

We're in London so have fairly hard water. The mesh on the end of the tap clogs up every couple of months, but an overnight soak in vinegar sorts it out. The maintenance instructions point to hot water flexi connectors which may need de-scaling but I've yet to need to do that (it's been going about a year).

I saved about 25% buying from Holland. There were Ebay re-sellers who appeared to be doing the same thing and still offering decent discounts (but the warranty issues might be more complicated).

The Quooker taps don't actually look like normal taps and only an idiot would stick their hand under one. If they did, they would try to turn the knob and it wouldn't turn as you need to depress the knob to turn it. Then the tap makes a noise like a jet engine and starts to spit out water spray. The first second is the cold/coolish water in the narrow bore tap flexi-hose so would give plenty of time for the idiot to remove their hand and stare at the strange dragon tap in wonder at what the world is turning into.

It makes fine tea, unlike the Zip types which deliver at lower temps.

Worth having? As I said, now I've got it I'd miss it if it died. That doesn't make the economics make any more sense, but from where I am now, money long gone, I'm quite glad I lost that argument to someone who didn't give much weight to that as a factor. The convenience is very convenient, even if it is a complete luxury.

[Michael Troake]

Creda "Corvette"!

[Tim Lamb]

This is a circumlocution worth remembering:-)

Right. Clear enough. I'll continue to hope holidays and spring will re-direct her interest. We do have *pod* coffee maker which is relatively instant.

Previous experience with electric shower elements in this area is a life of 2-3 years. Clearly that is hugely more water.

At present I am holding up a reminder of how often she needs to clean the kettle as a deterrent:-)

regards

[Steve Walker]

Yep, when Screwfix start stocking them for £300 I'll get one.

[Bill]

In message , Bolted writes

Still scares the heck out of me for domestic use if there is the slightest chance that a child would get anywhere near it. Especially visitors, would we need to do a H&S induction before allowing visitors into the home? Unfortunately these things are rare enough that most people, children, would not have come across them before and so realise that they are dangerous. Otherwise it looks a darn good idea.

[Bob Minchin]

We had these things in the kitchens at work and every couple of months it was a strip down for a chemical descale due to furring up. They are an absolute menace and IMHO no justification to have them in a domestic situation. Modern jug kettle costing £5 can boil a cupful in a minute or less and is far more economic than keeping several pints of water at boiling point 24/7 however much insulation there is.

Bob

[Tim Watts]

harry ( [e-mail]) wibbled on Monday 03 January 2011 12:02:

I have a kettle that does all that - flat boiling plate, circular plug. Agreed - wouldnever have a none plate kettle again.

[Andy Dingley]

Enough to generate a couple of ringbinders of paperwork each year (legionella) if it's in commercial premises.

[John Rumm]

According to the install manual, the baby 3L model has a 1.6kW heater. It takes 10 mins to achieve initial warm up. In standby it consumes 10W. The 7L version has a 3kW heater, and 15 min initial warm up. Same standby.

[John Rumm]

Full install manual:

[Skipweasel]

10W. That's still more than miser-me cares to have lurking. I begrudge the cat 15W for her hot-spot, but then she's 23 this year and probably deserves a bit of comfort.

[Skipweasel]

We've just got our first one, since the other died rather terminally over Christmas after 15 years of stalwart service.

There are definite advantages - most notably the very low minimum volume. However, do you find yours very noisy compared to the old sort?

[Tim Watts]

John Rumm ( [e-mail]) wibbled on Monday 03 January 2011

14:06:

OH - I take it back re volume - 3l and 7l, rather larger than I thought. I was thinking of instant heater type devices which are pitiful. Not seen a tank type before (well for normal HW but not for boiling).

[Andy Champ]

About a teacupful, at a guess. Fill the cup, throw away, add teabag, refill. That's halved the efficiency for a start!

But my flat plate kettle self descales (water is only _fairly_ hard) and I remember the Corvette. And the thing we had at work for 6 months or so. And the once-a-week descale for the smart coffee machine.

Oh, and that's enough money to take her on a _really_ nice short break somewhere...

Andy

[damduck-egg]

Were they the things that Barbers used to have? Instant boiling water for sterilizing the various cutting tools and able to supply water for an orrible mug of tea as well.

G.Harman

[Skipweasel]

13cc near enough. OK for a dolls' tea-set, I suppose.

[Bolted]

The Quooker bore is more like 1/8 inch - had to check to make sure I wasn't taking out of my rear and the OD is 9mm.