I am looking at a 'luxury' kettle for when I move. I really like the appearance of the Smeg 'Retro' kettle, which is (as they say in marketing) 'reassuringly expensive'. However, some reviewers as saying it is over-priced for what it is and the lid may be badly fitting.
I think that all kettles - like all great political careers - end in failure. My last one (Bosch) lasted just over two years. I would be happy to pay (indeed, ask my brother to pay!) for robust and durable kettle, but not for posh styling on the outside. Any comments on this product?
We had a Russell Hobbs kettle when I was a kid in the 70s. The classic shape with the red switch. It lasted for many years. The element failed and I fitted a new one for my my mum. But apart from that it went on and on. Eventually living on her own, she wanted a new jug kettle as it was easier to boil small amounts of water. The old Russell Hobbs was in the shed, now rusty, when I cleared out her house when she died.
Many years on my wife got fed up with cheap £4 kettles from the supermarket that I bought just looking and feeling cheap and the fact they lasted about 2-3yrs before they started leaking. So she bought a Russell Hobbs for about £22. Yes, one of the new ones made in China or wherever. Are Russell Hobbs a premium brand or just the same tat with a bigger price? Well it felt well made, it felt quality and premium and in the end lasted about 12 years before the plastic on the lid hinge started to crumble. I'm sure I could have fashioned a repair with Araldite etc. but she wasn't having "something crappy and bodged" in the kitchen and bought another Russell Hobbs. Again it feels a quality product despite its origins. Apart from the lid hinge plastic failing, the o;d kettle was perfect and worked perfectly.
So a no-name supermarket kettle can be had for £8 and experience says it wont last. A Russell Hobbs (maybe made in the same factory) is about £30 and feels better and experience says last quite well. It seems better value for money than the cheap ones.
Is your Smeg worth it? I looked, they start at £149.95. So no I don't think so.
Unless you want variable temperature I’m a fan of Asda’s cheaper offerings. As they’re all glass it’s very easy to avoid overfilling. I don’t think they look too naff either.
Anything with a spring-loaded pop-up lid operated by a button or something similar is doomed to failure, no matter how expensive it is. After several kettles like that which lasted only 2 or 3 years I went for a removable lid (Breville) and it's been fine for years.
I bought something like that off amazon. Only problem is the glass or plastic or whatever gets covered in scale, so it needs a dose of Waitrose essential descaling liquid (about 1/10th as expensive a the powder or crystals, ) every month or two to make it look shiny and nice
(yeah, I know I ought to simply buy industrial citric acid off amazon, but life is increasingly too short...)
Ive had tons of kettles over the years. None are really any good. Except the ones that sit on cookers. Brand is irrelevant. Its all the same far east chinesium alloy shit. Toasters are the same.
Having looked at some of the Amazon reviews for more expensive kettles the conclusions I've come to are: i) The more you pay the more likely they are to leak. ii) The more sophisticated they are the more likely to fail within a few years. Water and electronics don't seem to mix. iii) The higher price is for fashion rather than functionality
A basic single walled plastic kettle from Asda costing £10 will last just as long as a water boiling fashion accessory from one of the well known brands that cost x10 more.
Some of the reviews I've read for some of the more expensive kettles mention poor ergonomics and poor design with lids where it's difficult to fill or somewhat dangerous when pouring near boiling water.
I bought an original Russell Hobbs "Forgettle" in 1978 and it was still working in 2013. I only replaced it because it had a slight leak and I prefer the modern "cordless" type.
I have tended to stick with two makes. Morphy Richards and Tefal. I've had own brand and the like, but they do seem flimsy and not very easy to use. The current one is Morphy Richards and is very easy to fill, A bit noisy when it boils, but I can put up with that,as its fast. Big chunky handle too, no problems after a couple of years, but the problem with such things is that they change their designs all the time, not always for the better. Brian
I also think that sometimes there is a change in manufacture to make the product cheaper but still keeping the model name. Something purchased a few years ago isn't necessarily what's on sale now.
I have a spare timer for ours but lubrication fixed the original fault.
Our experience of base connections is training issues with catering dept. not appreciating the arcing damage caused by lifting off a partly boiled kettle.
I think (I would need to go look) the last one I bought cost around £20 from Lidl and branded RH. Had a series of plastic ones, with the sight glass, which quickly cake up, so this time chose an all glass one. Blue light in the base, when it has power, red when switched on. It has lasted a year, so far. Scale buildup seems worse, but probably because it is more obvious in an all glass kettle, clean as a whistle, after a descale.
We had a Russell Hobbs K2 from 1980(ish) 'til last year. The replacement is a pretty red...thing (dunno make/model) but I very much doubt if it will last as long.
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