Why you might need an electric kettle

[APBinNCA]

In other countries, the power runs at different levels. We have paltry 110V here in the States, so the electric kettles here don't heat the water anywhere near the time in the UK and Australia.

But our is still pretty fast.

That is touched on in the video...

TLDW: companies aren't making full use of the available amperage most of the time, less than a hair dryer. Reasons.

Edit: that Adagio is 1500w and I may have to buy one for "science." $5 off first order too...

 

[APBinNCA]

Sorry that I only now found this thread as I had seen the video a week ago, am subscribed. There is a follow up video, but it is a bit all over the place. I think he is going to have to remake it because he originally had induction in the script and some other stuff came up.

I have a long history with electric kettles and even longer with goosenecks. I have/had a Bonavita commercial rated that are used in some cafes. It lasted over a decade, but now does weird stuff. I would probably have to replace the whole base and the plastic parts on the kettle are cruddy now so I am undecided what to do with it. It isn't very aesthetically pleasing nor easy to pour with like my Hario kettles. I quickly replaced it with a Fellow Stag EKG about a year ago and it is much closer to the same pouring control as the stove top Hario. I had planned to fix the Bonavita, but seeing that link above it looks like an Adagio is going to get ordered for tea and other uses considering the price and footprint.

I use kettles daily, but reserve my Stag only for coffee or tea use. The reason for this is that I use re-mineralised water for coffee and reverse osmosis for everything else. Keeping minerals out of a kettle definitely prolongs it's life span. I still frequently have to use the stove top kettle for other uses, but the slow boiling is actually a bit of a feature so I can forget about it while I do other things. Setting an Adagio next to the stove a long way from my coffee equipment would be very handy. I use the RO water for final rinse as I don't have a dish washer and I have very hard water.

 

[steveclarkus]

I use mine every day. It is stainless steel, though. I'm not sure it's a good idea to boil water in plastic. It also has around six preset temperatures, which is handy for making green tea (and for shaving).

Agree. I changed over to glass for the same reason.

 

[StillShaving]

In his more rambling follow up video he mentioned some poll (or some sales statistics) that puts the number of electric kettles in USA households higher than he originally implied. That statistic could also be inferred from their availability in department stores. I suspect an indirect factor is that modern houses/kitchens have gotten larger, making it easier to dedicate countertop space to an electric kettle.

Even my parents have an electric kettle, though it is mostly used to make instant coffee.

 

[StillShaving]

The same youtuber (TechnologyConnections) posted a follow up video on automatic drip brewers. Something to consider watching if you are interested in the design differences between the of the original Mr. Coffee and most modern autodrip machines.
Drip Coffee Makers — super simple, super cheap:

Another interesting video about electric kettles. The youtuber (Steve Mould) shows that his preconceived notions of how they work was wrong in an entertaining way.
Will a Kettle Full Of Alcohol Stay On Forever?: