Electric Kettle Life

John.G

Have gone through ~ 4 of them in the past 6 years, all last ~ 1.5 years with ~ 10 cups/day usage, the control part all ways fails in the on position, never a element problem, I have used Morphy Richards & Breville, all are 1.7L 3kw units and stainless steel with a hidden element. I also have a auto switch off plastic Morphy Richards, 1.5L 1.85kw with the element in the kettle which was used continuously for at least 5 years and is the standby when the others pack up. The only strange thing with the M.Richards is that the resistance via the plugtop with kettle switched on reads ~ 150 ohms but 1.85kw = 28.6 ohms, when I monitor the power with a energy monitor it measures almost exactly 1.8/1.9kw at 229/231V.

Is 1.5 year life typical for a 3kw auto switchoff kettle?

kirk.

What do you mean by auto switch off

Aren't they all automatic?

Any I had was the same , it was usually the control not the element

kirk.

Back in the day kettles were a nightmare for shocks and dodgy leads

Plastic jug kettles were a big step up

I reckon some of the cheap unbranded ones probably last as long as the big brands

banie01

Are you in a hard water area? If so are you descaling your kettle?

Hard water and the effect it has on element efficiency can cause components to fail.

John.G

No, exceptionally soft water area, same immersion that I installed in October 1972, electric shower lasted 18 years before replacement due to a few leaks, not the heating can/element.

10-10-20

It's the crap plastic mechanical parts John. They aren't robust enough to last through the boil/cool cycles any more. The mechanics of the older kettles were designed by hand as were the plastic component molds and they had thick components made from that glass-strengthened black plastic, and could take abuse and overuse. But these days they are computer designed with zero waste and specifically for the exact mechanical loading expected under light use. They then fail quickly.

I'm on my 5th kettle in 17 years.

greasepalm

Thats a lot of kettles , what about a tap on kitchen sink that does boiling water.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120406339#Comment_120406339

And I'm in a very soft water area also. I'd have never seen an element burn out or have hard-water residue, ever.

walterking

You get what you pay for.

In the office we have a cheap kettle - tend to be replacing it every 2/3 years at about €20 a pop.

At home I have a Dualit kettle. Far quieter than most kettles, but it was about €100. However its is 20+ years old. Have their toaster too - similarly, 20+ year old and only have changed elements once (5minute diy job)

elperello

My kettle gave up one morning about 10 years ago when I was leaving for the UK.

I thought I'd get one there to save looking for one when I got back so I stopped at a big Curry's in Manchester.

They had a big long display unit with about 30 different kettles and I was in a hurry and just got confused with so much choice so I grabbed the cheapest one.

Curry's Essentials £4.99.

Still working today.

John.G

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120406311#Comment_120406311

~ 3 years per kettle isn't bad though, interestingly my latest one, a LIDL, ownbrand "SilverCrest" has a 3 year warranty, all my others had only a one year warranty. Watch this space.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120407262#Comment_120407262

Well, it's bad when my parents had a British made (Morphy Richards?) for about 22 years. The copper contacts on the bimetalic strip wore away, but you could still get the replacement parts at the time!

Furze99

Similar here - built in obsolescence I think. Cheaper ones last much the same as more expensive brands.

John.G

I took apart the stat from my last kettle, the contacts were fine (obviously, because the kettle doesnt shut off), the disc, when heated by the steam, distorts by ~ 1mm to push the plastic lever to operate and open the contacts, it looked as if the plastic actually may warp due to the heat as the disc wasn't hard up against its "cage". I have seen these stats for sale at prices ranging from €3 to €12 but no mention of the number or pitch of the locating holes as mine has two retaining studs. Photo of disc and one contact which are perfect.

Breville Thermostat.jpg

NiceFella

My granny has a kettle that was made in 1995. Still grand

tv3tg4

I kettle is on its last legs.

The weakest point of kettles I find is the spout that corodes with lime in my area.

John.G

There is still a copper (electric) kettle lying around somewhere which was bought with the "cooker" in ~ 1956 when the rural electrification came to our house, the drinking water was hauled in a few enameled buckets from the local hand pump, full of limestone, new element required every 2 years or so but of course no fancy thermostat, the spout of that kettle also had a few repair jobs done in the local garage. The cooker was well ahead of its time though, the two spiral wound hot plates could simply be pulled upwards out of the cooker and a new one(s) pushed in for renewal.

Water John

Interesting fact, the guy who invented the automatic kettle, John C O'Connor is selling his house on the Isle of Man, valued £30m.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120409590#Comment_120409590

I googled him to see if we can claim him as one of our own 😁, but did you instead mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_(inventor) ?

Water John

Thanks for the correction.

Stone Deaf 4evr

I didnt choose the electric kettle life, the electric kettle life chose me.

DownByTheGarden

My kettle cost €12 about 15 years ago and its still fine. The one before that lasted so long i cant even remember when it was bought.

My last toaster lasted 7 years up to this year. Its replacement is the same make and model but it feels like its going to fall apart if i press it down too hard. Definitely worse quality.

My dishwasher lasted 4 years before it caught fire.

Washing machine is 4 years an counting.

Bawnmore

Just commenting as it feels like this thread is doing a great job of collecting up the nations personal kettle longevity stats. We're on our 4th kettle in 12 years, but always have the cheapest one (and the 1st one we bought) as our standby when others go to the big kettle graveyard in the sky. It was a 6 quid Argos one. Got it at the same time as our 6 quid Argos iron which also won't quit.