This isn’t a review, rather, a plea. I’m losing grip on all hope, having searched for years, please can’t someone help me find an electric kettle that doesn’t taint your tea water with plastic, rubber, or silicone? I don’t care if the entire outer part is made of plastic, just don’t want any in interior parts that touch water, including washers, hinge parts, spout parts, water-level indicators, filters, etc.
The thought of bit of BPA soup in every sip of tea, coffee, and instant soup is, well, a bit nasty. Maybe I’m too vulnerable to alarmist mumbo jumbo, but all that toxic stuff leaching out of plastic… probably leaches out faster and in larger quantity if boiled in water, yes? Plus most of the stuff nowadays comes from China, you can’t tell me that the good people running the factories on the other side of the Pacific prioritize things like public health and safety.
I’ve done my fair share of review cross-referencing on Google, Froogle, Epinions, Amazon; even looked at U.K. websites (cuz I hear they drink a lot of tea…), but have only found a handful of kettles that even come close :
– Hamilton Beach 40898. All stainless steel inside, but according to reviews, it’s got some faulty pouring and reliability issues, which makes it not such a great value.
– Capresso H2O. All glass except for a silicone/rubber washer that seals the heating element to the glass, which is the basis for some people experiencing foul tasting/smelling hot water. Ummm, don’t want silicone soup in my tea, either.
– Russell Hobbs. The quintessential (and original) British tea kettle company is historically known for great products, most of which are unavailable in the U.S. (Amazon only lists one, the RH13552). Russell and Hobbs were the inventors of the automatic electric kettle and the coffee percolator, and had a hand in designing a host of other small home appliances. Sadly, the company was sucked up by Salton in the early 2000s and production was moved from England to China. Boo, hiss.
– Zojirushi water boiler/warmers. Seemed promising since the brand is reputable and every Asian household I’ve ever been to has one with hot water on-the-ready. But what’s the deal with the non-stick interior (talk about boiling your water in unnecessary materials), at any rate, from my experience, just-boiled water makes for tastier hot beverages than water that’s been kept hot for a long time. And while I’m sure the products are very well-built, I’m kind of looking to spend under $100.
So, if anyone has first-hand experience with a good electric kettle that won’t taint your water with BPA, impart funny smells/tastes, has a semi-reliable lifespan of over one year, pours reasonably well from the spout (no backsplash or dribbles, you’d be surprised), and doesn’t cost (too much) over $100, please, share the love!
How about the Bodum Ottoni? http://homeappliances.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/bodum-ottoni-electric-water-kettle/
Anyone tried the Chef’s Choice?
The Chef’s Choice Model #685 at http://www.russell-hobbs.com has the least amount of plastic of any kettle currently on the market. The vessel is stainless steel and the element is concealed. There is a tiny plastic vent at the top of a stainless steel tube inside the kettle. It is used to divert steam to the back up thermostat. It is not immersed in the water and I have not heard any complaints regarding tainted water. This kettle has been on the market for many years and is an extremely reliable appliance.
Hi Gadget King,
here’s the top rated list of “electric kettles” on Buzzillions.com:
http://www.buzzillions.com/all-product-reviews?Ntt=electric+kettle&Ns=score-top-rated|1
Check it out and see what you think. Perhaps the Cuisinart fits the bill. I read some of the reviews and it seems that it does…”no scary splashing”, under $100, stainless steel so no funny taste -Jim
Here are some options, not sure if all parts internally (that touch water) are free of plastic or rubber.
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/09/electric-kettle/
Please email me when you find a water kettle that doesn’t have plastic or rubber.
This is pretty crazy, isn’t it.. I’ve looked into each of the suggestions posted here and all of them have some water contact with plastic or rubber. We just purchased the Capresso H2O from our local store, because it looked like there was no plastic to water contact… however when we got it home we could see the rubber seal around the element and it emits a horrid smell! Haven’t tried tasting the water because we’re too afraid! Going to return it tomorrow. So I add my voice to this plea!
Yes, me too. I would sooo love a decent electric kettle with No Plastic. Temp control for green tea would be nice too.
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I’ve done some research and have found a few BPA FREE (!) electric kettles!!!
Aroma AWK 270
Hamilton Beach 40893
Breville BKE 620 (Macy’s online)
I’m throwing away my old Breville Ikon stainless steel kettle, even though it’s as new after nearly 18 mos. of use… BPA is NOT worth risking…