Roaring Success! (Russell Hobbs 13355)

Member Name: flutel

Product:	Russell Hobbs 13355
Date:	17/10/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looking good, quick to boil, not plastic

Disadvantages: Loud boil might disrupt a kitchen chat

Finally, my stylish Le Creuset hob kettle has given up the ghost. It had started producing rust-coloured water so now has been given a new job housing pansies in the back garden.


When your kettle packs in the need to buy one is a bit of an urgency; the nearest and easiest place to buy one being my local, quite small Wilkinsons. There was about five kettles on display and this was a mid priced one. My criteria for buying one being the least amount of internal plastic on the kettle (I try to avoid any possibility of inbibing ay released toxins from plastic).


I like the external and internal look of the kettle. Outside is shiny chrome; it looks smart of my worktop. Inside, I can mostly see stainless steel. There is a maximum fill indicator made of plastic which is suspended over the water. In theory, if you do not overfil your kettle, you shouldn't have boiling plastic in your water.


I paid £22.47 for the kettle. I can see from the top of this page that you can buy them a little cheaper but I figured that Wilkinsons would be selling them fairly cheaply. Having been using the kettle frequently for a week, I think it was money well spent.


The kettle has a lift off plastic lid. I enjoy the simplicity of this. I had tried a number of kettles with lids where you press a button and a lid flips up but this was not always an easy process - some did not fuction smoothly. No one in my household has a disibility that impedes their ability to remove a lid so this kettle lid was fine.


The handle is thick, chunky black plastic. It is easy to hold and does not conduct the heat. I have no issues whatsoever with the handle.


Just inside the spout there is a removable filter which stops any limescale leaving the kettle. This is easy to lift out and replace. A good idea, I think. I have noticed no scum in my beverages.


The spout is small and fairly inconspicuous at the top od the bullet shaped kettle. Pouring is smooth and really puts my Le Creuset hob kettle to shame (it spluttered everywhere). Boiling water does not leap out to scald you; it is all very contained.


The chrome kettle rests on a black plastic base. It fits into this very snugly and the base does not slip about. The base also has a mechanism in it whereby the excess lead can be kept contained and so does not need to be coiled on my worktop. This works very neatly.


The on/off mechanism is easily operated. Once the kettle is filled it is placed on the base and the black mechanism at the base of the chrome kettle is lightly pressed down. It pops back up as soon as the kettle has boiled. No problems with that. It takes about two minutes for a full kettle to boil and less for lesser amounts of water.


Other aspects of the kettle include:

1.7 litres capacity
Automatic switch-off
On indicator light
Concealed element
Removable and washable filter


The kettle is quite noisy; it is bit like a small jet engine idling in your kitchen. I don't mind this but if you were having a chat with a friend about a delicate subject in the kitchen, or you were starting to have a tentative snog, the kettle's engine noise might be off-putting. Mostly I am pottering loudly in the kitchen anyway - so I don't mind.


The strapline on the instruction booklet says 'Smart in the kitchen'. I think it actually is. It is also easy to keep smart. After a few days when fingerprints appeared, I swiftly passed a disccloth over it and then rubbed it with a tea towel. It was like new again in moments.


I suppose, if I have to find something wrong with it, I could say that filling it necessitates some peering into the kettle as there is no window/indicator on the outside of the kettle. However, if there was one of these, it might be made out of plastic and I wouldn't want that anyway.


I think this is a great kettle and everyone in my household likes it too. I retrospect, I think I have made a good value buy - even if I could have bought it cheaper elsewhere.

Summary: Great kettle for family use

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