Electric Kettles

[kilgoretrout]

I found some info about a physics professor at University of Cambridge who did efficiency comparisons.
It looks like in the end, the gas method is more efficient. Look at the data here:
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sust ... part4.html

[Chip]

Actually his findings are not that cut and dry. As I mentioned previously, the stove top is going to pour a lot of heat to other places besides the water ... your kitchen.

If you have to then cool the air, even more energy is used. Plus you mentioned the blistering heat in another topic ...

Then there is the time aspect where the kettle wins hands down in time efficiency.

A 1400 watt kettle will use about 0.07 KWH from the outlet to boil 30 ounces water. Costs less than 2 cents.

[beachape]

I was looking for that information earlier. I always assumed gas would be less efficient, but they are almost equal.

I prefer the speed of an electric. Also the auto shut off is nice.

[Dresden]

I will reach the ultimate in efficiency and boil my water with thermite...

[kilgoretrout]

The length of time it takes for water to boil on a gas stove doesn't bother me. I never feel like I'm waiting for water to boil. Always do something in the meantime and listen for the kettle's whistle. With that said if I didn't have a stove top kettle already, I would probably get an electric one.

[chittychat]

If you have to then cool the air, even more energy is used.

Then there is the time aspect where the kettle wins hands down in time efficiency.

A 1400 watt kettle will use about 0.07 KWH from the outlet to boil 30 ounces water. Costs less than 2 cents.

Air in the kitchen is not cooled. Just sucked out by an exhaust fan which runs fire or no fire on.

The cost you mention is interesting. Taking your calculation we would pay exactly 2 US cents. Putting that in perspective to the earnings of a laborer of $8.00 per day makes it naturally very expensive. Our gas on the other hand is much more economical. Hard to calculate. If I base my monthly making of tea water on above cost I would use about
3.3 lb of gas which plain impossible.

I just brought to boil 1 l of water in my glass water pot and it took 7 minutes. In a fast cooking SS pot it takes less than 4 min to boil 700 ml (25 oz) of water. My standard tea making is 550 ml for less than 4 min, a time I always have. And in the glass pot I can enjoy seeing the bubbles to form.

Is there a thread on how much tea do you drink a day?

[thediminished5th]

Anyone have problems with the Pino's top not wanted to shut fully? I feel as though I have to use two hands to close the d--- thing! If I use one hand, the little tab that is supposed to grab and hold the top down doesn't want to fully seat, leaving the top loose. So, I end up using one hand to pull back the tab and the other hand to press the lid down.

[Tea_Rex]

I have the Pino and do not have that problem. It takes a little extra push to make the latch engage but nothing extraordinary. Certainly nothing like the lengths you are having to go to. I think yours must be broken somehow. Can you contact the seller? I seem to recall a warranty also.

[debunix]

I do have to push the lid down after filling to get it to latch, but it's soft and easy, a one-hand operation.

[Janine]

I just brought to boil 1 l of water in my glass water pot and it took 7 minutes. In a fast cooking SS pot it takes less than 4 min to boil 700 ml (25 oz) of water. My standard tea making is 550 ml for less than 4 min, a time I always have. And in the glass pot I can enjoy seeing the bubbles to form.

What kind of glass pot do you use?

[Rainy-Day]

I would use electric kettle if it wasn't for the effect they have on the taste of tea (for me). If I have an impeccable tea that I'd rate 10/10 taste-wise (when done on gas stove), I would have to rate the same tea around 4/10 or even 3/10 if water was boiled with an electric kettle. I used a zojirushi, a common design of $30-ish metal electric like the GE mentioned in this thread, and an electric range. Tea always tasted terrible. On the gas stove, I prefer glass kettles although I liked an enamelled Le Creuset just fine until it accumulated a mineral build-up on the inside - after a couple of years of use. Even so, it was still lightyears ahead of electric.

To be fair, I like very lightly brewed teas, I notice that when I would brew much stronger than usual, the difference is much smaller.