Your Ideal Kettle

[zeto]

I've been toying with this idea for a few months now, just haven't had the time.

background: I'm a very experienced soldering-iron-wielder (not welder!), and have many years of electronics hobby experience, not to mention that I'm an undergrad Electrical Engineering student.

While I will not condone that any amateur attempt this procedure, I am going to find the time next week to do as follows:

(1) Buy a relatively sturdy electronic water kettle and a cheap electronic probe thermometer.
(2) Open the suckers UP!
(3) Mix the two together to make myself a cheap (shouldn't cost less that $60 for the kettle and thermometer) temperature-controlled water kettle!
(4) ...
(5) PROFIT!

Again, I've done these things before (closest to this was turning a coffee-maker into a distiller, but that's a different story which ended in only one use, sadly). I'll report on this venture in a week, with pictures! yay! pictures! yay! bananas!

What is your ideal Kettle?

I'm reposting this because I've been considering this for a long long time. I'm interested to know if you've taken this up or not.

Features I'm looking for in a tea kettle:
1. high surface area heating surface for extremely fast heating times, maintaining flatter bottom for smaller minimums.
2. no weird coatings or plastics
3. thermodynamically sound thermometer placements fed to a digital output averaging the temperatures to the nearest degree
4. ability to maintain a set average temperature for a set amount of time, up to 1 hour perhaps.
5. large top to base diameter ratio for easy cleaning (some stupid engineers make the top too small for a hand to fit in... you know who you are.)
6. Base should be smoothed out with no corners for easy cleaning.
7. temperature alarm on/off
8. ability to automatically turn off at a certain temp.
9. a little list of temperature ranges for traditional brews from different tea types to instant coffee for user friendliness.
10. It must be a portable unit with a stationary docking base
11. Must be able to be cleaned by mild acids. Ideally dishwasher safe.

Overall I think that our kettle engineers have miserably failed us. The cost can't possibly be a factor either, because these features are on some in various forms, but not in 1 unit. The cost of various units range from $5 to $150 and not one of them really boils water any better than the others from my experience (some are faster of course, some have digital outputs accurate or not, etc.) The Kettle of my Dreams would incorporate these features and yours...

What else would people like to see in their ideal kettle? When you pick up your kettle what do you say: You know, I really wish it did this, and this, and this

[Wesli]

I wish my kettle was nothing less that what it is:
http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/el ... v_dsc.html

What could be improved:
1. No plastics touching the water
2. Why the hell did they put a non-stick surface on it?
3. Why can't it just fill itself??

[augie]

3. Why can't it just fill itself??

Ah, you can just McGuiver it into your plumbing with some 1/4" copper tubing. Small weekend project.

Bunn makes a food service model that is wall mounted, but no temp control.

[Mary R]

Ah! I was going to suggest something like that earlier, but as I was typing it occurred to me that a MacGuyver might throw the temperature control of the Zoji off. From what I understand, it takes a long time for one of those to approach the boiling area...but once it does, it holds the larger volume there for a long time. An auto-refill hack might mean consistently lukewarm water.

[zeto]

I wish my kettle was nothing less that what it is:
http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/el ... v_dsc.html

What could be improved:
1. No plastics touching the water
2. Why the hell did they put a non-stick surface on it?
3. Why can't it just fill itself??

I've heard they don't display a 1 degree temperature resolution and probably don't take into consideration heating element thermodynamics (so they are inaccurate,) and they aren't very portable with no docking base (if you pick it up you have to unplug it with the cord attached?) in addition to what you stated as their flaws. It's also nearly $200 for features that could or should be put into something under $100.