Percolator

[FrazzledGlispa]

I have been searching for an electric kettle that does not have any plastic that comes in contact with the water or steam. This doesn't seem to be such a major thing to ask for, but apparently it is. The only ones that don't seem to have any plastic in them are the Kamjoves, but reviews and quality are mixed.

So my question - is there any reason that I couldn't use a percolator (that has never been used to make coffee) to boil water for tea? I wouldn't intend to actually brew the tea in it, just boil the water.

They seem to be relatively inexpensive, come in a variety of sizes, and most are all metal on the inside - even the lids - some have the little glass bubble, but others don't.

Thoughts? Criticisms? I don't drink coffee, so I don't know if there is a reason that this wouldn't work,

Thanks!

[wyardley]

Read through this thread, which is about exactly the same question:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=8138

There are electric kettles similar to the Kamjove by other manufacturers which are (IMHO) a little tougher, though they're expensive; the ones that Imperial Tea Court sells, also sold by a lot of Tian Ren (Ten Ren) and Tian Fu outlets are pretty good. I think I gave some suggestions and links in that other thread.

[FrazzledGlispa]

Thanks for the suggestion. I read through the thread that you linked, and several others as well. I had considered going the hot plate/kettle route - this is what I do at work when making black teas or iced teas, but I really don't want to do that at home. I would rather do an all in one.

In addition to wanting to avoid plastic contacting boiling water, I also like things to be aesthetically pleasing, and to get a good value for my money. I do like the looks of some of the Kamjove Kettles, as well as the one you linked, but I am just concerned about build quality - one owner stated that it felt like the handle was going to fall off. It didn't, but it felt like it.

It would seem that an electric percolator is a tried and true design that would be hard to screw up (though reading the reviews of some of them on Amazon it seems that they have managed to do just that.)

I guess my question is just - is there anything inherent about a percolator that would recommend against it's use as an electric kettle?

Thanks again

[Chip]

An electric kettle will heat up to 36 ounces +/- to a full rolling boil in a few minutes.

A percolator will be much slower and there are more things to go wrong with it. And it might not really fully boil the water ...

My current kettle has boiled water well over 10,000 times and there is really hardly anything that can go wrong with it. It has run without a glitch for 5 years and running.

[beachape]

As long as the percolator is simply a stainless steel or iron kettle, there is no reason not to use it. They make plenty of simple stainless steel kettles for very cheap which may work a little nicer. They won't have the percolating basket, but the construction may be a little nicer.

I went through the whole electric kettle debacle a while back. I'm still using my plastic kettle because I could never find a decent product that does such a simple thing. Lots of friendly teachat members gave great suggestions, but i just couldn't find the ultimate solution for myself. Boiling on the stove takes longer and is less efficient (I'm not sure about this, but it seems that more heat escapes. Also not sure if using gas would make up for this...). But it also requires that you don't forget about your kettle on the stove. And every single electric kettle I found seemed suspicious or inconvenient in some way.

Hope your search goes better than mine. Good luck

[Cha Nacho]

Hi FrazzledGlispa,

If you are still interested in all stainless steel kettle, have a poke around for the 'Lu yu' brand kettle from Ten Ren, I have been using it for a couple of years now and its great. It has three settings: continuous boil, boil cycle (full boil then cool down to 85c then reboil), and off. The only thing is it might be hard to find, and it is quite expensive. I got mine for about a hundred bucks (canadian) after a bit of bartering. If your willing to make the investment though its a fairly ideal electric kettle for gong fu sessions. The only things that are plastic on it are the handle on the outside and the nob on the lid.

[FrazzledGlispa]

Thanks for the advice, all. I haven't really made up my mind yet as to what to do. I may just wind up with a hot plate and a standard kettle.

It doesn't seem to me that a nice, high quality electric kettle that has not water/plastic contact should be such a difficult thing to find. But apparently it is.

Personally, I prefer the idea of glass. Couldn't they make a glass kettle something along the lines of a french press? A glass beaker sits in a stainless steel sleeve with a handle on it. Inside the base, under the glass is the heating element. No need for silicone or other sealants because the glass is sealed on its own. A stainless lid is attached with a hinge to the top of the - the handle?

And the stainless lid doesn't have a stupid plastic liner in it.

Maybe I should invent one.

Or maybe I am just being too leery of the Kamjove. I guess the chances of it crapping out after a month are no greater than that of a percolator, or anything else that is mass produced in these days of declining quality, and disposable products. Sigh (and veering off topic.)

That Lu Yu looks pretty sweet - but the idea of having to hunt and haggle for a tea kettle doesn't appeal to me all that much.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice - and listening to me whine about how "they just don't make things the way they used to."

Time for a cup of chamomile before bed!

[wyardley]

It doesn't seem to me that a nice, high quality electric kettle that has not water/plastic contact should be such a difficult thing to find. But apparently it is.

I did mention one, and I think I linked to it in the previous thread.

The tentea.com site doesn't seem to have it anymore, but ITC does:
http://www.imperialtea.com/Steel-Electr ... e-P23.aspx

Built like a tank, with a Bakelite base. I've had the same one for 2-3 years. I have a similar one from a different manufacturer at work, as well as a Kamjove TP-680. Mostly I just use a hot plate and glass kettle at home these days.

On the other hand, the Kamjoves are often 1/3 of the price or less, so might be worth dealing with slightly flimsier construction? I have had pretty good luck with them - most of the problems I've seen has been when they're used in a busy shop more than at home.

I don't know if you're ever going to be completely sure about water / plastic contact with any of the electric kettles that have an immersion element, though, because it's hard to see what's under there, and of course there has to be some sort of seal that the power gets to the heating element through. As best I can tell, though, there is no plastic-water contact.

[beachape]

There must be some trick to it. I thought the same thing when I was looking for an electric kettle. How hard could it be to make an electric kettle with a "pure" water compartment? One that doesn't come into contact with plastic, solder, sealants, paint etc. When I first saw some of the "glass" electric pots I was really excited, but after reading reviews I found out they were only partially glass and left bad plastic flavor to the water.

Has anyone come across comparisons for the amount of energy or the cost to run for the various boiling methods? I imagine it would be pretty easy to estimate for the electric kettle. But what about comparing it to a gas stove, electric stove, and a induction stove?

I always got the feeling that using an electric kettle was faster and cheaper. But I could be wrong.

[AdamMY]

I admit I did own an electric kettle for awhile, but to be honest I am much happier with my current set up. A electric hot plate (easily found at wal mart, target, and the likes), and then basically any kettle will do. I currently have a Stainless steel one, and a Ceramic Kettle, but I also have the option of acquiring a glass kettle or a Unlined Tetsubin I also have those options open to me without having to change my method of heating.

[TomVerlain]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0506876283

Glass induction tea kettle.

There are other glass induction kettles around too. You need to get the induction bottom bit seperately, which you can get in the states for 110v. DTH has just 220v ones

edited to add they do use a lot less power, toaster and electric kettle would blow my circuit breaker if used together, but induction and toaster work fine. And it seems to boils in a comparable time.

[IPT]

I've been using the Kamjove kettles for years. I have almost ten of them and several of them I have been using daily for over 6 years. Most of them don't have any interior plastic parts and I have never had a problem with one in all these years.