First impressions kamjove kj-750a from birdpick

[teaisme]

Received this yesterday from birdpick, plan to use this as my new work kettle. Some thoughts...

-the stainless steel on the inside is not flawless, there are a couple of small dings or chips that are kind of brownish, very small but I noticed it and it bothers me since you would expect it not to look used

-as mentioned about kamjove's in other threads, there are some black specks when water is poured out, looks like from around the spout (I can see what looks like paint or black something right by the filter holes , after 6-8 boils specks have stopped pouring out but black something is still visible

-slightly funky smell, don't really know if I would classify it as metallic or not, kinda a weird sweet smell , this pretty much dissipated after 6-8 runs

-boils fast ...3 mins for about half full, 4m30 almost full (rolling boil)
-handle is sturdy enough for me, looks like it will not break in a month
-requires it to be a filled with about 350 ml for it to work (unless you manually weigh it down with something else)
-good pour
-cools amazingly fast, I don't really mind that though, others will

As of now I can not detect any off taste, but still a very very slight smell from the water when it is poured into a cup, i imagine after a few more runs it will be completely unnoticeable

order two steel tins as well, one 200g one 100g , one came wrapped still in plastic, big one did not , both are dirty on the inside (black gunk on finger when I run it through) , looks nice, not thrilled that its that dirty for something that is supposed to be brand new

came with a free sample consisting of 2 tea bags...........

I'm on the fence about whether or not I should bother with a replacement/refund for the kettle and tins , does anyone else with a kamjove have small brownish dings/chips on the inside of theirs ?

[Chip]

So, what say you now after a few more weeks?

[teaisme]

Well I have decided to keep it, even though I am not too thrilled with it in some ways ,
I figure they wouldn't take it back anyways since their return policy is only for unused things, plus there is 15% restocking fee, as well as shipping with required tracking that will not be reimbursed

It sure is portable and fast though
Smells are pretty much all gone now unless I let it boil longer, I find that listening to it, then taking it off faster once it reaches a boil eliminates this, if you leave it on auto it usually boils a little longer then I would like

-The heating coils are underneath the shiny plate, I can feel them, I thought the heating element was completely concealed
-a few (new) rust like specs have appeared ( I really should break out my camera I know...) but they are very very small, still kinda disturbing though

Should be noted that I have used many different types of water with this kettle, from 4-5 different sources, so this may have had a negative effect on the steel, but really I haven't used it a lot yet so I see it as an unlikely maybe

Still ok to use once in a while for me, but by no means my first choice to heat my water when at home

[teaisme]

ok I would buy another identical one if this one broke

This has been my portable kettle for 4 months now, used very heavily and still running smooth, dropped once no effect, carried around daily in backpack
No off smells or mineral buildup issues (used bottled spring water past 3 months or so).

[Mr. Usaji]

Thanks for the detailed review.

[MarshalN]

As far as functional, cheap, and reliable water boilers go, Kamjove can't be beat, especially if you need some portability -- it's light, relatively speaking. I use a Braun, but it's too heavy to carry around.

[Chip]

... would it be OK if I move this to Teaware Reviews, also located under Teaware and Accessories? I think the topic would have more longevity there.

[teaisme]

absolutely not you leave it where it is

no really I don't care, go ahead

[Chip]

absolutely not you leave it where it is

no really I don't care, go ahead

And done, but I left a shadow topic under Teaware and Accessories for now, so it can be found in either location, but it is under the review section.