Best Deals hamilton beach electric kettle

Very good and very bad, November 11, 2008

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L. Kapralick (Worcester, PA United States) – See all my reviews

  

This is a beautiful kettle and it boils water very, very quickly. But the reviews about the the foul chemical smell and taste are correct, at least with mine. I chose to ignore the bad reviews regarding the smell and I bought this two weeks ago. As soon as I unpacked it I could detect what the other reviewers were referring to. Every night since I got the kettle, a solution of either vinegar and water, baking soda and water, or lemon juice and water has sat in my kettle, all to no avail. I called Capresso after the first week and the customer service rep acknowledged the problem and suggested the lemon juice. She was very nice and told me to be sure to call back if that didn’t work. After a week of trying the lemon juice, I still got the foul smell and taste in the water. I use filtered water that tastes fine before it goes into this kettle. When I called Capresso back, as directed by the first rep with whom I spoke, the rep who answered my call told me that I could send it back and they would replace it with one that “has been tested and doesn’t have the smell,” but that I would have to pay for the shipping. I didn’t feel that I should have to pay for shipping so I asked to speak to his supervisor. The supervisor told me there are no problems with the kettles; he is unaware of any chemical odors and that I could pay for the shipping or return it to where I purchased it and have them replace it. When I explained that I wanted one of the ones his rep told me have been tested and have no odor, he denied all of that as being completely false. He got very nasty and said he could care less that I wasn’t happy with my kettle.

I am especially disappointed in Capresso and their customer service. We have been loyal Capresso customers with their coffee products and have never been disappointed. The kettle, however, has been a big let down. I am an avid tea drinker; the chemical taste is that is getting into the water when it is heated is beyond discernible, it is prominent even in cocoa and strong tea. If this is going to matter to you, don’t buy it. It is really a shame because it is a beautiful kettle and does work well. But I am tired of dumping out undrinkable cups of tea due to a foul taste and am returning this.

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Rubber/silicone washer around the heating element boils with water and emits foul smell: Dangerous Product!!!, June 24, 2008

This is, indeed, an awesomely designed kettle, unrivaled by any. A glass kettle is just a brilliant design.

But it has a serious design flaw. The heating element is like half a metal ball that protrudes from the bottom of the kettle. In order to place the glass kettle around it and seal it, they use a silicone/rubber washer.

This is what causes the foul smell. I cannot believe how people can simply fail to understand that even if the smell goes away, the chemicals emitted in the water do not! And I cannot understand why people are giving manufacturers such an easy time and not look after their own health.

Saddest thing, this is the easiest flaw to fix. Instead of a glass bottom, they should have had a stainless steel bottom that could fuse seamlessly with the heating element. The bottom could form a short rim up the sides of the kettle, and the glass could be fitted into this metal base. This would still require some material to seal the glass into the metal, but at least it would not be so exposed to the boiling water.

Anyway, they need to rethink this. Back to the store it goes–though it matched oh so well with my awesome Bodum Kona all glass coffee drip maker. What a pity….

The Hamilton Beach 10 cup is my next choice (available through the manufacturer, though not Amazon.

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Looks can be deceiving, August 28, 2006

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C. Honess (Los Angeles, USA) – See all my reviews

  

I ordered this kettle specifically to avoid heating up water in plastic. However, this kettle emitted a foul chemical odor that also transferred to the water. I boiled it a few times plus tried the water/vinegar suggestion in the brochure but nothing seemed to help. I decided that I didn’t want to take the risk of drinking these unknown chemicals so I’m returning it – it’s not worth the risk. I can’t figure out if it’s coming from the “stainless steel” bulb (that feels like plastic to me if you tap on it) that covers the heating element or the plastic seal between the glass & the bulb. Plus the lid has a stong odor too & that is plastic covered in “stainless steel”.

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