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Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Kettle - 40898
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Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Kettle - 40898 Double wall stainless steel is cool to the touch / Cordless pouring with 360 degrees base / Automatic shutoff when water boils / Lockable lid / 1.2 Liter

Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Kettle - 40898 Features

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Reviews

Update on Nov 30, 2009 - my kettle is now 1.5 years old - no problems and I'm very happy with it!!!


After many years of using Braun WK200W Aqua Express Electric Water Kettle - White, I have decided to switch from plastic to a glass or a stainless steel electric kettle, because of concerns over carcinogens possibly being released from plastics that are exposed to high temperatures. I could not find a glass electric kettle with good reviews, and after a long search I found this all-stainless-steel one. It was not that easy, as most of the stainless steel kettles have that water level indicator window, which is made of plastic.

I'm not sure about the long-term reliability of this kettle - I see a few one-star reviews where it broke in a few months, so I'll just review the features of the kettle based on just two days of using it.

The good:

- The inside is all stainless steel ("just what the doctor ordered!")

- COOL TOUCH = TRUE! As cool as my old plastic kettle! But that's only if you boil the water only once and not a few times one after another. After three consecutive boils, it becomes hot, but still not hot enough to get a burn from a brief touch. Also - after you pour the just boiled water out, the area around the pouring spout will become quite hot, as the outer and inner steel cylinders meet (probably are welded together) at the top of the kettle.

- It looks nice on my kitchen counter

- Boiled water does not have any smells or tastes, which, according to Amazon reviews that I read, many other steel or glass kettles on the market have.

The bad:

- The bottom of the lid is plastic, so the hot steam will hit it, condense, then fall back into the kettle, possibly dissolving some substances from the plastic, which will end up in my hot water, but at least there is less plastic exposure overall. They should have covered the bottom of the lid with a thin layer of steel.

- The base makes the entre thing at least feel unstable: a. it is much smaller in diameter than the bottom of the kettle, b. the kettle could be easily tilted three ways sideways while the base remains flat on the kitchen counter and c. the base is made of thin plastic.

- With the lid fully open in vertical position, it is still hard to pour the water into the kettle in it's front part, because of the mesh strainer that gets on the way. It was much easier with my Braun, where I didn't even need to open the lid at all. On this kettle, with the lid closed, the opening is quite small to fill it up with water.

- Pouring spout is too wide. Pouring the water into a cup must be done slowly or otherwise the water will spread all over the very wide pouring spout and possibly end up outside your tea cup.


I'm willing to live with all the above imperfections, because this is the only "all-stainless-steel" (and "cool-touch") kettle I could find and it does the job.

Had 1 month; works well so far - M. W. Alberg - Columbia, MD USA
We bought a cordless kettle because we had melted too many whistling ones on the stove. We NEED the automatic shutoff feature. We didn't want to drag a cord through the tea things while using it either.

We bought this particular kettle because, after reading reviews of the other ones, this one, with its seamless interior, seemed least likely to leak, and more likely than others to last a long time. We liked the extra insulation that keeps the outside from getting blazing hot (though it does get uncomfortably hot to touch). The price was about average for better kettles.

- It heats a full kettle of water VERY fast - in about 2-3 minutes.
- It shuts off about 20 seconds after the water comes to a rolling boil.
- (We have NOT tried turning it on empty to make sure that it shuts off.)
- The handle is sturdy and positioned so that steam from the kettle does not hit your hand while you pour.
- We don't have to worry that we will melt another kettle on the stove because we didn't hear the whistle.

- The kettle's max capacity is smaller than I expected. I have not measured yet to see exactly how much hot water I get, but it takes two kettles to fill our extra large teapot. Since the kettle heats water so quickly, this is only a minor inconvenience.

Things to keep in mind about this kettle:

Setup
- It took a while the first time to figure out how to position the lid. It's not like putting a lid on a saucepan; you have to tilt the lid vertically and align it with slots on the sides to snap it on.
- Setup and break in are fast and easy. I made my first pot of tea about 15 minutes after unpacking the kettle.

Use
We read many of the reviews here before deciding to buy this kettle. The most useful so far were:
- warnings about the fragility of the on/off switch
- the importance of emptying the pot completely each time you use it
- challenges of seeing the max fill line while adding water (it's not that hard, in my opinion)
- warnings about the pouring stream getting very wide the farther you tilt the pot: "don't pour 'too fast'"
- keeping mindful that the kettle does get uncomfortably hot to the touch, especially near the top, even with its insulating layer

I would add
- Don't press the lid release button on the top of the handle soon after the kettle boils. The lid flips open quickly, and you'll get a cloud of very hot steam.

By carefully observing these tips whenever I use the kettle, I have been very happy with it in the month that we've had it. You'll have to read other reviews to find out how well it has lasted.

Functional and Durable - Avid Reviewer - San Jose, CA
I've had the Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Tea Kettle for two years and I've had no problems with it. I love it for the following features:

Pros
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- Stainless Steel
The most important reason I got this kettle is that its interior is made of stainless steel, not plastic. Boiling water in plastic just doesn't sit well with me what with the talk about the health hazards from harmful chemicals (e.g. BPA, DEHA) in plastic leaching into food and drinks.

- Seamless Metal
Inside and out, I simply can't find a a metal seam - the kettle is a one-piece stainless steel construction and have absolutely no joints where pieces of stainless steel are welded together. There is, therefore, no need to worry about the water being contaminated by lead from solder.

- Quick Boil
It boils 40 oz of water, the maximum capacity, in 4 minutes. (I actually timed it. Boil times will of course vary depending on altitude and the initial temperature of the water.)

- "Cool" Touch
When boiling water in the kettle, the exterior of the kettle is warm, not hot, so you don't risk getting burned.

- Wide Opening
The wide opening makes it easy to fill it with water and to clean.

- Easy Plug In and Plug Out
To "plug in" the kettle to the power supply, simply sit the kettle on the base unit. Similarly, simply lift the kettle to "unplug" it. It's a one-handed operation, and there's no cords or plugs to mess with.

- Spring-Loaded Lid
The spring-loaded lid flips open with the press of a button on the handle. The lid can also be easily detached by pressing a button on it to release a catch.

- Auto Shutoff
When the water starts to boil, the power button pops up, the green LED indicator turns off, and the kettle automatically shuts off. There is also an audible "click" as the power button pops up.

- Looks
The kettle looks attractive with its simple curves and brushed stainless steel finish.

As for Cons, there's just one for me:

Con
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- Hard-To-See "Max" Water Fill Mark
The interior has a "Max" mark to indicate the maximum water level but it's not easy to see it. Work-around: The lid is hinged in the middle, so when it is flipped open, the bottom half of extends below the rim of the kettle. It so happens that the bottom of the lid lines up with the "Max" mark, so you can use the lid as a marker for gauging when the water level reaches the mark.

Conclusion
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The Hamilton Beach Cool Touch Tea Kettle is attractive, easy to use, and boils water quickly. I don't think you can go wrong with this one.