Electric tea kettles: a word of warning

[passatdoc]

I have owned two Bodum "Ibis" water kettles. The first was from the mid 1990s, purchased at Crate & Barrel with a gift card. It gave over 12 years of excellent service. About two years ago, the electric connection with the base started to be spotty/erratic, so I figured it was time for a replacement.

Since I liked the white color and space-saving elliptical design, I decided to replace it with a similar unit. I shopped for the same model at C&B, they no longer had it. It was also unavailable at the Bodum website, leading me to believe that it was discontinued/close-out. I found one on Amazon at a partner retailer and bought it.

Today I was preparing to descale the (second) Ibis and noted that the silvery metal on the outside of the heating coils is flaking off, revealing a darker metal underneath. The picture below speaks a thousand words. I descale maybe twice a year with very dilute citric acid, and I only use the unit to heat water.

Going back on the Bodum site, looking for Customer Service, I learned that they once again do sell the Ibis (as the "new Ibis") and the current model has a concealed heating element, not exposed coils as the original (my) model. My guess is that when I went shopping for a second Ibis in 2008, Bodum had phased out the original design and had not yet introduced the "new" Ibis with hidden heating element. Thinking that this was the last chance ever to own one, I bought what must have been a closeout of the old design.

I don't know what metals are in the silvery coating or the darker metal where the coating flaked off, but I don't think it's a wise idea to use it until I hear from Bodum. I sent them an e-mail with the photo below plus the 2008 invoice.

Anyone know what these exposed coils are made of? At work, I have a Tefal Vitesses kettle with a stainless steel bottom and concealed heating element. My guess is that the "new" Ibis is similar, but my Ibis is the "old" Ibis. Maybe there is no hazard, but I will be interested in what Bodum Customer Service has to say.

 

[dj-gabriele]

My dishwasher element was stainless steel like... in the beginning, then it started becoming like the one you posted and now parts of it are still shiny and others black!
I never bothered as the black part is just some kind of ceramic material.

 

[passatdoc]

As long as it's safe to be flaking off into one's tea or coffee! Yikes. In a dishwasher, a little less scary since you aren't drinking the rinse water.

 

[maytagbear]

Ew.

I'd go with a Chef's Choice or Russell Hobbs kettle. Or the other approach, and get an "electric dispensing pot," such as a Zojirushi, which I have, and LOVE.

I'd raise a polite, but real, fuss with Bodum Customer Service.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[lordkenmore]

I have an older Chef's Choice which I absolutely LOVE. I can't even remember when I bought it--more than 5 years ago--and it's still going strong. Even though I bought it used! Unfortunately, the current ones are questionable to me--I noticed a display of new Chef's Choice, and it appears that at least part of the line is now Chinese. Like everything else. Sigh.

 

[ronhic]

My bet is...

....that there is nothing wrong with using the kettle or drinking the contents PROVIDED there is a scale filter on the front so the flakes aren't going into your coffee/tea....if there isn't, use a fine mesh tea strainer...

Bodum here is normally very good with these sorts of things and I wouldn't be surprised if they replaced it under warranty...

 

[passatdoc]

@ronhic: yes, there is a scale filter in the spout. I always pour with the lid tamped down, so I would suspect all of the water passes through the mesh filter. I'm still concerned about what may be dissolving into the water, as well as flakes large enough to be strained by the mesh filter.

I too am interested in what Bodum has to say. Their customer service phone is open only Monday-Friday, so I e-mailed them a message and attached the photo above plus a PDF of the Amazon invoice. The new Ibis is the same size and shape as the original (a nice space saver with the elliptical base), same capacity, and apparently now features a hidden heating element. My guess is that they must have had issues with the exposed coils to force a complete redesign of the machine. It's also one of the few all-white kettles on the US market---most are stainless steel, at least exterior.

I'm hoping either for a replacement or for a Bodum store credit (gift coupon) for the amount paid for the Ibis, which was about $40. Currently, the "New" Ibis retails for $50 from Bodum's website or Amazon.

Here is what I wrote to Bodum:

"I have a Bodum Ibis kettle purchased in 2008. See attached invoice. However,
I bought it to replace a previous Ibis (purchased c. 1995) at Crate &
Barrel; the connection at the base was going out on the first unit, so I
ordered the second Ibis in 2008 as a replacement. This Ibis is the original
design, with exposed heating element. It was purchased through Amazon.com
using a partner retailer. At the time, Bodum was not selling this product on
its website (perhaps the old design was being phased out and the new design
was not yet ready?)

Today while descaling the unit, I noticed several large areas on the element
where the silvery outing coating has flaked away, leaving patches of darker
metal exposed. See attached photo. I noticed that the silver metal had
flaked away BEFORE I descaled, i.e. the flaking was not caused by the
descaling (I used a very dilute citric acid solution).

Naturally, I am concerned that I am drinking water on a daily basis with
bits of silvery metal possibly entering my tea or coffee. So my questions
are:

1. What is the silvery coating made of?
2. What is the darker base metal of the heating coil made of?
3. Is it even safe for me to be using this device any longer?

The first Ibis I owned never had any issues with the coating of the heating
element flaking off. It did eventually (after >12 years of use) develop
electrical contact problems, requiring replacement. The current (second)
Ibis has been in use for a little over two years---though I purchased it in
April 2008, I did not begin using it until later in the year, waiting until
the first unit became unreliable for heating.

As you can imagine, I am reticent to use this kettle until I hear from
Bodum. Needless to say, I am rather disappointed/surprised with an
apparently defective product from a company that I have always trusted for
quality.

Sincerely,

PassatDoc"

 

[passatdoc]

I should note my Bodum gets rather light use. I mainly drink drip coffee in the morning, rarely using my French press (Bodum, of course). I use the Bodum chiefly to make a mug of tea* or no sugar-added hot chocolate in the evening.

*for Commonwealth readers: no worries, I use a small teapot that makes enough for a large mug. I heat the pot with hot water from the kettle, discard that water, and then brew the tea. Often, but not always, the tea in question carries a royal warrant. I only fall short in two categories:

1. I generally drink my tea BLACK. No milk, no sugar, just BLACK.

2. No tea cozy for the pot.

This pot nests in its own large mug. I have a larger (2-3 cup) nesting pot (atop its own matching mug) for serving one or two guests. For occasions when friends or relatives from the UK are visiting, I have a high capacity Brown Betty teapot that really does the trick, when needed, for serving a crowd that takes tea seriously.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Sealed rod elements whether in stoves, dishwashers or any other applications are a stainless steel alloy tubing which encloses the magnesium oxide insulation around the ni-chrome resistance wires. It could be that Bodum chrome plated the outside of the heating element. Many immersion heating elements are chromed, like those little travel coils that heat a mug of water. Some manufacturers use a stainless alloy with more nickel and chrome that can be buffed to a silvery finish. Not knowing where the kettle was made, I cannot vouch for the safety of the silvery particles that are flaking off. My older GE teakettles use a copper-sheathed immersion element inside.

 

[whirlpolf]

chrome or nickel plated copper tube here

I used to have that Kenmore JK700 kettle, the heating element of it is a spitting-image twin brother of the one in the pic. It was always safe to use citric acid in it to descale.

One day I used the wrong descaler and all of the coating was washed of, exposing the copper tube (which became green later). A Kenwood guy told me it was nickel, but I am not sure.

They are gone now here and I have a stainless steel Cloer kettle with hidden element.

 

[sudsmaster]

I'd be concerned about the corrosion that is occurring on that heating coil. In one spot it appears to be significant, unless that's a pressed notch in the side of the tubing.

It looks to me like Bodum took a cheap path and simply plated non-stainless tubing with stainless (or aluminum), and the thermal expansion/contraction process has cracked off large sections of the plating, meaning that the heating tube is going to spring a leak and fail sooner or later.

 

[passatdoc]

I descale two appliances (washer and dishwasher) once per quarter at the change of seasons (March, June, September, December) with citric acid. The drip coffeemaker is descaled monthly if I remember to do it.

I don't think I'd ever descaled the Bodum in the two years I've used it. However, as I was descaling the other machines today, I thought I'd do the Bodum as well. I dumped the residual water, peeked inside, and saw the peeled areas. I don't remember ever inspecting the inside of it before. I'd invert it and let it drain to dry from time to time. But because it has a water level meter on the side (red plastic ball that rises as kettle fills), I never looked inside to check water level.

I don't have the user manual for the machine, so I don't want Bodum to say "you ruined it using citric acid". I stressed in the letter that I noticed the peeling BEFORE descaling, but I guess I should have clarified that I'd never descaled it before.

Meanwhile, in the event Bodum does nothing to compensate me, I've been searching the current models made (by Bodum and others) so that I can choose a replacement if I have to buy it myself. It seems that even mid-line models all have concealed heating elements now. The first time I ever saw a concealed unit was the T-Fal Vitesses I bought for my office about three years ago. Looks clunky, but works like a charm.

 

[sudsmaster]

I've got a Saeco electric kettle that I like a lot. It has four temperature settings: 105, 150, 200, and 212 (boiling). It can hold the three lower settings for a while, if you like. I use it mainly for instant soups, noodles, hot chocolate, as well as for tea.

It also has a chime that sounds (really a whiny electronic beep) as well as changing color as each temperature is reached.

The heating element is fully hidden, under the flat stainless bottom of the reservoir. The upper part is partly translucent plastic, which is where the color change occurs, from LED lights hidden somewhere in the housing (never have figured out where they are). It also has a fine mesh screen at the spout, just in case there is any debris from the water or from scale. So far haven't seen any scale in it though, as the water here is relatively soft.

It was about $30 at Costco. Naturally, they were there for about a year, about a year ago, but haven't seen them lately. But I would recommend one.

 

[mrboilwash]

Stiftung Warentest had tested 24 kettels in 2006 of which 21 had a concealed element and 3 had the coil type element.
They criticized the coils emitted considerable amounts of nickel into the water. The concealed ones all seemed fine regarding pollutants, at least. Unfortunately there was no Bodum in the test.

 

[passatdoc]

Nickel in my tea? Yech!!

I've suspended use of the Bodum (duh). I have a stove-top stainless steel Chantal kettle which I am using to boil water for now. Not as quick or efficient as an electric kettle, but safer I think than using a coil kettle with flaking coils!

Hopefully I will receive a response from Bodum tomorrow. The answer should be interesting. In retrospect, I think it was better to send an e-mail, allowing attachment of a photo and invoice, rather than trying to explain everything on the phone to them (who knows, the call center may be in India or the Philippines).

http://www.chantal.com/stainless-steel-classic-teakettle.html

 

[passatdoc]

Update: no word from Bodum yet

So far, no reply from the e-mail sent to Bodum. Kind of unusual, since normally when I write to a customer service e-mail address, I get at least an auto-reply to confirm it was received, with something like "you will hear from a representative within 24 hours." And, in general, I do hear from a rep within the promised time frame.

I resent the message today, with photo and invoice attachments. I wonder if, given the questions I raised (safety issues, rather than demanding a replacement), they have sent it to their legal people rather than letting a customer service rep handle it. They changed the design from exposed to hidden heating element about two years ago, so something (complaints? liability issues? safety issues?) must have prompted them to do so. My guess is that my experience is not the first time someone has brought the coil deterioration issue to their attention.

I think I'll wait until the end of the week before trying to call them. In the meantime, I am boiling water with my Chantal stove top kettle. If you measure the amount of water you are going to boil (e.g. use the mug in which you will consume the beverage to measure the water, even if it goes from kettle to teapot before the mug), it really doesn't take much longer than the electric kettle, using a gas cook top. Plus now I get the satisfaction of knowing that the Chantal actually gets USED, rather than just serving a decorative function.

Originally, I had a blue Chantal kettle, the enamel interior chipped in several places, Williams-Sonoma gave me full credit (based on current price: I'd paid $40 on sale, but when the damage occurred years later, it was $60 full price). I was reluctant to buy another enamel kettle, so I threw in $40 to buy the $100 stainless steel Chantal which I knew would last a lifetime. Shortly thereafter, I received the first Bodum Ibis electric kettle, along with a set of glass mugs, as a gift, and began favoring the Ibis over the Chantal due to its speed. I'd forgotten that the Chantal works pretty well, too. [this post was last edited: 12/7/2010-10:28]

 

[passatdoc]

ps

The one negative about the Chantal is that the handle gets VERY hot. The kettle came with an insulated handle cover, but the directions (and the people at Williams-Sonoma) both warned NOT to leave the cover on the handle while heating: you place the cover on the handle when you are ready to pour (as you would use a pot holder for something removed from the oven), and then you remove it, otherwise it could burn. So this is a two-step hassle when the water is ready: put cover in place, pour, then remove cover. Once kettle is cool, you may place the cover back on the handle for storage (but then you remove it the next time you begin to heat water).

I have seen someone with a Chantal kettle who used a silicone handle cover that remained in place without suffering evident damage. Not sure if this was an OEM Chantal device or something adapted from another manufacturer. Chantal's website doesn't seem to list any such product.

 

[combo52]

ELECTRIC TEA KETTLES

I love my Kitchenaid instant hot, I have had one for over 35 years, the rest of my family uses electric tea kettles. I am always grossed out by what I see in the bottom of them, all I ever see is clear hot water [ I never see what is inside the tank of my KA but there a SS screen on the faucet outlet that never clogs] from the KA. I put in the ISE HOT & COLD for my partner as a christmas gift two years ago and that is a really nice unit also.

 

[tomturbomatic]

It's funny. On the rare occasions that I use a tea kettle on an electric element, the handle never gets hot, but when I used to visit a friend with a gas stove, the tea kettle handle would always be hot from the waste heat that came up the sides of the kettle.

For my hot tea, I have this wonderful little Sunbeam Hot Shot, I think it is called. It opens from the top and accepts up to a pint of water, but I usually just measure in a mug or cup's worth and press the Heat button. I place the mug or cup in the little recess under the heating vessel. In about 90 seconds, the water is boiling vigorously, the little red light goes out and I press the Dispense lever and the water falls in three streams into the cup. I lift the lid to allow the boiling chamber to dry and that's it. Sunbeam came out with these in the 70s based on the design of their disastrous ADC machine. They even modified the Hot Shot into a model that would hold a filter basket so that it would brew two cups of coffee. Every year or so, a spiral pattern of water minerals builds up on the bottom of the aluminum water heating chamber. I take the thing over to the sink, wipe some CLR over the bottom and rinse it out. Then it's good to go for another year.