Kettles - which are suitable?

[phantom]

Hi we have got lazy and hate to gas boil a manual kettle and want to buy one for the MH. Someone bought us a 12v car lighter style ketlle but it is so slow and small.

 

Will a regular household kettle do or do we need a low wattage one or those travelling kettles that can switch voltage abroad - are they slow too?

 

Please help sounds silly I know but what do you all do for a wee cup of tea?

 

Thanks

[cronkle]

We bought a small (two mug?) kettle from Comet or somewhere like that. It is rated at about 800watts. Cost not much more than a tenner two or three years ago. We have not tripped a hook-up yet, even on some of the lower powered ones. The european standard is now 220-240 volts.

 

[net-traveller]

If you intend to visit countries like Italy where the vast majority of sites give hook-ups of 6 amp or less then a kettle purchased in the UK is unlikely to be of much use. The lowest wattage I've seen here is 800 which equates to just under 4 amp. (Amps = watts/current)

 

On the continent kettles can be found for 500 watts (1 litre). 600 watts will get you 1.5/1.7 litre. You can also get a filter coffee machine for 600 watts. These will use less than 3 amps which should be within most supplies. You will have to change the plug.

 

;-)

[phantom]

What wattage should i look for for use on a campsite?

 

What does everyone else use?

 

Thanks

[libby]

GAS

 

LB

[Brambles]

If you intend to travel abroad I would go for one which is 800 watts or under which will draw under 4 Amps. If only in UK then a 1000W should be fine.

Do a search on google (products) and you should find many listed.

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=travelling+kettle&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf

or

http://www.ei42.com/brambles/search.php?search=travel+kettle&prod_offset=0&all_prod=1

 

Hope this helps,

Jon.

 

[Guest peter]

Get a decent gas kettle. One with the coils of wire in the base, as these are designed to boil fast owing to the better heat transfer from the copper coils.

[davenewellhome]

Maybe I'm being dim (it has been known :D ) but I fail to see why an electric kettle is labour saving over a gas kettle. Surely there is just as much to do with filling it and plugging it in as there is to filling a gas kettle and lighting the hob. I can see that some people might prefer to use electric kettles when on a hookup to save gas although unless you're constantly re-boiling the kettle to satisfy an insatiable thirst for hot drinks I doubt if it saves a significant amount of gas.

 

D.

[chas]

I do think an electric kettle is useful when abroad, particulary in a hot climate, to boil up gas kettles inside an already hot van, can be too much, and also uses up valuable gas supplies. In this country of course, the opposite is true, and the gas kettle can give added warmth on a chilly morning, but if on EHU you might as well use what you have paid for. an electric 800watt will be ok abroad. No sugar, just milk, please. :-D

[Brambles]

Everyone to their own ideas I suppose, I find an electric kettle great for when the gas is running low, but as you say Dave it is not really labour saving especally by time you get out, plug in etc.

However Gas is a big issue for us for example when we do our extended tours of Europe. Use two full bottles on every summer trip so far. Not quite enough to justify different bottles, but enough to justify using electric kettle to save a small amount of gas or to heat water for washing up when on hook up.

 

[Tomo3090]

Re-filllable bottles or a fitted tank would give you that extra gas and less concern about it running out. It also allows greater freedom and that is a big enough plus on it's own. I know it's a big outlay but the gas is so cheap compared to Calor etc, especially abroad.

 

It's good though isn't it that "vanners" are such diverse, ( or sad!) that we can have a discussion on-line about methods of brewing up! :-D

[chas]

As someone once said ( I think) having a brew up of hot tea is not a matter of life or death, Its much more serious than that. ;-)

[Clive]

We gave away our posh copper bottomed coil type kettle because it wanted lots of cleaning, was so slow to boil and purchased a supert duper stainless steel jobie with a solid thick aluminium bottom which takes just as long.

Our electric kettle is an 800 watt "travelling" kettle but mostly when on mains hookup the Russell Hobbs coffee maker gets pulled out of the cupboard.

 

 

 

 

[Mel B]

davenewell@home - 2008-04-17 7:03 AM

 

I can see that some people might prefer to use electric kettles when on a hookup to save gas although unless you're constantly re-boiling the kettle to satisfy an insatiable thirst for hot drinks I doubt if it saves a significant amount of gas.

 

D.

 

Guilty as charged ... :D

 

We've got one of the small travel type kettles, that holds 2 mugs worth of water and is an auto-switch off one - some aren't and they're a pain in the bum.

 

On the rare occasions we are on a campsite with hook up we use the kettle for boiling water for washing up, washing hair etc, to save gas in addition to the obvious of making lots of cuppas. It can be labour/time saving in the sense that I stick the electric kettle on, take the dogs out for a potter and by the time I get back it's boiled, can't safely do that with a gas one. :-|

[Brambles]

I have one of the voice recognition kettles - brilliant - just say coffee please, then go for a walk and when I come back there is a coffee waiting for me!

[Minstrel]

We use a travel kettle and we also have a Remoska which is very good for saving gas in the motorhome. I use it 3 or 4 times a week at home so hope to see my electricity bills go down as it's got to be cheaper than putting the oven on for a meal for two. Haven't tried cakes yet but it heated up a quiche very nicely today.