Beware...Kettles
Feb 10th 2006 | 1:12 pm
#16
Account Closed
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 8,266
Re: Beware...Kettles
Sorry, but this is HILARIOUS!!! ha!ha!ha! *wish there was a rolling smilie here 
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Feb 10th 2006 | 1:37 pm
#17
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 30,102
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by Celtic_Angel
that's what I had thought ..you can buy them in Target for about $25 and they are big too...I'd always used the pretty hob ones...had a few of those burn dry an all 
Feb 10th 2006 | 1:51 pm
#18
Not living a 9 to 5 life
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,061
From: North Carolina
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by BrandonBrit
Do you own an electric kettle?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames... She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!
There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames...
She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
I bought a Krups kettle from Linen n Things back in May 03. It is still working perfectly.
NC Penguin
Feb 10th 2006 | 1:53 pm
#19
Not living a 9 to 5 life
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,061
From: North Carolina
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by Bob
Got a lovely Le Creuset one now, so ain't going to bother replace that for a while yet, nice and quick too when only making a couple cups.
NC Penguin
Feb 10th 2006 | 2:33 pm
#20
Roll on Spring
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 85
From: Sunny Norwalk OH
Re: Beware...Kettles
so, none of you`s have had a stuuuupid babysitter throw a couple of tea bags into the kettle..turn it on,wait for it to boil, then stick the contents into the fridge for later.......don`t they just love their ice tea!!!!!!!!! I`m on my 5th kettle in just under four years.
I still have my old fashioned stove top whistler, it`s under the sink.....I use it on special occasions,ie, guests you want to get rid of sharp ish....my god what is that awful noise?.......oh, dont you know? that`s the local hurricane/flood advisory.......guests gone..
I`m on my 5th kettle in just under four years.I still have my old fashioned stove top whistler, it`s under the sink.....I use it on special occasions,ie, guests you want to get rid of sharp ish....my god what is that awful noise?.......oh, dont you know? that`s the local hurricane/flood advisory.......guests gone..
Feb 10th 2006 | 3:45 pm
#21
Just me!
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 752
From: San Francisco, CA
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by BrandonBrit
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
ive never been able to work out why americans look upon electric kettles so strangley?? - perhaps the technology is just a bit too new for them
Ant
Feb 10th 2006 | 4:32 pm
#22
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 92,279
From: MA, USA
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by NC Penguin
Does yours do double duty as a dumbell?
Feb 10th 2006 | 6:13 pm
#23
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,452
From: Nuevo Mexico
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by BigDavyG
For what its worth my oh now uses an electric kettle, but she rinses it out after every use 
Got to get rid of the scale. WHY? Because. 
Mine's a Breville. Works great - just can't get the thought of toasted sandwiches out of my head every time I flip that switch....
Feb 10th 2006 | 6:46 pm
#24
who turned out the light?
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,997
From: WA
Re: Beware...Kettles
After buying a cheap kettle from target 1st time we lived in US top broke after a year. So this time went to fry's who had about 6 electric kettles to choose from but as they were a bit pricey I still didn't really like them as was scared they wouldn't last or didn't think they were worth the money. The man working there then went and got me a couple more models that weren't even on the shelves. So bought the cuisanart stainless steel one for about $75 (I think!) :scared: but I do like my cuppa and hope it lasts!
Feb 11th 2006 | 12:26 am
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 920
From: Connecticut
Re: Beware...Kettles
Bought a $70 electric kettle from Linens and Things and it lasted less than 18 months. Bought a cheap $25 one from Target and it's still going over 2 years later.
Loved the story. Couldn't help but laugh and can just imagine one of my American friends doing the same thing if I let her near my kettle
Loved the story. Couldn't help but laugh and can just imagine one of my American friends doing the same thing if I let her near my kettle
Feb 11th 2006 | 12:41 am
#26
Mr. Grumpy
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,100
From: Nashville, TN
Re: Beware...Kettles
another candidate for forced helmet wearing whilst out of their own padded cell
Feb 11th 2006 | 12:43 am
#27
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 47,663
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by Celtic_Angel
pmsl!! what an idiot!!! no I do not think this is normal behaviour , even for an American 
...i actually saw an American friend with an electric kettle and had to ask her where she got it so i could go and get one for myself! 
...i actually saw an American friend with an electric kettle and had to ask her where she got it so i could go and get one for myself! As an American I have to seriously interject that I have never used an electric kettle until I meet my Canadian husband. I don't have an electric stove, thank god, but a gas stove. However, that said even I would not have placed an electric kettle on a gas burner and ignited the burner. Why? Because the many electric kettles I've seen over the years have been plastic. You do not put plastic on an open fire or heating coil.
Jim has since our marriage come to appreciate boiling our tea water in a kettle designed for the range. He's found that he prefers using it as the water can continue to boil for a longer period then with an electric kettle. However, we do own one for our many travels so that we can make proper tea in a hotel room rather than just heat water in the coffee pots most hotels provide.
Feb 11th 2006 | 12:59 am
#28
Blondie22
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,738
Re: Beware...Kettles
[QUOTE=BrandonBrit]Do you own an electric kettle?
My dear friend
Thanks for the laugh!!! . You know that I luv ya but that will teach you for being a kind hearted person and letting friends wander into your house unaccompanied!!! . Thank god that she had the sense enough to throw wet towels on the flames (albeit your good british ones!), otherwise you could be living in your car right now! Tell me, did she put the fire out before she called you or was she busy dialling whilst your kitchen was burning to the ground? I still have the original cordless kettle that I bought in Target on Bell road about 8 years ago! Now before you say it, I know that I don't use it on a daily basis but it still gets used fairly regularly and it's holding up well .
My dear friend
Thanks for the laugh!!!
. You know that I luv ya but that will teach you for being a kind hearted person and letting friends wander into your house unaccompanied!!! . Thank god that she had the sense enough to throw wet towels on the flames (albeit your good british ones!), otherwise you could be living in your car right now! Tell me, did she put the fire out before she called you or was she busy dialling whilst your kitchen was burning to the ground? I still have the original cordless kettle that I bought in Target on Bell road about 8 years ago! Now before you say it, I know that I don't use it on a daily basis but it still gets used fairly regularly and it's holding up well .
Feb 11th 2006 | 3:42 am
#29
Back where I belong!
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,989
From: Melbourne, Oz to Banbury, England to El Mirage, AZ & now back to England!
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by BrandonBrit
Do you own an electric kettle?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames... She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!
There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames...
She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
Feb 11th 2006 | 3:47 am
#30
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,596
Re: Beware...Kettles
Originally Posted by BrandonBrit
Do you own an electric kettle?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames... She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!
There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
I am on about my seventh one since living over here. The latest is one made by GE and is cordless... got it in Walmart. It's the second of the same kind as the first one lasted about six months and I wrote to GE and complained and they said they had a waranty with Walmart and for me just to take it back for a replacement... I did this, with no hassle at all
Anyhow, yesterday I had an American friend come over and she arived at my house before me. I told her to go ahead and go in while she waited and to put the kettle on for me, so the water would be boiled when I arrived home and we could have a cuppa.
A few minutes later, (I was about 1/4 mile away from my house) she rang and said I needed to hurry up and get home as my kitchen was on fire from the kettle.
I walked into my smoke filled house, wondering how the hell my cordless kettle had started on fire, to find that the twit had only placed it on the hob and turned a ring on high, needless to say, it had heated up the rubber bottom which ignighted into flames...
She had then thrown two of my nicest tea towels (British one's) over it to put the flames out, so they have huge black holes in them now!There was burnt rubber, the heating elements and all sorts all over the cooker, microwave and counters...the smell was horrific...it took some serious cleaning.
When I asked her why she would put something that came off of an electric item on the counter on the ring... she said she had never seen an electric kettle before, and thought I just had it on the counter for show....
I was telling people at work about it, and half of them said that they'd never seen an electric kettle either, and would have done the same thing, placing it on the ring to heat....
So beware fellow expats, the same thing could happen to you
PS> Wonder if GE will replace this kettle if I take it up to Walmart and say it doesn't work anymore... what do you think my chances are?
