Cuisinart KUA-17 1-3/4-Quart Cordless Automatic Electric Kettle
by Cuisinart
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List Price: Our Price: $69.69 You Save: $40.31 (37%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $47.98 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart KUA-17 1-3/4-Quart Cordless Automatic Electric Kettle
Customer Review: Cuisinart electric kettle
Summary: 5 Stars
This one will replace my last Cuisinart kettle, which finally stopped working after about 15 years of daily use. I wanted, and got, exactly the same model. It's the best I've seen.Customer Review: Stay away
Summary: 1 Stars
I have bought three of these. One lasted several years the the last two have not lasted a year. There is a quality problem.Customer Review: Poor quality - two failed
Summary: 1 Stars
Buy something else. First one failed within a few months (switch would not stay down in the on position). The replacement (with the return shipped at my expense) leaked very slowly from the plastic base then, about a month later, failed completely accompanied by the stench of electrical burning. I threw it in the trash, rather than endure the hassle and expense of replacing yet another kettle under warranty, and resolved never to buy anything from Cuisinart again.Customer Review: work horse, wish it was sexier
Summary: 4 Stars
We used this kettle daily for 3 years until it konked out. Overall we were pleased, but I'm very demanding and currently shopping for a better kettle, one that will be an upgrade. For most users this will be a great kettle. So far, it's the best I've used.
I'll cover the minor drawbacks of this model first. I've been using electric kettles for nearly 20 years - so I won't wax poetic about electric or cordless - they are a given.
Cons:
1)Capacity: It will either make a pot of coffee of a pot of tea - won't do both in a single boil. Mine would hold a liter of water if filled to the "fill line" getting more in required me to fill it past that. I often did, and it still worked, but more slowly. The fill line is about half-way up the body of the pot.
2)The lid: It's a bit tricky/fiddly to remove while it's hot because the plastic part of the handle isn't quite as large as it could be to fully protect bigger fingers from coming in contact with the hot chrome. Also, the fit is tight, which is a good thing, but requires that one exert quite some pull to get it off; enough pull to splash hot water if one does not take care. I perfected a one-handed method that worked well for me after some practice: grasp the handle as if to pour, extend two fingers down to pinch the knob of the lid between the knuckles, squeeze the knob up towards the handle as if pulling a trigger.
3)Plastic: There is only a tiny bit of plastic that comes into contact with the water in this almost all metal kettle. The bit that indicates the "fill line" and is apparently the thermostat for the auto shut off once water boils is inside the belly of the pot, and is plastic. It did not produce an off smell or taste, but I was never happy about it.
4)No whistles or bells: It would be nice to have a fill indicator on the outside, instead one must peer into a dark pot. A temperature control (by degrees) would be grand - but that is REALLY asking a lot! The kettles used in China and Japan all have temp control - but they are all ugly, nasty plastic units. Over all I hate silly whistles and bells - so take that as you like...
5) Small aperture: The opening to fill the pot is not real big, and the handle crosses over it. Easy to fill it from a Brita pitcher, but not as easy from the InsinkErator water spout.
6) Looks: I's handsome, but a bit retro due to the pot-belly. I wish it was sleeker.
BUT - IT HAS A LOT GOING FOR IT and I wouldn't be shopping for a new one if it still worked. In fact, my husband tried to fix it (electronic engineer) when it first went on the blink. It likely would have lasted longer if I hadn't overfilled it so often.
Pros:
1)Well built: Good workmanship, simple, no bobbles to go bad. Even survived being dropped on it's head once or twice. Also, the on/off lever makes a very satisfying click when pressed on, and a satisfying and audible click when it shuts off so you know it's done if your back is turned. (As it aged it got a bit louder as is boiled - not too loud mind you - so that one could hear when it would be done from the sound of the boil. This was a plus when I wanted water not-at-a-full-boil for green tea. I got to be able to tell the temperature by the sound.)
2) Easy to clean: I kept it by the stove and it got messy - but always cleaned up well, even after my spousal unit carelessly splattered the exterior with two-part-spray-in-foam-insulation requiring acetone to remove. Shined right up very prettily. I said it wouldn't - but he was right.
I rarely cleaned the inside - but it was a cinch. I left water in most of the time w/out a problem. (Instructions which say not to are concerned with bacteria growing, and this is true for ALL kettles. If used daily this is not an issue. When we went away for a couple weeks I made sure to leave it empty and open, if I forgot - I washed it out with dish soap when we returned. The hidden heating element meant no boiling with decalc solutions (our water is not very hard here in Ventura County). It was a breeze to clean (don't understand other reviewers who thought otherwise).
3)Heated very quickly: 'nuf said.
4)Poured well: Didn't drip, was comfortable in the hand.
5)Cord storage: Well designed place to wrap up extra cord so it doesn't hang out all over the counter.
6) No paint on metal. Don't laugh - my coffee grinder, toaster, rice cooker, slow cooker, even my commercial convection oven in my test kitchen at work all have paint on the metal that eventually, after a year's worth of cleaning, comes off. Why do manufacturers do this? This little kettle gets it right - nothing on the metal but shine. The base rarely needs cleaning so the logo there looked new when I tossed it out.
7)LED indicator on the base unit: No matter which direction you set the pot back down in - the base stays put so you always have the LED indicator facing you and can see it from across the kitchen.
8)Multi-directional: One needn't fiddle with the placement of the pot or lid - they work in all directions.
8)Never leaked: NOT once!
9)Metal: So far, this seems to have the least plastic of all pots - even less than the Dr. Weill (go figure). Why won't someone make a plastic-free electric kettle? Or at least use polycarbonate? (okay - Bodum does - but the reviews are grim)...
10)Good Price: I'd happily pay triple or quadruple the price of this machine if I could find a true-2-liter, plastic-free kettle that was as gorgeous as the Frieling French Press.
So...I'm still shopping. If I can find one for sale in the U.S., I'm going to buy a Russell & Hobbs - the new glass model with the chrome and wood handle that is ridiculously beautiful. I'll be hoping that one of the bulls-in-my-china-shop doesn't break it straightaway, and I'll be watching my water bubble and boil in eager anticipation of a cuppa (joe or tips). If I can't buy one of those - I might just buy another one of these!
Customer Review: Unreliable
Summary: 1 Stars
STAY AWAY!! This kettle designed with a plastic contact mechanism (It is not visible, covered by the black bottom) which cannot stand the temperature of boiling water. It gradually melts, contacts getting loose, starts sparkling and eventually melts more plastic to make a SHORT CIRCUIT!!! Contacts are funny thin for it's power. I think it is made deliberately for shortening it life to force you to buy next one.
After disassembling this mechanism, trying to figure out the way to repair this kettle I put it to garbage incinerator. No more Cuisinart!!