Bodum Ibis v. Philips Electric Kettle?

Hi Anne,

In Europe you will find electric water boilers everywhere, and my experience with them has told me a few thing to look out for

1. The looks - you will want to keep it on the kitchen counter, so it should look good
2. Power/Wattage - I always look for the wattage, generally the higher the wattage, the faster the water boils
3. Functionality - is the lid easy to open/close, does it have a filter (for calcium deposits etc), is it easy to see how much water there is in the kettle etc.
4. The kettle should be cordless and easy to pick up and put down on the base.
5. The cord should be as short as possible (a long cord may hang out over the counter and children can get hold of it with disastrous results).

I have no particular opinions about the two kettles you mentioned, but go to the store, pick them up, look and feel.

By the way, have you considered a Zojirushi pot? It not only boils the water, but also keeps it hot. Very convenient. I wouldn't be without mine!

Good luck!

Lars (Bergen, Norway)

My girlfriend got me a "Morphy-something" stainless kettle.. boils very fast. She's from Scotland and had it shipped over. Only problem is the damn thing's in liters! It holds '1.7' liters and has little weird markings up the side.. '6' '8' '10' then '1.7'.. can't figure out what they mean unless it's something like deciliters.. but who measures stuff in deciliters? "Hey John, I sure could use 6 deciliters of coffee right about now.. actually make it 8!" "Deciliters of tequila all around!"

FF

Probably everyone who has never been part of the British Empire, i.e. most of the world?

In case you find out where they measure tequila in deciliters, let me know! I thought even you folks across the Northern Sea would measure drinks in centiliters (cc) which is off course also built on the metric system, but then, I could be wrong. Come on, and keep up with the rest of us :-). Sorry if all this is moving away from the bodum or not to bodum question.

Regards, Ole K, Trondheim, Norway

I have a Phillips electric kettle which I use to boil 1 liter of water every morning to brew coffee in a French Press. While I haven't timed it with a stop watch, it doesn't seem to take long, I would guess 3-4 minutes tops.

It's at least 3 years old and I purchased it in a thrift shop, new in the box, for $10.00. I would buy another one in a heartbeat for it's efficiency and ease of boiling water.

I have seen the Bodum but don't know any pros or cons regarding it vs. the Phillips. The only con observed with the Phillips is that the protective plastic covering on the bottom hot plate assembly has pealed off in areas. The plastic pieces never made it out of the pot due to the filter on the pour spout so has been no big deal.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll be pleased with whatever you decide to purchase due to it's utility.

{de-lurk}

Falky foo wrote:

Morphy-Richards :-)

The 6, 8, 10 usually indicate a cup count (i.e., this is enough water for 6 cups/mugs of water). I don't know anyone that uses them though, given the size of a cup or mug can vary wildly ... :-)

{re-lurk :-) }

Chris...

I've had the Philips and about 3 others, and the one I have now ("chef's choice", the tall one) has out lasted and out performed the rest put together. blacksalt

cc is the abbreviation for 'cubic centimeter' -- the equivalent of 1 milliliter. The abbreviation for centiliter is cl

Gabby

Yep, a centilitre (cl) is 10ml, or 0.01 l. However a cubic-centimtre (cc) is 1 ml (milli-litre). Thus 10cc = 10ml = 1cl :-)

Chris...

Yup, you're both (you and Chris J) quite right. I was a bit too eager in trying to demonstrate the superiority of the metric system.

ole k (still slightly anglophile, though)

What is a centileter? 10 ml (10 x 100 = 1000 (1 L) ?

john

So instead of saying "Hey baby, give me a cup of tea" you'd say "Hey baby, give me 2.365 deciliters of tea." ??? I don't believe that!

Not likely that he'd use deciliters when ordering tea but then again, 'a cup of tea' identifies the container, not the amount since cups vary greatly in size and you could get your tea in a fancy 'odd cup & saucer' type cup for about 4 or 5 ounces or a mug containing 12 ounces.

Gabby

Thanks everyone for your both useful, and metrically education feedback.

In the end, as between the Bodum and the Philips, I decided that having it tell me when it had boiled (the little bell) was reallly important to me. Usually we set the water on, then go back to work at our computers and get immersed and lost in work, so having that signal is really good for us.

So I picked one up (couldn't find one anywhere - finally checked Target

- they were out, but I begged and the nice manager let me have the floor model. .

We really like it. It boils 6 1/2 cups of water in 4 minutes, 12 in about 6.

It takes a few seconds after reaching boiling to ding and shut off, so if you get one, don't think that it won't do it (like we did) - it just takes a moment.

Anne