[account_inactive]

I've just bought one of these


It's great

[Iesu]

what do you do when you want to make a pot of tea/coffee?

[andy_e]

Pour loads of cups-worth of boiling water into a teapot?

These things are lethal- the water they put out must be at least 300 degrees when it's inside the thing- it turns to steam the moment it comes out...

[Iesu]

we had a major debate at the office about this when it came time to replace an old, broken kettle. My manager actually asked us to find an "environmentally friendly" kettle - I had to point out to her that heating things up with electricity is probably the least environmentally friendly thing you can do.

we ended up plumping for one of these

because we couldn't be arsed with the idea of waiting for the quik-cup to heat up individual cups of water.

I wouldn't say i recommend this thing, but it does force you to at least THINK about how much water you need to boil (I also read a review that said the quik-cup doesn't actually boil the water so not so great for making that perfect cuppa?).

I have an old-fashioned kettle on the gas hob at home. sorted

[tomtom]

we had a major debate at the office about this when it came time to replace an old, broken kettle. My manager actually asked us to find an "environmentally friendly" kettle - I had to point out to her that heating things up with electricity is probably the least environmentally friendly thing you can do.

we ended up plumping for one of these

because we couldn't be arsed with the idea of waiting for the quik-cup to heat up individual cups of water.

I wouldn't say i recommend this thing, but it does force you to at least THINK about how much water you need to boil (I also read a review that said the quik-cup doesn't actually boil the water so not so great for making that perfect cuppa?).

I have an old-fashioned kettle on the gas hob at home. sorted

I got one of these - it was a gift - if I had bought it I would have taken it back. I think its got a major design flaw, as when boiled, quite often when you tilt it back to the normal angle after pouring out the water - there is a large spit/spurt of boiling water out of the pourer.. nearly scolded myself a few times with this and am now really careful. If Id not given away my old kettle I'd have ditched this.
Steer clear... just put what you need from a tap/jug into a normal kettle!

[account_inactive]

I got given this as a Christmas present from my folks as I'd been banging on about the energy efficiency. 

It's not the hottest water (less than boiling I would say), but perfect if you are going to drink your tea straight away.  If you wanted a flask it would be too cold I think

You can press a button and it just keeps knocking out hot water for those who want a pot BTW

I must stop writing in lists

[Iesu]

I got one of these - it was a gift - if I had bought it I would have taken it back. I think its got a major design flaw, as when boiled, quite often when you tilt it back to the normal angle after pouring out the water - there is a large spit/spurt of boiling water out of the pourer.. nearly scolded myself a few times with this and am now really careful. If Id not given away my old kettle I'd have ditched this.
Steer clear... just put what you need from a tap/jug into a normal kettle!

I second that! it's a bit tricky to get used to using, but not too bad when you figure it out. it feels really weird to pick up when the main "tank" is full and the boiling chamber is empty - very odd weight distribution.

Interesting about the tefal thing knocking out more than one cup.... very interesting....

[Johnny Brown]

I had to point out to her that heating things up with electricity is probably the least environmentally friendly thing you can do

Hardly 'least' its better than using gas at any rate. And not many of us can build a wood fire in the workplace. Not too many other options for boiling water I can think of, maybe a solar furnace?

[Stubbs]

Hardly 'least' its better than using gas at any rate.

Based on the inefficiency of a hob kettle vs and electric one, or what exactly out of interest?  I'm not sure of the SCIENCE re: the efficiency of turning gas or coal into electricity by heating hot water, then transferring it to your house to make hot water, vs piping gas around the country allowing people the make their own hot water in a less efficient manner?

[Iesu]

erm i forgot about the fondness for pure, exact SCIENCE on these forums!

last shizzle i read about this was that the average efficiency of fossil fuel power plants is around the 31% mark http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/analysis-efficiency-coal-fired-power-stations-evolution-prospects/article-154672(i guess gas would have higher efficiency vs coal, but let's stick to the average for the sake of SCIENCE!) and then the loss involved in transporting electricity around our fabulous National Grid Network is around the 90% mark (losses associated with the system i.e. those buzzing noises you hear coming from pylons is 'leccy escaping - and no, not the singer from the voorhees!).

now i'm no scientist, but i know that if less than a 1/3 of the embodied energy in fossil fuels is realised at the generation stage and 1/10 of that is lost before reaching the point of consumption - dem's LOW numbers of efficiency overall. Hence the popularity of the idea of community scale or home-scale power generation amongst greenies.

I agree with Stubbs, although i don't know how much electricity they use keeping the gas system pressure balanced etc

[Johnny Brown]

the loss involved in transporting electricity around our fabulous National Grid Network is around the 90% mark

that's astonishing if its true.

[dave]

from reading the above post I can't be sure if Iesu means 90% loss or 10% loss.

[slackline]

The font of all (dis)-information

[uptown]

from reading the above post I can't be sure if Iesu means 90% loss or 10% loss.

In the UK, about 8.5% of all generated electricity is wasted in the grid and distribution system.
If only we had adopted DC instead, we'd have a much better future proof system.

[nik at work]

All this greeny stuff is wonderful and save the planet and all that but....

It's not the hottest water (less than boiling I would say)

If it's not boiling water then you're not going to make a decent cup of tea, although it is probably ideal for coffee.

[Iesu]

yes sorry that is a c.10% loss. I think i wrote the word "loss" before i actually looked it up on the t'interweb (had it in my head that it was far less efficient than that).

still 90% efficiency of transfer based on 30% generation efficiency is still 90% of sweet fuck all!

[slackline]

We need the Mr Fusion Home Energey Reactor then you can all have as many cups of tea and coffee as you like and not worry

[Iesu]

the expressions on their faces are priceless!

"what the....?"

beats the hell out of the toyota hybrid synergy whatsit