Vehicles run on gasoline, and people run on tea and coffee; if you can relate, you must know what a chore boiling water can be every time you crave some beverage.
Luckily! You will be glad that someone had the same opinion and decided to invent a super-efficient way of quickly turning cold water to hot, The electric kettle! If you have never used one, you must have many questions like; How exactly can you make coffee with an electric kettle?
Read on to find the answer to this question and answers to several other questions commonly asked about the electric kettle.
How to make coffee with an electric kettle?
There is no difference between making coffee with a standard kettle and an electric kettle. Simply, if you are using instant coffee, just boil the water using the electric kettle, pour the hot water in your mug, dump the coffee powder into the mug, and stir until you have a cup of coffee. Interestingly, it will not take more than 5 minutes to make a delicious cup of coffee.
The only benefit an electric kettle brings is that it boils water very quickly. This can be a very lucrative benefit as most people who have the habit of getting coffee before work or just having it after waking up can save a lot of time and move on to their normal lives.
How does an electric kettle work?
Electric kettles are a very simple and common household kitchen appliance. However, how it works is also very simple! If you ever remove the lid of the electric kettle and look inside, you will see a coil of thick metal known by the name of “Heating element.”
When the electric kettle is plugged into an electric outlet, large amounts of electricity flows into the heating element. This heating element is actually specially made so that its electric resistance is very high; this makes it very hot when electricity passes through it. The heat from this heating element is what heats the beverage inside your electric kettle.
Are electric kettles dangerous?
Kettles are usually one of the safest electrical appliances. However, it can be a source of hazard. To prevent a hazard caused by an electric kettle, you need to know what your kettle is precisely made of.
If you use a very old electric kettle. In that case, there are nickel elements inside the kettle that can cause some health-related issues.
However, you don’t need to worry if your kettle is recently bought as today’s kettles are made with safety in mind. If you bought a cheap electric kettle, then chances are it is made of plastic; electric kettles manufactured with plastic insides are very unsafe.
Some chemicals can leech into your water from the plastic, causing health issues and change the taste of your water.
Is it OK to drink water from electric kettle?
The answer to this depends on the kettle you use. If your electric kettle has an exposed heating element and is coated with nickel, then it is not safe to drink boiled water from that kettle. This is because nickel will most likely leech out into the water, contaminating it.
People prone to allergies will suffer from this by developing adverse reactions if they consume this nickel-contaminated water. And suppose this nickel-contaminated water is consumed in huge amounts. In that case, it will most likely cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and wheezing.
If your electric kettle is made recently or does not have an exposed heating element, you do not need to worry about this. Current electric kettles are made with safety in mind and pose the most minimum risks.
Do electric kettles use a lot of electricity?
Yes. Electric kettles can consume a huge amount of electricity. The power rating of an electric kettle can be anywhere between twelve hundred Watts to three thousand Watts. While The power rating of the appliance is high, you use it for a concise while every day, so it won’t impact your Electricity bill by a lot.
But this is subject to change for various reasons. If the kettle you are using is old, it will draw more energy as the efficiency will be less than a new one. Suppose you do not plug off your kettle after use.
In that case, much electricity is wasted unnecessarily as kettles keep drawing power from the outlet even when it is not in use. Also, if you are trying to boil cold water, the kettle will require more energy to boil it, which also spikes up the electricity use; it is better to let the cold water return to room temperature before boiling it.
How long does an electric kettle last?
Electric kettles normally do not last very long, but it depends on what model you bought and how well it is built. On average, the electric kettles are usually replaced every four years.
However, you can make it last longer easily; cleaning your electric kettle every so often can make your electric kettle lose its efficiency much slowly, as dirt can impact your kettle’s performance.
Using the right amount of water can also contribute to making your electric kettle last; after boiling water, limescale builds up inside the kettle, which affects the kettle adversely, so if you don’t overfill your kettle, then limescale accumulates at a much lower rate and the kettle is affected less.
Another thing that helps preserve an electric kettle’s lifespan is removing water from the kettle after use. If you do not remove water from the electrical kettle after use. In that case, it may cause the heating elements inside to corrode quicker, reducing efficiency.
How does an electric kettle know when to switch off?
Many electric kettles come with built-in bi-metallic chips that automatically turn off your kettle when the water starts boiling. The way that it works is pretty simple; in layman’s terms, when the water inside the kettle reaches a certain point, the bimetallic chip inside will be triggered, and the strip would bend to turn the switch to OFF position. However, in many new and expensive electric kettles today, electronic thermostats are much more accurate. So you can set the temperature according to what you need in these kettles.
Conclusion:
Electric kettles are a neat invention which aids many of us daily. However, knowing the basics about such household appliances is mandatory in today’s day and age.
Hopefully, this article gave you enough insight on how an electric kettle works and what to look for in your next electric kettle. If you found this article helpful, make sure to forward this to all your friends and family!