TheAuthority Posted June 1, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 1, 2018 On 29/05/2018 at 05:11, mjmooney said: No, electric kettles. I just heard a radio interview with the guy who invented the automatic cutoff system, and he was saying that he once calculated that if you replaced all U.S. electric kettles with British ones, you could save the equivalent power output of several nuclear reactors. Probably hyperbole, but it just surprised me that not all kettles have cutoffs. Seems mad. I've lived here since '99 and have always had an electric kettle that switches itself off. I've never seen an electric kettle that doesn't switch itself off. Bit in bold sounds like complete and utter fantasy land to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 1, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 1, 2018 2 minutes ago, TheAuthority said: I've lived here since '99 and have always had an electric kettle that switches itself off. I've never seen an electric kettle that doesn't switch itself off. Bit in bold sounds like complete and utter fantasy land to me. This is the link to the programme. Don't know if it's playable outside the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted June 1, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 1, 2018 28 minutes ago, mjmooney said: This is the link to the programme. Don't know if it's playable outside the UK. Just listened (with my trusty VPN!) He said he sort of made the calculation in his head one night. -Seems a bit of a dubious claim to me and like I said, I've never seen an non-automatic shut off kettle here in 20 years. Perhaps at one point they were more prevalent? Culturally they aren't a 'must have' in American kitchens compared to the UK where we drink tea like it's going out of fashion! Most kitchens will have an automatic coffee maker before a kettle. Kettles have become more popular over the last few years as tea is becoming more fashionable (not PG Tips, think arty farty teas) and the 'pour over coffee' revolution led by the hipsters has also helped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 On 29/05/2018 at 10:05, Stevo985 said: I was told that electric kettles, as in kettles specifically designed almost exclusively to heat water for hot drinks, just aren't really a thing in America. And yeah, when they do have kettles it's one of those old fashioned ones that you put on the stove and they whistle when it's ready. Our new house is quite old fashioned, so the wife wanted one of those kettles that whistles on the stove. I told her I can probably find her an app that whistles, if that’s what she wants. But no. She wants a whistling kettle. I’ve offered to buy her a mangle and a bedpan too, but she’s not interested. It takes absolutely ages to boil too. Just what a house with a 3-week old baby needs. A boiling hot pot of water on top of a gas hob for 15 minutes every morning 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 What I don't get is those taps you get that can also do boiling water. I'm sure they're idiot proof but i'd ptobably manage to burn my hands off somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 2, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 2, 2018 1 hour ago, sharkyvilla said: What I don't get is those taps you get that can also do boiling water. I'm sure they're idiot proof but i'd ptobably manage to burn my hands off somehow. Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm not one for health and safety overkill, but that seems like a really dangerous idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, snowychap said: That cashless society thing's a winner, eh? Serves as a timely reminder to not have all your eggs in one basket - Visa was down but Mastercard and Amex weren't, according to reports, so good to have an alternative payment card on you. - Always have a cash reserve - i'm guilty of not having this. - Never have all your money in one bank as if that bank suffers problems (TSB for example) then you aren't left with no other option. Unsure as to what impact it would have on Apple/Samsung/Android Pay as not familiar with those at all. Edited June 2, 2018 by Xela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 3 hours ago, sharkyvilla said: What I don't get is those taps you get that can also do boiling water. I'm sure they're idiot proof but i'd ptobably manage to burn my hands off somehow. Zip taps They should be the future but i dont think you can idiot proof them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 41 minutes ago, villa4europe said: Zip taps They should be the future but i dont think you can idiot proof them we have one in our office, it's brilliant, but it's also away from the main taps, bright red and has a warning sign on it and one just above it you have to keep one hand on it for the water to come out pretty much as close to idiot proof as you could make it about once a year someone tries to wash their hands under it or use it to rinse off a spoon they're holding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Xela said: Serves as a timely reminder to not have all your eggs in one basket - Visa was down but Mastercard and Amex weren't, according to reports, so good to have an alternative payment card on you. - Always have a cash reserve - i'm guilty of not having this. - Never have all your money in one bank as if that bank suffers problems (TSB for example) then you aren't left with no other option. Unsure as to what impact it would have on Apple/Samsung/Android Pay as not familiar with those at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted June 2, 2018 Administrator Share Posted June 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Xela said: Unsure as to what impact it would have on Apple/Samsung/Android Pay as not familiar with those at all. Google Pay is card based. I have prepay cards from Visa and MC registered with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 8 hours ago, mjmooney said: Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm not one for health and safety overkill, but that seems like a really dangerous idea. I also don't get how they are always able to provide boiling water, surely it must take a lot of energy to keep it ready at that temperature. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 13 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said: I also don't get how they are always able to provide boiling water, surely it must take a lot of energy to keep it ready at that temperature. I'm sure different models do different things, but the version we use boils a cup of water in about 15 / 20 seconds. But it boils a cup, not a kettle full, of which you then use a cup. Oh, and it doesn't actually 'boil' the water, it gets it to 98 and stops. No spitting and bubbling and steaming and hissing that you can't actually drink anyway. I believe that 2 degree difference is a massive energy saving over 'boiling'. I'm sure the blurb will tell you that only boiling what you actually use makes it super duper efficient. If you've got the money to install one in the first place, then the running cost is much lower than a kettle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted June 2, 2018 Administrator Share Posted June 2, 2018 29 minutes ago, sharkyvilla said: I also don't get how they are always able to provide boiling water, surely it must take a lot of energy to keep it ready at that temperature. A calorie (cal) is the amount of energy required to heat 1g (= 1ml) of water by 1C. There's about 300ml of water in a cup. Mains water temperature is 1-20C; let's say 10C to make the calculation simple. We need to heat it by 90C 300x90= 27000 = 27kcal = about 4g of Tesco value milk chocolate. There's no tank involved, it heats the water on demand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 This is why I hated science at school. Thanks though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted June 2, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 2, 2018 4 hours ago, limpid said: A calorie (cal) is the amount of energy required to heat 1g (= 1ml) of water by 1C. There's about 300ml of water in a cup. Mains water temperature is 1-20C; let's say 10C to make the calculation simple. We need to heat it by 90C 300x90= 27000 = 27kcal = about 4g of Tesco value milk chocolate. There's no tank involved, it heats the water on demand. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 5 hours ago, limpid said: There's no tank involved, it heats the water on demand. zip taps from 2/3 years back are capped but its crazy high, the one in our Wolverhampton office can "only" do 80 cups an hour, its not a tank but its not an unlimited tap either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted June 3, 2018 Author VT Supporter Share Posted June 3, 2018 I **** love VT. Detailed discussion about how a kettle boils water. Bloody love you guys. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 3, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 3, 2018 5 hours ago, Stevo985 said: I **** love VT. Detailed discussion about how a kettle boils water. Bloody love you guys. Anything's better than talking about the Villa. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Genie Posted June 4, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2018 Genuinely shocked the other day. The Mother in Law is off on her holidays and asked if I could print off her board passes as their printer isn't hooked up. She drops her paperwork round with all the details and also some scribbled notes from her calls to book a transfer to the airport. What I couldn't believe was that in every case she spelled the word "Taxi" with an e on the end "TAXIE". How on earth can anybody get past 5 years of age not knowing how to spell Taxi? The mind absolutely boggles. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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