#Swan red retro kettle windows#

You’ll find the majority of kettles on the market have a pirouette connector centre, which simply means you can place the kettle on the base to face in the direction most convenient for you.

It’s equally important to check the water gauge to make sure your kettle hasn’t been overfilled, which could boil over and become a safety hazard.

This reduces the risk of it burning dry and causing damage. With this feature, the kettle automatically switches off if there isn't enough water inside. These collect pieces of limescale from the water to prevent them from being poured into your drink, and they stop scum forming on the surface, making them a must for hard water areas. Most kettles have removable, washable anti-scale water filters that sit at the base of the spout. Some handles have a soft, rubberised area for extra grip, too. It's also worth checking the position and shape of the handle, which may affect the balance when pouring and filling. If lifting may be an issue, look for a model that weighs no more than a kilogram when empty. Other smart features include pre-programmed temperature buttons for different hot drinks and a 'keep warm' setting to retain the water temperature for a certain amount of time.įor every millilitre of water you add to your kettle, an extra gram is added to its overall weight, meaning they can get quite heavy.

Some kettles have additional smart features, such as allowing you to set the kettle to boil or check the water temperature from an app on your phone. It’s a handy feature if you like to drink more delicate herbal and green teas, which should be brewed below boiling, at around 80C. Variable temperature kettles can heat the water to different temperatures to provide the best results when brewing different types of tea and coffee.

#Swan red retro kettle windows#

Kettles with large viewing windows are best if you want to know exactly how much water is in the kettle at any time. Most kettles have this clearly visible on the exterior but some are more awkwardly placed, such as behind the handle. There are finer details to think about too, which can make a real difference when you’re using your kettle day in, day out: Most models have a minimum level clearly marked. If you’re just putting on the kettle for one cup of tea, it’s worth checking the minimum capacity your kettle can boil. An average cup of tea is 250ml, so you should be able to boil enough for 6-7 cups at a time. Typically, kettles can hold between 1.5 and 1.7 litres of water. Kettles with a higher wattage tend to be noisier – we test the noise using a microphone and a decibel metre, so if any are particularly loud or quiet, we can tell you this in our reviews. Their handles are often located on top, too.Ī power element of 3kW is generally considered best for fast boiling and all of our top-scoring kettles have this wattage. Electric dome kettles often have lift-off lids, which can be a bit more fiddly than flip-top models to use, and these kettles usually have a smaller water capacity. Jug kettles are taller, tend to have handles located on the side and will generally hold a larger volume of water.ĭome-shaped kettles look more like traditional stovetop models. There are two main types of kettle: jug and dome. Here are the key things you need to consider. Given how regularly our kettles get used, it’s worth thinking about what features you want and those that you can pass by.