Customer Reviews

Breville SK85XL Nova Cordfree Kettle

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am very, very picky when it comes to house wares and kitchen appliances, and before deciding to take my chances on this Breville electric kettle, I had spent probably too much time researching different brands of electric kettles online (Braun, Krups, Cuisinart, Bodum, etc.). I was inclined to getting the Braun kettle that has received so many rave reviews on Amazon, but the few complaints about it petering out, and being made of plastic, made me continue my search for a kettle. If it's going to cost almost $50, I wanted a kettle that could boil more than 6 cups of water, last longer than 3 years, and be made of stainless steel. After typing in all sorts of descriptors on search engines, I finally came across the name Breville, and checked out the manufacturer's Web site. After seeing this Nova kettle's product specifications, & contrasting it to other makes & models featured on Amazon, I took my chances with this kettle, and have been completely obsessed with it ever since (& I am fully confidet it will continue to function well even after that "just-bought-it" glow fades away). It has more than I had wanted, all in one: concealed heating element, REMOVABLE water-scale filter, a window to see the water level (not that annoying floating ball), larger 1.9L capacity, auto-shut-off, 360 degree accessible base, great looks, & VERY FAST! Plus, I noticed that the water in the kettle continues to stay heated for quite a while after it has boiled and the kettle has shut itself off. The only thing some people may find unfortunate is the rather shorter-than-expected length of the electric cord. But for all the other pluses going for this product, I think it's a negligible quality. I had never heard of Breville before, but I hope they venture out into other high-quality kitchen products, with the same caliber of quality. So, the verdict is: 5-stars, and a Perfect-10 as a kitchen accessory. And, I am guilty of spending FAR too much time shopping for house/kitchen stuff! So, I wanted to write a review to save others from wasting the same amount of time I did.

I am very, very pleased with this kettle and should have gotten one long ago (about 3 stove-top kettles ago!). This kettle heats up quickly and to a full, rolling boil (tea drinkers understand the importance of the boil!).

Afterwards, it shuts itself off. (Finally! A kettle I may not burn within a few months.) After pouring, the kettle is very easy to place back on top of the base -- no need to "line" anything up for it to fit.

In addressing other reviewers' issue/s with this Breville tea kettle...

1. Yes, it gets hot (duh! boiling water?); but if you're worried about children touching it, I suggest it be placed toward the back of the counter. (Do we stop cooking all together because children may touch the pots or pans? As with any appliance, you need to exercise a little caution, that's all.) In fact, the tea kettle probably sits farther back (closer to an outlet) than pots/pans cooking on top of the stove.

2. I do not find the cord any bulkier or more cumbersome than other appliances. In fact, it takes up less cord space because the excess is tucked under the base.

3. Is this kettle noisy? No more than a coffee maker or a pot on the stove. It is the same sound as water heating up in just about anything. I turn the kettle on and go in the very next room. I do not hear it at all. I do sometimes hear the "click" from the unit switching off when the water is ready. Good thing for the click because, without a whistle, I often forget I put water up!

4. As for the price... Electric kettles are a bit pricey to my surprise. The Breville (at $50) is, in my opinion, very reasonable. After all, the Oxo Uplift (stove-top) kettle costs the same, has no heating element, no filter, and is a piece of _ _ _ _. (Yes, entered into the graveyard of burnt kettles 6 days ago, good riddance!)

I hope this helps anyone considering the purchase of this kettle. I highly recommend it!

We just received our new Breville Nova Cordfree Kettle. We filled it up with cold water and it took 5 minutes to boil. Here are some pros and cons to the kettle:

Cons: 1) Like one reviewer said it does get very hot, however it won't burn you unless you leave your hand on it. 2) I don't like the bulky plug that sticks out. We leave ours sitting on the counter, plugged in. The stiff cord connected to it gets in the way of the kettle.

Pros: 1) It stays hot for a long time. We boiled our water over 2 1/2 hours ago and the water is still warm. 2) The Base swivles for easy access from any angle. 3) The lid locks in place to alleviate accidental spills. 4) The strainer also locks in place so it doesn't fall out easy like the one in our Krups kettle did. 5)It automatically shuts itself off so your water doesn't burn out and ruin your kettle. 6)It pours nicely. You don't have to push any buttens to release the water when you pour it. 7) Part of the cord tucks neatly under the base so you only have to have out what is needed. 8) The base cannot easily slide on the counter. So it stays in place. 9) It looks great sitting on your counter!

Overall I feel like we have a great kettle.

By far the best looking kettle on the market and it looks even better once you get it home. It also has the largest capacity of all kettles I've looked at and it boils superfast. The auto-off feature is great as I have kids in the house and you never know what's going to happen leaving the old tea kettle on the stove. Worth the price

Let me start by saying that I love my Breville.

To clarify, I'm a recent convert to the non-stovetop, electric tea kettle...and I'd never go back. It took some convincing by my husband. (Electric kettles come standard in every British and Australian home. Somehow I didn't register that they were probably on to something.) I was attached to the whistle and was obsessed with finding a kettle with a very cool design. Let me tell you, I looked high and low for the perfect kettle before my conversion.

Several reasons why electric kettles rule over stove top... Number one - kettles on the stove are constantly spattered with grease and never look their best. I saw a friend's chrome kettle recently and it looked pretty gross. That's when it dawned on me. I've not even wiped off my Breville since we got it and its chrome is as shiny as can be.

They're really efficient, using just enough energy to get that amount of water to come to a healthy boil. Then they switch off. I actually don't miss that shrill whistle which is really pointing out you've left your kettle to long. The water comes to a boil WAY faster than it ever did on the stove. (A watched pot actually does come to a boil in this case.) And it's got this great clear window, so you know exactly how much water you're boiling. No more guessing by the weight of the pot. I can boil just the right amount for a cup or a pot of tea.

It really doesn't take up much space on my counter, and I use it so much that I'm actually fine with giving it real-estate. I like the way it looks too. I'm kind of a stickler for that...the form and the function. Its black and chrome give it a modern look and its slightly squat shape evokes a sort of R2-D2 or friendly chicken-feel.

It's got a thick, sturdy black plastic handle so it's easy to pick up and pour and there's no danger of burning yourself. There's a hinged lid on the top that opens so it's easy to fill. I can actually fill it with filtered water from a pitcher. (This was impossible with my old kettle because the handle was in the way). It pours very well - never a dribble.

It fits nicely into its base. The base is rubberized, so it doesn't budge or slip - a good safety measure. When it's in the base you can swivel the pot around. I can orient it so steam doesn't go under my cabinets.

My tea consumption has increased tenfold. I think I'm still not over the novelty of my new kettle and that it takes just few seconds until I'm on my way to having another cup of tea! Maybe the English are on to something after all.

I'm a dedicated tea drinker and fire up the kettle 2-4 times a day. After a year or so my Krupps' (or Braun - I forget) kettle base started buzzing and it would only turn on if I shifted the kettle this way or that so it was time to buy another. I read the reviews on this one, purchased it and have liked it a lot. I like the chrome look, the softer sound, and the length of time that the water in the kettle stays hot. It pours nicely as well. I have not touched the outside of the kettle after it has boiled but "duh" why would I so I don't know if it gets hot or not. I highly recommend this kettle.

I thought I had researched every cordless stainless steel kettle that was out there (and couldn't find exactly what I wanted). Then I happened on the Breville. It's exactly what I was looking for. I've been using it for about 2 months now and it is GREAT. I have no complaints. It is incredibly heavy duty, beautiful to look at, and boils a mean cup (several cups, in fact) of water swiftly. A couple of things you should know: 1) One thing that I hadn't thought about before it arrived was that the water level window is made of plastic and is significantly sized. Being the anti-plastic person that I am, I worried briefly about boiling water against the plastic, but I noticed that it doesn't change the taste of the water at all and it is, in fact, a good indicator for knowing how much water is in there. So, I'm just mentioning that feature in case it matters to you one way or the other; 2) If you find it challenging to get back on the base, I found that "walking" (sort of gently rocking) it will slip it easily back on (it's got two little green "pins" that swing in and out on the bottom that just need to get positioned correctly). Now that I grasped that little nuance, it returns easily to its base every time. The bottom line is that I don't think anyone would be disappointed with this kettle. It is an extremely well made kettle and I highly recommend it.

My mother owned a cuisinart dome-style stainless electric kettle. Then one day a guest of hers put it on the stove, not noticing the plastic base--goodbye kettle. But we loved it, so we bought one, 'til one day a guest of ours put it on the stove.... So clearly they look too much like the real thing. For a replacement I decided on this Breville after reading the reviews. I love it, my wife hates it, so guess what... it's going back. Yes, this thing gets dangerously hot, blistering hot all over its surface. I scoffed at reviewers who said heat was a problem, until we used it! For some reason this gets much hotter than the cuisinart we had. This doesn't bother me, I think it works great, is well designed and good-looking, but it's going back for the Cuisinart, this time the coffee-pot shaped model that looks like this Breville.

I've been shopping around for an electric kettle for my Mom for quite sometime and was glad to find the Breville electric kettle on Amazon. It had the features I was looking for: stainless steel & at least 1.5 liter capacity. The earlier product reviews helped a lot, convinced me that the product was quite reliable. The comment about the kettle surface getting dangerously hot did not deter me from buying the kettle since there are no small children in the house and as long as you don't touch the surface, it's okay. The plastic handle makes for easy one-hand pouring so the other hand need not touch the hot surface. I bought the first kettle in December/2004 for my Mom and bought a second one in June/2005 for myself. I think the price of $49.99 is great ! Good value for the money ! I'm very satisfied with my purchases.

This is a solid buy. Works well, cheap, I've very happy with it. Wish I had just read the great reviews on it and bought it rather than having looked at alot of other models and wasted time. Get it, and you'll be happy. Now go outside and enjoy your day.