Customer Reviews

Cuisinart KUA-17 1-3/4-Quart Cordless Automatic Electric Kettle

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

I moved to the U.S from the U.K 5 years ago and my first task was to find an electric kettle. I was amazed to see how rare they were and it took a while to track one down.(I was without a computer for a while, so maybe that was why}. I found a great looking one in this product, but was very dissappointed when it died early after 1 1/2 years. I got another one thinking it was just bad luck, but lo and behold. It has just died again of the same problem. The connection on the base gives up. First it will work if you spin it round on the base until the light goes on, but then it just has enough of that and becomes good for nothing. I won't be buying a 3rd. I am looking for a different brand now. For the price, I expected it to last longer than 2 years.

This is an all stainless steel kettle,(I do not like my water being boiled in a plastic container) with the heating element installed UNDER the bottom of the kettle, so no water has direct contact, which avoids build up. Very nice. Heating is very fast, I like using it.The SS quality is very good (high mirror polish) and retains a gleaming shine, if you wipe it frequently.When new,the kettle smeels strongly like plastic inside, as there is a small plastic part indicating max. fill line, this will disappear after some usage. However, there are a few things: The handle is indeed awkward, to empty the kettle completely you need to turn it upside down almost completely,which some people might find difficult to do.The 'ON' lever is very easily hit accidentally on a busy work surface, and the kettle heats up dry, and repeats over and over until it would probably burn out.It happened to me, but cought it on time, since then I always unplug it, which is inconvenient. If you forget to put the lid on, it won't shut off automatically, and will boil dry...(I happen to go back to my desk when using it, since there is no acoustic signal of any kind indicating boiling, this happens frequently, especially when used by different people)Also, partial fill lines inside would be nice, as one always has to guess the qty. you fill in. I use bottled water for tea, so I don't want to pour away much every time. But I get better at guessing.This one is best for the individual user if you appreciate top build quality and classic design and don't mind a few technical imperfections.

As soon as my kettle arrived I had it out of the box and set up for use. The instructions say to boil water in it two to three times before use to be sure it is clean. I did this in the time it took me to compose this review! The kettle is attractive, takes up little counter space and has a cord which winds under the base to stay out of the way. It is very easy to use. I'll never have to worry about leaving the teapot on the stove too long any more. This kettle shuts off as soon as the water boils. I am very happy with this product!

I've owned Russell Hobbs auto-off teapots and the older Cuisinart auto-off corded teapot. This is a third generation pot for me and I love this one best! There is a tiny light on the bottom front which let's you know when it is "on", the hidden element is another nice feature which makes cleaning tough calcium deposits from water much easier. The best feature by far is that it's cordless so you can carry it over to another location like I need to do when mixing jello or preparing microwave oatmeal. It's got a nice new design too.

We were introduced to electric tea kettles in England in 1990. This is the third we have owned. The first was not cordless and died after a few years, apparently because we weren't always careful about plugging the cord in all the way. I later read this is a common problem with corded electric kettles. The second was a now discontinued model from Morphy Richards. The kettle was great ... until my Brother-in-Law (who lives in London and should know better, mind you) filled it and promptly melted it on a stove burner.

We bought this Cuisinart model due, in approximately this order, to its cordeless design, automatic shut-off, metal construction, concealed coil, style, availability, and price. Another review here claims the plastic element (to detect boiling?) inside the kettle smells and is possibly hazardess. I, too, have noticed this acrid smell, but not in the water. The reason I am writing this review is to state that I believe this smell is from the plastic on the base of the kettle, not inside. This is unfortunate, but I do not believe it affects the quality of our water and I doubt it is hazardous. Aside from this, it really is a fine kettle and a satisfactory replacement for our Morphy Richards kettle.

At last someone has managed to design a speed-heating kettle without their usual pitfalls. I had a Krups model that fell apart piece by piece because its plastic components (-handle, lid knob, depth gauge) could not take the heat. Then I got a molded one-piece all-plastic Melitta model (foolishly believing the claims that its plastic was "special heat-resistant" plastic). Just past the one-year warranty, its insides began to crumble, producing alarming little plastic chips (-no, NOT scale!) in the water.

I then specifically sought a stainless steel kettle with no interior plastic, and this Cuisinart model was it. So far (-it's been a month), so good. We're a household of tea drinkers and this kettle is in constant use throughout every day. I don't worry that its handle will rot off because it's welded to the exterior; I don't worry that its depth gauge will disintegrate because it, too, is stainless steel; should the composite lid knob prove troublesome, I can easily replace it with a wooden one.

I was so pleased with the overall construction of this kettle that I bought TWO, since my long experience as a consumer has taught me that whenever a good-quality, reliable product accidentally makes it to market, it is inevitably discontinued to make way for a "new, improved" piece of crap.
Get yourself one of these before Cuisinart realizes its error and introduces a new model!

I loved this kettle. Everything worked great. Then I got up at
5 a.m. and put the water on. When it was done I picked it up and the handle fell off! I was lucky I had a heavy robe on.
Be careful. It looks like they used super glue to attach the handle and it failed. I'm sorry to write this but it's dangerous.

I have been through two plastic electric kettles in the last few years. Both of them eventually fell apart as the plastic became brittle. Long before that the white plastic became yellow. This stainless steel kettle is well worth the little extra you pay. If you've never had an electric kettle you don't know how much time you're wasting waiting for water to boil!

We used this kettle everyday for about 2 years and were very happy with it, until this week, when my husband was pouring boiling water from it, and the handle fell off. There's no sign of rivets or screws being used to secure the handle to the kettle. It looks like they just superglued it on, which can be very dangerous. Like I said, we've had this particular model for about 2 years, so maybe the manufacturer has redesigned the handle on its more recent products. If not, for safety reasons, I would not recommend this product.

There is a smell but especially a taste which gets stronger with each use or just more noticeable with various teas. This one is going back unfortunately..