Customer Reviews

Oster 5965 1-1/2-Liter Electric Water Kettle, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I read reviews for many electric kettles and in the end chose the great Oster 5965. It had no reviews at all, but had all the features that were important to us:

Concealed Element
Short cord/cord keeper
Auto-off, no whistle
Boil dry protection
Mesh/screen pouring filter
Water level indicator

This kettle boils water quickly and my favorite feature is the Keep Warm button. Especially helpful if you tend to get sidetracked like I do. Just don't forget to turn it off! It pours neatly, looks nice on the counter, and is great when you are cooking and need boiling water. The on/off switch is a rocker button and the Keep Warm is a push button. These two were a plus for me as they are sturdy to the touch. I felt the spring type switch on the Aroma (a contender) felt flimsy and that the time would come when it would not 'catch' in the on position.

The only con is the opening for adding water is rather small. I was concerned about cleaning it, however there are directions in the manual for cleaning it with a mix of white vinegar and water, allowing it to sit overnight to remove any scale buildup.

If you have read reviews of other products where people complain that the kettle gets hot, this one is no different. But what do you expect from a steel kettle that is full of boiling water?? It's no different than if it had been sitting on the stove except that you didn't have to heat up the element and have the residual heat from the stove heating up your kitchen.

I paid $40 at Target and I recommend this Oster Brushed Stainless Steel Kettle.

I bought this kettle to replace a plastic kettle that I've had for years. Concerns over plastic in contact with boiling water convinced me to buy a stainless kettle. There is a little plastic in the water with this kettle from the water level indicator but it is greatly reduced from my all-plastic version.

I bought this at Target because I wanted to check out the inside of it before purchase; there were no pictures online which is why I posted some at the top of this page.

It is 1500 watts and boils water fast. Also has a keep warm feature which is something I don't need. I have had no leaking water problems.

The opening is small but I can get my bottle brush inside to clean with no problem. The mesh filter pops right off. If you develop scale, just pour in a cup or so of vinegar, add some water & let it sit for an hour. I have very hard water so I do this every other week. I fill the kettle from my refrigerator water tap because that water is filtered. I had tried another pot before buying this one but I could not use my refrigerator tap; water ended up on the floor. This kettle has a nice flared spout that makes filling easy. I remove the mesh strainer when filling. I'm contemplating removing the metal bar that holds the strainer because I don't really need the strainer. The strainer hangs securely on that bar; no clicking anything to lock it. It's really simple/smart.

You'll see my little back dots on the water level indicator. (I'm referring to my photo above.) I added those with a Sharpie so I know how much water I need for everyday coffee making. I use the pour-over method to brew coffee directly in to my carafe. I use more water on the weekend, less during work week & the least when it's just me. I need things simple in the AM before I've had my coffee! The measurements are in liters on one side and cups on the other side of the indicator. This is very helpful.

Yes, it gets very hot when boiling water; it's a metal kettle with boiling water. Treat it like you would a hot pan on the stove - you grab the handle not the pan. The handle is very comfortable to grip & far enough away from the body of the kettle to prevent burning. Also the kettle spins on its base so there is no need to grab the body to move it around. Just grab the handle & you're good to go. Yes, steam comes out of the spout & you may want to direct the spout facing out from under your cabinets; boiling water creates steam. Do not exceed the max water level. I tried that to see what would happen. It burped some hot water out of the spout; you could burn yourself doing that.

The "Keep Warm" feature keeps the water below boiling for up to 12 hours as long as there is enough water in the kettle. If there isn't enough water, the kettle has a "boil-dry, fail-safe device" which turns the kettle off. You just push a button to use this feature. I never use it but according to the instruction manual, the water is kept at 70 C / 158 F.

The cord wraps around underneath the electric base so it's out of the way. I always unplug this device when not in use. Just like my iron and toaster.

This is a pretty, curvy kettle; one of the nicest designs I've seen. I like the brushed stainless which looks nice next to my brushed stainless carafe.

My coffee bean grinder: Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black

This is my carafe:
Copco 2 Quart Thermal Capacity Brushed Stainless Steel Carafe

I brew directly into the carafe using this filter cone (pour-over method):
RSVP Maunual Drip Coffee Filter Cone for Carafes or Thermos

I use these filters:
Melitta Cone Coffee Filters, Natural Brown, No. 6, 40-Count Filters (Pack of 12)

The Oster stainless steel electric kettle lives up to its reputation in our household. We replaced our old and trusted plastic Oster electric kettle of many years good service, because we became concerned with boiling water in plastic which can leach toxins. The new design is beautiful to look at and has the added advantage of a "keep warm" feature the older model did not have. It is a bit less easy to read the water gauge, but you get used to it. It still boils water very fast, keeps it warm if you so wish and has no nasty taste or smell like so many other models you read about. It is heavenly for a tea drinker like me who drinks as many as ten cups a day!! Perfect for a fast oatmeal, instant coffee, instant soup, jello, adding boiling water when cooking soup and much more. At your finger tips, withing a couple of minutes are 1.5L of fresh boiling water. It turns itself off, swivels 360degrees. Love our Oster. Very well built and we expect to enjoy many years of good service like we did the previous Oster model.

I loved this kettle as the other reviewers did but at six months it started leaking thru the bottom. I don't know if this is a design flaw or a fluke.

UPDATE: I contacted customer service and was sent a new kettle with a slightly different design but the same item number. The design flaws appear to have been addressed and this one has had no problems even with daily use. We've already purchased another for my daughter at college.

UPDATE 2: The replacement kettle is now over a year old and still working great. Whoever gets up first turns it on and it is on most of the day almost everyday with several refills. Upgrading to 5 stars!

I love everything about this electric kettle.. This Oster kettle is made
100x better than most stainless kettles out there. The quality is unreal. It boils very fast and the stay warm feature keeps the water super hot. Although the sides of the kettle gets very hot, the bottom does not. It can be set on any table or counter top immediately after boiling. I'm very happy with this purchase..

I've now returned two of these units. Both were purchased at the same time at Target, one for home and one for office. The problem with the office unit was failure of the "Keep Warm" button after about one month of daily usage. Target replaced it. On the second unit, the one I purchased for use at home, the "On/Off" switch failed so the the unit will no longer turn on. That took about five months of only occasional usage, perhaps twice per week. I believe I'm way over Target's return window on the second unit. I won't repurchase this model and I now consider Oster in general to be a potentially problematic brand.

The kettle works fine per se, however there are several design issues that Oster needs to address. First of all, the kettle has NO insulation so the outside of it will get hot enough to burn you when the water is heated- keep away from your kids! Also the water gauge does not rise as you fill the kettle. You have to add the water a little at a time and wait a few seconds to see where your water level has risen to. Finally, the lid is actually very small thus making the opening really tiny. This makes it difficult to actually pour water into the kettle without spilling it. Or if the water hits the filter on the way in it splashes everywhere. Don't even think of cleaning the inside of it, you can't reach inside. I returned mine because of these flaws. Don't waste your money.

I received this as a Christmas gift two years ago and have been very happy with it. Before this, I used the microwave often to nuke some water, instant soups, bouillon cubes, heat oatmeal...this has replaced all that. Also when I want maybe 1 or 2 cups of really good coffee, I use the pour-over method and have a little bit of luxury in a cup in minutes. I have found that it pours very nicely, much better than my Pyrex measuring cup or my Mr. Coffee carafe. The handle is thick, solid and stays cool and feels good ergonomically.

It takes me roughly 5 minutes to bring 1.5 liters of water to a full rolling boil. Then it automatically shuts off. It doesn't beep or anything but I can hear it click when it turns off. The power cord is thick and well made and could handle some abuse without worries. If you keep this plugged in next to an outlet, you can store any extra cord in its base.

If I were to somehow break this one, I'd go right out and buy another. Its brushed stainless steel body and black handle is not an eyesore sitting on my counter. If people can get past the fact that you can't stick your hand down inside and that it gets hot and produces steam, they might find that this does it's job well and looks good doing it. By the way, don't worry about any plastic leeching into your water. The inside is stainless steel without any kind of liner so don't let an other review mislead you.

I would like to state that I used to have those circa 1970s kitchen faucets that were really low which made it difficult to fill this due to it's height. I have finally gotten around to replacing it so I can now easily fill up the kettle without any hassle(and I can properly scrub my pots as well)--thought I'd mention that just in case anyone still has those disco era faucets.

To sum everything up. It boils water. It boils it quickly. It gets hot. It produces steam. Thankfully.

We drink a lot of tea. Most of the less expensive units we buy last a little over a year before the switches go bad. This unit lasted only three months when the contacts went bad in the base. Quite a poor showing I wouldent recomend it at all.

I was nice, heated the water up more quickly than the microwave but after about 4 1/2 months the keep warm button stayed down all the time and it started blowing a fuse when I plugged it in. I could reset the fuse and it would work, but then it started blowing it instantly and I did not feel it was safe to use any longer. I took it apart but could not see any loose wires, althought the electrical parts are all enclosed and you can't even attempt to fix the switch once it stays depressed. I will not buy an Oster product again.