Customer Reviews

Revere 3-1/2-Quart Copper Bottom Teakettle

5 star:		(161)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(49)

 

 

In the market for a good tea kettle? Then look no further.

When the time came for me to get a tea kettle, this was the one I looked for. I grew up with this one in the house, and it's just as great for my needs. Ok, being single, 3.5 quarts may be a bit bigger then I normally use, but I just add as much water as I need and set it on the stove. The water heats quickly. Steam sets off a whistle in the spout, and it can be heard with ease in any part of the house.

I looked at other Revere kettles, but found their handles and spout openers to be rather flimsy. Not so, here. This kettle will last for quite awhile.

As always, Revere has made a wonderful product. It's so easy, even this bachelor has no problem heating water.

I grew up with this kettle in the '60s and '70s. When it came time to furnish my first apartment after college in the early '80s, this is the kettle I bought for myself. Ten years later in preparation for a cross-country move, I gave it away as part of an effort to lighten my load, figuring such a classic warhorse design would be easy to replace once I'd settled in to my new location.

BIG MISTAKE.

After the designer kettle I received as a housewarming gift finally broke a couple of years ago, I was looking forward to going back to my old friend from Revereware. The kettle I bought boiled water just fine, but when it came time to pour that boiling water, it dribbled all over the counter, and all over whatever was on the counter.

Turns out there was a faulty seam where the spout attached to the kettle. I figured I had been unlucky and gotten a lemon, put up with this for awhile, then decided that I shouldn't have to and bought myself another one. Same problem all over again.

Revereware, I give up. You've lost me. I am very disappointed, not least because your old kettle was a star performer, well-designed and durable. But I give up. The angry feeling I got every time I tried to pour myself a nice cup of tea and dribbled boiling water all over the place just isn't worth it, loyalty and nostalgia notwithstanding.

(If anyone is interested, after much searching I decided that the Farberwear Tiburon 2.5 quart kettle was the best replacement. It's not perfect, but it's the best I could find and after several months of use I bought a second, on the learned-it-the-hard-way theory that you can no longer rely on a good product still being available when you need a replacement.)

So it is not the most beautifully designed kettle whose stylish exterior would enliven your kitchen. It also does not open and allow easy cleaning. BUT I have used mine since 1976 and it is still going strong. Never, ever had a problem with it. The whistle can be heard all over the house, so you know when the water is ready. No guess work here. It is light-weight and can be lifted and used with one hand. All of it's wonderful qualities that I took for granted were magnified for me when I recently decided to buy a new kettle. After all, 28 years warrants a new kettle, right?

I bought the Analon, which had no reviews, but looked oh-so-pretty. It is so heavy I need both hands to just lift it, when it is not filled with water! The snazzy squeezable handle that operates the spout barely opens and it is awkward to use. The whistle is almost non-existant, and the water takes forever to boil. It makes the tea preparation process a chore, not a joy.

Having learned my lesson and scouring these pages for reviews of good kettles, I decided to buy this model again. After all, it is the kettle that could perform on all the necessary levels. Tried and true.

When I became hooked on tea, I knew I had to get a kettle. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, but I wanted something more than heating up some water in a small saucepot on the stove. After browsing the reviews for a while, I decided upon this kettle, and have been pretty happy so far.

Copper is basically the best conducting material available. The copper bottom makes heating up a few cups of water a breeze, which is nice when I'm in a bit of a rush in the morning. The downside is that because it's priced at about 20 bucks, something had to be forfeited.

When you pick it up, it's easy to see what it is. The stainless steel is a very thin, fragile, metal. Although the one handed mechanism is kind of handy for pouring, the handle can get a little hot if you're not used to it.

All in all, it's a safe buy, but not a best (or must) buy. There are better kettles out there, but I got what I expected and it works great for what I use it for.

I've had my little Revere kettle for more than 8 years now, and it's still going strong. It heats up water evenly, and the water doesn't bubble out the spout when the kettle whistles. The whistle isn't piercing, either, and my kids like waiting by the stove to hear the whistle since they know that means it's time for cocoa or soup or oatmeal. The only problems I've encountered are cleaning ones: It's difficult to clean inside, but a mixture of white vinegar and water swished around for a few minutes, followed by a cold water internal rinse, does the trick every couple of weeks. I've given up on keeping the copper bottom clean. I would ove it constantly shiny, but it's a pain to keep doing. And since I keep the kettle on the stove, it always gets splattered with grease, oil, sauce, and other stuff, and cleaning the kettle's surface sometimes leaves streaks. Other than that, it's a sturdy, durable kettle!

I previously had the larger Revere kettle and loved it; quick to heat the water, a good loud whistle, clean pouring, etc. When it finally wore out, I went to get a new one but this 2 quart one was the only available size. Big mistake. This kettle spits out large amounts of boiling water while whistling (there's no way you can fill it to the 2 quart level; half would go all over your stovetop or, much worse, over yourself), and dribbles hot water down the base while you pour. The whistle works, at least. But it's really not a safe kettle and, as I said, I was a big fan of the Revere kettles.

The item is very similar to older Revere Tea Kettle we had. We decided to order a new one because the mechanism for opening the lid had broken.

NEGATIVE EVALUAION: THE METAL IS A MUCH LOWER GAUGE WHICH MAKES IT SEEM LIKE THE QUALITY IS LESS. BY ACTUAL WEIGHING ON A SET OF SENSITIVE SCALES, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE WEIGHT WITH THE NEW ONE BEING LIGHTER THAN THE OLD ONE. THE GAUGE OF THE METAL DOES NOT FAVORABLY COMPARE TO THE OLDER KETTLE.

LaVonne R. Smith fsls@adelphia.net

The Revere Teakettle was once an icon. Once!
I grew up with it. I bought it as an adult several times.
I just bought one again in late 2009 to replace one I dropped
by accident and broke the trigger.
The new one was definitely of cheaper manufacturing. The metal
seemed thinner. Reading the box I notice that they now produce
it in China. Nothing wrong w/ China, but the manufacturing of
this tea kettle sucked. Within a week this new Revere Teakettle
started leaking along the bottom rim joint.
Contacting customer service a Revere's website resulted in zero response.
Too bad. It's a great design, but doesn't work

I purchased the Revere 3 ½ Quart Copper Bottom Teakettle as a gift for my fathers 94th birthday. He had the 2 ½ qt. model for over 25 years. The whistle finally failed and the kettle had to be replaced. The 3 ½ Qt. model appeared to be the perfect replacement.
It wasn't for my father, there were three main reasons why, they are as follows:

1. The flip up whistling cap did not create a good seal with the spout. This caused the kettle to take an inordinate amount of time to come to a boil. When it did boil, it steamed out the spout and made little or no whistling sound, rendering it dangerous to use for fear of boiling over.

2. The trigger that controls the flip up whistle cap is at an odd
angle, in relation to the gripping handle. A person with small or weak hands can't hold the pot and pull the trigger with one hand, forcing the use of two hands to do the job. Besides being inconvenient it is dangerous. The two hand process could scald a person.

3. The size and weight of the 3 ½ Qt. kettle when even half way full is too heavy and unwieldy for people with weak hands or arthritis. Once again this makes the product dangerous to use for these folks.

I ended up getting the 2 ½ Qt. model from a local hardware store. This model has a differently designed handle/spout/flip up whistle cap then the 3 ½ Qt. model. The 2 ½ Qt. model is perfect for my fathers purposes.

Fine small kettle, but the handle gets very hot, too hot to handle and the top doesn't really whistle.