Kettle Explosion!!

 

My kettle just blew up! It was just coming to a boil and bang, a huge blue spark and water everywhere! Upon inspection, I see that the heating element has a hole in it.

Hmm,  could this possibly be caused because I have wicked limescale and I suck at keeping it clean? Or that it is a £5 kettle from Argos and its one year life expectancy has come up?

Good thing I have an excuse to get a new one in the sales tomorrow!! 

My kettle just blew up! It was just coming to a boil and bang, a huge blue spark and water everywhere! Upon inspection, I see that the heating element has a hole in it.

Hmm,  could this possibly be caused because I have wicked limescale and I suck at keeping it clean? Or that it is a £5 kettle from Argos and its one year life expectancy has come up?

Good thing I have an excuse to get a new one in the sales tomorrow!! 

i'd say the £5 option is the most likely!

i'd say the £5 option is the most likely!

  so do I. My friend gave me a hard time about it when I bought it. I am surprised it last as long as it did!  But that was £5 in hard earned penny pinching USD when I first moved over last year!!

If you look on the base you'll probably see the problem:  "Made in China." 

The only thing that can be said for many of the cheap kettles on the market today is just that -- They are cheap.   The elements don't seem to last very long, and yes, if you live in a hard-water area that doesn't help.

It's only about a year ago that I finally retired an old Russell-Hobbs kettle when the seams on the stainless steel body finally started to leak.  The element had been replaced a few times, but for a kettle which had been in almost continuous use by my family for nearly 40 years I think it had done pretty well.   Of course, with the cheap plastic jug kettles today the elements can't be replaced, and even if they could it would cost more to pay someone than to just buy a complete new kettle.   More for the landfill......

a kettle which had been in almost continuous use by my family for nearly 40 years I think it had done pretty well.   

wow, I am impressed!

I bought my new kettle today. This time I am trying out a concealed element for something new! I will also vow to be more regular in descaling my kettle.