Unused kitchen gadgets

[Alison]

I'm not a fan of the fake-cupboard-door type; no way of knowing if it is on, or not, or how long it has left to run ... Progress?!!

I don't mind in my own kitchen but it's a pain in other people's - you can't find the fridge!

[Kristen]

We put sticky labels on drawers / cupboards / machinery-fake-doors / Bin, Recycle, Compost / etc when we have a houseful ....

.... an APP might suit youngsters better though? !!

[Mikey]

In my last house I had a tap that my father couldn't switch on, he'd stand there fiddling for ages until he got frustrated and walked away. I've a kettle tap in this one, he's yet to figure out how to make a cup of tea with it.

He's says I buy these things on purpose just to annoy him, nah.......

[Alison]

I've a kettle tap in this one, he's yet to figure out how to make a cup of tea with it.

You can't, that's why I decided not to put one in our kitchen when we revamped a few years ago

[lottie dolly]

Know what you mean about them juicer things,i got one of them ninja things,tried it once,is now reboxed back up,it will be going back tomoz,yes it did chop up nice and fine,but it was like drinking with sand in it,thought yay,i can get some more fruit and veg down me,without having to actually cook something,better off with souping cooked stuff,

[Kristen]

I've a kettle tap in this one, he's yet to figure out how to make a cup of tea with it.

You can't, that's why I decided not to put one in our kitchen when we revamped a few years ago

You folk talking about a boiling tap?

We've got one at home, and in the office, and everyone thinks it makes as good a cup of tea as a kettle. (If I've misunderstood the conversation pls put me straight, or just shoot me!)

[Dorothy rouse]

People with 2 Dishwashers, how marvellous, now I'm impressed !

[Jay-ell]

With hot water taps I find that the water is ok for coffee (which shouldn't be boiling hot) but not for tea (which needs to be boiling)

[Kristen]

With hot water taps I find that the water is ok for coffee (which shouldn't be boiling hot) but not for tea (which needs to be boiling)

We researched brands before buying. It was a bit inconclusive because there were lots of answers like "the one at work is rubbish" but without mentioning the Make so I concluded that "the ones at work" were either Urns or some inferior brand.

There seemed to be two brands that were ok, of those I could not find anyone who could give a comparative opinion on both the Insinkerator and the Quooker; the Insinkerator much cheaper, the Quooker claims to produce water at 100C and I couldn't find anyone who said they didn't rate it, so we bought the Quooker. As mentioned earlier no one who has had a cuppa from it has said that it tasted any different to a kettle.

Blooming 'spensive though. Justified on the basis of the number of cups made per day (several people here during the day) and previously lots of time spent waiting for kettle to boil just for a cuppa (and probably way more than one cup of water boiled, each time, too)

The Quooker site has lots of suggested uses, some of them a bit dubious! (Removing candle wax that has run!) but we use it for Cuppas, filling sauce pans used to boil something, warming plates/cups instead of warming draw, and to remove fat etc. from frying pans as part of washing up.

[Alison]

You folk talking about a boiling tap?

We've got one at home, and in the office, and everyone thinks it makes as good a cup of tea as a kettle. (If I've misunderstood the conversation pls put me straight, or just shoot me!)

Exactly what I meant, all the ones I've used have been good for coffee and herbal teas but as said below not boiling but I didn't look at the top end ones as they were outside the budget I could justify. We get a fair bit of free electricity in the day through solar and I've trained OH to only put a bit of water in the kettle so that worked better for us - also was a bit nervous about some of the stories of them spitting very hot water out although do realise that they are probably cheaper end models or badly installed.

[Kristen]

also was a bit nervous about some of the stories of them spitting very hot water out although do realise that they are probably cheaper end models or badly installed.

That's true, the water comes out of the tap together with steam and does spit. The tap spout can be pushed up & down, so possible to adjust it so it isn't way above the target, and we hold cups / tea pots / saucepans so that the spout is inside them and I don't consider those uses a problem. Visitors may not realise that though (although the child lock usually foxes them! so they are forced to get instruction before first use, so that should also solve the "watch out, it spits" issue.)

However, we do have visitors trying to rinse a knife under it, or similar, and that is likely to be an issue with spitting - nothing between knife and hand to catch the spits. The water does not come out very quickly, so the spits you get are not enough to burn and you have time to adjust your behaviour before its a problem. So all-in-all I think its OK, but like all technology "its unexpectedly different" in some respects.

We have a lot of gadgets in the house chosen (or, more correctly myriads of other makes were rejected!) on the basis of "Would a guest be able to use it without instruction?". We had a kitchen tap, now relegated to utility room, that was left-right for hot-cold and back-for-flow; never had a visitor who managed to use it without instruction - what use is that for a tap? - a TAP for goodness sake!

Same goes for the Telly - "Can Grandma turn it on and find some Tennis?"

Even door knobs have been chosen on the basis they need no instruction - a handle on a door with no catch, just a ball-catch and thus the door only needs pull rather than turn-handle and open. I get fed up of saying "Just pull" <sigh!>

[alldigging]

Blooming 'spensive though. Justified on the basis of the number of cups made per day (several people here during the day) and previously lots of time spent waiting for kettle to boil just for a cuppa (and probably way more than one cup of water boiled, each time, too)

The Quooker site has lots of suggested uses, some of them a bit dubious! (Removing candle wax that has run!) but we use it for Cuppas, filling sauce pans used to boil something, warming plates/cups instead of warming draw, and to remove fat etc. from frying pans as part of washing up.

how expensive is expensive?
Is there a saving on electricity as you're only ever boiling the amount you need?

And never put wax down your sink!

[Martin H]

We have a quooker tap too. It's brilliant, best gadget in the kitchen, gets used all the time. We've given it its own separate, small sink. Because the water comes out boiling, we use it for cups of tea, for getting veggies on the stove quickly, for rinsing cooked rice and so on.

[Mikey]

how expensive is expensive?
Is there a saving on electricity as you're only ever boiling the amount you need?

And never put wax down your sink!

There are a few available these days so you can pay anything from £600 through to roughly £2000.

I have a quooker in work and a Franke Minerva at home, the latter is one of least expensive options as it combines your normal tap with your boiling water tap. They all have child safety features, my daughter has never even tried to use it.

You have to think of them as a mini hot water cylinder as they store a few litres of boiling water under pressure. They are by no means the cheap way to go and unless you are boiling the kettle all day long then they are not cheaper at all. For me it was the convenience, no kettle, no waiting to fill a pan for the stove, the ability to defrost and cook frozen sweetcorn or peas in seconds ideal when you have young kids, warming plates and a whole myriad of incidental other uses.

You also need to consider the replacement filter cartridges, quookers are every 5 years whereas the franke are every 6 months, so you either stump up more to start with or spread it over a longer period. Its limescale that is the issue with them, so if you're in a hard water area it might be worth considering a scale inhibitor for your incoming water.

[Nannysally99]

Anyone want a Bel Cream Maker? Bought this on fleabay about two years ago, brought back lovely memories. Used it once ......