Jura-Capresso H2O Plus Glass Water Kettles
by Jura-Capresso
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Our Price: $49.99 Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Jura-Capresso H2O Plus Glass Water Kettles
Customer Review: Well worth the purchase!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this kettle for about two weeks. I was looking for something electric and with auto shutoff. this was the most handsome and would definitely fit in with the rest of my stainless appliances. I couldn't be happier. to put this baby on and go back upstairs to my office and not have to worry about getting so involved with work that I miss hearing a whistle -- is a godsend. It heats surprisingly fast and water stays nice and warm in the glass. If I could change anything, it would be the "on" indicator light, its pretty dim and I can never tell that its lit when I turn it on. as far as smells, what I think I smelled was rubber or plastic, like the smell you'd get if hard plastic was sitting in a plastic wrapper for a while - which I'm sure these units are in the Amazon warehouse. I added 1/2 capful bleach to my new dishwater and used that for the initial cleaning --being sure to wipe down the base - which in my opinion had the "smell". I ran one extra disposable load beyond the recommended one and by the 3rd run, no smells remained. The small footprint was another plus- as my counter space is already pretty minimal.Customer Review: Makes morning coffee easy
Summary: 4 Stars
I use it every morning to heat the water for my coffee. It is perfect for the job. In addition, it looks nice on the counter top so you don't need to put it away. I am very pleased and have recommended it to my friends.
While it does get mineral deposits quickly (white on the element), it cleans even easier. I heat vinegar in it once a week or so. The rest of the pot hasn't even gotten dirty yet.
You can turn it on without any water in it. I did that once and had to leave the thing to cool off before I could do anything with it. It has ALWAYS shut off when there is water boiling in the kettle.
Mine did start with that nasty smell. But the smell went away with use. After a while, it is fine with no smell at all.
Someone else recommended using it to pre-boil water for pasta etc. That works great as it is so very fast.
I have been using it on a daily basis for +3 months. It continues to work well.
Customer Review: Boils water quickly
Summary: 4 Stars
In about 5-10 minutes you will have boiling water, which is much faster compared to a kettle or boiling over a stove. The clean up process is quick without any hassles. I would have to say it's hard to reach in to dry because of the small opening on the top. I find that the hinge can scrape into my skin as I reach in. Others have complained about an odor. I did not notice any of it. I did boil some white vinegar prior to my first use as instructed by the manual and others. It looks nice as well.Customer Review: Lid on Capresso unit appears to be blistering
Summary: 4 Stars
We are not experiencing the problems noted by some other users of this product. At this time, our only problem is : it appears the silver lid is blistering. It appears the lid can be replaced easily. We are hoping this problem can be easily resolved. We love the convenience and speed with which it heats the water. We have asked the seller to simply send us a new lid.Customer Review: Excellent design, but questionable health risk
Summary: 3 Stars
This product is smartly designed and boils water in a very short period of time. I have used one for almost 2 years now, especially since becoming more of a tea drinker. I was so happy with it, I wrote a review and gave it *5* stars. However, I now rescind that rating.
Why? Because I now have some health risk concerns. You see, the product came with a strong plastic smell inside the kettle. And even after quite a few baths in vinegar and lemon shortly after I purchased it, the smell persisted. I didn't think much of it then, expecting it would dissipate over time. Well, it hasn't. Almost *2* years later, and the smell is still noticeable.
Smell is an important sense. It warns us of obvious and potential hazards. Where human inventions are concerned that deal with food and beverages, contamination is a paramount concern. I've heard from experts about how exposure to aluminum products can result in aluminum build-up in humans to unhealthy levels. It is also true of polymers. That gasket which is used to separate the heating element from the glass carafe in the Capresso is of polymer design. A super dense piece of plastic can continue leaching chemicals from it for many, many years. And I suspect that the Capresso company has managed to use an inappropriate material.
My claims are not founded with any scientific evidence. I called up the Capresso company and the representative assured me that they do NOT have a recall on this product for this reason (there is one for an earlier model, prior to the 259, that had a flimsy handle which breaks easily). She assured me that, and I quote, "there are absolutely NO health risks at all in using Capresso water kettles." But a smell is a smell... I don't like it. And really, quite frankly, I do not want to be a future statistic when the day comes where my doctor has told me I have cancer, which ends up being traced back to polymer exposure from this water kettle. It could be 1 year from now, or 15 years from now.
Capresso did make an offer to me, despite being out of warranty. For $35, about half the cost of a new one, she's mail me a new one. I wouldn't have to return the original. Not a bad deal. But there wouldn't be any guarantee that the next one wouldn't have this smell problem. And given how the product is made in China, and the recent chemical issues encountered with products made there, who knows... maybe even those products that DO NOT SMELL might be leaching particulates that can enter the body and accumulate.
If you wish to discount the concern I've stated and want to more about the product's other characteristics, I can describe them. The Capresso Water Kettle is of solid quality. A noticeable difference from the previous model. And it heats water at a rapid pace. I estimate it takes about 2.5 minutes to boil water at a level about 1/4" above the heating element--enough for two cups of tea. And since it works fast, you can always heat more water. The design is aesthetic too--looks very modern. And the new electric base design where you just place the kettle on top of it works extremely well (other hot water heaters have this design now). Two of the other reviewers complained about the silver finish, because they were expecting it to be metal. I can see the photo might be a little misleading. But I find the silver plastic to be of good, acceptable quality. I'm not looking to showcase my kitchen to Home & Garden anytime soon! And I don't care for the chrome option, as it's much harder to keep clean, showing every fingerprint.
Here's a tip: For a long while, I used my Capresso water kettle only for making tea. But one day it dawned on me that when I need to boil a lot of water for making pasta, it would be faster to do a full kettle of water and about 1/2 inch of water in the pot. By the time the pot water heats up to a boil, the water in the Capresso kettle will be boiling. I'd say it cuts the time to make pasta in half. Using less energy means a definite savings, so eventually the Capresso not only pays for itself but keeps saving you money. Not bad!
All of this sounds great, and it is. I just wish that there wasn't a plastic smell continuing to leach out of the kettle. It concerns me and I don't want expose myself to a health risk.