Life expectancy of kettle

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kiwijunglist

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#73591 16-Dec-2010 17:10

Breville $80 kettle from briscoes died after 2 years and 1 week today. Does anyone know what the breville guarantee is on kettles. I have receipt, but not the box. I was thinking of returning it, under the CGA it should last a reasonable length of time. I think it would be unreasonable to have to replace a kettle every 2 years.

I don't have access to the Consumer NZ's website with life expectancy table for appliances

http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/appliance-life-expectancy/introduction

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#418188 16-Dec-2010 17:29

My parents' one must be approaching 10 years and still works. Personally I wouldn't find two years reasonable.

freitasm

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#418210 16-Dec-2010 18:28

From the report:

Economic life: 1-20+ years.
Life expectancy: 4-5+ years for all such small kitchen appliances. We think one year is far too low, and the CGA applies.
Repair: Not worth it, unless you can't bear to part with it.

nickb800

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#418220 16-Dec-2010 19:05

Generally speaking you should expect longer out of it BUT the makeup of your water supply can influence the life of your kettle beyond what breville can design for.

In the Kapiti Coast a few years back the council started using some particularly hard bore water which caused many water heating elements to have issues and even die.

vinnieg

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#418238 16-Dec-2010 19:54

kiwijunglist: Breville $80 kettle from briscoes died after 2 years and 1 week today. Does anyone know what the breville guarantee is on kettles. I have receipt, but not the box. I was thinking of returning it, under the CGA it should last a reasonable length of time. I think it would be unreasonable to have to replace a kettle every 2 years.

I don't have access to the Consumer NZ's website with life expectancy table for appliances

http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/appliance-life-expectancy/introduction

Is that the sealed element one(ie uses an element in oil, so you can't see it when it's open) with the blue led switch and sealed element? if so, that shouldn't be effected by hard water or any other water imbalance! I'd say 1 years isn't enough, mines been going strong for 3 still, using a few times a day, I'd take it back to Briscoes, they should give you a replacement/refund if that model isn't in stock

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#418273 16-Dec-2010 21:14

is it an emporia kettle? i wasnt suprised to see it was a breville...

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#418347 17-Dec-2010 08:34

vinnieg: Is that the sealed element one(ie uses an element in oil, so you can't see it when it's open) with the blue led switch and sealed element? if so, that shouldn't be effected by hard water or any other water imbalance!

Yes it still will be. The heating causes the lime/calcium to come out of suspension onto hot surfaces. This is either the element itself or the base of the jug, in the case of the sealed unit you mention above. The whole idea of the kettle is to transfer heat from the element to the water. However the heat doesn't pass as easily through the limescale barrier when formed, which means the element gets less efficient at transfering heat to the water, and this leads to the element burning out as it overheats.

So yeah, all depends on where you live in NZ and where your local council sources it's water supply from. If you use a jug with hard water then I suspect you won't be covered by the average warranty. A bit like how air con companies wont cover the unit if installed near the sea or in Rotorua etc.

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#418366 17-Dec-2010 08:57

What's wrong with the emporias?

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allan

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#418424 17-Dec-2010 10:41

A couple of years ago I had a Breville Toaster that was out of it's two year guarantee by several months, for which the pop-up mechanism had failed. I couldn't recall the retailer and didn't have the receipt anyway. I emailed Breville to say I was unhappy with the fact that it had failed with and they offered to replace.

As it happened, there was a delay in there being able to replace with an equivalent model and they provided a top of the line model with electric pop-down, LED displays etc. Weighs a ton, but I was a very happy camper. So if you fail with the retailer, try contacting Breville directly.

kiwijunglist

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#418543 17-Dec-2010 16:08

I think the water in Christchurch is fairly good and doesn't cause too much calcium precipitate.

Breville Nova Kettle is the one that failed after 2 years 1 week, it has sealed element on the bottom.

http://www.breville.com.au/products_detail.asp?prod=398

Thanks for the suggestion allan.

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#418547 17-Dec-2010 16:28

kiwijunglist: I think the water in Christchurch is fairly good and doesn't cause too much calcium precipitate.

Christchurch probably has the purist least contaminated water in the country. I'd expect at least 5 years from a kettle here. Take it back to Briscoes and site the CGA if need be. It shouldn't be a problem.

kiwijunglist

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#418555 17-Dec-2010 16:45

This is probably the worst time to return something to a shop, riccarton mall is uber busy, i guess i will have to pluck up the courage to brave the christmas crowds and head down there this weekend!!!

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oxnsox

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#418556 17-Dec-2010 16:47

Of course the other thing that will effect it's life is how often you use it?

kiwijunglist

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#418559 17-Dec-2010 16:50

About once per day on average, it spent 1 year with 2 people in the house, and 1 year with just me, so definitely not heavy useage :)

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#418567 17-Dec-2010 17:02

Same sort of thing with our (breville) kettle after two years or so - it still boils water but now leaks a little and leaves a puddle of water around the cordless attachment overnight. Calcification evident on the exterior, guess that's gradually opened the seal between two bits of the kettle.

(living in Auckland North Shore- moderately hard water..)

Funny thing with an aunty living nearby, bought one of those new fangled 'silent' kettles but after a couple of weeks it's just as noisy as a regular one. Apparently it's onlysilent in perfectly soft water areas unless you descale it constantly

mattwnz

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#418572 17-Dec-2010 17:06

jonb: Same sort of thing with our (breville) kettle after two years or so - it still boils water but now leaks a little and leaves a puddle of water around the cordless attachment overnight. Calcification evident on the exterior, guess that's gradually opened the seal between two bits of the kettle.

Are you sure that isn't just condensation, as I get that too, and it says in the instructions tat that is normal?

My parents have a european brand of kettle that cost several hundred at least, and that failed /no longer boiled after about 3 years. It had a 1 year warranty. The shop replaced it, as it should have lasted longer due to the price paid for it.

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