Toastess TGK486

Pros: Glass material which cannot leach chemicals into the water. Heats water to a rolling boil really fast! Kettle is removable from heating base, making it cordless for movement. Can be set on counter safely.

Cons: Measurement designation is in Liters instead of cups or oz.

Other Thoughts: This is a great electric kettle. It's my first and I really didn't want plastic leaching into my hot water so glass was just the thing. Also, I wanted to easily see inside the kettle for cleaning, which ruled out stainless steel. The kettle does shut off, but you have to fully close the top since the sensor for shut-off is located there. I've missed that a couple of times and it keeps boiling if the lid is left ajar. I use a filter for my water and had no problems with scale build-up on the bottom until recently when I had to use bottled water while replacement filters were on back order. So a water filter might be a good idea.

Pros: It is visually very appealing.

Cons: It has a nasty habit of not turning itself off, and will happily boil water for WAY longer than it should. I'm not sure if this is because it simply cannot reach the temperature because of the poor insulation properties of glass, or if the thermostat is a bit iffy. Secondly, I have hard water with iron, so after a week of use, there was a noticeable build up on the heating element which (as per manufacturers directions) was removed with some vinegar. Overall I just felt like for $55 it really should have performed better. The plastic top feels really cheap, and while it hasn't broken yet, it feels like its just a matter of time until it does. Slightly disturbed by the drops of water that appear on the base, although it's likely those come from either condensation or a leak someplace or me being careless while filling it up..

Other Thoughts: I would just get a non-glass kettle next time.