Round Hoover Belts Snap To Quick!!

[vintagerepairer]

Well it all depends on what one wants and expects from whatever it happens to be. I have just replaced my Sona Touch & Go automatic kettle which I bought about 30 years ago and was still going strong until it started leaking. So I bought a new one, it cost me under £20 and will probably last a year or two if I am lucky. However, it is a darn sight better than my old Sona kettle, as it boils just a small amount of water and in no time at all. I feel like I have been a fool to myself all these years by not bothering to treat myself to something which works and looks so much better than what I had. How long something lasts is only one way of measuring the overall success or failure of an appliance.

We also need to remember that in these very difficult times, those who are blessed with having a job are having to work harder than ever and I see nothing wrong in people treating themselves to new things. The environmental issues may be present, but sales are also needed to keep the economy afloat. And as I have said so many times, not many people have the skills to mend things. Some people also quite rightly put a price on their time too. So to a good deal of folk it is not 'worth' their free time to put things right.

 

[jmurray01]

Some things may work better these days, but as you said, they don't last near as long!

It just depends if you want to "put up" with something that doesn't work as effectively but lasts years or enjoy something which works well but packs up quickly and costs a fortune in the long run to replace all the time.

 

[vintagerepairer]

At £20 I would be happy to replace my kettle every year. As it is, it came with a 2 year guarantee but that's a different story. I just love it, it's so much better than I could have hoped for.

 

[jmurray01]

I see your point but morally I wouldn't want to replace something yearly!

 

[alexhoovers94]

£20 for a kettle is one thing to replace every couple of years, but buying a Dyson (heaven only knows why) at a price tag as high as £350 and will last you about 5-8 years is just ridiculous in my opinion and maybe they are more conveniant but they are not built as well, will not clean as well and is just wasting your money all together.

Most products are made almost disposable these days, the manufactures today purposely build appliances to last only a couple of years so they can continue to take money from your pocket.

However we have to appreciate these appliances that last us only a few years keep our houses in check while they are still operating.

 

[jmurray01]

Well said Alex.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I think if one likes something, can afford it, and it does the job well, it's not a crime. Though the point about a £350 cleaner lasting five years is well made. I see that. Then again, of course Dyson do guarantee the cleaner for that period, which helps. I am not keen on the new Dyson machines but that is entirely personal and subjective. I don't hold it against anyone who wants one.

Buying a kettle annually would go against the grain, but only because of the way things were when I grew up. Hence my old Sona. Though I must admit when I lived with my wife we had another one, some awful bramble patterned thing, which worked OK I suppose. I think it was a Russell Hobbs. The speed of my new kettle has amazed me. I do like it.

 

[sebo_fan]

Old Is Better If You Can Get It

Here, here VR - well said. I wholeheartedly agree - but it depends on where you live also. If you have a local shop or recycling/second hand shop in town who sells older appliances, they usually last a lot longer. I have a 10 year old Russell Hobbs traditional kettle. It isn't by any means faster than more modern plastic jug kettles but the stainless steel body keeps the water hotter with less need to keep reboiling it. It isn't the most old fashioned but it is certainly robust.

Of course not all things old are good, it depends on the age of the actual appliance and the availability of spares/parts at the time. I guess this is one reason alone to why there's a lot of people in my old town who have old Singer sewing machines - compared to Janome/Brother and the other Japanese brands, Singer parts are far wider to get and maintain existing machines.

 

[anthony]

kettle

20 quid for a kettle you can get one for a fiver in morrisons it boils water just the same sez he who is using a 1977 russell hobs wedding present ha

 

[sebo_fan]

Nah. I wouldn't touch Morrisons electricals. My mum bought their electric can opener and it is useless. Neighbour bought the hand mixer and the chrome beaters flaked off chrome in baking mixtures. Much prefer our 15 year old Rowenta one with knife sharpeners at the back or Kenwood's old blocky one.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Hello Sebo fan. I don't think it was me who came up with that line.

As for the Morrisons kettles, well mine is a fast boil model with flat element, so it can boil just a tiny amount. Of course I realise there are rapid boil kettles on sale for less than £20, but good deal of them are plain ugly. Especially the very cheap ones. That is a deliberate effort too, I think, to encourage people to buy a more expensive model.

 

[jmurray01]

Since we seem to have somehow got talking about kettles, I'll tell you all what I'm using to "get steamy"...

A Tesco JK27 Kettle with Concealed Element which I believe was around £20 new a year ago.

Here is a picture of it brewing some water for my morning coffee (notice my arm in the air, that was due to it having already boiled so in an attempt to get a picture with the boiling indicator illuminated I needed to press the button and take the picture in quick succession. In all honesty I didn't know it was that reflective!)

 

[jmurray01]

And a picture of the inside - Notice that the only way of checking how much water is in it is to open the lid and look inside. No gauge on the outside of it unfortunately.

The capacity (if you hadn't already seen) is 1.7 Litres, more than adequate I find.

 

[jmurray01]

And the rating sticker, showing a nominal wattage of 1850 and a maximum wattage of 2200 watts.

 

[twocvbloke]

You stole our kettle!!!

Okay, maybe not, but we have the same one, s'okay I guess, the mother bought it last year when she finally got the keys to this house, to make coffee when she was nosing round the new place, didn't seem to bring the whistling cooker-top kettle, so that electric one has stuck...

 

[jmurray01]

The best bit about it (the kettle) is the button being in a place where I can press it down with my thumb while holding it so it goes on immediately after being slotted into the base (I'm the kind of guy who presses the button down BEFORE slotting it into the base...) I know - I lead an exciting life...

 

[vintagerepairer]

If you do that, you will shorten the life of the kettle drastically. Why? Because when you place the kettle on the base, the element it immdeiatly energised, and this causes arcing on the terminals on both the base unit and the connections on the element. This is unlike when you push the switch, where the whole assembly is spring loaded so as to make the connection as quickly as possible to reduce arcing. My new kettle will not allow you to do this as the button springs back unless the whole kettle is sat on the base. I am guessing yours may be the same as you say you have to hold the button down.

 

[jmurray01]

Yes, mine is the same, I have to hold it down.

I didn't know about that, but will stop doing it now I know!

I may not LOVE the kettle, but I want to keep it going for as long as I can.

I don't suppose you could take a look at my thread I posted about the mystery height setting on my Ranger could you ? I'm sure you'll have the answer I need!

 

[vintagerepairer]

If its the one about the tools converter, Vacbear has already explained. There's nothing more I can add.

 

[anthony]

kettle

do you like this its a Swan from the 50s i think still works but of course its not automatic