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Stove top kettle recommendations

Nancy Reading

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My kettle is dying.....

I thought it was a stainless steel kettle, turns out it is anodised Aluminium and the spout has now corroded in our soft water and is starting to leak...possibly mendable but......aluminium. :(

We use it on our wood fired stove so I'm now looking for a replacement that will have a nice heavy base to make good contact. Maybe stainless steel, maybe cast iron? How do I tell if the base is going to be suitable? I can find ones for induction hobs, will these be OK?

aga aluminium kettle

my current kettle
(inherited from a neighbour)

looking at this one from ebay

It needs to be big - the current one is 3l (about 6 pints) and I'd rather not go smaller than an actual water capacity of 2l.

Any recommendations or advice?

(edited to add picture of my current kettle)

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Anne Miller

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I like that kettle as it is charming.

So sorry it is dying ...

Wish I knew about Scottish/Brittish brands.

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William Wallace

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If I were your friend, this would be an opportunity for us to hit up thrift shops and garage sales.

My thought would be that vintage is likely better quality than modern, but perhaps I am just biased.

A cheap alternative would be an Imusa pot for making traditional Mexican hot cocoa. They are aluminum, but only cost 7 dollars.

An alternative is a Walmart stainless steel kettle, but they are fifteen dollars and I am not sure of their durability. Aluminum does boil water well, but some people have health concerns about it.

I now see that's a coffee maker and not a kettle. Oops

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Hi Nancy;
This is the kettle I plan on purchasing before next winter.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGVVV1N/?coliid=IN4BBF10QO22G&colid=1C1TN95U35AY6&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

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LOL Thomas. It's too pretty to use!

Douglas Alpenstock

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Nancy, can you describe your wood stove please? Some of them have designed arch on the top, to protect the stove's structural integrity during extreme expansion (an accidental overfiring event). This means the top is not normally flat in the centre. This requires some creative thinking regarding large cooking/boiling vessels.

Carla Burke

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I'm going to second Thomas's suggestion. In fact, I've put the same one on my wish list. I like that it's beautiful, and even with hard use, it will develop a gorgeous patina. But, the things I love most:
1 - it's a good size - holds a respectable amount for adding moisture to the air, without being so big that it's too heavy to carry.
2 - it has a lid and a small spout, so it will be practical for making tea, not only for increasing humidity.
3 - the bottom is THICK, so it will last a very, very long time. I didn't take that into account with a stainless steel pot we used on ours, for a while - until the constant temperature fluctuations created a crack in the too thin cheapo pot, and we ended up with water everywhere.
4 - the smaller (only 2 quart) cast iron one we have now is a cute hen sitting on a nest - and was half again the cost of this copper one, and has to be filled several times per day.

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Nancy Reading

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thomas rubino wrote:Hi Nancy;
This is the kettle I plan on purchasing before next winter.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGVVV1N/?coliid=IN4BBF10QO22G&colid=1C1TN95U35AY6&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

That is a thing of beauty, but I wonder whether it is suitable for use on my stove top? It seems generally a good thickness (1mm copper) but doesn't imply the base is any thicker, which I thought helped for heat transfer. Also on the video it looked liked the base is textured with a hexagon pattern, which would reduce the area actually touching the stove top.

What I'm struggling with is that these days actually cooking on a cast iron plate is unusual, so you find the kettles described as suitable for gas, electric, glass or induction stoves, but not for a range cooker. Because of where I am, actually visiting to view the kettle before buying is not very practical, so I'd like to be pretty sure it is what I want so I don't have to go to the trouble of sending it back. I quite like the idea of cast iron, but suspect that the weight will quickly become wearisome.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Nancy, can you describe your wood stove please?

I attach below a picture of my stove ( a bit grubby I'm afraid

) The hotplate is the "dogbone in the middle, which has two lids that cover it when not in use to try and stop the room getting too hot. The hot side is the left side, which takes the full heat of the fire. The right hand side is the simmer side which is much less hot. There is a very slight curvature to the left side, but only really noticeable when I use my maslin pan for jam making which has a base diameter of about 12inches. smaller pans generally have a good contact as long as they have a good flat base.

Esse_woodstove_dogbone_top.jpg

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Deane Adams

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Nancy, I thought the object was called a "Billy" over there?

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Paul Fookes

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Deane Adams wrote:Nancy, I thought the object was called a "Billy" over there?
Peace

The Billy, as in "put the billy on" is colloquial for putting the kettle on to boil, mainly in Australia.
The billy (can) is actually a thing that looks like a paint can in which the tea, fire starting stuff and other things are held between camps.

We had a cast iron kettle much as Nancy describes but it kept rusting so we eventually donated it to a good cause. The tea is a really good colour but the taste is not so good.

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Timothy Norton

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There are a bunch of cast iron kettles meant for the humidification of a room that a wood stove is in on the market. I believe the biggest issue with many of them is the capacity tends to be smaller (2L). I'm personally a cast iron fanboy so I'm biased.

Are you planning for the kettle to be solely for humidification or actually a functional kettle for tea?

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Deane Adams

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Thanks Paul, I knew a Scott many years ago and he called it a "Billy". I never knew the country of origin.

Nancy, in the states I had a kettle from Revere Ware, I think it was a two quart, but the whistling kind with a copper bottom. We wedged a tooth pick under the lid to stop the whistle and used a cast iron kettle in addition to help with the dry heat from the wood stove. The cast iron kettle did indeed rust badly and it was only used to help with humidity.

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Nancy Reading

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Deane Adams wrote:Nancy, I thought the object was called a "Billy" over there?

I think billy cans are for campfires - we used them at guide camp, and you can get stacking ones these days for lightweight packing.

source

I think I'd prefer one with a rigid handle and a spout, for ease of everyday use.

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Nancy Reading

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Timothy Norton wrote:Are you planning for the kettle to be solely for humidification or actually a functional kettle for tea?

In my climate there is never a need for added humidity!

Definitely a need for tea though!

Inspired by the beautiful copper kettle of Thomas' I found these online:

They are craftsman made and absolutely gorgeous!! Solid copper with a whistle in the lid, a valve in the spout and a tinned interior (they do chrome and even silver plated versions!). It looks like they do ones suitable for my stovetop but are rather more than I'm wanting to pay, although is probably what they are worth...they even do spares

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Douglas Alpenstock

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Nancy Reading wrote: The hotplate is the "dogbone in the middle, which has two lids that cover it when not in use to try and stop the room getting too hot. ... smaller pans generally have a good contact as long as they have a good flat base.

I think a stainless steel kettle with a thick base would work very well on that range. The thick base is a round slab of steel that is slightly thicker than the rim of the kettle to ensure good contact and heat conduction. I have used these on wood stoves that are not terribly flat and as long as the kettle doesn't wobble it will boil.

I have scrounged two of these -- one free and one for $1 at a thrift store. It seems few people want them, so when granny's house is cleaned out they go to charity or the free table at the recycling centre.

Nancy Reading

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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I have scrounged two of these -- one free and one for $1 at a thrift store. It seems few people want them, so when granny's house is cleaned out they go to charity or the free table at the recycling centre.

On this side of the Atlantic, plug in electric kettles have been ubiquitous for the last 40 or 50 years, so finding a good used stainless one for a flat hob in good condition would be tricky for me ....I wonder how much they would cost to post?

Would one suitable for electric hob (non induction) be OK would you think? They just don't take pictures of the bottoms of the kettles for me!

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Ac Baker

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What a shame!

For what it's worth, this stockist claims the following are all suitable to use on a range cooker:

https://www.blakeandbull.co.uk/collections/kettles?filter.p.product_type=Kettle&filter.v.price.gte=&filter.v.price.lte=

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Nancy Reading

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Thanks Ac! - those look like good possibilties. I quite like the look of this one:

All stainless with pretty good reviews (whistle gets hot and lid can be stiff to remove) 2 litre capacity. I can also find it on Amazon, so I may spend some voucher money there.....checking the rest of the reviews.

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Nice kettle! The price is a bit eye-watering but since it's buy-it-for-life then it doesn't sting so much. I looked at the Q&A's on the website and got the impression it has a good heavy flat base.

Carla Burke

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I can't recommend the ones with a rolled seam or weld at the bottom rim. They tend to split, with the constant temperature fluctuations. I've had 3 do it

Paul Fookes

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Nancy Reading wrote:

Timothy Norton wrote:Are you planning for the kettle to be solely for humidification or actually a functional kettle for tea?

In my climate there is never a need for added humidity!
Definitely a need for tea though!

Beautiful choice. Understated elegance. We are listening to a set of audiobooks and at every opportunity, the kettle is on to make a pot of tea or one has just been made, especially in the kitchens. Tea bags just do not cut the mustard.

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Regarding Cast Iron: I recently purchased a Tetsubin cast iron tea pot to live on my wood stove, where it has been performing admirably for the better part of a month. My only critique thus far is that rust spots are starting to appear in the spout (above the normal water line), and tea left overnight develops some unsightly blotches on top, almost reminiscent of oil. My old tea pot (stainless steel) I could leave tea in overnight with no problem, and refresh the next day. Supposedly this type of teapot adds beneficial amounts of iron back into your beverage, but if that's what is going on, I am not inspired to drink a liquid with unidentified blotches on it. The manufacturers recommend to dry it out thoroughly after each use, but it can be hard for me to remember to empty and dry the tea pot at night - this time of year, sleep descends with the ferocity of a hammer not all that long past dark, and usually with teacup at hand. It was expensive and I'm sticking with it for now, but the rust issue seems a fatal flaw whose only workaround is extra care on the tea maker's part. Those copper pots are beautiful!

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Nancy Reading wrote:

Deane Adams wrote:Nancy, I thought the object was called a "Billy" over there?

I think billy cans are for campfires - we used them at guide camp,

Workmen use them whilst 'on the job' too.

As per this little gem from my childhood - "Slow Men at Work"

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Khara Phetteplace

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I love my revere ware whistling tea kettle!! 2.8 qt. Stainless steel & copper $30 on Amazon or even cheaper if you can find it second hand.

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