Russell Hobbs 15082 1.7 L Blue Illuminating Glass Kettle

It's a rather expensive kettle, this. You can certainly buy a jug which you plug into the wall and which boils 1.7 litres of water for a much cheaper price than this. So, let there be no doubt about it, you are paying for its looks. So, do they justify the price?

Yes, and no. While it's cooking up, it is wonderful to behold. Within seconds of switching it on, you can see currents in the water, and it gets more and more vigorous until it boils violently in a bath of lovely blue light. After the performance is over and the tea is made, though, the inside of the clear glass covers in condensation, which rather spoils the look. All the more reason to have an encore and another cup of tea, perhaps ...

Back to more mundane details. The kettle boils quicker than my old kettle, but my old kettle was 10 years old so this could just be the progress of technology. It boils from its 2 cups level (they are generous cups, by the way) in under 90 seconds. It is also significantly noisier than my old kettle, which surprised me. But hey, it's only for a minute and a half!

Another surprise - given how long this manufacturer has been making kettles - was that the spout pours only averagely well. In this respect, I've seen worse and I've seen better. It's not bad enough to miss the mug, but it's enough to make me think "why?!" every time I use it.

I run my water through a filter before using it in the kettle. I have always done this, living in a hard water region. If I didn't, I'm sure this kettle would rapidly scale up and look awful. With the filter, it's been going a month and still looks pristine.

*** UPDATE : LID PROBLEM AND HOW TO FIX IT ***

Several reviewers have mentioned the lid jamming after a while, and I have now experienced this after 18 months of use. Obviously this shouldn't happen, and it is your right to return the product under guarantee (if available). However, the problem is quite easy to fix, and you should not have to dump your expensive and beautiful kettle because of it.

Undertake the following at your own risk; but if your alternative was discarding the kettle then you've got nothing to lose.

First of all, you will need to get the lid open. A forceful push of the button and some wiggling of the lid might do it, or you may need to insert something thin in the gap between the lid and the body - try halfway between the hinge and the spout, which is where there is a catch on either side.

With the lid open, you will see four screws on its underside. Undo the pair nearest the hinge, and the lid should separate the reveal the latching mechanism. Take care that it doesn't ping apart (although it's fairly obvious how to put it back together if it does).

Experiment to understand how it's supposed to work. Down at the hinge end, there's a tab which, when pressed in (as occurs when pressing the lid release button), causes two protruding catches on either side to withdraw (thus releasing the lid). The failure is caused by two pieces of plastic which should rub smoothly against each other becoming seized up. Personally, I couldn't see why they had seized up, but by pressing the tab it was easy to see where the jam was occuring. To get them moving again, just dab a little bit of edible vegetable oil (not WD40) on the contacting surfaces. Manually operate the latch until you are convinced that pressing the tab now withdraws the catches easily, then put the lid back together.

If that doesn't fix it, try disassembling the mechanism (4 or 5 plastic pieces and a spring) and giving the contacting surfaces a scrape to remove any limescale build-up.

Bought from Sainburys, initially I was impressed and won over by the look which gave the kettle a new techy look & feel. Gradually became less enchanted as the blue LED began to fail intermitantly, until it finally gave up completely after 4 months. There were issues with the lid sticking and the very small metal filter and shallow spout which contributed to pouring a problems. Would I buy again ? No it's over priced and lacks utility, hence "Style over Substance".

I bought this kettle to replace my last one that was all made from stainless steel. I think this is an amazing kettle for many reasons: Firstly, the walls are glass, which means that you can see the water and also the base, so you know when it's time to clean it. Also, the illuninating feature is really cool! I know, not a criterion for a kitchen item, but trust me it makes a difference! When I get in the kitchen first thing in the morning I turn the kettle on before turning on the light and the room glows. Not only does it work great and it boils water very fast, but it is very stylish and easy to use. There is a little button on top of the handle which opens the lid, a very useful feature, especially compared to my previous kettle that had a metal lid that was impossible to remove after a while due to limescale built-up. To close it you just press it lightly. Great buy!