On Sat, 08 May 2021 19:23:07 +0000, Tim+ wrote:

Johnny B Good wrote:


Built in obsolescence is a seemingly guaranteed feature of all these
Chinese manufactured 1.7l plastic 3KW jug kettles ime. Quite obviously,
the nominated point of failure is _never_ _ever_ the heating element


Just had to replace my mums Morrisons cheapo kettle. Element went
open circuit.

JOOI, may I ask after how many years of service?

My experience with these 3KW jug kettles over the past decade or so
(three failed kettles so far) with their directionally agnostic circular
bases suggests they don't select a 'poorly made' element, finely crafted
to fail with a comfortable margin just out of the basic one year
warranty, to ensure repeat sales, since the cost of the precision
required to achieve an 18 +/-5 months service life, would exceed that of
an element designed simply to last the more usual 6 to 10 years
(materials cost being pretty much the same in either case).

There are plenty of other candidate components within these kettles to
choose from in order to achieve the required 'silent failure' expiry
function. The obvious primary favourite being a cheap piece of plastic,
readily replaced under warranty should they have miscalculated and land
up inundated with in-warranty repairs that exhausts their stock of
replacement spare kettles held aside to cover such outliers on the left
of the peak of their calculated failure curve.

The manufacturers also include other failure modes to guard against the
effects of clever DIY repair/prevention activities, classically that of
leaking seals rather than rely on a potentially explosive failure of the
element which is reserved as a final last ditch measure to ensure a
continuing, if belated, demand for brand new replacement kettles. I'd
expect them to be aiming for a much wider margin of 6 to 10 years service
life for the heating element in this case since this won't be the
limiting factor in the kettle's designed service life rating.

That of course, doesn't preclude the occasional premature failure
(infant mortality) so some purchasers will find themselves either
claiming on that first year warranty or else resorting to the SOGA
against the retailer.

I realise you can choose a kettle that offers a five or six year
warranty but this typically costs more than three times the price of one
with a basic one year warranty and a life expectancy of 18 to 24 months
which is why I decided to shell out the extra £2.59 for an additional two
years warranty. Other than for their unconscionably short service life,
these Cookware kettles are a perfect fit to their function... imo


--
Johnny B Good