Kenwood SJM250

I had been using a cheap Cookworks kettle that was bought in the Argos sale for just £4.99 around 5 years ago and although it was very basic it had lasted me well. When it started to leak though, I had to look for a replacement, rather than run the risk of electrocuting myself!

To be honest I don't use my kettle much - I only drink the occasional cup of tea and in recent weeks have been using it to fill my hot water bottle before bed ...
...Although I'd been satisfied with my cheap white plastic kettle in terms of function, I wanted something that looked a little bit smarter to replace it with. I prefer jug kettles and I knew I wanted stainless steel, but I particularly wanted matt or brushed stainless steel as I have a polished stainless steel bin in my bathroom, and know how awful it can look when water from the sink drips onto it, and I didn't want to have to be polishing the kettle ... more

I had been using a cheap Cookworks kettle that was bought in the Argos sale for just £4.99 around 5 years ago and although it was very basic it had lasted me well. When it started to leak though, I had to look for a replacement, rather than run the risk of electrocuting myself!

To be honest I don't use my kettle much - I only drink the occasional cup of tea and in recent weeks have been using it to fill my hot water bottle before bed (I can't stand the cold!), but otherwise it stands unused. Although I'd been satisfied with my cheap white plastic kettle in terms of function, I wanted something that looked a little bit smarter to replace it with. I prefer jug kettles and I knew I wanted stainless steel, but I particularly wanted matt or brushed stainless steel as I have a polished stainless steel bin in my bathroom, and know how awful it can look when water from the sink drips onto it, and I didn't want to have to be polishing the kettle after every use!

As I had some Argos vouchers, that's where I decided to go and although I was initially going to get one of those kettles that changes colour when it boils (I like a gimmick!), when I got to the store this one was on special offer, so I decided to get this one instead.

~Appearance~

As you can probably see from the picture the kettle is brushed stainless steel with a black plastic handle, base and lid, with a window on the side, that has a water gauge so you know how much water you are using. I think the kettle is quite a sleek shape, and is actually one of the few designs I liked, as many of the others available seemed to be slightly odd shapes that I wasn't keen on.

There is only one thing I dislike about the appearance of the kettle, and that is the on/off switch. Although you can't actually see it very clearly in the picture, it is made from a rather cheap looking shiny plastic, which is a sort of frosted white colour and it's also fairly big. When the kettle is switched on it lights up blue, which is a nice feature, however when not in use it looks somehow out of place with the rest of the design and I think that it cheapens the appearance of the kettle somewhat.

~Features~

I can't say I looked into the features of the kettle much before purchasing it, my only pre-requisite was that it was cordless, which I think most kettles are these days, however this kettle does boast a wide range of features….

360 degree swivel base: The kettle is cordless and sits on a 360 degree base. This is especially useful when cooking, if you need boiling water for anything, the kettle will swivel round easily so that you can get to it.

Safety Locking lid: The lid of the kettle has a sort of button which needs to be pressed to open the lid, and locks into place when shut. Although basic and simple, this is a good safety feature - my last kettle had a lid that was simply pressed down, and on a couple of occasions when pouring, the lid would come open, which as you can imagine is potentially very dangerous, so it's reassuring to know that this feature will prevent that.

Concealed Element: The Element on this kettle is concealed in the base, meaning the water never actually has to touch the element, and I would assume therefore it will prevent the build up of limescale.

1.7 Litre Capacity: This is about average I think, and I believe this is the equivalent of 8 cups of tea.

Dry Boil Protection: If you're a bit dippy like me, you may have tried to boil the kettle without actually having put any water in it! If that's the case, dry boil protection is a must, as it means the kettle automatically switches off if there's no water in it.

Rapid Boil: The kettle is 3kw and boils quickly, meaning you get your cuppa faster!

Cord Storage: The cord can be sort of clipped into the base of the kettle, meaning that you can have the cord as long or short as you require. I found this especially useful as it means I don't have to have a long cord trailing across my kitchen worktop.

Washable Limescale Filter: This is a small mesh filter which is located inside the spout and very easy to remove, and wash as and when you require.

~My Experiences with it~

The kettle is best filled from the top - I recently saw a friend fill her kettle from the spout (I thought that was odd, but perhaps it's just me?!), but I don't think you could really do that with this one because of the limescale filter, which slots into the spout.

I find that it boils quickly, and although I don't like the appearance of the on/off button much, it is quite large, and presses down with only minimal pressure. It doesn't make too much of a noise when it boils either, my last kettle over time had started to make a rather worrying rattling sound when it boiled.

One thing I didn't realise, although I guess it is pretty obvious, but being stainless steel, the outside of the kettle is very hot to touch during and after use. I know you will think I'm stupid for not realising that, but having been used to a plastic kettle, the outside of which, was merely warm to the touch, I just didn't think, and I did burn my hand on this after the first use, as the outside becomes very very hot.

The spout is quite wide, which makes pouring easy, and the plastic of the handle is a slightly rough texture which allows for a better grip on the kettle.

I found the limescale filter easy to remove and clean too, which was a bonus, and I like that it has the concealed element.

~Price and Availability~

I bought this from Argos when it was on special offer for £19.99, but the usual Argos price is £24.99. This is also the price currently at Amazon.co.uk

~Conclusion~

For the price I found this to be very good. I know some kettles you can get have extra features such as changing colour when they boil or filtering the water - and granted this kettle doesn't have anything unique like that to make it stand out from others. It is however, a great kettle, easy to use, quick to boil, looks great and I'm very happy with it. The only reason I am knocking one point off is for that cheap looking plastic button! 

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