Boiling water

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Boiling water
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Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 3:44 pm Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

Bugs wrote:

..doesn't it still get a bit too cold to make fresh tea/coffee with?

Tea - certainly.
Coffee - who cares; nasty stuff anyway.
Hot Vimto's what flasks were made for.

Nonsense, Bovril is what flasks were made for....before they took the beef out of bovril, oh the madness!

Helen_A

Joined: 26 Jan 2005
Posts: 1548
Location: MK, Bucks.

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 4:57 pm Post subject:

Ah I'm in the habit of filling a kettle and then filling a flask.

As for the tea/rolling boil.... well I tend to make and drink tea first thing in the day only. So my first pot/cup of the day is made with the kettle that has just boiled. The rest of the water goes into the flask and is used to make coffee, hot chocolate or blackcurrant with.

Mind you - my flask still manages to keep itself nicely at 80 degrees until its finished (its one of the stainless steel ones, less 'friendly' to make than the other sort, but wan't surcum to the ministrations (ha ha) of my children so has so far lasted me nearly 8 years when I would probably have gone through 5 or 6 of the other sort by now....)

Helen_A

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 5:40 pm Post subject:
When my electric kettle dies, I shall get a stove top one, but this is mostly because I had a bigger hob, and lost some worktop! If I just the plastic kettle, I might be able to squeeze in a food processor! Plus, I will be able to use it on the woodburner when its alight.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 5:44 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

When my electric kettle dies, I shall get a stove top one, but this is mostly because I had a bigger hob, and lost some worktop! If I just the plastic kettle, I might be able to squeeze in a food processor! Plus, I will be able to use it on the woodburner when its alight.

My woodburner has a hotplate, how 'hot' can i expect it to get?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 5:53 pm Post subject:
Very. I've fried stuff on the top of ours.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 5:54 pm Post subject:

Energy usage.
Any energy that goes anywhere other than into the cup (or mug) is "wasted".
So only heating the right amount of water is the number one efficiency tip. (Quicker too!)
Using a kettle and teapot that absorb as little heat (have as "small thermal mass") as possible will help - so plastic good

, cast iron bad.

If you are using any sort of stove, quite a lot of heat would even miss the kettle, and in midsummer thats waste, an efficiency loss.

Any use of electricity, although very efficient at your end, is only half the real energy usage, because generation and distribution struggles to achieve 50% efficiency.

And if you were using a biofuel stove (such as a woodburner), then you could be smugly carbon-neutral, and efficiency considerations could be purely theoretical (or maybe a little financial)...

Side issue: Coffee (even instant) tastes *better* when its *not* made with *boiling* water...

Loopy Lou

Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 263
Location: Northamptonshire

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 6:23 pm Post subject:
I have both types of kettle - stove top and electric. I only fill either with the water needed, not full to the top. I agree dougal - Coffee does taste better when it's not made with boiling water. Talking of which, might go make one.

tawny owl

Joined: 29 Apr 2005
Posts: 563
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 6:24 pm Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

Why must people give up such things, just because they're older? Jelly Tots are still amongst my favourite sweets.

I don't think it's a case of giving up, more that one's palate changes with age. I find most 'kiddie' sweets far too sugary for my taste now - I'd rather have a couple of pieces of a really good dark chocolate.

Jonnyboy wrote:

[Nonsense, Bovril is what flasks were made for....before they took the beef out of bovril, oh the madness!

I reckon the name's misleading advertising now - they should have been made to change it to Vegeril!

Bernie66

Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 6:57 pm Post subject:
Flask coffee is the best coffee taste after pure filter proper coffee. I will quite often make up a flask in the morning, not to be particularly "energy saving" but purely for the taste. I think it reminds me of childood holidays

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 8:04 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

My woodburner has a hotplate, how 'hot' can i expect it to get?

It depends. Ours has one of those afterburn arrangements at the top of the stove. The top of it gets hot enough to do a long slow stew, but I don't think it would fry like Sean's. Chestnuts seem to take an age.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 05 8:15 pm Post subject:

Judith wrote:

Jonnyboy wrote:

My woodburner has a hotplate, how 'hot' can i expect it to get?

Hmm, I think mine may get pretty hot, it replaces the top chimney outlet as ours has a rear exiting chimney so it sits right above the fire, albeit with a baffle plate below it.

I'll have to look out for a decent urn to put on it...

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 05 9:00 am Post subject:

Ours has one of those, and I reckon you could fry on it - without the aid of a couple of engineering bricks, it was far to hot to do stock or stew - I tried last winter! never thought of chestnuts - mmmm!

I want a cast iron kettle to go on it, but can only find le cruset, and they're prohibitively expensive, but I do have a couple of big cheap stcokpots that we use for camp-firers that go on nicely. I really wish we'd had a backboiler put on it.

bagpuss

Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 10507
Location: cambridge

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 05 9:13 am Post subject:
try ebay for le creuset, I got a nice cast iron pot for less than half what if would of been in a shop

ken69

Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 316
Location: Norfolk

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 05 9:30 am Post subject: boiling water

Having packed up the Raeburn last year, I now fill up the plastic electric kettle on in the morning to make a pot of tea, then use the remainder to wash and shave. Then put the kettle straight back on whilst the element is hot, and this does for another cuppa tea and for washing up.During the day just heat up enough for tea or coffee, or even a cup of water in the microwave. Definately don't miss the Raeburn..a lotta work..make do with gas central heating plus a slow cooker, no stove and a microwave,kettle, toaster, and individual steamer. Gas and electric total annual spend �240.Never heat up the hot water tank except for weekly wash, and use a shower every day. Don't think it would suit a family but ideal for solo's.I like the idea of a flask,maybe a big one to take soup or stew.

culpepper

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 638
Location: Kent

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 05 6:32 pm Post subject:

We started flasking a kettle full after making tea when we were camping and still do it at home.It is useful to have hot water when cooking veg too.The other reason is that the kettle used to be left sitting with the water in it to go cold and collected lime scale really quickly. We have had the present kettle about 5 months now and it hasn't needed descaling at all.
DD likes herb tea and usually uses flask water as she doesnt like it too hot (no milk to cool it down).

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