Member Since: 12 Aug 2011
Location: West Sussex
Posts: 1275
I installed our Quooker in July 2021, along with the Scale Control Plus cartridge, and absolutely love it. So far no issues at all.
16th Jul 2023 8:53 am
Chawks
Member Since: 10 Aug 2016
Location: Dorset
Posts: 89
We fit Quooker taps on our multi million pound boat builds....no idea how long they last but assume they must be good if that's the tap of choice
16th Jul 2023 1:56 pm
UNG
Member Since: 20 Jun 2008
Location: Lancs
Posts: 753
Navigator wrote:
I don't understand the "energy saving" bit. Surely the same amount of energy is required to heat the water to boiling point whatever the means?
A lot of these new energy saving products try to challenge even the basic principles of established physics even when they have not managed in this case to change the specific heat capacity of water"Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag'em down to your level. It's cheaper".
16th Jul 2023 7:28 pm
HairyFool
Member Since: 04 Jan 2023
Location: Essex
Posts: 526
Navigator wrote:
I don't understand the "energy saving" bit. Surely the same amount of energy is required to heat the water to boiling point whatever the means?
Two issues with kettles
The vast majority of users tend to put too much water in so they end up with at least some unused boiled water. My daughter was visiting and made the tea for 4 of us using the kettle, when it was time for the second round I made it without adding more water to the kettle
Most wait for the boil switch to automatically activate. This is triggered by the steam given off so the water has to boil for at least some time before it activates.
Both waste at least some energy.
We have had a few counter top instant hot water dispensers and although great for a time the very hard water in our taps kill them eventually. All have had another drawback in that none dispense truely boiling water. When I make tea using the kettle it is always hotter than any of the dispensers.A visitor from the dark side, my other vehicle is an MG5 EV
16th Jul 2023 11:01 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72788
How much is a hot water tap to buy fitted? Wouldn’t be too hard to knock up a spreadsheet to see what the running costs are cf a £20 3kw kettle that’s, say, 10% overfilled and runs for 10 seconds longer than tap for 10 times a day. I used to work on 35p/kWh but I suspect juice might be a bit more expensive now.
17th Jul 2023 7:56 am
Brian Considine
Member Since: 05 Dec 2022
Location: Nr Margate
Posts: 281
dantheman wrote:
We bought a breville one cup for swmbo's salon. It just boils "one cup" at a time at the push of a button. It's been excellent. No heating water you don't need. Cost about £50. Gets descaled frequently. Quids in compared to a hot water tap.
We have a Breville too - best of both worlds. We fill it with water that has been through the jug filter.
It's just been replace after 6 or so years use for the simple reason it started to look a bit tatty.
& if we need iced water then we have a jug in the fridge.
17th Jul 2023 10:26 am
Brian Considine
Member Since: 05 Dec 2022
Location: Nr Margate
Posts: 281
Chawks wrote:
We fit Quooker taps on our multi million pound boat builds....no idea how long they last but assume they must be good if that's the tap of choice
I should imagine that there are quite a number of top branded named bits of kit on a "multi million pound boat" that owners probably expect irrespective of their actual performance.
17th Jul 2023 10:30 am
Nasher
Member Since: 07 Mar 2009
Location: Clanfield, North of Pompey - UK
Posts: 2686
3 houses we visit have Boiling water taps, although I'm not sure of the brands.
I know that all three have had trouble with them requiring several service visits, and one has now ripped it out and I made a blanking plate in Stainless for the hole.
Both Lady Nasher and I both think the water isn't hot enough from any of them, certainly not as hot as straight from a kettle. The Tea we are offered is appreciated and drunk, but just isn't hot enough for our taste.
Plus one of the families with smaller children are always fretting that the children are more than capable of getting the tap to give them really hot water possibly by accident.
All the above meant that when we redid our Kitchen a couple of years ago we didn't go for one, but brought a new kettle that boils small amounts of water should we want just one cup.Heaven doesn't want me, and hell is afraid I'll take over.
Last edited by Nasher on 17th Jul 2023 1:52 pm. Edited 1 time in total
17th Jul 2023 10:50 am
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6575
DSL wrote:
How much is a hot water tap to buy fitted? Wouldn’t be too hard to knock up a spreadsheet to see what the running costs are cf a £20 3kw kettle that’s, say, 10% overfilled and runs for 10 seconds longer than tap for 10 times a day. I used to work on 35p/kWh but I suspect juice might be a bit more expensive now.
I think the variable costs for the kettle are not really relevant as initial fixed cost is so high for a tap and the OP implied taps only have an average life of 4 years or so. With a kettle priced 20-40 euro, suppose you paid 0.5 euro/kWh for energy and the kettle had an max effect of 3 kW (assuming 230 V) and the effect is constant when turned on.
Also, suppose it takes 5 minutes to warm a liter of water for easy math’s sake. This is probably way over the actual as Braun states that it takes their kettle 35 seconds to heat 200 ml. Anyway, If you are a huge consumer of tea and consume 4 kettles (liters) daily you’ll spend 4 x 5/60 x 3 x 0.5 euro worth of hard earned currency or 0.5 euro per day. If you do the exact same thing every day for a year, it’ll be round 182 euro or so… or roughly 900 euro over 5 years which is more than the OP’s indication of expected life of a heated tap. If your kettle breaks, the replacement value is again somewhere between 20-40 euro.
Unless the tap runs on dark matter, magic or pagan sacrifice, or something else very exotic it also needs to somehow consume regular electricity for the water to reach a boiling point. Replacement value for a broken tap? Well, this thread started because of it…
So, in practice, it doesn’t seem to ever make sense financially to splurge on a tap if you expect it to break within a reasonable timeframe.
I admit I did not factor in depreciation but on the other hand the cash outlay is up front. And cash flow is more important than accounting tricks
17th Jul 2023 1:29 pm
darrind
Member Since: 04 Jul 2008
Location: In A World of My Own!
Posts: 2863
Well I guess this has knocked out the “define irony” quote from the Film “Con Air” completely out of the park, and set a new definition of irony- bunch of blokes on a LandRover forum discussing the energy saving cost benefits of a £1000 electric water heater vs a kettle!
What next MPG discussion D4 versus a SuperTankerMust stop buying shiny toys....
17th Jul 2023 3:43 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72788
Could happen, double or single skinned?
And how much for a hot tap?
17th Jul 2023 3:52 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6575
MPG? You want smiles per gallon - that’s priceless
17th Jul 2023 3:57 pm
waterbuoy
Member Since: 26 Oct 2013
Location: Argyll
Posts: 2862
I have a very simple solution to this issue - I don't drink hot drinks!
Goes way back to when I used to work on glaciers above Zermatt - having a cup of tea in the morning meant getting up 30 minutes earlier to find some clean snow and then put on a brew. I have subsequently spent most of my life working in or on water of varying temperatures and tend to drink very litte during the day to avoid having to get out of drysuits etc.Currently 2009 Disco 3 SE, 2013 MY D4 HSE and 2016 D4 SE
Previously:
TD5 Defender 110 CSW (230k miles)
300TDi Disco 1 (289k)
4 RR Classics (300-350k each, 2 manual, 2 auto)
110 V8 CSW (220k)
S3 109 hi cap pickup (ex RN)
S2A 88 Safari SW with lpg conversion (bloody lethal)
17th Jul 2023 3:58 pm
Lee Trinder
Member Since: 12 Aug 2018
Location: Henley in arden
Posts: 515
I think the Quooker tap is one of the only taps that produce boiling water, I could be wrong but the water in the tank is hotter than 100 degrees thus being true boiling water when dispensed. I think most people have them for convenience rather than energy saving. I’d have one if I could afford one.
17th Jul 2023 4:33 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72788
You could afford one, if you didn’t have an addiction to a certain type of transport.
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