Boiling water tap - who is right?

[Northernlurker]

Dh wants one in new kitchen. Because it's cool I think.

I think it's expensive bollocks that we don't need and would potentially be dangerous for future grandchildren.

Who's right?

Isn't there a running cost?

Couldn't live without ours, no waiting for tea or coffee or filling the saucepan. They all have safety mechanisms which makes it hard to scald yourself. By the time kids are old enough and tall enough to use the kitchen sink alone they should be sensible enough to not run their hands under boiling water.

Kettles can boil dry causing fires, be pulled from counter top, I'd say it's harder for kids to hurt themselves on the tap.

Expensive bollocks.

They constantly break as well.

My friend's broke recently and was complaining it was £500 to fix it.

When I said you could have just bought a kettle for £50, the penny dropped

£1000? Bloody hell.

I have had one at two different workplaces and both made undrinkable tea. Can't for the life of me understand what people see in them

We used to have one of these at work and the tea always tasted awful as it never quite reached boiling. Was obviously a cheap one based on the comments above....

I have one, like you my DH wanted it, I would prefer a kettle! However it’s fine, works well and no funny tasting drinks. I don’t know why you think it’s dangerous for future grandchildren, mine has a child proof button.

I do also have a stove top kettle for my induction hob as I find it takes too long for multiple drinks and we often have a big crowd for dinner.

I’ve had a Quooker for 13 ish years. No problems apart from general serving (descaling). No funny tasting tea.

Quooker is the only hot tap which water comes out of the tap at 100. It stores in the tank above 100.

Tank is 15cm wide (round). Hardly takes up any room under the sink.

Laughing at the “tea tastes funny” comments.

If I assume that’s coming from people in England, anywhere south of Yorkshire, your tea tastes funny. Don’t these taps come with a filter that means you’ve actually got clear water to make tea with? Whenever we visit England, I have to go for coffee as I find most tea undrinkable with unfiltered water.

I’d love a boiling tap though. We had one at work and it was much better than faffing with a kettle. Some people claimed it gave them a dodgy tummy though.

my brother had one.
I hated it.

I felt like I had to be really carful not to catch my arm under it when using it.
I think the tea tasted funny
I found the splatting of boiling water dangerous.
Hated the noise of it.

BUT when there are 16 of us there for Christmas, it was very very useful for making tea

Expensive gadget aimed at people who are anal about having a kettle ‘on display’ on their worktops.

Also, given that Mn loves a thread with a social class angle, in my experience it’s a lower-middle-class thing.

@Northernlurker

Tea tastes funny?

Wow. That's a deal breaker

Tea doesn’t taste funny. They are brilliant, especially for cooking. They also won’t be dangerous for any grandchild, you can’t turn it on accidentally.

That said they are about £2,000 for a decent one. If your having your kitchen done at the same time you can get some good deals. Otherwise it’s a big expense but definitely worth it. Looks much nice than an ugly kettle too.

@AgedVellum

Expensive gadget aimed at people who are anal about having a kettle ‘on display’ on their worktops.

Also, given that Mn loves a thread with a social class angle, in my experience it’s a lower-middle-class thing.

Really? The people I know who have one are very much monied middle class

Have a Quooker. Debated a bit about the whole expensive tap thing but after a few years I think it'd be the one thing we'd replace for sure if we got a new kitchen. Kind of wish I'd got the one that does sparkling water too but that seemed a bit much! Our tea does not taste funny either.

Not dangerous at all and almost impossible for anyone to turn on accidentally. Does not splash boiling water everywhere. Surely more dangerous to have kettle full of boiling water sitting on the side if that's the line of thought?

If I got a kitchen done again I’d put one in again. Definitely a middle class thing. We’ve got a wine fridge too….and an island. Sliding doors instead of bifolds though…

Does it have to be a Quooker? I've been looking at the Perrin & Rowe ones...

Sure, @steppemum, some of the people I know with them are 'monied' too, but that doesn't mean they aren't lower-middle-class.

The only time I have seen one in action there was sputtering and the home owner received a nasty scald. I am with you.

We are currently having kitchen done and debated one for cooking, but didn't bother in the end. I would think they'd be great for coffee (which I don't drink, but I have never had tea out of one that tasted right, always a bit furry.

(Friend has recently had her kitchen done - her geeky husband has the best of everything and tea is still crap out of their boiling water tap. If he couldn't get it right, I had no hope. That was the final nail in the coffin.)

The Franke tap we got did cost about a £1k when we did our kitchen but its brilliant. I wouldn't be without it now TBH. Instant boiling water. Makes life so much easier. Not just for tea and coffee but saves a lot of time when you need to boil water on the hob etc. each to their own but i swear ours is a god send and used so many times a day!

@AgedVellum

Sure, *@steppemum*, some of the people I know with them are 'monied' too, but that doesn't mean they aren't lower-middle-class.

do you know I knew you would come back and say money doesn't = class.

Ok I will say it differently.

All the people I know who have them are very much middle/upper middle class. Not remotely lower middle.

Just my experience, I am sure yours is different, but they are not a lower middle class thing here

I didn't want one but my husband persuaded me.
I LOVE it. Instant sterilisation, hot drinks literally on tap, rinsing pasta etc etc
I am so glad he persuaded me to try it

We had a grohe one thrown in for free with our bespoke kitchen. Bloody love it!

No splatter, very safe, tea tastes perfectly normal.

I need someone who thinks they make crap tea to confirm if they have had tea from a Qooker (sp?) or not..... Is it really that much better than the rest, or do 50% of all mumsnetters just tolerate crap tea.... I'm dying to know now! (Do you think you're allowed to go to kitchen show rooms with tea bags and milk so you can test them out?)

Love the naysayers branding it ‘lower middle class’..!
It’s very much a badge of a naice kitchen in a naice house where I am - gets a special mention in Savills house listings along with Lefroy Brooks bathroom fittings

I love ours, couldn’t be without it.

It’s a Quooker and doesn’t splatter, can’t be accidentally turned on, has never broken, doesn’t need any maintenance, makes perfect tea

Can’t speak for other brands, other than the Zip Tap in the office seems to be broken most of the time (but has 50+ people using it daily)

It meant we got rid of the kettle but also the steriliser when DC were small, and also super quick to make formula bottles