The jug I replaced was, by the standards of such devices, quite old (the names “jug” and “kettle” are both used in New Zealand, and refer to an electric pitcher for boiling water). We bought the old jug a very long tine ago—maybe even more than 20 years ago. Some years later, though, we bought a new jug that was supposed to operate much more quietly. Then, Nigel decided we needed a device that was attached to the cold water feed because it cooled and heated the water, as well as filtering it and subjecting it to UV light to purify it. A bit much for making a cup of tea, but it’s what Nigel wanted.
When we moved into our final house together, we had the super-duper hot/cold water machine installed there, too. After Nigel died, I put the house on the market, intending to leave the super-duper machine there, but the buyer wanted it gone, so I brought it to Hamilton. I decided against having it installed at my new house because the machine is designed to be always on, and all that constant heating and cooling can be quite expensive to run. The super-duper machine is now on a shelf in the garage.
And that brings me back to the jug I just replaced. I started using it because we gave the newer quiet one away to family after we got the super-duper machine, but we still had the old one, which I’d been using to boil water to pour on weeds (to avoid using weed killer). I recently noticed that the jug was looking its age: The plastic lid was bleached at the front edge from all those years of steam, and scale was building up at the base of the fill indicator. I knew I’d need to replace it sooner rather than later, but it was an incident on Monday that sealed its fate (and I’ll spare the details).
I’d never bought an electric kettle by myself, so the first thing I had to work out was how does one decide which one is best for one’s needs? A few years ago, I joined Consumer NZ, an organisation that, among other things, evaluates various consumer products, because I knew that having reliable information would be very helpful whenever I needed to buy a new electric appliance, or whatever. In the Before Times, Nigel used to spend hours researching options, but after he died, I often felt overwhelmed doing the research, and sometimes balked because I feared making the wrong choice. Using Consumer NZ helped fix all that.
I looked at the top-rated kettles, and there was a wide range in a huge variety of price points. At first, I looked at the photos of the top-rated models, and, as always, I liked the most expensive one best—but at some $400+, it cost too much, even for me.
I then concentrated only on features, and one of them was highly rated for how quiet it is, in addition to quality and reliability—and I liked the look of it well enough Photo above). That seemed the best choice for me, but $139 seemed like an awfully high price. However, when I did a price comparison search, I found out it was on special for $69 at a NZ department store I freqently shop at. I bought it the next day.
The new jug is a lot quieter than the old one, and it even has a nice blue light when it’s on and doing its job. It was definitely the right choice for me.
The old jug will go back to its old job of boiling water for weed killing, at least until it finally boils its last. This will also mean not using my new kettle for that purpose, which is a nice bonus.
This story is typical of how these things go for me: I find I need something electric or electronic, I do my research, and make my choice. None of that is even remotely unusual, of course, nor is the fact that I rely on sites like Consumer NZ to help me make the right choice to meet my needs. However, Nigel seemed to have had a natural ability to sift through options and make a choice, and that’s not something I find easy to do, Not the least because I don’t know what his method was. However, so far, I’ve managed to make the right choice for me every time. Sure, it’s not an easy task for me, but at least I seem to be getting it right.
I smile to myself thinking about that. If he could, Nigel would say, laughing, “I taught you well,” even though he never did anything of the kind. I guess his example was enough.
Important Note: The names/photos of brands/products/companies listed in this post are registered trademarks, and are used here for purposes of description and clarity. No company or entity provided any support or payment for this blog post, and all products were purchased by me at normal consumer prices at the time of purchase. So, the opinions I expressed are my own genuinely held opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of manufacturers, retailers, or any known human being, alive or dead, real or corporate. Just so we’re clear.
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