Cheap Hario V60 Buono Coffee Drip Kettle, 1200ml

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $66.67
Sale Price: $46.84
Today's Bonus: 30% Off

Things you need to know before buying:

I used a regular pot with a pour spout 3 months before I purchased this kettle. The following points are based primarily on the differences I noticed between the regular pot and the kettle.

1. The pour control with the kettle is VASTLY superior to the control you get with a product with a normal "spout" area. The kettle's thin spout and long distance the water has to travel gives you a small, smooth stream in which to pour on your coffee grounds.

2. Because of the points in #1, the kettle allows you to pour water over the coffee smoothly and at a consistent pace, therefore giving you an EVEN extraction of your coffee, which translates to a nice, consistent taste in your cup. This is what you're going for.

3. The kettle holds enough water for about 5 regular cups of coffee (i.e. it holds ~40 ounces of water). I own the 40oz Chemex coffee maker, so for me, a full kettle = a full pot of coffee.

4. The kettle is SAFE to boil your water with. However, the conductivity of the kettle's metal is not as good as a standard pot, so it will take you roughly twice as long to boil water in the kettle versus boiling it in a pot. (I bought a separate water kettle for this reason.)

5. As mentioned in other reviews, this kettle is hard to clean. The opening is hard to get your hand into, and the small spout makes everything but a pipe cleaner impossible to clean the inside. If you live in an area with hard water (like I do), then you'll want to filter your water before using this kettle to cut down on the deposit build up.

Hands-down, this kettle gives you the control you need to make an excellent cup of coffee. If you brew your coffee through a pour over method (such as the Chemex), then this is the kettle for you. Other than the cleaning difficulty and long(ish) time it takes for this kettle to boil water, I highly recommend this product.

'Hope you found this helpful!

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I knew what every review said about this product, but I couldn't justify the price. So instead for my pour over (either hario v60 or chemex) I would pour out of a 12 ounce frothing pitcher with a good spout on it.

Let me tell you. The Buono kettle is in a whole different league. The amount of control is amazing. I didn't really think it would make that big of a difference. But I am now a true believer in what all the reviews say. I would almost go as far as recommending saving up to buy this kettle first, then buy your V60 or Chemex pour over brewing device second (not really...but you get what I am saying).

The only comment I would give, the kettle is pretty thin metal. The bottom is not like a regular kettle's thickness. So I hear and think it is fine to put on a gas stove, but since I do not have to, I am going to hold out.

Also the kettle holds a constant temperature pretty well. Starting with a not preheated kettle. I poured boiling water in, put the lid on a 30 seconds later the temp was 206. Once it got down to 203 I started my pour. 2 minutes into my pour my temp was 200 and at the end of my pour it was down to about 198.

Best Deals on Hario V60 Buono Coffee Drip Kettle, 1200ml

This product has one thing--and only one thing--going for it: its spout, which allows you to control the flow of water when brewing coffee using the pour-over method.

Otherwise, it has a few things going against it:

1. The price: it simply costs too much for what it offers.

2. The quality: it is very light-weight, flimsy stainless steel, and it rusts on the bottom (which is inexcusable for a tea kettle costing this much).

3. The design: It narrows toward the top, making it very inconvenient to wash and dry the inside (my had cannot fit through the top, and water gets trapped in the edges of the much wider base). If you fill the kettle and bring it to a rolling boil, water will actually boil out of the spout. Finally, it does not have any calibration lines on the inside indicating how many cups of water are in the kettle, which would have been handy.

Unless Hario happens to hold a patent on a kettle with a spout like this, there is room here for another company to design a much more solid, better designed product, in my opinion. Ideally, someone would make an electric kettle of this design (all stainless steel, no plastic of any kind anywhere, a narrow pour spout) that allowed you to set the temperature you want the water to reach and maintain. Hard to believe this is unavailable at any price, but I have yet to find it (please let me know in comments if you know of one!).

For now, we're stuck with the Hario, which does the job adequately, if a bit expensively.

UPDATE: Our wait is over, folks; the perfect kettle has arrived: Bonavita 1-Liter Variable Temperature Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle

Honest reviews on Hario V60 Buono Coffee Drip Kettle, 1200ml

Purchased both Hario V60 and Bonavita BV3825ST non-electric gooseneck kettles from Amazon.

Country of Origin:

Hario: Made in Japan.

Bonavita: Made in China.

Capacity:

Hario: Practical capacity: .8 liter. Full capacity 1.2 liters.

Bonavita: Capacity: 1 liter.

Spout:

Hario: Gooseneck spout attached to body at lower point. Less water remains pooled at the bottom after complete pouring.

Bonavita: Gooseneck spout attached to body at higher point. More water remains pooled at the bottom after complete pouring.

Ergonomics:

Hario: Straight handle. Ergonomics not optimal.

Bonavita: Curved handle. Ergonomics better.

Product Material:

Hario: Stainless steel heavier and thicker. Seems higher quality steel. Handle good.

Bonavita: Stainless steel lighter and thinner. Handle good.

Quality of Construction:

Hario: Spout and handle attached with quality hardware. Seems more secure.

Bonavita: Spout and handle securely attached, but hardware appears to be less durable.

Design:

Hario: Lid does not fit tight. Will fall out when tipped at certain angle.

Bonavita: Lid fits tight. Will not fall out when tipped at certain angle. Handle has two screws located on underside at top, which impact finger comfort. Body has unfinished/uncurved inside top lip, which impacts hand comfort when cleaning inside body.

Appearance: Both look nice. Bonavita sits about an inch taller because of the design of the lid.

Pour Rate: Practically the same.

Recommendation: Both Hario and Bonavita will get the job done. I chose to keep Hario, because of the quality. But if money or style is a factor, Bonavita will work just fine. An alternative to these kettles, which I have not tried but appears to be of a very high quality, is the Kalita Wave Pot Kettle from Japan, priced at $107.Kalita 52073 Wave Pot Kettle

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hario V60 Buono Coffee Drip Kettle, 1200ml

I love this kettle, it is perfect for pour over coffee and it feels wonderful in the hand. There is one HUGE problem and that is RUST!!! On the inside of the kettle, around the seams at the base, rust has developed. Not a lot of rust, but after two weeks this should not have occured. Mind you, when I am finished using my kettle in the morning, I always wipe it down inside and out. I think Japanese made and that usually means impeccable quality, but somehow this kettle fails to perform. I love the design and feel of this kettle, but where is the quality control???

UPDATE 2-17-2012: I checked at my local coffee shop, Catalina Coffee, and their Hario kettles are perfect with no rust. Maybe in their rush to make new kettles due to the popularity of the pourover, Hario's quality control slipped a bit.

UPDATE 2-23-2012: I tried to return this with the company I purchased with on Amazon called M Deals, here is a segment of their response to me about my return request: "Unfortunately, we cannot accept return at this moment. You have been using this kettle for 3 weeks. The item you carry is exactly same item with the one from your local coffee shop. Hario kettle we are selling is the original made in Japan product. You need to use drinking water and clean it after each use. Please let us know if you have any other questions. Thank you for contacting M Deals." WHAT?????!!!!!! I have used it for 3 weeks and it developed rust, and that's acceptable to them? I need to use drinking water????!!!!! What do they think that I have been putting in there to make my coffee?? Unfortunately you run into a bad vendor on Amazon, and M DEALS DOES NOT STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY SELL and they do a horrible job of taking care of their customers. Buy the Hario kettle from anybody but M Deals!!!

UPDATE 5-20-2012: In March, I purchased a new non rusting Hario kettle from the nice folks at Seattle Coffee Gear. I love it!! My other rusting Hario kettle has been reassigned to watering herbs in my garden and for watering my Bonsai trees. It performs like a champ in its new job!!

Set of 2 Portable Heating Vent Register Humidifiers Review

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I live in a studio apartment that measures somewhere between 500 to 600 square feet. My heating and cooling is derived from one very long vent that sits about a foot and a half above the floor. I use both humidifier units along the vent, but to cover it completely I would probably need four of them. Given that my setup and the size of my apartment is not ideal, this review will focus more on the product than on how effective it is.

It's not apparent from the pictures, but the water-absorbant material is actually foam that isn't so different than the types found in packing materials. This is a bit surprising, since this material isn't as water-absorbant as a sponge. In fact, if the material is dry and you attempt to water the humidifier from above, the water will simply sit on top of the foam and will not penetrate it. I rehydrate it at a sink. The company's instructions suggest squeezing the foam while under running water so as to maximize the amount of water absorbed. It probably helps, but the foam doesn't seem to take up a whole lot of water even then. Unless you allow it to sit for a few minutes, you can also expect to drip some water in the process of moving from the sink to the vent.

One could argue that the choice of foam over traditional sponge material is for airflow purposes. However, even with my single vent (which pushes air with more force than a standard vent system found in houses), the air is forced around the humidifier and does not go through it. This isn't a bad thing for heating systems (since hot air rises anyway), but isn't optimal for air conditioning. Granted, most people will probably use this for winter, but all in all it seems as if the choice to use foam over a different material was likely cost-based.

I had a bad experience with the construction that required some work on my part. Each humidifier has six "feet" that raise it above the vent so that it does not obstruct airflow. Each foot is attached to the main frame by a nut and bolt. When I unpacked my units, many of the feet and their securing nuts were loose in the bag, and many of the feet that remained on the unit had nuts that were nowhere near fully tightened. No tools are shipped with the product, and none of my own tools were small enough to do the job. I ended up using tweezers to thread the nuts along their bolts and affix the feet to the units. I couldn't get them very tight, but it gets the job done a job I should not have had to do. The difficulty (and lack of tools) with getting the feet on and off also makes it clear that the foam was not intended to be removed from the casing for soaking.

Being unable to remove the foam leads to another complaint. While the units look pleasing enough, after two or three rehydrations I noticed that one of the bolts is showing signs of rusting. It's one out of 12 (between two units), but it's clear that it can only get worse from here. The white plastic surrounding the bolts will become a discolored yellow-brown. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for" it's just another thing to consider.

As far as effectiveness goes, I can't really comment. As I mentioned before my setup is probably not optimal; all the same, it doesn't seem to be making a big difference. The foam does dry out over time, meaning that the air in my apartment is being humidified. It's questionable as to whether it's much more effective than setting out bowls of water and waiting for the water to evaporate from them, though.

In summary, it's a cheap product that doesn't consume electricity to use, but is a bit of a pain to rehydrate. If you have a small room and/or only need slightly more humidity it might be worth trying, but otherwise it doesn't seem worth it. It seems to me that you could make one of these yourself by propping up a wet towel or sponge an inch or so above a vent in fact, I may open up the casing on these humidifiers and replace the foam with sponges.

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It works...a little bit. It covers the vent and the air pressure from the vent doesn't get through the product very well.

Buy AKDY 28" Black Electric Firebox Fireplace Heater Insert Azfl-28r

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List Price: $699.00
Sale Price: $199.00
Today's Bonus: 72% Off

This is company that stands behind their customer service, I have never order from them in the past however chose them with my fireplace choice and even though I had shipping carrier issue Akdy stood behind their service and went above and beyond to satisfy the customer. Getting back to the basics!!

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Fits in the exact space from my old insert. Looks great. Remote looks a little in the cheap side but seems OK. Only question is...will it last???

Review of Conair Compact Fabric Steamer

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List Price: $34.99
Sale Price: $33.66
Today's Bonus: 4% Off

I just bought this a few hours ago. I hate ironing. I use standard business button-down shirts daily.

I have a portable chin up bar set up in a doorway that's perfect for hanging clothes on hangers, and it works great in conjunction with this steamer.

I think that if more people actually read the operating instructions, there would be more favorable reviews.

You need to keep the steam-head pointed upwards only, at all times, so that condensation can drop back down into the steamer. If you point the head in any other direction, you'll definitely get a little water. The instructions clearly point that out.

I also used "distilled" water since I live where the tap water is very hard and would clog it in short order I'm sure.

Using distilled water is a no-brainer no matter where you live. Minerals will eventually clog it up, though you can de-calcify the unit, as laid out in the instructions as well.

It's a simple device. You pour water in, it gets heated, and steam escapes from the holes in the steam-head. Between garments you just hang the steam head on the provided hangar which just slips over the top of the door.

In my opinion, this is SO MUCH BETTER that ironing. I hate ironing. This is great.

Simple device, easy to use, great results.

Also, as stated in the instructions very clearly, the hose will be stiff before use. The steam/heat loosens it up. Simple physics.

I've only used it this once, but so far I'm very pleased. Using distilled water should prolong it's life.

I would recommend it.

Mark

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Spits more water than steam. I have tried cleaning the machine with no improvement. Also the hose is very stiff which makes it hard to maneuver. Poor design, cheap materials.

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I've waited a few weeks before posting my review, but I really was in love with this steamer from the very first use. I did a lot of online research before choosing this one, and it has exceeded my expectations. I am a vintage/second-hand dress dealer online; I buy most of my stock in thrift stores, and, honestly, my top priority in buying a steamer was to guarantee that no pesky critters travel into my home or my customers' homes (Los Angeles has recently out-stripped New York in the bed bug wars, and steam kills 'em! Why take a chance, when peace of mind is this easy).

It actually does a better job of freshening things up than I expected; it even cleans off the white deodorant residue that sometimes smears all over the inside of a dress when a gal just tries it on. It de-wrinkles most fabrics beautifully, it's almost like magic with rayon, silk, and knit blends (but it's not quite so efficient on very creased woven cotton). It perks up wilted trim, like bows and pleats. Basically, it saves me a lot of time and money at the dry cleaners; and it allows me to describe an item as GREAT or EXCELLENT condition, when it might have been GOOD or VERY GOOD before steaming. So it's fantastic for my business (look for Johnny Bombshell on facebook!).

It's extremely lightweight and easy to use; I have experienced minimal sputtering (nothing to complain about) once or twice, but mostly it's just lots of nice quiet steam, and it gets the job done in no time. Just keep in mind that this is not a heavy-duty professional steam-cleaner; it's a small fabric freshener/de-creaser that, as far as I can tell, does exactly what it says it's going to do. Five stars!

Honest reviews on Conair Compact Fabric Steamer

Got this on a whim as I have always wanted one. Did not need anything fancy, but just to touch up stuff that has been stored or arrives from online purchase. I found it to work fine and does the job. Did not expect it to work as well as a professional one, but for me it is just what I needed.

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I received this steamer as a wedding gift a year and a half ago after daily use it's given out on my husband and I, but for under 30 bucks I'm back to get a new one! Ever since getting this steamer, we have not used our iron once.

Pros:

-Easy-to-use

-Gets the wrinkles out in half the time as ironing

-I hate ironing so this takes the cake for me

Cons:

-You have to keep the hose elevated or else it will spit out water. This was a problem for me since I wanted to steam bedsheets, mattresses, furniture, and the like

I've never used a professional steamer, but this fit my husband and I perfectly for taking the wrinkles out of our daily business clothes.

Best Dimplex #CS12056A Compact Electric Stove, Black Deals

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List Price: $129.00
Sale Price: $109.00
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

The product description says "On-demand heat with thermostat control". It has a switch for high and low heat but no thermostat other than according to the manual if it overheats it will turn the heater off and wont come back one without being reset by switching off and on again. So this was disappointing and the product description should really be revised.

When I first turned it on it made a clunk clunk noise so I turned it off and took off the back panel and found the thing that rotates had fallen out of one of it's mounts. It was easy to put back in the mount and after that it works fine and quiet.

It's nice and small so can be moved from room to room.

Flames look pretty good and heater also seems effective for a small room.

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This is a great little heater and the price is right. I use it with a programmable thermostatic plug and have it programmed to turn on about an hour before I get up, so my living room is nice and toasty when I sit down to have my coffee and read the paper, without having to heat the entire house that early. (I live in Flagstaff, and it does get cold).WIN100 Heating & Cooling Programmable Outlet Thermostat

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Dimplex #CS12056A compact electric stove. I order this stove on Friday the Oct.7th, and it is here Monday,the 10th. Amazon, you're the best!

I bought the Dimplex because I all ready own a larger model, that is five years old,and has worked great from the start. It was $99.00 back then. I wanted to buy another one, but then all of a sudden the prices went crazy, a similar Dimplex to the orignal one was going for $300. So in the mean time I bought a small Duraflame model.Big dissappointment. Sounded like a hair dryer when you turned on the heat and the flame motor by itself was noisy. I immediately wanted the quiet flame and heater of a Dimplex model.

This Dimplex compact model is a good size for this 130 year old farmhouse.I all ready tested the flame and heat, no noise at all.So now I have two Dimplex models. Both are centerpieces, one for the living room and one for the family room.

Honest reviews on Dimplex #CS12056A Compact Electric Stove, Black

Ordered this stove, came quickly and were very happy with it. It was just what we wanted for our RV......a gentle heat with a great "real" fire effect for those cold nights. Sadly, after a month, the light quit on us. I asked Amazon for another bulb but they said they couldn't do that, only exchange the stove. So thats what we did. Another came quickly and all was perfect again. Until, after 2 months the blower motor quit on us! Very unhappy with the product now. Amazon was very generous with us and refunded about 80% of my money since it was past a month's guarantee, I so wish this stove was better made! It was perfect for so short a time!! Come on Dimplex......make them last, please!?

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I was skeptical about this heater when I bought it. Usually really good heaters have to look more utilitarian, industrial and not so compactly designed. This little heater is a powerhouse. I used it on low for the first few weeks I had it; barely raised the electric bill two dollars. The cat sits right at the vent; I suppose missing the fireplace at our last house. Then I discovered the high button, flipped that and WHOA doggie, more like a furnace than a space heater. I enjoy this heater so much, I hesitate to mention a drawback, but for those of you with flexibility issues, the on/off/high/low buttons are located waa-ay down at the bottom on the right side. It's very sturdy, self-contained, child safe [nothing to open, nothing loose], cat/dog safe QUIET heater. I love it!

Hunter 44110 Set & Save Programmable Thermostat Reviews

Customer Ratings:

The thermostat was inexpensive and does the job as stated. There are four settings per day [presets]. The programming for weekdays and weekends are done separately. It has two overides: one for temporary bi-bass [from one preset to another] or a vacation overide [until you return home]. The only thing negative about the thermostat is that it doesn't light up for easier viewing in dim light or darkness.

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When the description of the thermostat says that it can be programmed for "every day of the week," that does not mean than there can be a separate cooling and heating program for each day of the week. The thermostat can be programmed so that there are separate heating and cooling programs for weekdays (MTWThF) and others for weekends (SaSu). The weekday heating or cooling program must have 4 settings for a 24 hour period and similarly for weekends. For example for either heating or cooling, it can be set for one temperature from 6 AM to 8 AM, another for 8 AM to 5 PM, another from 5 PM to 10 PM, and a fourth from 10 PM to 6 AM. The times at which it switches temperatures can be adjusted. To change from the Heating programs to the Cooling programs, you move a switch from "Heat" to "Cool."

If the programming limitations suit your weekly schedule, then you will probably be happy with this thermostat. We have had ours for over a year and have had no problems with it. Installation for our all-electric system was fairly easy. Based on our power bill, the thermostat has saved us money.

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I have had the Hunter 44110 for a number of years, and it basically does the job. But, once or twice a month it completely loses the day, time and program, and has to be completely re-programmed. When this happens, I check or replace the batteries. But it still loses memory even with known good batteries.

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We have 2 furnaces in our house & have an older Hunter model on one furnace & I was searching for a new Hunter for the second furnace. We installed this one at Thanksgiving time & we couldn't be happier. It was a breeze to install & we haven't had any problems with it at all. I think it's a great product & a super price.

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This is a decent thermostat. It is easy to install and fairly easy to program, but if you live in a dry climate like Albuquerque, you should think twice about getting this thermostat. It has very poor electro-static discharge (ESD) protection. I have "killed" three of them just by walking up and touching the buttons. I have two installed in my house and I like the horizontal form factor. At first it seemed easier to just buy another one to replace a dead one without having to instal a new bracket, etc. Two days ago, I killed another one and am tired of it. I will be looking for a different thermostat.