As above, it’s one of the kettles that’s always hot, I completely forgot it was still plugged in. I’m gone for the next ten days, do I need to make a brief return or will it be okay? I’m just worried of a potential fire hazard if it boils dry.
Edit: thanks everyone I’m making a quick return now, thankfully I only left an hour or so ago, so I’m only losing around 3 hours or so
Edit 2: Got back home, all non-essential electronics unplugged, heading back to my fun, with a drink 😜
24 comments
One would hope these kettles have some kind of timer that turns off after 24H regardless. But I’m not familiar with these. Don’t you have someone that can go turn it off for you?
You know you should return, the question is if you can let a stranger on the internet convince you that you can leave a fire hazard alone. It may have a safety feature built in, it may not, we don’t know.
You can be charged for criminal negligence if that thing causes a fire, it can kill people. I don’t know how else to express this.
Best to go back and unplug it. The risk of fire is enough to take seriously. And if you try to ignore it, ten days of knowing you didn’t take care of it would make for a lousy trip.
I’m posting again to agree w/ sentiment expressed here. It sucks but you should go back and unplug it. If not you would anyway think about it the whole time which would be a nuisance.
If you have a “smart meter” installed, you can try calling your electric utility company and ask them to remotely turn the breaker off for the whole house. But do not forget that your fridge would be your new problem in a few hours.
It’s fine. Plugged in all the time at work. Nothing happens.
Just think of the possible outcomes and weigh them up yourself.
Worst case scenario: you come back and your apartment has caught fire, destroyed most of the place and possibly someone has died in that fire.
Is that worth the trouble of going back to unplug it?
I guess those things have caused more fires than we think. I would not feel comfortable leaving it this way, I say, bring your ass back home and unplug the damn thing.
Not sure which one you have but I reckon most stop delivering heat once the water reaches a certain temp
I’m sorry for the stupid question but do you mean just an electric kettle that you boil water in?
Why are they such a fire hazard?
LPT-when going on long vacations, take a picture on all of your appliances/room right before leaving.
-this was very useful to me when going out of the country for a couple of mos. since it lets you check everything while taking pictures and removes that nervous feeling you have while on the train on the way to airport
I had a sharemate in London who moved back to Canada, forgetting her hair irons and leaving them ON in her vacated room. Only noticed due to the faint whiff of singed mattress. Nothing burned though.
Most of these have a failsafe. If it boils dry, the hotplate will reach the limit temperature, and the unit will go into error mode.
Happens all the time in my office when I have used all the water without knowing.
If it was one of those that keeps 2 L of water hot, I’ve let mine sit there for a LONG time… I forget how long sometimes, weeks?
For boiling off, anything properly made should not lose any measurable amount of water if it’s properly sealed (it is trying to not waste energy after all).
I can’t comment on all makers, but the one I do have says it has a safety feature when there is not enough water as well, so there would be no fire risk, just a bigger electrical bill.
It says マイコン空だき防止（ヒーター自動オフ）
This is your call to get a relatively affordable remote-operated smart plug. Did I turn that thing off? Oh, I can just turn it off from my phone. I also recommend the remote operated AC controller! I use Sensibo, but there’s a ton of different brands. You can turn. Your AC on like 15 minutes before you get home to make sure it’s cool by the time you get back!
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Having done this twice now, both times including an extra Shinkansen trip, my coffee maker is now the type that has a thermos and has no heating element to keep coffee warm. And my kettle is a boil-once-turn-off type…
Ugh, my mom did the same, but with a stove. That stove is old style so it doesn’t turn off automatically. Of course the water evaporated. The kettle darkened. i’m
sometimes I wonder what type question would be appropriate as thread here, anyway OP made it back home and continue on his/her fun, good, have fun!
Hey OP, have fun on your vacation! If you decide to stick with that kettle, it might be a good idea to pick up a smart plug or an outlet timer that works like [this one.](https://a.co/d/bA1poc8) The smart plug would let you switch the kettle off with your phone from anywhere, and any timer with a countdown function would let you run the kettle for a limited amount of time. You can typically get either for under $15.00 USD.
I don’t know if it’s a legal requirement, but most have a fail-safe if they boil dry, a bolt pops out at the socket and flings the magnetically connected cable out.
Losing 3 hours for 10 days of holiday anxiety free. It is actually a good deal
I use Google Docs and keep a checklist whenever leaving for an extended amount of time. If you follow a checklist each time, check off everything, you will never have this problem ever again.