Tiger PDH-B30U Hot Water Dispenser Kettle w/ 3.2 Quart Capacity

Many Asian households have this appliance but non-Asians seem to not know about it. This is a convenient way to always have boiling hot water at hand for making tea or instant ramen and instant soups. While the typical "American" electric tea kettle requires you to plug in and boil water each time it is turned on (thereby necessitating a wait of at least 3-5 minutes), this water heater boils water and keeps it boiling hot for days until you dispense all of it and have to refill/reboil it. I have found it very useful to have a personal water heater at my office desk (where it is the envy of all my colleagues - yet somehow they are resistant to buying one themselves due to cultural suspicion), and also one at home. One caveat is that since it is constantly plugged in, it may use up a lot of electricity. Also you have to be careful of children accidentally dispensing it and scalding themselves (this model has a "lock" button). Lastly, you should never immerse the appliance in water...Read more

The first Tiger PDHB30U kettle I purchased started having rusting spots inside only after 2 weeks. I have been gone through many hot water kettles for the past 20+ years, this is the first time I have seen anything like this.
To make a fair judgement, I returned the first one and bought an identical unit. This time it only took a week for rusting spots to show!
I strongly recommend people stay away from this kettle. Spend a little more and buy a Zojirushi kettle!

I got this one to replace a Tiger water heater I got over 16 years ago. That one has to be pumped manually. This one is much better since it pumps the water out automatically.

I like the 6-hr timer (only single setting, single push to activate) that shuts the heater down for six hours then restarts it. This save energy since my house is 50 degree at night and I don't drink in these 6-hr time period. It also heats up the water before I get up. The 3-liter capacity is more than sufficient for my consumption rate of 1.2 L each time. My previous unit was 5-liter, which is too much to heat up.

The lid takes about 2 seconds to get use to. If you use the left hand to open it, you'd need to use your thumb to push down on the front-end which pivots the back end of the retangular latch upward, then use your pointing finger and/or the middle finger to lift the lid up. The lid is removeable for cleaning which is nice.

The insulation is quite good. I...Read more