Hamilton Beach Electric Kettle (40880) In-depth Review

Coming up next, we’ll be reviewing the Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Electric Kettle (40880) that we bought for $38.09 on Amazon (at the time of writing). Upon unboxing, the kettle got some plus points from us with its stainless steel carafe and spout.

However, the first boil revealed to us a wobbly kettle-to-base assembly and an average boiling time. Of course, we need some more thorough testing before we can give our final verdict on the product.

On a side note, besides the brushed stainless steel version that we chose, there’s a red-painted stainless steel version. There’s also another version that has an LED ring, unlike the two before.

Key Specs

Where to Buy Price at publication $38.09

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Compared to Other Electric Kettles

7.8 Performance

The Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Electric Kettle performed well in all of our tests, including boiling time, energy consumption, noise level, and keep warm. It didn’t excel at anything but it provided good results matching its specifications and that was everything we could ask for.

7.9 Boiling Time

For the common electric kettles (not gooseneck) like the Hamilton Beach, we evaluate the time they take to boil 1.5 liters of water—a middle ground of their capacity. The product took 7 minutes and 4 seconds to bring 1.5 liters of room-temperature water (80°F/26.7°C) to boiling point (212°F/100°C).

This result was quite fast and matched with the kettle’s 1500 W of power, worthy of a 7.9/10.

7.6 Energy Consumption

We used a power meter to measure the Hamilton Beach’s total energy consumption to bring 1.5 liters of room-temperature water to a rolling boil. The result was 152 Wh which was our standard for a 7.6/10.

8.7 Noise Level

During boiling, the Hamilton Beach’s noise level peaked at 72.8 dB while reaching a rolling simmer, which was lower than the CDC-recommended 80 dB. This result earned the kettle an 8.7/10.

7.0 Keep Warm

Although the Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel carafe, it didn’t retain heat any better than its glass or plastic competitors, e.g. the Peach Street PE-1300. The kettle also doesn’t have the Keep Warm feature.

After 5 minutes, the temperature dropped from 212°F / 100°C to 202°F / 95°C. This equates to a 7/10 according to our data.

6.9 Design

The most desirable design traits of the Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Electric Kettle for us are its stainless steel carafe and spout. It also has other beneficial features like a removable mesh filter and a water level window. However, it has the detriments of a small opening and wobbly kettle-to-base assembly.

In the Box

• One cordless kettle
• One corded power base
• One user manual
• Warranty: 5 years in Canada, 1 year in the US

The Hamilton Beach Kettle arrived between two foam pads on the top and the bottom inside a carton box. The instruction manual came in English, French, and Spanish. It was quite detailed with information on the kettle’s parts, how to use, safeguards, cleaning and maintaining, troubleshooting, and warranty.

Dimensions

6.0 Carafe

The carafe is made of stainless steel and holds 1.7 L (57.48 fl. oz) or 7 cups (+2). The V-shaped spout is also stainless steel and there’s a removable limescale filter  (+2).

In the middle of the carafe, you’ll see a water level window with black markings (+1). The lid opening of the carafe is quite small—only 2.95 inches in diameter (+0).

An interesting design choice on this model is the heating element. It extends from inside the carafe’s bottom to near the top of the carafe’s interior. This may explain why the kettle’s slightly faster boiling time compared to similar models with the same power draw.

The kettle doesn’t have an LED ring around the carafe’s bottom, but there’s a white LED inside the water-level window (+1). It’s not as eye-catching  but still enough to spot in the dark.

The carafe’s bottom is slightly different from other kettles. In addition to little plastic dimples around the circumference for a smoother rotation against the base,  there are also three large round rubber knobs.

7.0 Handle

The cool-touch handle is made of BPA-free plastic (+3). It has a weird contour for the placement of the open-lid button which we didn’t find particularly convenient nor awkward to carry around. It doesn’t have an anti-slip feature, but feels secure and comfortable on the wrist nonetheless (+4).

7.0 Lid

The Hamilton Beach has a hinged lid that pop-ups to an 80° angle with a single push of a button located on the handle (+4). Its exterior and interior are plastic which can be undesirable for someone who doesn’t like their water coming into contact with plastic material (+1). Nonetheless, we found no odd odor during the first boil (+1).

Unlike some other electric kettles we’ve tested, this one doesn’t have a silicone band around the circumference. Nonetheless, the lid still closes tightly (+1).

9.0 Base

The Hamilton Beach has a standard BPA-free plastic 360° swivel base that’s sturdy and fits the carafe well enough (+5). At the bottom of the base is the cord storage and also three small anti-slip rubber pads (+4).

Power Cord

The Hamilton Beach has a 26.18 inch flat power cord, which is a little short for our liking but should be enough for household use. The cord uses a two-pronged plug which is typically considered not as safe as a three-pronged one. Nonetheless, it should be safe since the power base doesn’t have a metal casing but a plastic one.

6.5 Usability

The Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Electric Kettle poses no problem controlling, carrying, filling, and pouring. However, its small opening makes it more difficult to clean than its peers. And the fact that the kettle wobbles, although only slightly, when boiling can be worrisome.

6.0 User Control

The Hamilton Beach has a standard one-touch switch with no digital display or temperature control (+1). Its carafe has a small red indicator light at the front that glows when the kettle’s running (+1).

The power switch is made of metal, painted black, and is positioned at the base of the carafe along the handle. We do have to point out a difference between this and the usual switch is that it flips upward instead of downward.

The kettle has an automatic shutoff feature which will activate when the thermo fuse detects that the temperature has reached boiling point (+2). Keep in mind that this feature will not kick in if you leave the lid open. If you do, however, you still don’t have to worry about overheating because the kettle’s boil-dry protection feature will turn off the kettle when no water is present (+2).

7.0 Ease of Use

Despite its stainless steel carafe, the Hamilton Beach weighs the same as other kettles with a glass carafe. It’s really easy to use, with only two distinctive buttons—one for power and one for opening the lid (+3).

The water level window in the middle of the carafe makes it easy to precisely fill water (+1). Although the carafe’s opening is small, it’s unobstructed so you can still comfortably pour in water from your tap or any container.

The handle contour could be better but it didn’t feel awkward in the hand and still seemed sturdy when we picked the filled-up kettle (+2). It has a good pouring angle between the arm and the kettle, making the action effortless (+1).

The different bottom stands created uneven spaces when placing the carafe onto the power base. This caused the kettle to be slightly wobbly when boiling (-1). It wasn’t to a dangerous degree, but slightly noisy nonetheless.

Due to the flat shape of the cord, it was a bit rigid to wrap around the cord storage, but it was okay after we broke the cord in. After wrapping, the cord sticks out 3.74 inches, including the plug.

6.0 Cleaning

Cleaning the Hamilton Beach is a bit tricky since you can’t fit your hand through the opening to wipe the interior (+0). Thus, you’ll need a clamp to do so and the lid doesn’t get in the way of that (+4). On the other hand, the limescale filter is removable for frequent cleaning and maintenance (+2).