Boiling water tap has become dangerous
Boiling water tap has become dangerous
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Technotronic

Original Poster:

81 posts

25 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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The initial message was deleted from this topic on 13 January 2025 at 19:17

Simpo Two

89,526 posts

282 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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I would call it lesson learned and buy a kettle.

Boiling water out of a tap never made sense to me - too dangerous.

anonymous-user

71 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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its out of warranty so thats that.

time to move on

miniman

28,529 posts

279 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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Simpo Two said:
I would call it lesson learned and buy a kettle.

Boiling water out of a tap never made sense to me - too dangerous.
Nonsense, our Quooker is so safe that when my mother is visiting we have to get the kettle out as she simply can’t comprehend the method to make it work hehe

number2

4,627 posts

204 months

Mandat

4,306 posts

255 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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Technotronic said:
Not a motoring question... but a legal/consumer rights type issue which I hope someone can help with.

2.5 years ago I purchased and fitted a boiling water tap to my kitchen sink. I have now noticed, that simply through ordinary use, the mechanical interlock that stops you operating the boiling water tap accidentally, has worn out and failed.

The tap features two identical handles on each side, to mimic the look of a normal 'Victorian' hot/cold mixer tap. The right hand side tap handle operates the hot/cold flow by moving it up and down, and pulling it outwards to start the flow. The left hand side tap handle starts the flow of boiling water, by being moved down. There is a small press-in button on it, that you previously had to press, to start the flow. This was the safety interlock.

I found out that this safety interlock had failed, when a guest at my house almost burned themselves when operating the tap.

As the boiling water side has a very thin red ring around the base of the tap, they thought it was the hot tap and turned it on to wash their hands. The other side tap the same ring, but in black, making it look like one side is hot and the other cold. Boiling water came out and they realised from the steam that something was wrong and pulled their hand back before touching the water.

I contacted the company who have basically told me to get lost as my 2 year warranty expired 6 months ago. I went back to them and said it wasn't a matter of warranty, it was a matter of safety, is the tap fit for purpose, why has it failed into a dangerous state and not failed safe, my child could have turned it on, and so on. They have told me to jog on.

Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.

Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
Would your guest still have used the boiling tap (thinking it was only hot water) even if the interlock button worked?

Fastpedeller

4,062 posts

163 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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Technotronic said:
Not a motoring question... but a legal/consumer rights type issue which I hope someone can help with.



Any suggestions as to what to do next? I'm not after 'compo' but hopefully a replacement tap and some sort of recall that informs other owners of the potential danger.

Who would I report them to for an unsafe product?
Why would you want to replace a poorly-designed tap with the same?

Evolved

3,931 posts

204 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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It’s really not worth the hassle, and stress. Even posting/replying here is taking your precious time - yes I see the irony in my reply…

Anyway, my point being. Replace it, move on. Life’s too short to be messing about ‘chasing’ anyone for an item of this value.
For ref I have a Quooker Flex 3.

Sheepshanks

37,862 posts

136 months

Thursday 30th May 2024
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Technotronic said:
The issue is that I seem to have stupidly bought one from a brand that hasn't designed the safety mechanism very well.
Did you buy it directly from them? Legal liability is with the seller. Is it repairable? If not, you could try a claim on the basis of it being of unsatisfactory quality.

micky g

1,566 posts

252 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Warranties are given to con you into believing that you have no rights once they have expired. If you read the small print they are all qualified by 'this does not affect your statutory rights.'

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that items must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. You have these rights for six years in England and Wales or five years in Scotland.


Sheepshanks

37,862 posts

136 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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micky g said:
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that items must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time. You have these rights for six years in England and Wales or five years in Scotland.
That doesn’t mean it has to last that long without being repaired - try getting a car repaired FOC once out of warranty.

However if the item can’t be repaired then the CRA could be useful.

IJWS15

2,046 posts

102 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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We have these in the office, have put me off ever having one. When making tea I need to warm the mug and one of the two is normally US.

Simple answer - just put the water you need in the kettle.

To OP - is it really worth the time and effort chasing the maker?

McGee_22

7,575 posts

196 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Technotronic said:
Irrespective of warranty, is there is no way to go after them, or report them, for producing a product that fails dangerously?

As per my above post, I'm not that bothered about the money to buy a new one, I'm keener to hold them to account for something I consider unsafe.

Trustpilot is riddled with complaints about this company, from people who have also experienced the safety mechanism failing, often getting burned, and getting told to sod off.

I'm not some kind of warrior for justice, but I feel like I'm happy to waste a few hours on this one complaining to whoever I have to.
The tap sounds dangerous now - how much did it cost? As you say if you’re not that bothered about the money then just get a new one. Can you fit it yourself?

Sheepshanks

37,862 posts

136 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Technotronic said:
They are incredibly convenient, much faster than a kettle when you want a cuppa, and save a considerable amount of electricity compared to a kettle.
How can they save any money, never mind a considerable amount, vs a kettle?

Even making tea for two ours boils in the time it takes to get everything else together. We refill the kettle ( with just a bit more than 2 mugs full ) while the tea is brewing so no time lost there and it’s ready to go next time.

stuthemong

2,458 posts

234 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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number2 said:
This.

The product will be CE marked and so should fail safe. The manufacturer of the product should care about a failure like this, it’s not a warranty issue, but a consumer electrical goods safety one.

Mabbs9

1,434 posts

235 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Sheepshanks said:
Technotronic said:
They are incredibly convenient, much faster than a kettle when you want a cuppa, and save a considerable amount of electricity compared to a kettle.
How can they save any money, never mind a considerable amount, vs a kettle?

Even making tea for two ours boils in the time it takes to get everything else together. We refill the kettle ( with just a bit more than 2 mugs full ) while the tea is brewing so no time lost there and it’s ready to go next time.
I'd also love to know how they save money? I can't see how they don't use more energy.

bunchofkeys

1,216 posts

85 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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I would suggest you sign up and become a member of Which?
You can then write/call them and explain the situation, to which (excuse the pun) they would investigate and contact the company on your behalf, especially if they are based in the UK.

Although the product is out of its warranty period, there is still a general expected length of service that a device should last for a while before failing catastrophically. Think TVs, washing machines etc. I would expect this tap to fall into the same category.
The fact that this is a safety issues, due to boiling hot water, they would definitely want to know more. They are not afraid to name and shame, if they can prove beyond doubt a product is dangerous.
IANAL, but Which? do have a helpful legal team that is available to their subscribers.

LastPoster

3,013 posts

200 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Is the tap WRAS approved? May be worth a chat with them if it is


number2

4,627 posts

204 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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stuthe said:
number2 said:
This.

The product will be CE marked and so should fail safe. The manufacturer of the product should care about a failure like this, it’s not a warranty issue, but a consumer electrical goods safety one.
Crack on with it Techno ^^^

Pica-Pica

15,385 posts

101 months

Friday 31st May 2024
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Technotronic said:
I know we are getting off track here, but:

Kettles are notoriously inefficient. A considerable amount of the heat escapes during the boiling process, Most people usually just fill the kettle and boil water you don't need to boil, and then let it go cold again. Unless you pour out and use every last drip of water you boil, the kettle is wasteful.

Boiling water taps save money because the boiler tank is heavily insulated and only needs to be heated lightly (it averages at about 9-10 watts) to maintain the 98-99c temperature all day long, and when the heated water is dispensed, you only consume the exact amount required.

According to the figures, it costs around 2.5-3p each time you boil a kettle with typically a litre of water in it, but obtaining a cup of boiling water from a tap is around 6 times cheaper, at about £0.002.

To put it more simply, it costs an average of 12.5p per day to 'run' the average kettle, while a boiling water tap, in contrast, costs around 3p per day to run.

https://www.idealhome.co.uk/house-manual/money-mat...

But... There is the cost of the boiling water tap itself, which clearly makes the whole arrangement more expensive. My boiling tap was £500, and it would take me 10 years to recoup that investment against a tap.

In summary, they do save quite a lot of energy versus a kettle in daily use. You just have to use man-maths to write off the purchase cost in the name of speed and convenience in the kitchen!
Who boils a litre of water for one cup of tea? Kettles usually have a glass side and cup markings. You can pretty much just boil the amount you need. Plus you can’t pour very well from a quooker-type tap into a cafetière or espresso maker.