Noiseless teapot

[miguelvp]

My Hamilton Beach is not the quietest one but it doesn't whistle when water is boiling, it just shuts off when done, I don't think it would wake up anyone at 2 am if I was going to use it that late.

It doesn't beep either but we use filter water not for safety or anything like that, just so the deposits don't destroy the kettle over time.

[Mr.B]

I have a Breville "Quiet Boil"
http://www.breville.com.au/the-quiet-kettle-bke490bs.html

Me too. Unfortunately the engineers chose to make it go "BEEP...BEEP...f*****g BEEEEEP" when the water was ready. Go figure. Judicious application of a pair of wire snips fixed it 

Yes, it is a bit over the top...
Not as bad as the f*ing LG brand dishwasher that plays a stupid carnival tune when it has finished... Manual has no options to STFU...

[mikerj]

Use a magnetron instead of a heating element? Safety optional.

I gave up trying to use a microwave to make coffee/tea as it's too easy to heat the water past boiling point without it boiling (no nucleation). You discover this about a millisecond after dumping some coffee or a teabag into the cup, as the water departs the cup in a big hurry.

[rs20]

I gave up trying to use a microwave to make coffee/tea as it's too easy to heat the water past boiling point without it boiling (no nucleation). You discover this about a millisecond after dumping some coffee or a teabag into the cup, as the water departs the cup in a big hurry.

You only need a couple of boiling chips (suitably attached to the walls of the chamber of prevented from pouring out in some other way), or a suitably scratched-up container to fix that.

[Pjotr]

The noise is not caused by the steam generated, but it is the embedded air that escapes at about 80 degC.

Did you notice that between the noise period and the actual boiling, there is a period of silence? So I would suggest to use pre-de-aired-water   

[BradC]

So I would suggest to use pre-de-aired-water   

Don't ever suggest that to anyone who knows anything about, and likes good tea. Double boiled water drains the life out of a cup of tea.

[LaserSteve]

I'd wager large amounts or noise comes from the kettle walls being excited by bubbles. After all, most of them are thin, stamped or spun metal forms. For all practical purposes they form a poorly made speaker cone.

Ours crackles and pops/bangs  from expansion until the steam coming out is steady state.

Don't get me started on the Keurig.  if there was one kitchen machine that needed acoustic damping, its a Keurig...

Steve

[KJDS]

The correct solution is to drink beer instead of tea

[D. Head]

Had a brain-fart today, why nobody makes noiseless teapots ?

As I understand actual noise is created because water close to heated surface heat up to 100 C and create small bubbles, which goes up a bit and collapse with ~100 Hz sound, while this is happening - surround water is still <100 C.

So why don't we put two thermocouples: 1) on a heater itself 2) somewhere close to top of water level. And we just regulate current through heating element so heater will not go over threshold temperature (let's say 70-90 C) until second thermocouples reach threshold temperature. Then we just go full throttle util we reach 100 C (with a bit of noise, but you can't make noiseless boiling water, so it's ok)

I see one reason why it will not work : to maintain heater at temperature X we need to cool down it with surrounding water by dissipating power without boiling off water close to header itself, and amount of power can be really small which will make boiling process really slow.

PS. What is the simplest compact way to control mains voltage for application like this ? (It's ~10 Amps)

Maybe you need to contact Rain Rabbit, she is dealing with electronics and teapots.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/37996583811@N01/sets/72157627619922101

[android]

The correct solution is to drink beer instead of tea

I think you'd have the same problem boiling beer.

[KJDS]

The correct solution is to drink beer instead of tea

I think you'd have the same problem boiling beer.

I new that Aussie beer was undrinkable, but I didn't realize it needed boiling.

[Leiothrix]

I can't say that I've noticed any kettle making a huge amount of noise, except for those that whistles when it's done.

Unless you have a pulsejet kettle anyway:

[Alex Eisenhut]

I can appreciate your problem. But what I really want is a quiet blender. My GOD they make them loud these days. Is it the flimsy case? Poor tolerances?

I wear ear protectors when I run the blender...

[Simon]

I've not read the lot but but when I had to design a water heater i came across many manufacturers of elements specifying different watts/cm^2 and the less watts/cm^2 the less noise because the effect is slowed down and spread out on more surface area. To get that sort of area in a 3KW kettle or even 2KW kettle you need a larger element than practical. the less watts/cm^2 the less calcium is deposited on it.

I would however prefer it if kettle designers took into account the thermal inertia of the element and cut power sooner so that the kettle does not boil madly and build up calcium fast.

[LaserSteve]

Tour a modern, large, regional Brewery for bottled beer.  You realize its a chemical plant with a barely drinkable byproduct.  When you tour, you will note many activities that do not resemble either brewing or distillation... 

Steve