3.5L Perma Therm Instant Hot Water Dispenser - Fast Rapid Boil 3.5 Litre Capacity 12 Cup Electric Instant Kettle Urn Perfect for Home or Office

Bought this as I suffer from arthritis in my hands & wrists, making lifting and pouring from a kettle very difficult and painful. I was not disappointed. There are 3 ways of dispensing the water, the easiest being just press the unlock button and hold the cup up to the sensor behind the spout - even first thing in the morning when my hands are really bad, I find this so easy and totally pain free. The timer facility is great, meaning there is hot water waiting ready for the first cuppa of the morning. Despite some negative reviews about a bad taste and some saying the water is not hot enough for tea/coffee, I have not had a problem with either of these. There is a slight issue with the fact that there is always a small amount of water in the bottom which can't be pumped out and has to be poured out manually. This is rather difficult with the bulky lid which does not detach, but I just switch off and open the lid to allow the water to cool for a short while before emptying thus avoiding any chance of scalding. If in a hard water area like myself, it is absolutely essential to empty & wipe out the inside, rather than just topping up to re-boil, otherwise limescale will build up very quickly (just like in a kettle). Also always use filtered water as recommended in the manual and I imagine it is best to use a descaler regularly too to avoid build up, but I've always done these with my kettle anyway so not an issue for me. Overall this is a fantastic appliance which has made things so much easier for me, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

We have had this kettle for 2 years and love it. We always have hot water. We set it at 86 on keep hot mode and it takes about 2 mins to come to the boil. Then returns to 86 again in about 40mins. Very power friendly and only uses about 780w. PS I have upgraded this kettle to be even more eco friendly with a smart plug adaptor and IFTTT. I good application for this kettle is no switch, so when the power is switched on it starts to come to the boil. From cold to 100 is about 20mins. With the smart plug it switches itself off at Midnight and back on again at 6am. Additionally the smart plug is geofenced, so when we leave for work it will switch off the kettle and restart again on the way home. Saves loads of power when we are away from home and hot water waiting for us when we arrive home. Perfect!

I have just reread all the reviews here & I'd like to make a few points for/against views expressed here. Mostly, it's an excellent machine - as long as it keeps working for a few years I'll consider it money well spent. PROs 1. We find that tea & coffee are hot enough at 85C, but it's the lower end of hot - don't leave them around for ages. 2. The timer is easy to use & reliable - I set the timer & refill at night & hot water is ready waiting for me in the morning. 3. As we have a condensing boiler & a long pipe run, it is annoying to have a long wait for hot water when you only want a little bit, so the Neostar is very convenient for a spot of washing-up. I run the hot water straight into the washing-up bowl. 4. I use the Neostar for making drinks, gravy, filling saucepans/microwave containers, doing washing-up, filling containers for minor cleaning jobs. CONs 1. When it was new (4 months ago|) there was a definite metallic taste to the water. There is also a slight taste occasionally if some water is left in overnight. Now I make sure I empty it every day & wipe round regularly. 2. There will always be about 1/2 litre of water left in the bottom. I empty this into a 24-hr thermos flask & use for washing-up the next day. However, the machine is heavy & unbalanced to tip up, not ideal for anyone with weak arms. 3. Consider your lifestyle carefully before you buy - if you find tea & coffee at 85C are not hot enough for you then a 1-cup water dispenser might be better value. I do not think you are likely to save money if you leave the Neostar on 98C. Yes, the Neostar has some insulation, but not enough to stop the exterior feeling warm all day. Ask yourself, would you leave your kettle boiling all day? 4. We boil it early in the morning & do not normally refill during the day. If you need very different, unpredictable amounts of water from day to day you may be better off with some other device, such as a 1-cup dispenser, or ... a kettle. The Neostar takes a very long time to reboil & you can't dispense any water while it is doing that. That is definitely a drawback. 5. There are 3 methods of dispensing water. 2 of them work very well. The third, at the back, is a manual pump that you could use anywhere without mains power. A good idea but it doesn't work here as it's laborious to operate. So, all in all, it's excellent, with one or two design flaws that need rethinking. Don't ditch your kettle yet - mine is still lurking on the worktop. i've used it just once, I believe, in the last 4 months.

This is the second Neostar 3.5ltr that I have bought, they are excellent. After receiving the replacement Neostar I dismantled the faulty one and found that water had seeped under the controls membrane key pad and got onto the controls pcb. I dried the pcb out and hey presto it worked fine when I plugged it back in. This does show a weakness in the design as there is almost no seal around the holes in which the buttons are located. I've always been aware that the Neostar gets hot on the outside, which ultimately is costing me money warming the air in my kitchen, but on dismantling the failed one I realised there is a large air space around the outside of the water boiler which allows the heat of the boiler to heat the external metal surface which in turn heats up the air outside the unit. This air only insulation is very inefficient and I can't understand why there isn't a polystyrene sleeve in that gap? Some kind of proper thermal insulation would greatly reduce the amount of heat lost to the kitchen and greatly reduce the already low cost of keeping the water hot. Why no thermal insulation????????

I do not usually bother writing reviews but with this purchase i felt ii must do so others can think carefully before ordering. As a retired person who loves her coffee and constantly half fills a kettle throughout the day for one cup of coffee or tea thought the Perma Therm would be a fantastic idea saving on electricity and having constant hot water on tap. How disappointed i was. I changed the setting to the highest temperature to come on the following morning. My first cup of tea was not hot enough for my taste as have been subsequent cups both tea and coffee. i found i was putting my coffee in the microwave to heat which defeats the object. I have persevered for five days to see If can get used to it but today i have given up and bought a new kettle. Consequently I am left with a redundant piece of electrical equipment with no idea what to do with, never mind the money i have wasted. I am surprised this was not mentioned in other reviews. And no...the reboil button does not work on this setting. If like me you like your drinks hot this product is not for you

OMG Love this, no more waiting for the kettle to boil, & doesn't make the loud noise a kettle does. Instant hot water all day long, I fill up at night, put it to sleep, & upon getting up in the mornings, I have instant hot water all day (I'm in most days), 3.5Ltr is enough for us, heavy tea or coffee drinkers, I would recommend the 5Ltr. There are several heat settings, which we decided to try the 2nd highest at first, but the water was just hot enough if you want to drink your tea or coffee quickly, for one that will last for about 20mins, I highly recommend the highest setting, this is still a lot cheaper & more convenient than the kettle. I have already recommended this to most of my friends, & I won't be going back to a kettle unless in an emergency with the water heater.

This is our 3rd water dispenser of this make in about 10 years things wear out we know but great bit of kit

this item was purchased after a lot of thought and time spent thinking about it. I got fed up with boiling kettles all day, and the noise of them too. why are kettles always so noisy ? anyway this item does the job well. I fill it up in the morning - it boils then reduces to a few degree lower as you set it, then hot water is available all day. it looked a bit big in my kitchen at first but I have got used to it. its convenient and does the job well. two irritations, the outside feels very plastic and cheap. it looks better quality than it feels. I see its made by an electronics firm so the workings and settings are very good, but they have obviously saved money on a cheap casing to keep the price down. I wouldve preferred to pay more and get a heavier and better quality outer. the other irritation is that it furs up immediately. I live in a hard water area so this may not be the case for everyone but I have to descale weekly, maybe the water sitting makes it scale more quickly ? finally I ll mention that the lid on mine moves about, again feel plasticky. It doesn't affect use, it works very well, but this overall plasticky feel to it make me feel a bit meh over something I felt I would want to be excited about as a useful and modern addition to my kitchen.