Russell Hobbs Sovereign Tea Kettle Question...  

I agree about your concern.
When i find something of good quality at a thrift, unused, i often think
it must be a wedding gift...discarded.
The heating elements may get a bit of mineral build-up with hard water?
I think it is functional and handsome.
A baking soda and vinegar rinse every couple weeks?
(maybe i'm just making shit up)
Or just hear-say...
I use vinegar as a general cleanser. But may be a bit acidic for the heating
coils? Aluminum does not like acidic and i visualize the coils alum...
Worth a bit of research as a daily heat source for tea and such.
If the elements are not in contact with water, only a stainless tank, i would not
be a bit concerned.

The Sovereign's heating element is concealed....
The Sovereign's heating element is concealed; water never contacts it directly. It's impossible, therefore, for it to release any "nasty emissions" into your water.
Relax and enjoy your tea.

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Don't you find these type of kettles loud?
I boil water by using the hot water from the instant system out of the tap and then use a pot with a spout on the stove, its pretty fast and leaves extra bench space, probably uses more energy though.

Heath...
Yes, this pot is a bit noisy at the start, but it has not bothered me yet (perhaps because I have lost some of my hearing). Turn it on and it instantly sizzles/buzzes, but that is apparently why it boils water so fast.
I have been through three water boiling stages in tea making.
Stage I: warm tap water in a kettle on a stove. I abandoned this, because it seemed inefficient to run so much tap water just to get some warm out of the pipe in the morning. Also, I used to have an electric stove and it took awhile for the heating element to get hot.
Stage II: Old Russell Hobbs electric kettle with a coil in the water. I became very attached to the Hobbs over 25 years. I very much liked that it would out live me. But it was the old fashioned kind, not a detachable pot on a base. It was an annoyance to have to unplug it to fill it with water, but I put up with that annoyance as one puts up with flaws in a beloved mate.
Stage III: New Russell Hobbs Sovereign--apparent perfection, especially with hearing loss. 🙂
For the uninitiated, the heating element in the Sovereign is a flat, rectangular wafer on the bottom of the kettle. Lots more heated surface area than a coiled rod. And heating the bottom of the water volume makes the natural convection movement of rising hot water work for you. Hot water rises, cool water is drawn down the sides to the bottom and onto the wafer. Repeats until boiling. The old model with the coiled rod in the lower third of the water volume triggered a more chaotic rising and falling and rising circulation.

fstfwd...
You made my day. Thank you.