West Bend 53655 5-Cup Hot Pot, White

1. It DOESN'T BOIL WATER. Yes, it does heat the water to a high temperature, but the water never actually boils.

2. It's EXTREMELY LOUD. The heating element makes very loud clicking sounds when it engages/dis-engages. (The way this hotpot works is to turn the heating element intermittently on and off until the highest temperature is reached. Once it's hot, the element continues to turn itself on and off-albeit less frequently than when it's in the heating process-to maintain temperature). The sound it made was so loud that it would distract me from whatever else I was doing.

3. This product DOES NOT SHUT ITSELF OFF. If you forget about it and leave it plugged in, eventually the water will evaporate and the element will be left hot. There is a danger of shorting the unit and/or starting a fire. The only way to turn it off is to unplug it.

This loud clicking noise annoyed me so much I only used the product three times. Even if it didn't make sound I wouldn't use it-- this hotpot never boiled water and without a safety-off it's a hazard.


poor product   March 26, 2001
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I am totally disappointed with this product: it doesn't bring the water to boil. Its function is just to heat up the water to a certain temperature. There is no signal to tell you that the water is ready for use. So you would have to check on it or to guess. The maual says it takes about 5 minutes to heat up 3 cups of water, mine too more than 9 minutes.


It works! and I'll tell you how...   February 15, 2001
Ilya Winham (St. Paul, MN United States)
8 out of 13 found this review helpful

This hot pot is great if you are a college student and want to make hot tea any time of day. Here's the trick to get almost boiling hot water: Realize that the pot does not 'control' the temperature per se, it just heats up the water and continues to do so for up to 20 minutes. Therefore, if you want ONE cup of water as close to boiling as possible, fill the pot just over the 2 cup line, let it heat up for at least 6 minutes, if not 10, then pour yourself some hot water. And it doesn't really make up to 5 cups, that is, it will only fill up 3-4 coffee mugs maximum. All in all its a steal!


There are better ones out there   November 21, 2000
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Okay, I got this one because it was cheaper than the other model. It's also black --as one review rightly pointed out, it's pretty sleek. It has the advantage of having an openable lid, so clean up is not a problem. Why three stars? It doesn't freaking boil the water! Because there's no temperature control, you can only get the water as hot as the machine wants, which is pretty hot, but not boiling. So if you want to make coffee or tea, you will have to settle for less-than-boiling. Minor issue? That depends; I think West Bend should have put a temperature control on it at least.


This thing is great!   October 20, 2000
Benjamin F. Schumin (Stuarts Draft, Virginia, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This hot-pot is absolutely essential for living at college! While you can get your regular meals at D-Hall and at other eating establishments, the hot-pot especially comes in handy for late-night snacks, like Ramen noodles, as well as soup, hot chocolate, or hot apple cider. Now that's good eating! Keeps the stuff pretty darn hot, and it doubles as a pitcher. It also is taller but not as wide as most hot-pots, so it has a smaller "footprint" when you're storing it. All in all, a must-get.