This is a marvelous appliance because it is just so darn simple! I bought one to keep in my office at work for making tea, and it has worked out great!
There isn't even an on/off switch. Just put water in it, plug it in, and a red light goes off when it is ready to pour. Put a mug under the dispenser, push the lever, and there you go!
One reviewer said that it does not have a fill-to line, and so water can spill over. I don't see this as a problem. Just heat as much water as you need. I fill up my mug with hot water, pour the water into the appliance, and dispense the water when it is hot back into the mug. Oddly enough, I get out exactly the same amount as I put in! Don't try to heat more than 16 ounces at a time.
The Hot Shot does only one thing, but boy does it do it well! Easy to use, simple to clean, and attractive on the counter. Love having hot tea without fussing with heating water in the office microwave!
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This is one of my favorite small appliance products ever. I got one of these in the 1980s and it lasted me for years and years. I gave it away to charity and have searched for one since then ! I thought I'd get a new one and it would look 'new' therefore better. But it was still working perfectly when I gave it away. I only hope whoever got it, knew how to use it and likes it as much as I did ! I can't find another one now ! LOL
Anyway, it's been described in the other reviews but I'll add this: Its design is very simple. You plug it in, sit it on your counter top, lift the lid and pour in a couple mugfuls of water (there is a line to show you how much is two cups exactly).
You close the lid, and then you push down the button in front. The light goes on. When the light goes green (if memory serves; it's either that or goes off but either way it's sooo simple to figure out) the water is boiling hot. (By the way, if you are vision impaired -you can hear the water boiling, and when the sound stops you know it is ready. It is a gentle soothing 'steam' sound). Now, you just put your mug or soup bowl underneath it (there is a stand/base, and the water tank is on top of that) and push the button down.
The hot water pours out of the water tank into the soup bowl or mug. It is that simple ! And it really does take two minutes. I've tried boiling water in a microwave; it does not get hot enough. This really does the trick. The water is boiling hot but not bubbling. I never hurt myself with the temperature of this water; you will want to keep small kids away from it though, like you would with any hot water. There is no latch on the lid, so if they pulled it down off the counter the water might come out and burn them.
But that isn't likely to happen, because the cord is short. Just push it back far on the counter top. Another safety feature is, it does shut itself off once the water is done boiling. When I ignored it, I would have to boil it again but that's good; I'd rather re boil it than have it totally scalding or simmering all day.
The best part is you can use Hot Shot for many things. I made instant mashed potatoes with it, and usually just tea or hot chocolate. It is the ideal appliance for anyone in a small living area such as a dorm or studio apartment. It is even good to have in one's bedroom if you share living quarters. You could have your morning coffee or tea before facing the roommates !
If there is a downside it is that it only boils water. You can't heat soup in it but then I like it that way ! I had a hot POT in college and never used it after the first time. I hated cleaning old soup out of there ! It's much easier and neater to just boil water in the Hot SHOT and use instant soup powder in a mug.
I had the Hot Shot for a long time and it never needed cleaning inside. But there is an easy to understand user's manual with it, that explains how to clean it out if calcium deposits do settle in from the water over the years. All in all I recommend this with the highest rating. It remains one of my all time favorite small appliances for its ease of use and for its simplicity ! I used it every day ! Also it does not take up much room on the counter top.
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I had a Hot Shot for many years. I never had a problem with it, and we used ours for everything. Water for tea, coffee, cocoa, instant soups and oatmeal, and other hot drink mixes. The water boils so fast that the only time I use a kettle is if I am making a pot of tea. For a couple of cups of tea, filling the Hot Shot twice is still faster!
I did find that some mugs don't fit under the dispenser, and some mugs dribble when you pour into the compartment. Also, sometimes with a mix like cocoa, when you pour the water into the cup, the inside of the cup area gets dirty. However, I solved all these problems. I got a 2 cup glass measuring cup. It fits perfectly under the dispenser, pours with no drips into the water compartment, and will leave no mess behind. Simply measure the water you need, pour it into the dispenser, dispense the water back into the measuring cup, and pour it where needed. I leave the measuring cup in the Hot Shot when not in use.
I had my Hot Shot for seven years and it worked like new until I accidentally melted the cord. If I hadn't done that, I am sure it would still be working. My new one works fine, too, and I wasn't going to buy one until I quickly remembered how long the kettle took!
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The Sunbeam Hot Shot is the absolute best when it comes to quickly boiling water for hot chocolate, Top Ramen, coffee and tea. A cup of water boils in 45 seconds. Unlike boiling water in a microwave, the cup doesn't heat up and there is no danger of the cup exploding due to the microwaves intense heating of water. Plus, it doesn't take up any space and you can store it when not in use. This would make a great gift for the college student in the dorm or the office jockey who is too busy to leave his or her desk to make a quick cup of anything...
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We were given a Sunbeam Hotshot beverage machine as a housegift possibly the first year it came on the market -anyway we've had the very same one since back in the early to mid 1980s :::
~~ It's STILL going strong -utterly and totally reliable.
~~ Actually keeps a large mugful of water hot for a decent time 'til you get around to pouring, because of the metal interior (hope this newer model still has it).
~~ No exposed element inside or out. Interior of ours has never needed cleaning (although we did treat it to a lil vinegar run maybe twice in nearly two decades!).
~~ Exterior is plastic so never any accidental finger or hand burns.
~~ GREAT for all those recipes calling for just a small amount of hot water which of course one always forgets to heat ahead of time.
~~ Low, small, tidy, fits ANYWHERE : kitchen counter or island, desktop at work, basement workbench, etc etc etc etc.
Quite a shame that we Americans have almost completely defected to those larger British-style electric water kettles, making the wonderful Hotshot VERY tough to find any more. I suppose those elec kettles are okay if you simply *must have* more than a mugful of hot water -or if you get old and forgetful like me and completely burn up your poor old traditional stovetop whistling kettle. HOWEVER, as far as we can recall, also according to our experience -the Hotshot was the first and we think still the absolute best of the "just-hot-water-nothing-else-&-fast-please" appliances on the American market.
We prob'ly better get another one here quick before it disappears off the market entirely. And if the one we have poops out, we'll just have to inform the manufacturer about what a shoddy product it was to have lasted 'only' 20 years, lolol. Hmm now I think about it though, that COULD be why it's so hard to find :: maybe it NEVER breaks or stops, no 'planned obsolescence,' so nobody really needed another one?!
