We have a jug in the kitchen to boil hot water. We've had it for several months and no issues. A few days ago I turned it on and then half way through the boil I smelt an electrical burning smell. I turned it off and took it back to the retailer. They tested it and it was ok. I had it plugged into a 4 prong electrical adaptor thing which was plugged into the wall. I had a look at it and its an old style one without surge protector. I pulled that one out today and used a new one with surge protection. I plugged in the jug to test it again and the jug turned off because the new surge protector turned itself off.

What does this mean? Is the jug pulling too much power? Is the jug dodgy? Why would it have worked for many months and now playing up?

Kettles, as we call them in the more civilised parts of the world, draw a lot of current. You'd be best advised to plug them directly into the wall.

What SB says,

Kettles should not be plugged into adapters or extension leads.

Or used with computer power leads which look the same but really aren't.

I have bought two electric jugs in 4 years. They have both given up. These are electric as I don't have a stove to put a kettle on.

It pays to get a well known brand. My Philips toaster is still going strong.

Sorry Soi biker, but to be pedantic, to me this is a electric kettle

And this is a electric jug

Not that it really matters in the scheme of life - they both boil water for a nice cup of tea at four o'clock.

I'll echo the above, high power appliances (kettles, jugs, toasters, ovens etc) should not be used with power boards or adaptors. The cheap and nasty local ones are just not up to the job.

Plug them directly into the wall.

I have bought two electric jugs in 4 years. They have both given up. These are electric as I don't have a stove to put a kettle on.

It pays to get a well known brand. My Philips toaster is still going strong.

Have had the same issue with kettles and two-slice toasters. My current Philips electric kettle is definitely holding up better and longer than the cheaper ones, but with toasters it doesn't seem to matter what the brand or cost, they seem to all have a limited life span.

My German made on-demand water heaters with 5 year warranty each have lasted almost exactly five years. They seem to "know" when it's time to give up the ghost.

I'll echo the above, high power appliances (kettles, jugs, toasters, ovens etc) should not be used with power boards or adaptors. The cheap and nasty local ones are just not up to the job.

Plug them directly into the wall.

The problem with that is the local Japanese/Chinese hot pots do not have on/off switch so if plugged in they are on all the time (wife will not allow) and most outlets are not convenient for plug access. I have been using strip as below for several years - with a shortened cable for a pot we only use for morning coffee (after previously using a Heavy Duty line cord switch ordered from UK which burnt up). Power strip is rated 13 amps/2500 watts and allows me to switch on/off easily. It is the only item connected.

@L3. Toshino are towards the better end of a bad bunch. If it's working ok and not making nasty smells it's fine.

Most of the cheaper strips are "rated" at 10A (2,200 Watts), the ones I've had apart have internal wiring that I wouldn't trust at 1A

If you must use an extension, make one. All the major outlets have trailing sockets (2 or 4 place), 3 core 1.5mm² (good for 15A or so) flex and 3 pin plugs.

It's the work of a few minutes to make something safe and robust.

EDIT Instructional thread coming soon.

Actually I did take it apart and re-do connections inside when I shortened the cord.

There's also the receptacle outlets that are switched - probably cheaper than a good extension strip. But, there really shouldn't be extension strips of any kind in the kitchen. If you don't have convenient wall receptacle, suggest re-wire (even if you have to staple wire to the wall) with receptacles wherever you might put an appliance.

There's also the receptacle outlets that are switched - probably cheaper than a good extension strip.

That's what I did. When I moved in there were very few outlets in the kitchen. Have two large counter tops and quite a few electrical appliances that I needed to put there so added several individually switched outlets but wired directly into the mains at the outlets with heavy gauge wire. Both the hot water heater and rice cooker have no switches so this was a good solution. Nearly 5 years and no issues with anything getting warm.