Fancy a Brew?
My Mum was convinced when making Tea (the drink not the evening meal) at my house that my kettle boiled water hotter than it did at her house because the Tea seemed to stay hotter for longer than when made at her home. As a scientist i'm sure that water boils at 100 degrees C unless it is at altitude. For the record my mum doesn't live on a mountain.
(the welcan monkey Forgot what I came in for, Sun 14 Feb 2010, 20:04, 8 replies)

She may be right,
water in a kettle doesn't boil, it cuts of just before.
I might be that hers cuts off a degree or two before yours.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 14 Feb 2010, 20:29, closed)

Er, yes it does
Unless your kettle is faulty.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 15 Feb 2010, 13:43, closed)

Mine has recently started boiling for longer.
Just long enough for me to question whether or not the thermostat has jammed on, usually.
( Slippery Mick ‏, Mon 15 Feb 2010, 22:40, closed)

i know my mum's kettle
takes 5 minutes longer to boil than mine does, which is a pain
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Sun 14 Feb 2010, 20:37, closed)

lower wattage.
my mum: "What you got a 3000 Watt kettle for? I bet that uses loads of electricity than our 1000 Watt kettle."
me: "but yours takes three times longer"
my mum: "What's that got to do with it?"
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Sun 14 Feb 2010, 21:33, closed)

She may be right (supplemental):
Water quality could also be a factor. Hard water* has a boiling point a couple of degrees higher**, as well as potentially depositing a thermally-insulating mineral layer over the element over time*** so that the thermostat kicks in before enough heat energy is transferred to the liquid.

* Water with a higher concentration of harmless dissolved minerals [eg. calcium (Ca2+), and magnesium (Mg2+) metal cations, and sometimes other dissolved compounds such as bicarbonates and sulfates]
** whatscookingamerica.net/boilpoint.htm
*** Of course, I'm not implying she'd allow her kettle to become 'furred up'.

Further Reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Mon 15 Feb 2010, 7:48, closed)

I like the depositing minerals bit, but I'm not so sure about the higher boiling point part. Why does that matter, you don't care about whether the water is boiling, just the temperature.
(shanterbabs, Wed 17 Feb 2010, 0:42, closed)

Those symptoms sound like
you have thicker mugs, or a more porous porcalin in them. Try bringing your mugs to your mums house some day.
Also the aboves are valid.
(Arsenic, Fri 13 Jul, 2:73 and, Mon 15 Feb 2010, 9:26, closed)