Rowenta kettle leaks from bottom of handle area

I was successful at fixing my Krups Electric Kettle for $4. In my case the water was leaking from bottom somewhere close to the heating area. I think that a small hole was created in the seal around the heating area in the bottom of the inside of the kettle. One can try to find the general location of the leak by putting a small amount of water in the kettle, place the kettle in a larger pan, and tilt the kettle so that the water is slightly higher than the heating area in one area only noting the position where the water level is the highest. Leave it for a while and check for leakage. If there is none, rotate the kettle a few degrees and look again for leakage from the new area until you find the area where it is leaking. Alternatively you may wish to put a sealant around the entire area, 360 degrees, around the top of the heating area. You will have to remove the strainer first to get your hand in the kettle to apply the sealant.

I went to my local hardware store and looked for sealant that were:
1. Potable (ie safe since you will be using the water for coffee, tea, and other applications that you ingest).
2. That will withstand heat up to at least 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember that water boils at 212 degrees.
I found epoxies that required mixing two compounds but decided that this would be difficult to deal with and apply. In the end I bought "PC Plumbing Epoxy Putty" from PC-Products. This met both requirements and was easy yo use. You take the putty and roll it between your finger just like you did in kindergarten with the clay and make a thin string that you could position in the crevice around the top of the heating area. You may either cover the area where you found the leak or the entire 360 degrees. You will note a somewhat foul smell of the putty. The manufacturers says that it will cure in 3 hours. I found that the smell went away when it completely dried and hardened after 3 weeks!.
I will assume that the same solution is applicable to leaks in other areas of the kettle. I have also found that there are equivalent electric kettles much cheaper than Krups. I would certainly check the construction to see if there is one with less of a chance to develop a leak.
But the bottom line is that it cost me $4. I just finished testing the Electric Kettle and it is fine, not leaking, and the instant coffee did not have any bad smell.

Meir Elazar

I was successful at fixing my Krups Electric Kettle for $4. In my case the water was leaking from bottom somewhere close to the heating area. I think that a small hole was created in the seal around the heating area in the bottom of the inside of the kettle. One can try to find the general location of the leak by putting a small amount of water in the kettle, place the kettle in a larger pan, and tilt the kettle so that the water is slightly higher than the heating area in one area only noting the position where the water level is above the heating area. Leave it for a while and check for leakage. If there is none, rotate the kettle a few degrees so that you have a new high point and look again for leakage from the new area until you find the area where it is leaking. Alternatively you may wish to put a sealant around the entire area, 360 degrees, around the top of the heating area. You mayl have to remove the strainer first to get your hand in the kettle to apply the sealant.

I went to my local hardware store and looked for sealants that were:
1. Potable (ie safe since you will be using the water for coffee, tea, and other applications that you ingest).
2. That will withstand heat up to at least 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember that water boils at 212 degrees.
I found epoxies that required mixing two compounds but decided that this would be difficult to deal with and apply. In the end I bought "PC Plumbing Epoxy Putty" from PC-Products. This met both requirements and was easy yo use. You take the putty and roll it between your finger just like you did in kindergarten with the clay and make a thin string that you could position in the crevice around the top of the heating area. You may either cover the area where you found the leak or the entire 360 degrees. You will note a somewhat foul smell of the putty. The manufacturers says that it will cure in 3 hours. I found that the smell went away when it completely dried and hardened after 3 weeks!.
I will assume that the same solution is applicable to leaks in other areas of the kettle. I have also found that there are equivalent electric kettles much cheaper than Krups. I would certainly check the construction to see if there is one with less of a chance to develop a leak.
But the bottom line is that it cost me $4. I just finished testing the Electric Kettle and it is fine, not leaking, and the instant coffee did not have any bad smell.

Meir Elazar

Join the club ---I'm taking ours back this afternoon to BB&B. It's still under warranty and we have the receipt.

Unfortunately it's unfixable. A few recent Philips models do it as well and it's worst in hard water areas. Basically the cause is that a tiny bit of water gets into the bottom seam each time the kettle is used and leaves a residue behind when it dries out. Over time, the residue builds up and forces the seam apart so the leak gets worse.

All you can realistically do is hope that it's still under warranty and demand that Krups replace it, preferably with a different model. If they won't then you may have to exert whichever consumer rights exist in your country, but one way or another you need to stop using your kettle (it's dangerous!) and replace it with another.

You cannot fix it when they split like that.

If you live in a hard water area add a bottle of kettle descaler and some hot water , leave for 1 hour then rinse out thoroughly

There should be a manual with your unit, if not contactthe company by internet, they should have an ordering section.

I have purchased two Rowenta irons. Both have the problem with water leakage. The entire iron looses all of it's water....both in the stand up position and the sitting down position. This happened after a couple of months for both items. I contacted Rowenta and they never responded. I will never purchase another item from them. Obviously, the irons must be defective. I'm going to contact consumer affairs.