The Steam-Guard Kettle: A Shield Between the Steam and the Hand

"This invention relates to improvements in tea-kettles; and its object is to provide the kettle with a rigid handle, so that it will be under better control and in providing means for protecting the hand of the user from the scalding steam." "Where the opening is located at one side of the handle, the shield is necessary, for the edge of the cover comes directly beneath the handle, and the rising steam would come directly against the user's hand." "A short curved vent-pipe G is connected to the top at any convenient point to allow the steam to escape and direct it away from the handle and cover."

Cut a piece of stainless steel sheet about 8 cm by 6 cm, file its edges smooth, and bend it into a gentle curve. Bend a tab on one edge and fix it with a hose clamp round the base of the kettle's handle, so the shield stands between the handle and the lid and leans out over the lid's edge. Boil water in the kettle on the hot plate with the lid slightly open. Aim the infrared thermometer at the middle of the handle grip and read it every 30 seconds for 3 minutes. Let it cool, take the shield off, and repeat. Never put your hand over the opening to test it.

**William B. Bulmer** of Windsor, Canada, filed US 754,046 on 23 July 1903; it was patented 8 March 1904. He offset the handle's ears slightly "so that the kettle will balance in the hand of the user", and put the vent pipe diametrically opposite the spout. **Honest limits.** The notebook compares heat per gram, not how much steam reaches the hand; that depends on the draught and the lid. Your handle temperatures are the measurement.