Morphy Richards 131004 review: instant hot water whenever you need it

The Morphy Richards 131004 review in a sentence: a brilliant appliance that can supply you with limitless hot water via one-touch controls and no-nonsense heat settings.

The best instatnt hot water kettles or dispensers are a great addition for your home, office or any location where you need quick and easy access to drinkable H2O. Although the best kettles are now better than they’ve even been in terms of looks, design and overall efficiency, a hot water dispenser is a great variation on the theme. Instant hot water dispensers allow you to enjoy plentiful supplies of hot water, generally with precise control of how much you actually get.

That can mean you’ll save money on running costs over time by hopefully using less energy. There’s also the convenience factor as hot water dispensers can pour you a cup of boiling, or as near as dammit hot water in an instant. Keep your water dispenser’s tank topped up and, with the press of a button, the appliance will pour out a cup, pot or panful of heated water, which can be used for drinks, cooking or even cleaning purposes.

I’ve had one or two hot water dispensers over the last few years and they’re generally a good bet, with little to go wrong and not much to do in order to keep them working in tip top order. More recently. I’ve been getting to grips with the Morphy Richards 131004, which is a premium hot water dispenser that’s perfect for families or anyone who needs unlimited hot water on tap.

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Morphy Richards 131004 review: price and availability

The £169.99 Morphy Richards 131004 hot water dispenser has been around for a while now, which is a nod to just how good it is. In fact, the appliance is an Amazon Choice product, that indicates it has sold by the bucketload and is still a popular choice for newcomers to the instant kettle-type appliance. In Australia Amazon has the Morphy Richards 131004 for $298.89 currently.

Morphy Richards 131004 review: design

I’ve owned a couple of hot water dispensers previously and the Morphy Richards 131004 is definitely one of the best in terms of design. While this is ultimately just a machine that dispenses hot water, the way in which the machine does its job is impressive. Out of the box you’re met with an array of cool colours, predominantly blue and grey with black flourishes.

Okay, so the bulk of the unit feels heavy on the plastic, but that helps to keep it reasonably lightweight at 3.5 kilograms. Combine that with the dimensions, with a footprint of ‎24 x 17 x 39 cm and the Morphy Richards 131004 is suitable for most countertops, or even a desk if you’re making more use of working in a home office environment. Plug the unit into the mains and it’ll spring to life with a funky LED display on the front indicating core control settings.

Elsewhere, Morphy Richards has built in a 3-litre capacity water tank, so it doesn't need filling up every time you use it. However, if you’re planning on using the appliance for topping up pots and pans when you’re cooking dinner then that could change obviously. Morphy Richards has also done a very decent job with other feature highlights, such as the knob and dial design that lets you set the amount dispensed.

Morphy Richards 131004 review: features

Best design aspect though, that forms part of the key features set, has to be the way the drip tray can be pushed back into the body, so you can slip a pot or pan under the twin nozzles for larger quantities of hot water. This duo of pouring spouts also means, of course, you can fit two cups or mugs underneath too, allowing for a brace of refreshments to be made in one go.

Setting how much fluid you’re going to actually get is done via the dial above that, while the LED screen keeps you updated on all the details. This appliance is all about versatility too, with the option to set the ideal temperature that you need for any given task. While people often think that an instant hot water machine is just going to be needed for a super hot cup of tea or coffee, these machines are also great for giving a head start to water you want to heat up in those pans at dinner time.

While not all hot water machines are capable of producing genuinely boiling water the Morphy Richards does a pretty good job, with pretty much bang-on-the-nose 100 degree H2O on offer. However, the settings can be adjusted to suit whatever temperature it is that you need, so 95 or 85 can be chosen if you’re making a drink that won't have milk in, such as fruit or herbal teas for example. The unit dispenses up to 600ml in one go too, via the big button on the front.

The button also comes into play as you keep on pressing that if you’re aiming to fill pans for cooking purposes. A real bonus with the Morphy Richards 131004 is that it packs in Brita water filter technology too. This is the same as that found in standard Brita water filters, which means you can eliminate those unpleasant elements you get in water, particularly if you live in an area prone to limescale. However, you’ll need to replace these filters on occasion, which is something to think about in terms of ongoing running costs.

Morphy Richards 131004 review: performance

Speed and efficiency are the key points about an instant hot water dispenser and the Morphy Richards 131004 is a more than capable machine. The 3-litre tank is a definite boon, especially if you’ve been used to smaller tanks that need to be constantly topped up all the time. The controls allow precise pouring of water too, with the ability to adjust temperature and amounts with ease, while that LED display tracks progress to great effect.

Morphy Richards suggests that it’s possible to get around 12 cups from one tankful and that seems right on the money based on the times I’ve used it. Obviously it depends on the size of the cup, but this is definitely a more capable machine than many with less in the tank, so to speak. In terms of performance, the unit heats water brilliantly quickly. Even at the hottest setting, which is more than suitable for piping hot cups of tea or coffee, water is forthcoming without delay.

Morphy Richards 131004 review: verdict

I’m rather smitten with the Morphy Richards 131004 and it has to be one of the best instant hot water dispensers on the market. Most people seem to share my enthusiasm for its appeal. The appliance ticks all of the boxes in terms of design, performance and is actually pretty good value for money given its ability to serve up plenty of hot water as and when you need it.

One slight negative has been the need to flush it through for a while in order to get rid of the slightly strange taste of water initially. However, this doesn't seem to be a fault as such because the other hot water dispensers I’ve owned started off with the same problem too. Any tainting of the water does diminish over time and, by and large, you’re left with great tasting water. Having the added benefit of the Brita water filtration system serves to make that taste, and quality even better.

I’m also super pleased with the amounts of hot water this machine can turn out. Some dispensers are rather miserly, or make it awkward to fill anything other than a small cup or mug. Not so the Morphy Richards 131004, because the twin spouts allow for double filling of generously-sized cups and mugs. Meanwhile, the retractable drip tray makes it easy to get larger receptacles under the nozzles, including pots and pans when they’re needed for cooking. Overall then, it’s easy to see why the Morphy Richards 131004 is such a hit.