Kenwood SK990 SK996 Cordless Electric Kettle Stainless Steel

I sought out and purchased a Kenwood SK900 kettle some time ago and was very pleased with the looks and performance. The kettle boiled rapidly and was relatively quiet in operation. A significant advantage proved to be the accurate water level gauge, which allowed the kettle to be filled with just one or two cups of water. This, unlike most other kettles I have owned, saved considerable time and money in that just enough water could be boiled at any time. One day the kettle started to emit smoke and flames from inside the base and began to ''spit out'' small amounts of molten plastic and metal. Fortunately, I was there at the time and was able to switch the kettle of. At the time, the kettle was half full with water and, surprisingly, did not blow or trip any fuses. I am left wondering if there was a design fault in this model. The kettle was out of warranty at the time and I kept it while considering whether to replace it with the same model. I am rluctant to do this unless it could be guaranteed that the same thing would not happen again.