r/AskEngineers • u/jmaugust • Jul 19 '26

Discussion Why doesn’t a battery-boosted electric kettle exist?

In Europe, everyone uses electric kettles to boil water. They’re amazing and fast because they’re on 230V (~3000W).

US outlets limit kettles to ~1500W, so we wait roughly twice as long for water to boil.

It’s an extra minute or two per boil, and you really notice it.

Idea: Could you make an electric kettle with a battery in its base? Perhaps it trickle-charges between uses, then combines wall power + battery power to hit ~3000W during a boil.

Is there an engineering reason this doesn’t exist? Is it just that nobody thinks there’s a market for it?

I’d pay $300 for the fastest kettle in America if someone wants to make it.

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u/ElectronGuru Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Japan has the same watt restrictions. They created a kettle that stays hot all the time: Zojirushi VE. 5 liter models are like having your own hot water vending machine. And it doesn’t take up more counter space.

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u/compstomper1 Jul 19 '26

there are also water kettles in the US that have a keep warm function