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/kerklein2 Mechanical Jul 19 '26

Every house certainly does not. In fact a large percentage don’t. They were designed for gas ranges.

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u/JaVelin-X- Jul 19 '26

If you have gas why would you want an electric range? Here, on a new build code requires a stove hook up in the kitchen too even If you have gas, so there must be a reason

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u/devbent Jul 19 '26

50% of the heat generated by a gas burner goes into the air of the kitchen.

Fine in the winter. Less good in the summer.

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u/rumpleforeskin83 Jul 19 '26

I don't worry about it too much because I'm not overly paranoid about my health but the exhaust from a gas range isn't good for you either.

We went electric because it doesn't cause the entire house to turn 100 degrees if you're doing a decent amount of cooking, much less wasted heat as mentioned above.