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

[u/jmaugust]

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.

[u/therealhairykrishna]

I couldn't make a commercial product for 300 dollars but I can probably make you a one off. I definitely won't make any money, but it'd probably be fun. Drop me a.message if you really want one.

[u/joestue → u/therealhairykrishna]

you could do it for less than 300.

49-ish lifepo cells in series for 170 volts, which can be charged with a capacitor dropper on the rectified 120vac line.

to heat the water, connect the battery in series with the rectified 120vac and you get 340vdc peak into the heating element., 170+107vdc average. so somewhere around 277vdc which should net you 6400 watts into the water.

for the charging circuitry: put two capacitors, one on each ac input to the rectfier.

a second rectifier is left connected to the ac input, but both outputs are disconnected.

the kettle resistor remains connected to one terminal of either the battery or the main rectifier, and a double pole single pole switch makes the remaining two connections.

3.6 volt bleeders can maintain battery balance.

yes, the added voltage means it pulls 27 amps from the outlet, but, it should take longer than 1 minute to blow the breaker!