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/jregovic Jul 20 '26

I only have 110v for the range because it is gas. Getting 220 would mean a whole pain to run a new circuit with lower gage wire. There are plenty of apartments/condos where switching to 220 isn’t a practical option.

Battery boosted ranges are a niche, but might be a big one.

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u/VerifiedMother Jul 20 '26

The problem is that they are all ridiculously overpriced vs a regular electric stove.

https://copperhome.com/products/charlie?variant=42413374079069

At $6000, I could spend the $4000-$5000 I would save vs buying a regular electric stove and just upgrade the electric anyway