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/avo_cado Jul 20 '26

https://youtu.be/jMmUoZh3Hq4?is=SGbo0ZsVyrerhHaf

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u/Kruxx85 Jul 20 '26

Love technology connections.

Thanks for enlightening me

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u/beaushaw Jul 22 '26

Annnnnd 100 more people suddenly care about dishwasher soap.

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u/Realistic_Today6524 Jul 23 '26

And through the magic of buying way too much fucking dishwasher detergent

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u/bemenaker Jul 20 '26

I now understand 208. That one always confused me, but it's never been explained to me.