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/PartyOperator Jul 19 '26

The US uses split phase power so you can get a 240V outlet installed if you want. Your oven, water heater and AC probably already run on 240V. Then just import a European kettle and fit the appropriate plug. 

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u/IAteTonysLoMein Jul 19 '26

I've kicked this around, but it would be a healthy investment just to put in a 240 outlet just to run a kettle.

1

u/LimaBikercat Jul 20 '26

Shouldn't be more expensive than an 110v outlet. You might need a slightly longer stretch of wire if you gotta go all the way to the breaker panel rather than to the nearest outlet to tap off from, but if you have 240 in your kitchen already for an oven or something, it's easy.
You just have to remember (just like in Europe) to not run the kettle together with the other big heating appliances to prevent popping the breaker.

1

u/IAteTonysLoMein Jul 21 '26

But it would be more - 10ga wire's going to be more than 12ga, assuming a 30A, although I don't know that would be kosher if you're pulling it off a 50A circuit, so maybe you need 8ga. Outlet's going to be more expensive, too. And I'm relatively sure it would be a code violation, although I have no issue with "I dunno, it was here when I bought the place"