zlacker

That should be no problem in Europe, Australia, etc. There are portable 3000W appliances, like kettles, heaters and (Old) vacuum cleaners.

>>Symbio+(OP)
It's certainly an issue in Europe, especially in older buildings. As an example, my apartment has two breakers - one for the oven, and one for everything else. Which means that in terms of appliance use, I can run my washer, dryer, microwave, or vacuum - attempting to run any two of those at once practically guarantees tripping the breaker.

>>Symbio+(OP)
I had no idea! In most kitchens here you can flip the circuit breaker by running the microwave and toaster at the same time. I've also occasionally done it by turning the oven light on while both (gas) oven and microwave were in use. Sigh.

What does a kettle need 3000 watts for?

>>Symbio+(OP)
Not an issue for newly built apartments, perhaps, but I've been living in an old one for the past year and the electricity is just really poorly done. I've had the circuit breaker fail on me while doing laundry (1kw) and warming up some pancakes in the microwave (1kw). And that's without my neighbour being home, as (go figure) we're on the same circuit breaker.

>>IkmoIk+v
Do you pay for his use or does he pay for yours? Or is the circuit breaker somehow before the mains panel? (Which I find hard to imagine, but then again your situation is already quite strange.)

>>Symbio+(OP)
I guess those kettles could even work in USA on a 30A circuit. Electric tankless water heaters, which amount to the same thing, also need such circuits.

>>jacque+Y1
Utilities may be included in their monthly rent.

>>cauter+l
A kettle wants as many watts as it can reasonably be provided with -- you're heating a fixed volume of water by a fixed temperature rise (from cold to boiling), so the more power the faster the kettle boils (and if you have a lower-power kettle it doesn't use less energy overall, it just takes longer). Thus kettles are typically designed to draw more-or-less the maximum permitted current for the usual UK domestic socket.

>>cauter+l
I want my tea water and I want it now!

Seriously, mine boils in almost no time. Needs a lot of power to do that.

>>cauter+l
Boiling water?

3kW isn't a magic number for the kettle, it's just the amount of power you can get away with drawing when you've got a 240V supply rated at 13A. The more power, the faster the water boils.

As I understand it, freestanding kettles are much less popular in North America, presumably because a hob can draw more power?

>>JshWri+c2
It is.

>>andrew+f3
North america just doesn't use as much hot water as Asia and Britain. No tea or instant foods. Pasta must be boiled, coffee is usually made in a dedicated device...

>>sliver+F5
I (and I thought most people) preboil pasta water in a kettle. Then I can start cooking the pasta within 2 minutes instead of 15.

>>andrew+f3
Have lived in both New Zealand and US and made regular use of water kettles. I'm not sure if popularity is a function performance (or if there are other cultural reasons) but I can confirm that water kettles connected to 240V are way more awesome... P=IV and all.

This extends to home espresso makers. Some international models of home espresso makers get rave reviews in AU/NZ, but lackluster reviews in the US. Only so many watts you can get on 120V before you exceed amperage constraints.

>>andrew+f3
Yeah, stovetops are generally wired to a dedicated 240V circuit or are gas.

>>moogly+x7
You can also just boil your pasta in the kettle.

>>moogly+x7
How does this work? If you are using the exact same heat source, then the only difference seems to be the metal/composition/thickness of the kettle vs. a cooking pot. Which doesn't intuitively seem like it will save 13 minutes out of 15.

>>tallan+h
I guess it depends if regulations have forced an upgrade of the wiring.

My mum's house is from 1905, but had to be required when she bought it in 1980, and there's no problem running everything in the kitchen at once, plus many portable heaters. We did this at Christmas a couple of years ago when the gas heating broke. I can't remember ever tripping a breaker.

My apartment's main breaker is rated to 50kW, with the oven and hob and laundry machines on 3-phase power, and several 230V 16A circuits for lights and sockets.

>>polyno+jw
You'll always save time with an electric kettle — it's likely to be better-insulated, have a lid, and the heating element is in contact with the water. It will still take 4-5 minutes though, even with a powerful kettle.

In case you're not familiar with them, we're discussing something like [1], or, to show these are very widespread commodity appliances, [2], which costs $7 including tax.

[1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Cordless-Indicator-Warr...

[2] http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9016710.htm

>>julien+Er
I don't think you can get an electric kettle without automatic shutdown at boiling point in Europe. At least, I've never seen one.

>>polyno+jw
An induction stove with booster function will come close to the performance of an electric kettle, but I don't have one of those. Any other type of hob will heat water a lot slower.

>>polyno+jw
I guess he means an electric water heater...