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You have clearly never lived in North America, continent of pathetic kettles. It's hard enough to find one here that's electric in the first place, it seems peo
by alisonatwork 6y ago
You have clearly never lived in North America, continent of pathetic kettles. It's hard enough to find one here that's electric in the first place, it seems people prefer to balance their kettles on the tops of stoves, like peasants. On the odd occasion you do find one that plugs into a wall, often it's like it was designed in the dark ages before they were cordless, and of course the cord is only about 6 inches long, so you have to unplug it to move it to the tap for a refill, then plug it in again. My current apartment's kettle doesn't even have a lid or a button, you have to fill it through the spout and it starts boiling immediately when you plug it in. After all that, it still takes about 27 minutes to make a cup of tea. Forget all these fancy lime scale filters and temperature controls, just finding a £5 one that actually worked would be a dream.
Rant aside, apparently a large part of the problem is because North America uses 110v at the wall. Quick explanation here[0]. As mentioned in the linked article, many houses here also have a separate high voltage line for washing machines. Perhaps they should have a high voltage kettle line.
[0] http://wordpress.mrreid.org/2012/04/16/why-kettles-boil-slowly-in-the-us/ http://wordpress.mrreid.org/2012/04/16/why-kettles-boil-slow...
- cwhiz 6y agoI’m sorry, but what? There are infinite electric kettles available. 27 minutes to boil water? Again, what? Seriously, have you ever been in North America? Just go into literally any big box retailer and find the 50 foot long shelves full of electric kettles. Or go to an online retailer, say Amazon, and find hundreds and hundreds of them. Virtually every major brand makes electric kettles, they all seem to work just fine, and they don’t take 27 minutes to boil water.
- orra 6y ago> 27 minutes to boil water? Again, what? They're exaggerating. But your typical North American electric kettle is—ballpark—twice as slow as a European kettle. Your standard North American sockets provide half the voltage but not double the amperage, so they're half as powerful.
- otterley 6y agoNot much we can do about that, I’m afraid. Most residential outlets are 15 amps, and to double them to 30 amps or convert them to 240V would require costly rewiring. And copper prices are sky-high these days.
- snypher 6y agoI wonder if a kettle with a J1772 or Tesla port...
- cameronh90 6y agoWhat about a kettle with a giant battery pack that charges when idle and boils at 10kW when you press the button.
- kirstenbirgit 6y agoAt that point one might as well get an instant boiling water tap system.
- SAI_Peregrinus 6y agoPhotonicinduction's 10-second kettle[1] doesn't use a battery, instead it uses his 100A 240V input through a big variac to run at 10kW (440V, 22.7A). This isn't good for the longevity of the kettle he used, sadly. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDLw1Rx_cAI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDLw1Rx_cAI
- ryzvonusef 6y ago>Photonicinduction whatever happened to the guy, i was a fan of his videos then he stopped posting a few years back... electroboom seems to be covering a similar niche, so that's good though.
- sneak 6y agoJoking aside, I use a Zojirushi vacuum kettle that keeps the water at the correct temperature at all times, so I never wait.
- foldr 6y agoElectric kettles in America seem to be something of a boutique item. I often had to say “tea kettle” before anyone even understood what I was looking for. They are definitely 100% available to buy. However, they cost more and seem to be of lower quality than the range available in the UK. I suspect the voltage difference is the underlying reason. If you have a gas burner then an old fashioned stovetop kettle is almost as fast as an electric kettle in the US.
- lotsofpulp 6y agoI don’t know about Canada and Mexico, but these are the search results for a popular US store: https://www.target.com/s/kettle https://www.target.com/s/kettle I’ve been using this $25 kettle for many years now: https://www.target.com/p/hamilton-beach-1l-electric-kettle-stainless-40978/-/A-507690i https://www.target.com/p/hamilton-beach-1l-electric-kettle-s... The cord is “6 inches” (it’s actually 24 inches on my cheap kettle) because most kitchens in the US have many power outlets at the countertop, where the kettle sits. It would be annoying to deal with excess wire.
- zepto 6y agoAmericans cut the Gordian knot of the impossible kettle by making tea in the microwave.
- bhjgh777 6y agoAs an American who makes tea in the microwave, I feel disparaged.
- perl4ever 6y ago>it seems people prefer to balance their kettles on the tops of stoves, like peasants Is your kettle faster than a stove? Perceptions of speed are funny.