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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?

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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.

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?

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...

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.

You can also just boil your pasta in the kettle.

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.

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.

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

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.

I guess he means an electric water heater...

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.

Yeah, stovetops are generally wired to a dedicated 240V circuit or are gas.

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.

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