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Comment by snitko | Hacker News Reader

It's funny how americans boil water in microwaves, while the rest of the world does it in kettles. There was a discussion on reddit about it. I didn't realize it, but apparently it has to do with the fact that most americans rarely drink tea, but rather prefer coffee from coffee machines and so they don't need kettles. Personally, I can't imagine how one can boil water in a microwave, it sounds ridiculous (in a good way, no offense), but these little differences fascinate me.

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The first time I traveled to Australia I found an electric tea kettle in my room, and it was one of those ah-ha moments. It was a perfectly obvious invention, and yet, the idea had never before crossed my mind. As an American, you boil water the hard way, or in a microwave.

You can find them in stores here, but they're not popular. I've told several people about them, and they were just as delightfully surprised as I was.

The problem is that electric kettles in America are slow as fuck, which I assume is due to the 110V power supply.

Go somewhere with 240V and two things happen: (a) you're far more likely to die of electrocution in your own house and (b) you can get a decent tea kettle.

A 3kw heating element is a 3kw heating element at whatever voltage it operates, so I suspect that there may be a limit on the current that domestic appliances can use in US kitchens.

At 110v you would be looking at 27 Amps which may be a little high. I had not thought this one through before, thanks.

American outlets are 15 or 20 Amps, AFAIK.

In case grandparent is too elliptical for some readers --

The maximum current determines how thick the wires have to be. Since power (ability to heat or do other work in one unit of time) == current * voltage, doubling the voltage doubles the amount of power a wire of a given thickness can deliver.

Well done, I should have emphasised the principal.

Looks like the maximum power that a US kettle can produce is 110 * 20 = 2200 watts, so will take about 3000 * 2200 = 1.36 or 36% longer than an EU kettle to boil.

Microwaves make more sense in that scenario

Microwaves have their own problems - they can superheat water without boiling it, which will then explode in a fury of scalding foam as soon as you jostle it.

They're also frequently mounted overhead, where it's more dangerous to retrieve a mug or big Pyrex cup. Contrast that with the kettle which has that little flap over the spout and is spill resistant.

As an American, it is totally bizarre to me that many of my fellow citizens are unaware of electric tea kettles.

I'm American and I use my microwave regularly, but not for boiling water (when I make coffee using my Aeropress or French press, not tea - and don't get me started about drip coffee). For that, I use a kettle on my gas range. It's not much longer, and I can ask if anyone else wants coffee and boil more water easily.

The time it takes to boil the water is about the same amount of time it takes for me to grind my coffee beans and set up the Aeropress, so it works out.

It's not just an 'old world' vs. 'new world' thing either. I'm Canadian, and this is the first time I've heard of someone boiling water for tea in a microwave. I guess it's something the Loyalists took with them :)

> I can't imagine how one can boil water in a microwave, it sounds ridiculous (in a good way, no offense)

So curious... what sounds so ridiculous about it? It seems so natural and obvious for me...

That's funny.

I find using a microwave to boil water so... strange and unnatural. I'm not sure why, but its just odd. That's what a kettle is for!

Why buy another appliance when a microwave does the job perfectly?

Non-American here, I always use a microwave if I'm just making one cup.

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