Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

That seems purely emotional. An induction stove heats faster than a kettle at almost the same efficiency.


No, it really does not. A typical induction stove has ~2kW of power on each element, and is ~20% less efficient at heating water than the resistive kettle.

This makes it about half as fast at boiling water.


You made me check and adjust my other comment:

https://www.aeg.co.uk/kitchen/cooking/hobs/induction-hob/ikb...

3.7kW for the main element.

Also, why would it be less efficient? Due to the distance?


Note that the 3.7kW element can only provide all that to a single vessel if it covers the entire area of the element.

The resistive element submerged in the water dumps very nearly 100% of energy into the water. The stove heating the kettle has many more sources of loss, but mostly that it first heats a piece of metal, which is not fully submerged in water.


In theory, in practice the induction heating on a regular pan is faster than my kettle by almost three times. YMMV on type of kettle and induction hob used. But it generally means that if you live in the US and you have an induction hob, there is absolutely no reason to buy a kettle.


You might want to decalcify your kettle.

Edit: Wait. Are you using a frying pan to heat tee water to make it faster?


My experience with US induction stoves is limited but I believe it can also deliver 3.5kW on boost. My induction stove boosts to 3.8kW for heating which beats my kettle significantly. I also measures the efficiency and it’s quite comparable.


What is the power of your kettle?


2200 Watts.


A British kettle on 230 volts boils enough water for a cup of tea in about 45 seconds. (3 kilowatt heater, 300 ml of water, theoretically takes 33 seconds, but slightly longer because it has to heat the body of the kettle too)


I wonder if it's possible to replicate that circuit in a USA house but still stay within code. I'd love to make my tea faster!


Install an A/C socket in your kitchen. Then buy a British 240 volt 3 kilowatt kettle from eBay and wire on a US A/C plug (NEMA 6-15) - hooking the brown and blue wires from the kettle to the two line pins, and the green/yellow wire to ground.

This would be both code legal, safe and functional.

It would also be possible to use a clothes dryer socket (NEMA 14-30), but you should install a smaller than usual breaker for the circuit (15 amps), since the british kettle normally has a 13 amp fuse in it's plug, but a NEMA plug does not contain that.


Sweet, I had no idea it would be that straightforward. Thank you for the information!


Pretty much. My office building was formerly a woodworking shop and has wiring for 220V. Long ago I bought a laser printer on eBay. The seller omitted to mention it was a 220/240V model (probably why it was cheap). Laser printers unlike most appliances are not dual voltage because the fuser is run directly off the ac supply line. So I wired in a 6-20 outlet and changed the plug. Worked fine for many years. I also have a table saw running from a 6-20 outlet. There is a 6-15 NEMA type that presumably would provide a UK compatible supply. I think the problem might be how to provide in-wall cabling that's to code for 220V. In my case I already had conduit with THHN wire.

Not necessarily to code, consult your electrical engineer and lawyer before doing your own wiring, etc.


> I think the problem might be how to provide in-wall cabling that's to code for 220V

That's no problem, standard romex nm-b is rated up to 600V. The only real difficulty in doing that in most US homes is that it's all or nothing. You'd have to upgrade all receptacles on the circuit to 240V. Depending on when your home was built, the kitchen might well have several circuits for the wall receptacles (even just one circuit per receptacle, not terribly uncommon in my area), which makes converting one of the circuits to 240V pretty trivial.

Given how many appliances these days use switching power supplies capable of a wide range of voltage, I wouldn't be totally surprised if it was possible to wire an entire house with nothing but 6-15 or 6-20 receptacles and not have too much difficulty sourcing compatible appliances.


I believe that US code requires a dedicated circuit for all 240v outlets. Only 120V outlets can be chained. The only people who use 240v outlets are planing on using all the power it can provide, if they want a second outlet they want a second circuit as well.

Check with your local codes of course. Even if the local codes allow it, your building inspector may not.


Most kitchen appliances require the right voltage. They normally have a heater or motor driven direct from the AC voltage.

Most devices you'd use outside the kitchen usually will work on any voltage - with notable exceptions being vacuum cleaners, washing machines and fan heaters.


For sure you'd want to be careful. My Kitchenaid stand mixer would certainly be unhappy if it were plugged into a 240V outlet, but Kitchenaid makes a 240V version that I could replace it with. A lot of work, but technically doable.

Probably about as likely as wiring up DC receptacles throughout the house. Zero.


12-2 NM/Romex is fine for 240V (120V+120V), and is commonly used for things like large ACs, heaters, etc. Mark the white wire with red electrical tape at both ends (or really any color besides white/grey/green, but avoid black because while technically correct it just blends in as regular electrical tape).


I use a Panasonic flatbed microwave to heat precisely the volume of water I want by filling the tea cup(s) I want.

Two minutes on high (1100 watt microwave output from, IIRC 1800 watt input) per cup. So usually two minutes for the one cup of I intend to drink.

Every electric kettle I’ve ever owned has a minimum volume of at least two cups. Who bother heating two cups if I’m only going to drink one at a time.

Tasmania (AU), 240v / 100amp supply to residential is standard.


Any kettle with a flat bottom (no exposed heating element) can be used with far less water than the 'min' line - and some models don't have a min line at all.

All new kettles have boil-dry protection as well, so they won't be damaged with no water at all.


Might be time to upgrade the kettle. I really want one with temperature setting and insulation.


I wonder how does this compare to boiling water in a regular coffee mug in microwave oven?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: