Voltage is only half of the equation. It’s wattage that determines how fast a kettle can boil water, but the UK does generally have higher wattage kettles than the USA. Most are 1800 here in the us, while they can be up to 3000 in the UK.
Comment on Why don't Americans use electric kettles?
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago120V vs 240V.
One has much more power available to achieve the same in a different time.
For example: I can easily boil 0.5L to 100°C of water in about 2-3min.
And the kettle is rated for 2kW.
Cornpop@lemmy.world 1 day ago
rroa@reddthat.com 1 day ago
That’s exactly the point. Home connections are limited to a specific amperage (15 or 16) pretty much all across the world - certainly not beyond that anywhere. Voltage remains the only difference: 120 vs 240. With 120V at 15A you can only go up to 1800W which does take a long time to boil water.
Yes, you could have multiple phases to get to 240V in 120V countries to boil water faster but these would be special outlets and not meant for a kettle that you could buy from a Walmart.
joel_feila@lemmy.world 2 days ago
actually that the why they are slower. most plug in devices in the usa are limited to 1.5 Kw. weather you used a 120v or 240v current it would just change how many amps it draws
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 day ago
2 kW @ 120 V is 16.7 A, which exceeds the 15 A limit on most household wiring in North America. To be able to achieve that you’d need to get a 20 A rated circuit installed by an electrician which means pulling out and replacing the wiring with a heavier gauge.
The advantage of 240 V rating in the UK is that you can draw more power with less current, so you don’t need the wiring to be so heavy for a high power appliance like a kettle.
joel_feila@lemmy.world 1 day ago
yes. a 1.5 kw heater at 120 and a 1.5 kw heater on 240v would draw different amps but they would heat water at the same rate.
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 day ago
It was mentioned above that British kettles are 2 kW, not 1.5.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Well yeah.
But if both are rated for 6 or 8 Amps and can only supply 240 or 120V, you are bound to that.
Thus the volts are important as well.joel_feila@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Something rated for so few wouldn’t be a good heater. At 1.5 kw that typical cut off for small devices in USA. You draw 12 amp. Plug it into a larger 240 vlot circuit and it draws amps but you still only get 1.5 kw of heating. Same time to boil water
neukenindekeuken@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
That’s very true. With that said, I still find 110v kettles to be pretty fast for my needs. Especially if just making a single cup.