* https://www.vevor.ca/induction-cooktop-c_10592/vevor-portabl...
* https://www.trueinduction.com/Commercial-Single-Induction-Co...
Just need a NEMA 6 plug (GFCI/AFCI per code as well probably):
If you _really_ want more than that you can go a little mental and use one with an integrated battery which can push out 10 kW [1]
[0] https://www.nisbets.co.uk/nisbets-essentials-single-zone-ind...
(Well honestly, I guess the real answer is outside of Internet debates most people probably just don't consider 5 minutes to boil a cup of water to be a problem.)
> limited by the battery's rated number of cycles
Obviously the battery should be replaceable. (It should be in most electronics, really...)
> The battery's proximity to the heat source wouldn't help.
That doesn't seem like a particularly tricky problem to me. The standard kettle already tries as hard as possible to insulate the heat. If you were really worried it'd be possible to put the battery on a separate power brick instead probably.
...
And I guess I could've solved my own problem by googling it. There are tons of battery kettles on the market, including a 1500W one by Cuisinart and a 2200W (apparently?) unit by Makita. The latter is predictably expensive but the Cuisinart is available for around $100 where I live, which is definitely pricey but seems plausible.
I decided to pull an extra 240V line to the countertop explicitly for a tea kettle, which I have not purchased yet but seem to be available from Amazon UK for ~2x the price of an ordinary US-market kettle.
The most disappointing thing so far is the short list of kettle options that ship from the UK to the US.
Also not sure if I should get a UK receptacle (this would probably offend the bldg inspector, so I might swap post-inspection), or just rewire the kettle itself with a standard US (240V) plug.
FWIW, the extra wire + breaker cost was about $100. I expect to pay another $30 or so for the receptacle or appliance wire, and a bit over $100 for the kettle (and its replacements every few years). Not the least expensive option, but not too bad.
Whether it's actually safe I though, that I am curious. Obviously the kettle can get the 240V potential it expects, but the neutral is center tapped out of the split phase transformer, right? Not sure how people wire this. (Doesn't the neutral wind up having to be one of the hots instead?)
In the US, it's 240V 60Hz, split-phase with center-tapped neutral, and an independent ground wire.
In the UK, it's 240V 50Hz, single-phase with independent neutral and ground.
Frequency difference should be within design tolerance. and if my EE memory serves, the phase difference should be acceptable -- just measured from a different zero reference point. The neutral from the wall would be unused, and the ground would be wired as usual.
I'll think this through thoroughly though, I was definitely glossing over those details, so thank you!
E.g, something like this:
(US proposed) (UK kettle) (UK standard)
(2-phase) ┌─────────────┐ (1-phase)
│ │
L1 120V 0° ────┼─ Hot(240V) ─┼── Hot 240V 1ph
│ │
Neutral ───X │ │
│ │
L2 120V 180° ──┼─ Neutral ───┼── Neutral
│ │
│ │
GND ───────────┼─ GND ───────┼── GND
│ │
└─────────────┘
I think the kettle side would not care. It may be a ground fault in UK wires, but the kettle has no reason to detect it, and nothing sensitive enough inside to care. If I'm wrong, I'd expect to know shortly after starting the very first use. :)
See also: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/315031
Video was published last week and reaches the same conclusions as this thread. Timely, and reassuring! Thanks for the SE link too.
Both live and neutral wires have to be treated as if they were both live, because 50% of the time they'll be swapped around.
> Most UK kettles are not 3000W, and most of the ones that are, are junk. Y
They may not be 3 kW, but even the most basic of them are 2200W [0], and 3000W ones are readily available are not much more expensive [1]. They're also not really junk - they're a lump of plastic, a hot plate and a thermistor - the difference between a £8 one and a £80 one is almost all aesthetics.
[0] https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3102039
[1] https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-kettle-1-5l/white/p5523...