UK kettles boil faster than North American ones because they are plugged into 240v lines instead of 120v lines. But IIUC, you can pull the same amount of amps from either line. Why can’t we make kettles boil just as fast no matter where they are plugged in, by pulling more amps? I guess it’s the inherent resistance of the heating coil being the same? Can’t we trade something off, use more coils, “plug it in twice,” nothing??

I’m seeing that average UK socket circuits are 32A, which is nuts, I’m jealous. So that’s it right there, 32A (I know (or hope) the kettle isn’t pulling 32A) * 240v is a ridiculous amount of power, obviously more than any kettle would ever pull in a million years. My heat pumps and dryer are the only thing on the double breakers pulling 30A. Couldn’t imagine a teakettle.

The loop of sockets could be as high as 32A but most appliance plugs are fitted with a 13A fuse. A British kettle will pull around 3kW. What splits the wheat from the chaff is how quietly it’ll do that, for the most part. Fancy ones will let you pick a temperature, too. Tea is 100°C and poured straight on the bag, coffee is a wimp and cries bitter tears at such a high heat. I’ve had friends from Northern Ireland (though anywhere reserves the right to claim proper tea making method) that will fuck you off if you take 10 seconds from the stop of the kettle and the contact of hot water to the teabag.