Generally, the travel kettle comes with 500 watts of electric capacity. To power the kettle, you must have an inverter that can produce 1000 watts of minimum watts. The inverter should not be less than 1000 watts at the starting point, because the kettle may require 2 x powers to generate sufficient heat.
What inverter do I need to power a kettle?
Inverters are manufactured in different sizes. Also, they are star-rated based on energy efficiency. The higher the star rating is, the more efficient the inverters would be.
Always look for the power output to know what devices you can connect to the inverters.
The inverter’s capacity would range between 150W to 2500W.
Some high-end inverters go beyond the normal range. Every inverter would have the maximum capacity.
You can use up to 70% to 80% of the maximum power of an inverter to power the devices using the inverter.
Above the limit, the inverter starts slowing down, and your device may not receive a sufficient amount of energy.
Generally, the travel kettle would have a power requirement of 500 watts. When connected to the inverter, it will require minimum power to function correctly. It also requires twice the power at the beginning to start the device.
The 500 watts kettle should be connected to the 1000 watts the inverter
Here’s a list of kettles and recommended inverters
| Kettle Name | Kettle Power (watts) | Inverter Size (watts) |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Beach 1.7L Electric | 1500 | 1800 |
| Cuisinart Perfectemp Electric | 1500 | 1800 |
| Black+Decker Stainless Steel | 1500 | 1800 |
| KitchenAid KEK1222PT Electric | 1200 | 1440 |
| Oster Cordless Electric | 1200 | 1440 |
| Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel | 1500 | 1800 |
| Brentwood Appliances Kt-1900w | 1900 | 2400 |
| Zojirushi CD-WCC40 Micom | 400 | 600 |
| Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel | 1500 | 1800 |
| Secura 1.8 Quart Stainless Steel | 1500 | 1800 |
How much power do you use?
When you are powering your devices using the inverters, you should calculate the power requirement of each device to understand how much power you would require.
Usually, electronic devices would have a label on them which contains all the information on power ratings and such. It will tell you electricity consumption, capacity, and the type of power such as AC/DC, watts and amps related to the device.
Use this information to know what your inverter could power when connected.
Always connect the devices up to 70% of inverter capacity as some devices may require more power at the starting point. The inverter should compensate for the peak power demand. The low power could result in the slowdown of the device.
Add several devices to the inverters based on the number of watts the device needs. Ensure that the device gets a sufficient amount of energy supply to run the inbuilt function.
Can an inverter run a kettle?
Yes. You can comfortably run a Kettle on an inverter of 1000 watts capacity. Generally, the kettle needs 500 watts of power to function.
You can check the energy requirement on the specification label stick to the device. The 1000 watts would power two or more devices during the travel.
You will find different kinds of inverters in the market, and every inverter is different from others.
So while buying the inverters, read the specifications and the energy output to confirm that the devices such as kittle are supported.
How long can the inverter power the kettle?
The inverter keeps powering the kettle until it is fully depleted. The watts require per hour for the device will help you to calculate how much time the kettle will be functional.
Compare the device’s power requirement with the available power in the inverter + batteries to know how many hours are left before your inverter dies.
Whatever inverter you use to power the device, it should always be used below the maximum power the inverter can generate.
For example, if the inverter has a maximum capacity of 1000 watts, then the largest kettle you should connect to the event would not be more than 850 watts.
Put some buffer energy to compensate for the energy loss and rising energy demand of the kettle.
For a 2000 watts inverter, the maximum capacity you can use must now go beyond 1500 watts. The inverters are always used below the maximum capacity to improve their efficiency of the inverter.
What are the ways to calculate the Kettle inverter requirement?
Inverters are not 100% power efficient.
The high-end inverters used in industry productions may produce more energy than the regular inverters. The efficiency is also depending on how and for what purpose you use the inverter.
You can calculate the watts requirement for the device using the below formula.
Total Kettle Watts + 20% = Inverter Size.
Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as an electrical and electronic engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.
