Travel adapter with kettle in mexico/us

irishguy

could anyone tell me if a regular travel adapter work with a irish kettle in mexico (2200w/220v). Or would it be too much? the adaptor doesn't have any details on it about max watts

I know its going to take longer boil, but I dont mind as long as it works.

Eric Cartman

Mexico uses 120 volts , if your adapter is a transformer I bet its a small 300 watts or less one , a 2200w transformer would be the size of a yellow builders one , if its just changing the plug type, its a heating coil so will theoretically still work, but for the sake of it you can buy a 120v kettle in wal mart and other places for under $10

irishguy

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Mexico uses 120 volts , if your adapter is a transformer I bet its a small 300 watts or less one , a 2200w transformer would be the size of a yellow builders one , if its just changing the plug type, its a heating coil so will theoretically still work, but for the sake of it you can buy a 120v kettle in wal mart and other places for under $10

thanks its just the basic white travel adaptor, which i assume would only be for small electronic devices. Was hoping to take the larger kettle (1.5l) as all the travel kettles are only 500ml. Im using it to make baby's bottles so need a larger one. So you do think it would work then?

él statutorio

if it's just a holiday, you might be best to order one online and have it shipped to the place you're staying?

Cerco

irishguy wrote: »

thanks its just the basic white travel adaptor, which i assume would only be for small electronic devices. Was hoping to take the larger kettle (1.5l) as all the travel kettles are only 500ml. Im using it to make baby's bottles so need a larger one. So you do think it would work then?

Neither of them will work there because the voltage is different. Your adaptor only changes the interface. Their voltage is too low for your kettle and would likely damage it.
As recommended by Eric above buy a kettle there.

coylemj

Cerco wrote: »

Neither of them will work there because the voltage is different. Your adaptor only changes the interface. Their voltage is too low for your kettle and would likely damage it.

It won't damage the adapter or the kettle but the kettle will take four times longer to boil because the wattage (power consumption) will reduce by a factor of four.

The resistance in the kettle element (measured in ohms) is fixed and the voltage in Mexico or the US is halved (give or take) which means the current (amps) will be halved since voltage = resistance * current. Halving the current (amps) means the adapter and kettle will handle the load no problem.

Power (watts) is equal to the current (halved) * voltage (halved) which means that for a fixed resistance, halving the voltage reduces the power by a factor of four. So the kettle will take four times longer to boil.

EdgeCase

Just buy a kettle in the US or Mexico. You cannot use an Irish kettle with a US voltage converter, and it's possible that it won't boil very well as the elements are designed to use 230V, not 110-120V.

US outlets cannot deliver 2800+ watts as would be typically drawn by an Irish/European kettle, so forget even thinking about a voltage converter for a heavy appliance. It just isn't doable.

American appliances can't draw more than about 1500W, so even with a local spec kettle, it will take a good bit longer to boil water for tea

I know 15amps at 120V is 1800W, but in reality the voltage isn't usually 120V and there's a safety margin.

Also, if you're travelling in Mexico, just be careful about the age and quality of wiring. I wouldn't really be recommending pushing it to the max.

coylemj

Considering the space an Irish 1.5L kettle will take in your bag and how long it will take to boil on a 110V supply, I'd definitely just buy a regular domestic model out there and leave it behind. If you do pick up a model out there, dont even think of bringing it back to Ireland with you.