Low Wattage Kettle for Caravan and Motorhomes
Getting a low wattage kettle for your caravan can help to keep your electricity usage to a minimum. Many caravan sites have restrictions on power supplies. So every little bit counts. These types of low-wattage products can also ensure that your electricity doesn’t ‘trip out’ because of overloading.
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Buying low wattage kettles, griddles, heaters, fans, hot plates and toasters can all have a massive help in keeping your caravan’s electricity usage at minimal levels and maintain the life of your leisure battery. But what should I look for in a low-wattage kettle? What things do I need to consider in regard to power consumption on the road?
Best Low Wattage Travel Kettles in 2022
1. Russell Hobbs Electric Kettle
Electric kettle from Russell Hobbs is worth your taste when it comes to quenching your coffee thirst. It’s compact and lightweight which makes it suitable for traveling especially if you are a holiday or a trip love. The kettle is low wattage and comes loaded with two cups and spoons, the essentials you need to take care of your caffeine craving and make your trip count.
The Russell Hobbs Electric kettle boasts of a 0.85 litres capacity making it ideal for two people, suppose you got some company. You also have the privilege of a universal voltage allowing you to use it abroad without a fuss. Plug it anywhere and enjoy its functionality.
Pros
- Enough capacity for a couple of mugs
- Heats up quickly
- Universal voltage allowing you to use it anywhere
- Ideal for compact kitchens with little space
Easy to use
Cons
- No automatic switch off at boiling
- Hard to use power button
Verdict
The highly practical electric kettle from Russell Hobbs is what you need for your caffeine cravings during your outdoor excursions. It fits well in your suitcase thanks to its compactness and lightweight nature. It's also the perfect kettle for small kitchens and those struggling with lifting large weight kettles.
2. Quest 35690 Travel Kettle
The other kettle you want to use on the go is the Quest travel kettle. You will fall in love with its features which include a 0.5 litre carrying capacity, 600 watt dual voltage, two plastic cups and an automatic cut off switch. Its capacity makes it lightweight, portable and a suitable travel companion for getaways and business trips.
The Quest travel kettle also gives you the flexibility of using it in any part of the world thanks to its dual voltage usability. The travel kettle is practical, giving you a complete package of two cups with handles that allows you to have a kitchen away from your home kitchen. Additionally, the travel kettle has a transparent fill window that allows you to measure the amount of water you are putting in the kettle to avoid wastage.
Pros
- Short boiling time with high efficiency
- Lightweight and portable for travels
- Well protected with a bimetallic thermostat and a thermal fuse.
- Comes with a cable tidy allowing you wrap the cord around the kettle’s base
Cons
- A strong smell of burning plastic which is a bit irritating
- Body of the kettle gets very hot during use.
Verdict
If looking for a small electric appliance for your usage on travels the Quest travel kettle fits you best. You have the convenience of hot water when moving. The kettle is also sizable enough and lightweight with a 0.5 litre capacity.
3. Swan Travel Kettle
The electrical kettle from Swan is your other suitable companion for an outdoor coffee brew. It strikes you with its unique features and design that makes it perfect for travels. First of all,it's lightweight and portable, fitting well in your suitcase. You won’t have to worry about lifting a full-size kettle. It’s also dual voltage operating from 110v-240v which makes it usable worldwide.
Moreover, it comes packaged with two travel cups that fit well inside the kettle saving you much space. The Swan travel kettle is also safe to use thanks to its overheating protection. It has a boil dry technology that allows the kettle to automatically switch off at boiling point. Additionally, the kettle has an ergonomic hinged lid lock that prevents the sudden opening during transportation or travels.
Pros
- An illuminating power indicator that shows you when the kettle is on and boiling
- Boil dry technology
- Ergonomic hinged lid locks for your safety
- Fast boiling rate
- Lightweight and solid to hold
- Boils water quietly
Cons
- It lacks an area to secure the cord and plug
- White chalky coating on water after a period of use making water unclean to consume.
Verdict
Apart from its worldwide use, you will love this kettle’s range of features. It has an overheating protection, an ergonomic hinged lid and a dual voltage operating from 110v - 240v. It’s the ideal choice for travelers who are keen on their luggage space.
4. Cordless Electric Kettle
The Cordless electric kettle packs a punch when it comes to your hot water needs thanks to its higher capacity than the typical electric kettle. You are bound to enjoy pretty much of its key features that include a low wattage making it convenient for travelling, caravan or going camping. It also comes with a boiled dry safety water cut out.
The kettle gives you the comfort of a transparent water level gauge allowing you to pour in water to the right level. It also helps you maintain high standards of hygiene with a filter that can be removed and washed separately. You also won't have to worry about switching the kettle when a distant away since it comes with an automatic switch-off in the event the water boils.
Pros
- Low wattage saving energy
- 1 litre capacity eliminating the need to overfill it with water
- Lightweight making it easy to lift.
- Perfect for traveling or the campervan
- Safe and easy to handle
Cons
- The lid does not shut tight
- Noisy with boiling
- Takes long to boil
Verdict
The Cordless electric kettle comes with affordable pricing and also gives you the benefit of spending less on electricity by eliminating the need to overfill your kettle. You will also love its boil dry safety cut out.
Why Do You Need a Low Wattage Kettle for Caravans?
Do you know that many caravan owners have issues with electricity flipping out in their motorhomes when they turn the kettle on? Imagine flipping out your electricity over a cup of tea! However, this generally only happens to caravan newbies or those who’ve recently added some new electrical appliances to their motorhomes.
Domestic or household kettles do boil very quickly, but they use a lot of electricity while doing so. We will go into how much electricity they use in a little while. However, if you need boiling water, a cup of coffee, or tea when you are on the road, you will need a kettle. Just make sure it’s a low-wattage model. Want to know more about kettles and their energy consumption? If so, please keep reading. It’s nearly as important as motorhome insurance. Power consumption is a big factor in choosing all caravan appliances. The caravan microwave is another power hungry item, and you must select a low wattage microwave that will not trip your power supply.
Using Kettles at Home
Do you use a kettle regularly at home? Did you ever check the power or wattage of your kettle at home? That’s right, nobody keeps a keen eye on how much electricity their home appliances use. Most people use low-wattage kettles at home, even if you don’t realize it. The average power of most home kettles is 2.2 to 3kW. This is usually the maximum wattage if you have a 3-pin electric plug system.
Caravan owners routinely have to work out their motorhome’s amp limits. How else would you keep an eye on your electricity usage? Let’s work out the amps of a kettle that uses 3kW, to see how many amps you will need. The number 3kW is also known as 3000W. The voltage in your home is 240V. This breaks down as your kettle will be using 12.5 amps of current. We will discuss what this means for your caravan’s energy consumption in the next category.
What Are the Pitch Power Supplies at Caravan Sites?
If you are a serious caravan user, you will already know exactly how much energy that your motorhome consumes daily on the road. Calculating this figure is the only way to ensure that you are staying within your electricity limit. This is essential when using your battery on the road or when staying the night at a caravan site.
Depending on the caravan park you use, there will be varying electricity supplies. Not every site will offer the same electricity limit. Some of the best caravan sites offer their guests 16A supply on each fully serviced pitch. 16A is generally the highest current you will find on campsites, although there are exceptions to the rule.
The vast majority of sites offer from 10A to around 16A, but on some smaller sites, you might see as low as 6A or even 3A in some cases. You will need to check the available current at each site so that you know what you are working with. If the ampage of a site was 16A with a voltage of 240V, the overall wattage is 3.8kW or 3800 Watts.
Using Domestic Kettles on Caravan Sites
It becomes very obvious that you need to be careful when using your domestic kettle on a caravan site. And only because domestic kettles have higher energy needs than low wattage kettles for caravans.
If you have a domestic kettle rated at 3000 Watts or 12.5amps, and a caravan site offers 3800 Watts or 16 amps, you will just be okay. As long as you are not using any other appliances at the same time. If your water heater or another appliance is also using more than 800W while you are boiling your kettle, you could be in trouble.
However, if the caravan site only offers 10A, you will only get 2400 Watts, which is nowhere near enough. Your domestic kettle model will trip out the electricity right away. Always know the electrical supply range of your preferred caravan site, or you might struggle to even make a cup of tea.
What About the Best Low Wattage Kettle?
As you can see, standard kettles use too much power if you are staying at a caravan site. Even the best sites only just cover the wattage needed to power a domestic kettle product. So, what is the solution? How can I keep electricity usage minimal while still having access to tea and coffee-making facilities? By getting the best low-wattage kettle for your caravan.
The only way to address this problem is by purchasing a low wattage kettle. The water may take longer to boil, but as it is low wattage it is less likely to trip the power supply. This means you can leave your standard kettle model at home. What do we need to consider when purchasing a low-wattage kettle? What do we need to think about?
How Much Power Does your Caravan Use?
The first thing you need to consider is how much power does your caravan use? How many appliances do you have and how much electricity do they consume? As a caravan owner, this is something you need to know, kettles aside. Think about how many of those appliances you run at the same time. It’s a lot, right?
You will have to factor in many issues. If you are caravanning during the summer months, your refrigerator will need more electricity than in the winter. But in the winter you might be using a heating system that can have a massive knock-on effect on your power consumption. So you will need different calculations depending on your situation or the time of the year.
Here are some examples for you to consider:
Calculating those figures, and you get a grand total of 2,500W, or just under 10.5A. So, if you are fortunate enough to stay at a caravan site with a 16A power supply, you will have 1.400W left over to run your low wattage kettle.
What Are Kettle Boiling Times?
Now we have an overview of the average power consumption of your caravan, and the average caravan site power supplies, we need to consider a few more things. What are kettle boiling times and how much power would it use? A kettle that boils quicker uses less electricity. So in theory, even a domestic kettle that boils super quick could be more effective than a low-wattage kettle that takes lots of time to boil. Confusing stuff, right?
If you are happy to turn off all your other caravan appliances just so you can make a cup of tea or coffee, then none of this matters that much. But do you really want to keep turning off your fridge or heating/cooling system every time you need a hot drink? We don’t think so.
These are the calculations we are going to use:
Here are some examples of boiling times using a variety of kettles and their varying wattage:
The reality is that the lower the wattage of your kettle, the longer you will have to wait for it to boil, which means more electricity usage. A great way to limit the usage is to only boil the exact amount of water you need at any one time.
Which Low Wattage Kettles to Use in my Caravan?
Now we have discussed everything there is to know about using a low wattage kettle in your caravan, it’s time to make some educated choices. The average domestic kettle in your home uses 2000 to 3000 watts. But this is way too much power consumption, and even though it’s doable on a caravan site that offers 16A supply, it’s not ideal.
So what should the wattage of my caravan kettle be? We would recommend that you look for low wattage kettles for your caravan that use between 600 and 1000 watts. But just remember that how much water you boil and how quickly your kettle boils water is also very important. You do not want to turn off all your caravan appliances just to have a cup of tea. So make sure that your kettle’s power needs match your energy options.