Edwin Pawlowski > wrote:

> The one in the kitchen is used for the range and it is a one unit circuit.
> Adding a 3800 watt load on the existing circuit is not allowed.

The kettle is 3000 W, not 3800 W.

In any case, this does not make sense. First, there are frequently more
than one circuits built-in, for example separate ones for the range and the
oven. Second, adding to what? Ranges differ a lot. Any power element in
a range can be over 3000 W, though usually most are lower, with just one
high-power element. Then, there can be an oven, a not exactly unusual
addition, with up to at least 3500 W baking and a 3600 W broiling element,
which can be operated simultaneously. Some have rather more wattage. I do
not even know the wattage of the self-cleaning cycle. Look up
specifications of the current electric ranges/stoves. Then add the
microwave and all the other possible appliances. It is not at all
infrequent to have a total power consumption of over 20,000 W in the
kitchen. See, for example,
<http://www.cs.wright.edu/bie/rehabengr/kitchens/electric.htm>.

Anyway, the circuit - any circuit in the kitchen - is already 240 V quasi
by default, as stated. It is called a "3-wire service." It is all about
just an extra 240 V outlet, if it is not already there. The wattage
capacity of any given circuit equals the amp rating of the breaker times
the voltage. In the case of a 3,000W appliance, even the standard 20-amp
breaker is plenty and one can always install a 50- or 65-amp one.

Victor