Hot water boiler
for a food trailer.
Tea is a bigger share of Irish trade than most new coffee operators expect, particularly at agricultural shows, rural markets and anywhere the crowd skews older. A dedicated hot water boiler is how you serve it without tying up the espresso machine — but it is also a serious load that quietly breaks power budgets.
The numbers
- Electrical load
- 1500–3000 W running 13.0A at 230V · exceeds a 13A socket on its own
- Footprint
- ~250–350mm wide, counter-top
- New (indicative)
- €250 – €1,200
- Used (indicative)
- €80 – €400
- Checked
- 2026-08-01
Power figures are ranges across models commonly sold into the Irish trailer trade — read the rating plate on the actual unit before you build a load budget on them. Prices are indicative guidance bands, not quotes, and no supplier is named or implied.
The load problem
A commercial water boiler draws 1.5–3 kW while heating. That is the same order as a 1-group espresso machine, and the two together will exceed a 13A supply and can exceed a 16A one. Both are thermostatic and cycle rather than drawing continuously, so the average is manageable — but if both elements call for heat at the same moment, the peak is what trips the breaker. If you are on a marginal supply, an LPG boiler removes the problem entirely.
Recovery rate matters more than capacity
A 5-litre boiler that recovers quickly serves more tea across a day than a 10-litre one that takes twenty minutes to come back up. Buy on recovery rate at your realistic peak, not on tank size. Draw-off style matters too: a tap you can leave running while you do something else is worth more in a queue than a metered dispense.
Do not use it for hand washing
A hot water boiler is for beverages. Your hand-wash basin needs its own dedicated hot water supply at the sink — inspectors check this and it is one of the most common trailer failures at gate-in. See the trailer water system entry for what the hand-wash arrangement actually has to be.
Questions
How much power does a commercial water boiler use?
1.5–3 kW while heating. It is thermostatic so it cycles rather than drawing continuously, but the peak is what matters for a breaker or generator — and it is the same order of magnitude as a 1-group espresso machine.
Can I run a water boiler and an espresso machine together?
Not comfortably on 13A, and marginally on 16A. Both are thermostatic so they cycle, but when both elements call for heat simultaneously the combined peak will exceed a 16A supply. On a small supply, use an LPG boiler for tea water instead.
Can I use the water boiler for hand washing?
No. The hand-wash basin needs its own dedicated hot water at the sink. Using a beverage boiler for hand washing is a common reason trailers fail an environmental health check or a festival gate-in inspection.