Electrical specifications are very important when buying an appliance. There are generally three rating that matter for all consumer electronics i.e voltage, amps (current) and power. Here we will review how many amps does a toaster oven use.
Basically, an average toaster oven with a 1500 W rating and operating at 120V, would use about 12.5 Amps of current. But depending upon the size and the power rating, this value can change drastically from model to model.
In this article, we will talk about the amp rating for various toaster ovens, why amp rating matters and how to easily calculate it.
Also Read: How many watts does a toaster oven use?
How Many Amps Does a Toaster Oven Use?
As mentioned earlier, an average toaster oven uses about 12.5 Amps of current.
The amp rating depends upon the overall wattage (power rating) and the voltage the toaster oven is operating at.
As a quick key, you can use the guide below. You will need to know the operating voltage and wattage of the toaster oven in order to find the corresponding amp rating.
For US, the operating voltage, or the voltage of your wall socket, is 120V. For Europe, and many other countries, the operating voltage is 220V.
The wattage, or power rating, differs from toaster oven to toaster oven.
Operating Voltage 120V (US)
- 1100 Watt – 9.16 Amps
- 1200 watt – 10 Amps
- 1300 Watt – 10.83 Amps
- 1400 Watt – 11.66 Amps
- 1500 Watt – 12.5 Amps
- 1600 Watt – 13.3 Amps
- 1700 Watt – 14.16 Amps
- 1800 Watt – 15 Amps
Operating Voltage 220V (Europe, Asia)
- 1100 Watt – 5 Amps
- 1200 Watt – 5.45 Amps
- 1300 Watt – 5.9 Amps
- 1400 Watt – 6.36 Amps
- 1500 Watt – 6.81 Amps
- 1600 Watt – 7.27 Amps
- 1700 Watt – 7.72 Amps
- 1800 Watt – 8.18 Amps
The above table shows you the wattage of a toaster oven and their corresponding amp rating. The wattage of a toaster oven generally ranges from 1100-1800 Watts.
The voltage depends upon the country you are residing in.
Fortunately, most appliances these days are made to work on both 120 and 220 voltage settings. However, it is still worth it to check the voltage specifications out before plugging in the device.
As it can be seen from above, with a higher operating voltage, the amp rating drops.
How To Calculate the Amps?
You can also use a simple formula to calculate the amp rating for your toaster oven or for any other electronic device.
The formula is as follows:
To use this formula, you will need to know the power rating of your device as well as the operating voltage.
This is a universal equation that can be used to calculate amps for any devices and if you know basic algebra and know how to move variables around, you can use this equation to calculate the power rating (if amps and voltage are known) or the voltage (if power rating and amps are known).
Also Read: Best Budget Toaster Ovens
Use the Input Power Rating
It is important to note here that you need to use the INPUT POWER Rating in this equation to calculate the amps.
You will notice that most electronic devices have input power and output power. Input power is the power that is being drawn from the wall socket, output power is the power being delivered for customer application.
Input power is higher than the output power. Hence, in order to calculate the amp rating, we use the input power.
Why is the Amps Rating Necessary?
Knowing the amp rating of your toaster oven or for any other electronic device is important for many reasons.
We review them here.
1. For Choosing the Breakers
Knowing the amps is crucial for installing the right circuit breaker for your home electrical protection.
Circuit breakers also have an amp rating. The amp rating of the circuit breaker tells you the amps at which the breaker will trip (or turn off).
A circuit breaker trips in order to protect you from the dangers for a short circuit. A short circuit is a dangerous situation during which the current rises to dangerous levels and can cause a fire hazard if the breaker does not trip.
However, you have to be careful when choosing the right one. If you connect a 10 Amp toaster oven to a 8 Amp circuit breaker, it will always trip because the rating of the breaker is lower than that of the toaster oven.
Similarly if you connect a 10 amp toaster oven to a 50 amp circuit breaker, it will not trip even if there is a short circuit. This is dangerous situation.
125% Breaker Size
The general rule is to select a circuit breaker that is rated at 125% of the connected load power rating. Therefore, a 12.5 amp circuit breaker would be ideal for a 10 amp toaster oven.
Multiple Devices Connected to a Breaker
Of course, in a typical home setting, you would not have a dedicated breaker for a mere toaster oven, you will probably connect it to a wall socket in your kitchen.
The kitchen, in turn, would have a single circuit breaker that would include the lighting and other small appliances like food processor, microwave oven etc.
In this situation, when choosing the right breaker, you must add the anticipated power rating of all the electronic devices and then multiply that by 1.25 to get the amp rating size for a circuit breaker.
The Fuse
Like the circuit breaker, the fuse also protects you from the dangers of a short circuit.
A fuse is a small device that is found in most electronic home appliances. Basically, when the current rises to dangerous levels, as during times of short circuit or during power surges, the fuse blows its metal filament inside and thus severing the electrical connection to the device.
A fuse for the device must also be selected based on its amp rating. you can follow the same general rule i.e the size of the fuse should be 125% of the device amp rating.
Therefore, a 10 amp toaster oven should use a fuse the size of 12.5 amps.
Extension Cord
Finally, the amp rating is critical if you you plan to use a toaster oven over an extension cable.
All extension cables have a max power rating that they can support. If you go beyond this number, either the fuse of the extension cable will blow, or the cable itself will start to burn. This is a dangerous situation.
Hence, when choosing an extension cable, it should have an amp rating higher than that of all the appliances connected to it.
For instance, if you plan to connect a 10 amp toaster oven as well as a 10 amp microwave oven to an extension cable, then make sure that the amp rating of the extension cable is higher than then combined amp rating of the two connected devices i.e more than 20 amps. In this situation, ideally it should be in the range of 25 amps or higher.
Final Words
Here we talked extensively about how many amps does a toaster oven use. We also talked about the average amps for toasters ovens with different power rating.
In short, when you look at the amp rating for an average toaster oven, which is 12.5 amps, it is actually a fairly high number. Very few home devices consume a power as high as this.
Therefore, when choosing the electrical design of your home, take the high amp rating of your toaster ovens into consideration.
FAQs
1. Does a toaster oven need its own circuit?
If you frequently use small appliances in the same outlets, it may be useful to create a dedicated circuit if the breaker trips frequently. Microwaves are a little appliance that consumes a lot of power and may require their own circuit.
2. How many amps does an 1800 watt toaster oven use?
10 amps
Given that this consumes 1800 Watts, 120 Volts results in a current rating of 1800 / 120 = 15 Amps, which is the normal circuit breaker rating for most outlets (excluding ranges, refrigerators, and so on).
3. What appliances require a 20 amp circuit?
Microwave ovens, toasters, and blenders are all powered by a 20-amp circuit. To operate most kitchen appliances, a 20-amp circuit is required.
4. How many amps does a kitchen oven pull?
A basic kitchen range with four burners and an oven may consume 30, 40, or 50 amps of electricity. However, a large commercial machine, particularly one equipped with amenities such as a convection oven or quick-heat burners, will consume between 50 and 60 amps.
5. What appliances need a dedicated circuit?
Among the appliances that require a dedicated circuit are the following:
- Electric ranges.
- Ovens on the wall.
- Refrigerated units.
- Extra-large microwave ovens.
- Refrigerators.
- Dishwashing machines.
- Waste disposal systems.
- Ovens toasters.