xxdb

I've gone back and forth over the pond a few times and have taken Canadian stuff to the UK and UK stuff to Canada. Much of the modern stuff will work on dual voltage and it's just a case of changing the plugs. Hint: plugs in Canada are usually moulded on to the wires so you'll need to hunt around a bit to find actual plugs. Wal-mart has some.

The main thing is hairdryers and clocks. Hairdryers fry themselves instantly in a shower of sparks (entertaining to watch). And clocks run slower or faster depending on which side they're from, due to frequency differences. Otherwise I have run UK TVs in Canada and a (huge) Canadian Fridge in the UK with no issues. I did find that for some reason my Canadian power tools batteries died fairly quickly in the UK. Not sure what was going on.

Pizzawheel

Looks like a decent setup- if I had enough 240v powertool I'd do something similar. Best price I could get on the plug was a tad over $40 though.

rivingtonpike

Bought it a few years ago now.

ExpatCanadian

Great, thanks for the photo. I imagined something similar. PMing you for more details. I might try to buy a 10-50p plug and get it shipped over here and build this before I move (in April)

ExpatCanadian

I think I know what you mean, but perhaps you can clarify. The main things I'd be running are things like a food processor (motor)... breadmachine (motor and heating element)... your basic small kitchen appliances. The bread machine has a digital clock on it, but I am not sure if that would be affected?

rivingtonpike

Nothing to do with the 220v supply in my garage, but my wife, kids and myself used a UK bread maker today with a transformer to make pizza dough for the playdate crowd and cinnamon bun dough for us all too. I would like to say that the bread maker cost 100gbp back in the day - which is a lot cheaper than a step up converter; oh and yes it has some sort of timer clock thing on it.

ExpatCanadian

Just for kicks, I thought I'd check out step up transformers to see what would be available at what cost. I think I may have found the perfect solution... at a reasonable cost... check these out:

Voltage Converters - Voltage Transformers and Converter

The 2 things I really don't want to have to repurchase are the breadmaker (it's a model that is unavailable in North America) and my food processor (top of the line Magimix/Robot Coupe... expensive to replace!). The food processor is 1100W... the breadmaker only 550W. So for $75 I can get myself a 1500W Step Up and all should be good

Anyone spot any flaws with this plan?

Pizzawheel

If you build Rivington's 13amp extension strip and plop a 240v split phase plug on it at least you can argue it's a portable appliance rather than part of the house wiring. And it's not a bad thing to have all of your kitchen kit in one place on the worktop.

Buy the 13amp strip in UK (get the best most expensive one you can) and wire the Canadian split phase plug on here.

You might need an extra 240v receptacle wired into the house though. Typically they're only at the stove and the drier- thus already used. Though in my kitchen when replacing a standard duplex with a GFI (RCD) one as it was about 1' away from the sink, I was startled to find 240v there- the second hot was just bare hanging there waiting to go bang! (it's now capped off with a marette).

rivingtonpike

Sorry, just re-read my post. I meant to say the voltage converter was significantly cheaper than the bread maker! We've got a 1500w one for the kitchen too.

ExpatCanadian

Anyone know if the 50Hz vs 60Hz difference is going to matter much to the electric motors in things like breadmakers and food processors? My Magimix food processor uses a pretty high end induction motor... one of the selling features of it, so much so that it's got a 20 year warranty on the motor itself. But... it seems if I run this at 60Hz, it's going to be running 20% faster.

ExpatCanadian

Hmmm.... I've just done some Googling, and found a French version of my Magimix manual and spotted this line:

Puissance/ Voltage/ Fréquence 1100 W / 220 V / 50-60Hz

This seems positive! Might not care about the frequency, as long as I am supplying 220!

rivingtonpike

The frequency thing, even if it is a factor with our bread maker, doesn't seem to make any difference to the dough it makes.

xxdb

I have two of the 1500W ones. They are awesome.

ExpatCanadian

Hey Pizzawheel... just a quick one... how do I deal with the split 110V lives in the 10-50 plug? There will only be a single live within the cord on the UK power bar... so going to one or the other prong is only going to give me 110v right?

ExpatCanadian

Great, Unless I can figure out how to safely make up an adapter I think I'm going to buy one... although I am considering the more expensive Krieger 1700W.... smaller, lighter, UL certified and a 5 year warranty.