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Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Old Apr 7th 2013, 6:26 am
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by steveq
It would be tempting to make up a box with a US 220V plug onto a UK 13A strip. Add a double pole isolating switch, suitably rated
UK outlet strip wired to a US plug, with US neutral left open circuit. Simple and cheap. But potentially unsafe unless the 220v circuit has GFCI breaker protection. You can buy the GFCI breakers at Home Depot to simply snap-in replace non-GFCI ones, but the cost is vaguely on the order of $100.

Last edited by holly_1948; Apr 7th 2013 at 6:29 am.
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Old Apr 7th 2013, 8:19 am
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by holly_1948
UK outlet strip wired to a US plug, with US neutral left open circuit. Simple and cheap. But potentially unsafe unless the 220v circuit has GFCI breaker protection. You can buy the GFCI breakers at Home Depot to simply snap-in replace non-GFCI ones, but the cost is vaguely on the order of $100.
Simple and cheap until you burn your house down from not considering the other issues mentioned in the thread such as frequency and amperage. My electrical engineer father used to impress upon me the need to be careful, thorough, and aware when working with electricity, since his lab partner electrocuted himself to death in school doing something that "should have worked".
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Old Apr 8th 2013, 8:50 pm
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

The frequency would concern me the most as well. Essentially the boiler will cycle from + to - 10 times more a second when used in the US than on UK power. Watching my wife's attempt to use a UK hairdryer in the US (even with one of those transformers) doesn't really give me much confidence in this approach.

I had a cheap generator during Sandy that I attempted to run my Gaggia / Saeco machine off. The Gaggia / Saeco generally didn't like the dirty power coming off it (it was around 55Hz or so part of the time). A lot of clicking when it tried to prime the water circuit (that's what I'm guessing anyway).

Once my real Honda Inverter generator arrived I had no issues with the coffee machine (and a happy wife!).

Also if your machine has any electronics in it - they are not going to like the frequency change unless they are built to handle it (some are / some are not - but you'll only find out by opening it up and checking out the components if you can or by the other way - but then you'll have a 2K paper weight if it don't like it).

I have never seen a 220V piggyback style plug in the US at all (mostly limited to weekend trips to the big orange store).

I was in a similar situation (although not quite 2K) - found it easier to sell the old one and buy a new one here. I really doubt a US electrician would wire you an adapter for this purpose to be honest (even if you owned the home).

FYI: Best Expresso I've found in the City is downtown in Hanover Square. There is a Belgian Choccy shop there and its not bad!

Originally Posted by Speedwell
Simple and cheap until you burn your house down from not considering the other issues mentioned in the thread such as frequency and amperage. My electrical engineer father used to impress upon me the need to be careful, thorough, and aware when working with electricity, since his lab partner electrocuted himself to death in school doing something that "should have worked".

Last edited by goatherder; Apr 8th 2013 at 8:57 pm.
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Old Apr 8th 2013, 8:57 pm
  #19  
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by goatherder
The frequency would concern me the most as well. Essentially the boiler will cycle from + to - 10 times more a second when used in the US than on UK power. Watching my wife's attempt to use a UK hairdryer in the US (even with one of those transformers) doesn't really give me much confidence in this approach.

I had a cheap generator during Sandy that I attempted to run my Gaggia machine off. The Gaggia generally didn't like the dirty power coming off it (it was around 55Hz or so part of the time). A lot of clicking when it tried to prime the water circuit (that's what I'm guessing anyway).

Once my real Honda Inverter generator arrived I had no issues with the coffee machine (and a happy wife!).

Also if your machine has any electronics in it - they are not going to like the frequency change unless they are built to handle it (some are / some are not - but you'll only find out by opening it up and checking out the components if you can or by the other way - but then you'll have a 2K paper weight if it don't like it).

I have never seen a 220V piggyback style plug in the US at all (mostly limited to weekend trips to the big orange store).

I was in a similar situation (although not quite 2K) - found it easier to sell the old one and buy a new one here.
I doubt very much that an espresso machine would use the line frequency for anything. Cycling is likely based on heat sensors. Usually only motors have problems with line frequency (makes them run faster).
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Old Apr 8th 2013, 9:00 pm
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by Michael
I doubt very much that an espresso machine would use the line frequency for anything. Cycling is likely based on heat sensors. Usually only motors have problems with line frequency (makes them run faster).
It might have been the electronics in the coffee machine not liking the dirty power on the generator - either way it liked it a lot better when it was on cleaner power.
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Old Apr 8th 2013, 9:12 pm
  #21  
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by goatherder
It might have been the electronics in the coffee machine not liking the dirty power on the generator - either way it liked it a lot better when it was on cleaner power.
MUCH more likely. The supply in the coffee maker for the electronics will be a switcher, so the very first thing that happens where power enters the supply is it's turned into high voltage DC - completely insensitive to supply frequency.
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Old Apr 9th 2013, 5:02 pm
  #22  
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Default Re: Electricals - 4 prong 220v dryer outlet

Originally Posted by Cayman_NY
Question 1 : does anyone have a 3,000 + Watt transformer/converter that they would recommend?
I have several 3k transformers and have run my espresso machine off one with success. If your machine requires more than 2200 watts then you are going to need a bigger wattage transformer than 3k. When I looked into it all transformers won't operate for a long time at the max wattage. You can't use more than 80% of the sticker wattage for a sustained period of time (i.e more than a few minutes).

My espresso machine as a max wattage of 2200 but sits around 1800 at most. So a 3k works perfect for it.

I've also run a washing machine off a 3k as well. The spin cycle was a joke. I also had to wash in cold water since most UK/Australian washers have a heating element in it and therefor would push the bounds of the 3k. I've found US washers just use hot and cold water with no heating elements in them.

I've found that it's the Hz thats the big thing for anything that has an electric motor (espresso machine, washer, vac). You can't change the Hz with a transformer. Luckily my espresso machine works with a wide range of Hz.

My advice. If you plan to stay here in the USA, suck it up and buy new. If not just wait to go home and use them then.

After being here for 5 years I started out with 6 transformers. I now only use one. Which is used on my espresso machine (single boiler), grinder and magimix. Everything else I've bought 110v versions. My transformer is on about 9 hours a day. The cat loves it as it's always warm.

If you do buy a 3k transformer buy a lot of fuses. You will burn through a good few. The fuses are the type can't get at homedepot or radioshack. In the end I found that Honda mopeds use the same 40amp fuses and were cheaper than buying them from the company that supplied the transformers.
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