Solutions
for Using U.S. Appliances in Other Countries
There
are three basic electrical differences to be considered when using
North American appliances in most other countries: 1). Frequency, 2).
Voltage, and 3). Wall Outlet Configuration
Problem
#1: Frequency
Problem
Description:
Any
motorized (AC motor) appliance that is not dual frequency (50/60 Hz)
will rotate 17% slower in a 50 Hz country than it would here.
Unfortunately, there is no practical solution to the problem.
Many
multi-speed appliances such as many blenders, mixers, etc. when used
on their lower speeds can compensate for this slower rotation by
using the next higher speed setting. Only the highest speed setting
would then still rotate 17% slower. Also, if the appliance uses a DC
(direct current) motor it won't be affected by the frequency
difference since DC power doesn't have a frequency. Appliances that
basically just provide heat and don't have an AC motor at all,
toasters, electric grills, etc., shouldn't be affected by the
frequency difference.
Frequency
Problem Solution:
Unfortunately,
there is no practical solution to this problem but in most cases, as
described above, there are ways to compensate for this problem
Problem
#2: Voltage
Problem
Description:
The
United States and Canada use a nominal 120 volts for all but a few
appliances while Mexico uses 127 volts in most areas. Most countries
outside of North America use 220 volts, 230 volts, 240 volts, and a
few areas 250 volts as the power source for their appliances. There
are some North American appliances that operate at 220 volts such as
electric ranges, electric dryers, welders, some larger air
conditioners, etc. but most will only operate at nominal 120 volts.
This means that you will need to “step down” the higher
“foreign” voltage to an acceptable level for your
appliances with either a solid state voltage converter or a
transformer. An important exception to this need to “step down”
the voltage is appliances that are either multi-voltage or dual
voltage which probably will just need wall outlet plug adapters.
If
an appliance like a laptop or battery charger says somewhere, usually
on the charger, “input 100 – 240, 50/60 Hz”, that
usually means that you don't need a voltage converter or transformer
but just the appropriate plug adapter for each country you intend to
visit. If an appliance is dual voltage it can either be
“self-sensing” or have a manual switch somewhere, usually
on the body of the appliance, that can often be extremely small and
inconspicuous. If it is self-sensing dual voltage you still need to
be aware of its voltage range. Most of the time a self-sensing dual
voltage appliance will have a range of two voltages at which it can
operate. It might say for instance “110 – 120 v. /
220-230 v. 50-60 Hz” . An appliance that is dual voltage with a
switch, will often show its lower voltage on one side of the switch
and the higher operating voltage on the other side of the switch.
Remember, you will need the proper wall outlet
adapter regardless of whether or not the appliance is dual voltage or
multi-voltage.
Presuming
your appliances aren't dual or multi, you still need to know the
watts (or amps) of any appliance you intend to use through the step
down voltage converter or transformer. Voltage converters and
transformers are rated and sized according to the amount of power
(watts) they need to operate properly. If the watts aren't listed on
the appliance but the amps are, you can still find out the watts
needed by multiplying the voltage times the amps which equals watts
(Volts X Amps
= Watts, VA=W).
If
an appliance has an AC motor as one of its components (for example:
blenders; stereo system drives for tapes, CD's, turntables; mixers,
etc.) the motor surge needs to be factored into your calculations for
the correct size transformer. The motor surge is basically the large
amount of energy that needs to be applied to the windings of an AC
motor to get the rotor to overcome inertia, torque, etc and start
turning. This surge often only lasts for milli-seconds but long
enough to blow the “quick-blow” fuse on the transformer.
The fuses are quick-blow to try to protect the transformer and the
appliance from damage. The surge can often last longer depending on
many factors such as ambient temperature, age, load characteristics,
torque, and more. For example, the motor may have a running current
or watts of, say, 1000 watts but may actually require a 5000 watt
transformer because of surge. The multiplying factor for surge can be
3 – 5 times the operating or running watts. Another example
would be a drill motor with a high-speed drill bit that will have one
watts or amp reading as it cuts through balsa wood and another even
higher watts reading as it is forced through steel.
These
multiplying factors, while they do reflect many real world
conditions, are just for reference and not necessarily accurate for
your exact situation. The only scientific method to determine the
surge requirements is to actually take an amperage reading of the
appliance as it is working under the “worst case scenario”.
You can reduce the muliplying factor for these types of appliances by
using an ATVR transformer which is specifically designed to handle
these surges. If you had an appliance with an operating watts of
1000w you could probably get by with an ATVR2000 (2000 watt). While
these ATVR automatic voltage regulating transformers are somewhat
more expensive than an ordinary transformer, they are designed for
this heavier duty use and shouldn't be damaged by constant surges
that will damage ordinary transformers.
Voltage
Problem Solutions:
TA-50A
Transformer:
Can
be used for up to three hours continuous use with ungrounded (2 pins) appliances (except laptops)
that have power requirements between 0 and 50 watts (all transformer
manufacturers recommend that their products not be loaded to more
than 85% of their rated capacity). Suggested applications (you
must determine the suitability for your specific application):
digital camera charger, camcorder charger, shavers,
TA-1600
Solid State Voltage Converter:
Can
be used with ungrounded, non-electronic (no auto features at all)
appliances between 50 and 1875 watts. The TA-1600 cannot be used for
more than 45 minutes at a time because it is a solid state device
that will over heat after 45 minutes to an hour. Suggested
applications (you must determine the suitability for your specific
application): most hair dryers, many curling irons (must be over
50 watts and under 1875 watts), irons, many hair straighteners, etc.
TA-1875
Dual Watt Voltage Converter:
Can
be used with ungrounded, non-electronic (no auto features at all)
appliances between 0 and 1875 watts. It has two watts settings for
appliances between 0 to 25 watts and with a flip of the switch 26 to
1875 watts. The switch must be set properly or damage can occur. You
can't use an appliance over 25 watts on the 0-25 watt setting nor a
appliance under 26 watts on the 26-1875 setting. The TA-1875 cannot
be used for more than 45 minutes at a time because it is also a solid
state device that will over heat after 45 minutes to an hour.
Suggested applications (you must determine
the suitability for your specific application): most hair
dryers, many curling irons (must be over 50 watts and under 1875
watts), irons, many hair straighteners, etc.
Transformers:
Transformers,
not including the ungrounded TA-50A
above, provide a “full sine wave” electrical
output that allows them to be used 24/7 with grounded and ungrounded
appliances with non of the restrictions normally associated with the
solid state converters (all transformer manufacturers recommend that
their products not be loaded to more than 85% of their rated
capacity). The TA-1600
and TA-1875
above are solid state voltage converters that produce a “modified
sine wave” that causes over heating and prevents their use
with any grounded and electronic appliances. Will take care of any
appliance that can't be serviced by a solid state converter (see
above).
110
volt multi-outlet power strips and multi-outlet surge protectors can
be used in the 110 volt output of each of these transformers to allow
connection of various appliances at the same time. You must be sure
not to exceed the ratings of both the power strip or surge protector
and the transformer. Below you find links to six different
competitively priced models of transformers. Each model has a variety
of sizes from which to choose. Click on the links below for more
information.
VC
Model Transformer
TC-SQR
Model Heavy-Duty Transformer
SVC
Model Automatic Voltage Regulator Transformer
AR
Model Automatic Voltage Regulator Automatic Transformer
ATVR
Model Automatic Voltage Regulator Transformer
VC-J
Model Japan Transformer
Problem
#3: Wall Outlet Configurations
Problem
Description:
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As you can see in the
pictures above, U.S. (or North American) appliances have one of
three plug types: Ungrounded Polarized (left above), Ungrounded
Non-polarized (not shown), or Grounded Polarized (right above).
Our World
Electric Guide, a list that gives electrical informations for
all the countries of the world, shows that most foreign
countries have a different wall outlet configuration which
prevents U.S. plugs from plugging into their outlets. Canada
has the same configuration as the United States. Japan and Mexico
have similar wall outlet configurations but they don't have as
many grounded and polarized outlets. Non-polarized ungrounded
plugs have two pins of the same size. Polarized ungrounded plugs
are plugs that have just 2 pins but the neutral pin is larger
than the “hot” pin for safety. This could be a
problem if you are trying to plug your polarized plug into a
Mexican or Japanese outlet which might have the pins both the
same smaller size.
Many countries
actually have multiple wall outlet configurations. This could be
for political reasons, historical reasons, or it was just more
convenient to hire an electrical contractor from a nearby border
state and let them use their outlet configuration. This means you
might need more than one plug adapter for many countries.
Important:
plug adapters don't change the voltage.
Outlet
Configuration Problem Solutions:
Fortunately,
there are plug
adapters that can change the configuration of a plug to match
any wall outlet configuration in the world. This is true for both
grounded plugs and polarized and non-polarized ungrounded plugs.
There are only six (6) ungrounded plug adapters needed for the
world and ten
(10) grounded plug adapters needed for the world. The six (6)
ungrounded (2 pins) plug adapters will accept both polarized and
non-polarized North American ungrounded (2 pins) plugs. Note:
most but not all countries have an ungrounded (2 pin) version of
their grounded (3 pin) plug. South Africa is such a country. It
does not have an ungrounded version of its wall outlet
configuration that would require the WA-10L
plug adapter for North American plugs to fit. In such a case,
you would just use the grounded
plug adapter WA-10L even if your appliance is ungrounded.
You
can see images of all six of the ungrounded
wall outlet plug adapters here. You can see images of all ten
of the grounded
wall outlet plug adapters here. These plug adapters are the
solution to the wall outlet configuration problem. They are
country specific on the male side but on the female side they are
universal (will accept any foreign plug including the U.S. but
excluding South
Africa and places that use that same configuration).
The
World
Electric Guide contains a list of all of the countries of the
world and when you click on the name of a country you are shown
which grounded and ungrounded plug adapters you will need. There
are kits available for every
region of the world here. There is also a kit AK-GROU
containing just the grounded
plug adapters here and another kit AK-UNGR
containing just the ungrounded
plug adapters here. You can buy a kit AK-WORL
that contains all of the grounded
and ungrounded plug adapters here.
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