"impvan" wrote in message
m...
Yup. It's essentially a delayed-start dimmer module. The same thing
is used on industrial fans which need to be speed controlled. They
might be full of kitchen grease or whatever, so the speed control
gives full power for a few seconds to get 'em going, then reduces the
mains waveform to give the lower-than-maximum running speed. The
savaplug just has a preset amount of 'dimming' compromised between
working on *most* appliances, and saving electricity.

I've just had to replace the control pcb module on my 18 month old freezer,
the circuit board had quite a few integrated circuits on it (and cost
£53!). I assume it has some sort of control like this built in & I wondered
if using something like a Savaplug would actually do more harm than good if
used in conjunction with it ?

Nick