On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 08:35:16 +0100, Gazz wrote:


"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 15/04/2014 23:53, Uncle Peter wrote:
On Tue, 15 Apr 2014 23:24:28 +0100, Uncle Peter wrote:

Plus.... I've found a few websites saying 220V American appliances can't
operate in the UK, because they have two phase power over there? WTF?
Surely all their big appliances see is 220V, connected from L1 to L2.
Over here they get the same, but L to N.

It can be true of US inductive loads like motors built down to a price.
The difference in current between a 60Hz design and 50Hz operation can be
a nearly 20% increase in current draw. Running hot = shorter life.

A lot of stuff sold in the USA comes with a US only wallwart PSU. Japanese
kit comes with the ability to run on either since half the country has US
installed 60Hz generators and the rest British 50Hz.

Japan uses 100 volts mind,

America, the houses have 2 phases at 110 volts coming in, the breaker box is
split in half, and half the house wired on one 110 volt phase, the other
half wired to the 2nd phase, they need to balance the loads a bit to avoid
overloading the common neutral.

When they put in a 220 volt appliance (tumble drier, cooker/range, big
welder, RV power, big air conditioners etc) they use both 110 volt phases
and not the neutral wire,
if the neutral is used it will be for 110 volt parts in the appliance... the
motor in the tumble drier, clock on the cooker etc.

That's the bit where I'm confused. I have seen a few blogs from Americans that lost their neutral, which obviously caused some lights to be too bright and others too dim. But what doesn't make sense is when they turned on the cooker, it stabilised it. That would only make sense if the cooker had a neutral connection strapped to the middle of the heating element. Why would they do that?

Also it sounds like quite a few houses have caught fire over there with a lost neutral, due to 110 volt appliances getting 220V and catching fire. What amused me though is the Americans who had bright and dim lights for ages, and never thought to test the voltages with a meter, and even worse, the guy from the electricity board didn't notice either!

--
An Englishman was feeling a little queezy on his first sailing, and leaned over the edge of the boat. He saw a Frenchman below opening his porthole so, feeling the urge to bring up his dinner, he yelled "LOOK OUT!"
The Frenchman stuck his head out of the porthole and was decorated with semi-digested food. "YOU SILLY ENGLISHMAN!!!!" he yelled, "Why do you say look out when you mean look in?"