I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?

At this point you are not comparing apples to apples. If these units were
fundamentally the same, they would cost the same to run. It sounds like the
one unit has a larger heater, which if nothing else would produce more
steam, faster


"BryanL" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?

BryanL wrote:
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?


The cost to run the devices depends on how much power they use, not what
voltage they run on so Watts is the value to compare. And don't forget
that the efficiency of the device in turning water into steam will make
a huge difference in how you will use and enjoy using it - a unit which
uses little power can, by definition, make less steam (assuming that
they are both designed for optimum performance). The power does not
depend on the voltage -- you can develop 3000W from either voltage, it
just becomes less practical to obtain higher power from the low voltage
source with 3600W being the practical upper limit. Will you enjoy a
"steam shower" as much if you need to turn it on an hour before using it
and find that it never gets more than tepid inside? An underpowered unit
could well do that for you.

Personally, I'd go for something in the high-power end of the range
whether it be 120V or 240V since it is not likely that it will be used
all that many hours a month. Find out exactly how much your utility
charges for power. Then do the math for various power levels and you
will know how much every minute will cost you and you can then make a
rational decision.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

John McGaw wrote:
BryanL wrote:
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and
have been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating
between a 110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more
convenient, but it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL
certified but I heard that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?


The cost to run the devices depends on how much power they use, not
what voltage they run on so Watts is the value to compare. And don't
forget that the efficiency of the device in turning water into steam
will make a huge difference in how you will use and enjoy using it -
a unit which uses little power can, by definition, make less steam
(assuming that they are both designed for optimum performance). The
power does not depend on the voltage -- you can develop 3000W from
either voltage, it just becomes less practical to obtain higher power
from the low voltage source with 3600W being the practical upper
limit. Will you enjoy a "steam shower" as much if you need to turn it
on an hour before using it and find that it never gets more than
tepid inside? An underpowered unit could well do that for you.

Personally, I'd go for something in the high-power end of the range
whether it be 120V or 240V since it is not likely that it will be used
all that many hours a month. Find out exactly how much your utility
charges for power. Then do the math for various power levels and you
will know how much every minute will cost you and you can then make a
rational decision.

Let me add that the total power/cost of operation per minute of use is
based, as you note, by the watts. Assuming the unit does not cycle on and
off during use, then the total watts can be computed by multiplying the amps
by the volts. A 10 amp 240 volt unit will provide the same heat as a 20 amp
120 volt unit.

Note a 240 unit will be very slightly more efficient overall, but not
enough to bother with.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:39:10 +0000, BryanL wrote:

I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but it's
not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard that it's
very costly to run. What shall i do?

The voltage is not going to determine the cost to run. Thats determined
by the wattage. A higher wattage unit may be 220V for other reasons
though.

220V is used so you can use smaller wiring in the walls. So instead of
getting even bigger wire when you go to the high wattage, you get a higher
voltage unit, then you can maintain the same gauge wire with the higher
wattage.

A 220v machine will always be a little more efficient than a 110v one.

--
Steve Barker







"BryanL" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?

In article ,
"Steve Barker" wrote:

A 220v machine will always be a little more efficient than a 110v one.

True of 3-phase, but also of single phase?

What some of the others said:
220/240 V is a tad more efficient, as the lower current has less "IR" drop
in the feed wires associated with it.

And, in addition to being easier on the wires, 220/240 inherently balances
the load lines coming into the house.
It is possible, with numerous large 120 V devices, to load only one leg
coming into the house, unless you explicitly balance stuff.
I deal with this all the time.

With 220/240, you don't have to worry about it.

Always go 220/240 when possible. Whenever possible, I rewire motors from
110 to 220.

In some cases, 220 just isn't readily available in some parts of a house.
Then, yer stuck w/ 110/120
--
------
Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY

Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!

entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
all d'numbuhs

"Steve Barker" wrote in message
...
A 220v machine will always be a little more efficient than a 110v one.

--
Steve Barker







"BryanL" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?

John McGaw wrote:
BryanL wrote:
I'm planning to purchase a steam shower for my master bathoom and have
been doing some serious research, but I'm still hesitating between a
110V unit and 220V unit. The 110V is certainly more convenient, but
it's not ETL or UL certified. THe 220V is ETL certified but I heard
that it's very costly to run. What shall i do?


The cost to run the devices depends on how much power they use, not what
voltage they run on so Watts is the value to compare. And don't forget
that the efficiency of the device in turning water into steam will make
a huge difference in how you will use and enjoy using it - a unit which
uses little power can, by definition, make less steam (assuming that
they are both designed for optimum performance). The power does not
depend on the voltage -- you can develop 3000W from either voltage, it
just becomes less practical to obtain higher power from the low voltage
source with 3600W being the practical upper limit. Will you enjoy a
"steam shower" as much if you need to turn it on an hour before using it
and find that it never gets more than tepid inside? An underpowered unit
could well do that for you.

Personally, I'd go for something in the high-power end of the range
whether it be 120V or 240V since it is not likely that it will be used
all that many hours a month. Find out exactly how much your utility
charges for power. Then do the math for various power levels and you
will know how much every minute will cost you and you can then make a
rational decision.

The other advantage to going with the 240V unit is that, assuming it's
rated more or less the same kW as the 120V unit, it will draw less
current, and you can use smaller-gauge wire (code permitting, of
course), which will be less expensive. Copper wire ain't cheap these days.

Yours aye,
W. Underhill

--
"Take sides! Always take sides! You may sometimes be wrong - but the man
who refuses to take sides must *always* be wrong! Heaven save us from
poltroons who fear to make a choice!" R.A. Heinlein, "Double Star"