220v German plug to US 2240 or 110V no Transformer

1783 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by sarconastic, Mar 21, 2014

sarconastic

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2014

Ok I have read a dozen threads on the us to European conversion and 220v European to 110v with a step up transformer.

I am actually looking for confirmation of two theories I have. I have worked as an Electrician and under stand the 60hz to 50Hz but it should not come into play in my instance.Tthere are no motors involved.

I have an old National Press Cap press that is 220V with a german style 220v round plug on it. This press has no electronics with the exception of a AOT 0400 Solid State timer that is rated for 120V and 220V It uses a Bilbee Thermostat on the head. and a 2Meg potentiometer for setting the timer time.

The wiring is wired as far as I can tell to UL standards. Ground to chassis, other two are isolated and one leg fused. As far as I can tell one of the following would hold true.

1. I could convert it to a us 240v plug and it would work drawing roughly the same current as the European model. Or

2.I could change the cord to a heavier 110v US unit and it would just draw twice the current and operate fine. The timer is 110v or 220v ( I have emailed AOT for confirmation .

The current draw is 2.5 amps at 220v s it would be 5 amps at 120v. The circuit protection is moot on this unit since is internally fused. But I could get a lower amperage 220v breaker if need be. Or add an additional inline fuse on the second leg to protect both legs.

The thermostat is not voltage specific but the elements would take longer to heat up at 110v. With this thing being made in Kansas I theorize they wired it the same for Us or EU and simply changed the plug to save on design and production.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Woody

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sarconastic

Discussion Starter · #2 · Mar 21, 2014

I got a reply from AirOTronics that the timer would indeed work fine on US voltages so that is good. My only real concern is the heating Elements. If they will work fine on 240V us without burning out.

Any one have any ideas on this?

Woody

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20vK

· #3 · Mar 21, 2014

At a guess, I would have thought that the solid state timer would be slightly out, given the frequency difference.

From my limited understanding, won't it just draw what it needs? or, if the voltage is slightly higher, it will just draw slightly less amps to compensate. Pretty sure voltage supplied to a house is not constant any way? I never get 110 exactly from my wall sockets! Why not measure it yourself to see what you actually have.

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sarconastic

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 21, 2014

My thinking I the same 20vK, that the press should only draw what it needs. where this is a worry is where it draws more than the wiring is capable of handling and has a melt down. I have a plan in place to test it out. I am making an inline plug that I can monitor the Current draw when I fire it up. This way I can see any spikes and see how things go.

My understanding of the timer is that it uses an internal voltage regulator that sets the voltage the timer uses. So that part isn't an issue. As far as the timer I think the frequency is moot as the voltage is converted to a DC line voltage internally using a rectifier bridge and should eliminate the sine wave of an AC circuit entirely. Solid State indicates electronic devices like IC's which do not run on AC line voltage so they must be rectified to DC for operation.

Thanks for the input I appreciate it.

Woody

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