Understanding 110v/220v

[YoloSF]

Hello,
I have a 220v wired french made Beneteau 423. I learning a lot as I go, and have a ways to go!

My boat was plugged into shore power in the US and I use a step up converter to convert shore power to 220v.

I recently bought an electric rope cutter. It's 100W, 120VAC, Hz. I plugged it in using an adapter, it worked for 5 seconds, then something fried inside the gun. I made a mistake, I should've remembered that the voltage on the boat is not the right one. Now I can't figure out if a fuse has blown or what, but I can't get shore power. The step up converter is receiving power since the power light is on, the breakers behind the nav panel seem fine, I've switched them on and off, including one under the nav table seat, so there's something in between that I'm not seeing and I need to hunt down...

What I'm confused about is that I have some 110v dehumidifiers plugged in using just an adapter: http://www.davisnet.com/product_docu...AirDryrINS.pdf How come these haven't "fried"?

[MarkSF]

Don't plug any more 120v appliances into 220v!

[mstrebe]

Originally Posted by YoloSF

Hello,
I have a 220v wired french made Beneteau 423. I learning a lot as I go, and have a ways to go!

My boat was plugged into shore power in the US and I use a step up converter to convert shore power to 220v.

I recently bought an electric rope cutter. It's 100W, 120VAC, Hz. I plugged it in using an adapter, it worked for 5 seconds, then something fried inside the gun. I made a mistake, I should've remembered that the voltage on the boat is not the right one. Now I can't figure out if a fuse has blown or what, but I can't get shore power. The step up converter is receiving power since the power light is on, the breakers behind the nav panel seem fine, I've switched them on and off, including one under the nav table seat, so there's something in between that I'm not seeing and I need to hunt down...

What I'm confused about is that I have some 110v dehumidifiers plugged in using just an adapter: http://www.davisnet.com/product_docu...AirDryrINS.pdf How come these haven't "fried"?

They haven't fried because some devices, especially low power devices that use switching power supplies, can auto-detect voltage and can adapt to either 110 or 220 automatically. This includes things like computer power supplies and chargers. Thats what the simple plug adapters are useful for. You can look at the transformer or manual and it will usually tell you whether the device can be used on both 110 and 220 systems.

Also, some complex devices like home computers use power supplies that can be manually switched to support either 110 or 220v. You'll see this as an in-set little switch next to the cord inlet that says either "110V" or "220V" depending upon how its currently set.

It never includes motors or heat-making devices, all of which are specifically built for 110 or 220. Adapters for them are bulky, hot, and hard to find because they have to be large inductive transformers.

[YoloSF]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

They haven't fried because some devices, especially low power devices that use switching power supplies, can auto-detect voltage and can adapt to either 110 or 220 automatically. This includes things like computer power supplies and chargers. Thats what the simple plug adapters are useful for. You can look at the transformer or manual and it will usually tell you whether the device can be used on both 110 and 220 systems.

Also, some complex devices like home computers use power supplies that can be manually switched to support either 110 or 220v. You'll see this as an in-set little switch next to the cord inlet that says either "110V" or "220V" depending upon how its currently set.

It never includes motors or heat-making devices, all of which are specifically built for 110 or 220. Adapters for them are bulky, hot, and hard to find because they have to be large inductive transformers.

Interesting, especially since the dehumidifiers work with a little heat. It might be 110-220v but the online specs doesn't mention it. It would make sense to keep the manufacturing cheaper and just change the plugs depending on whether it's for the EU/US market.