Can I keep my US appiliances(110v)?

[tanre]

I have read much about this and there seems to be some disagreement and hoping to get some clarification. I'm trying to figure out if I need to buy all new 220v/European appliances, or if I can use the ones I have. I have heard that anything with a motor of sorts will need to be replaced, but also heard others say they have used theirs for years without damage. I am pretty sure that all my electrical stuff (computers,cameras, ipods, etc) can be used and protected with a travel adapter and power converter. Not too sure about the other household items. Assume a 1000W Inverter and normal 220V system. Below is an abbreviated list to give an idea:



Blender
Slow Cooker
Heating pads
Fans
PS4
Hair Dryer/curling iron
Nutri-Bullet
Gopro equip and laptops




Thanks

[Sailmonkey]

If your inverter is 110v 60hz, just run everything off of it until they age out.

Unless you’ve got a 220v 50hz inverter. Then you’ll cook anything intended to operate at 110v.

Laptops are likely ok, the power bricks generally take in a wide range of voltages/frequencies.

But your question leaves too many unknowns to throughly answer

[TeddyDiver]

Whateaver works if you actually can run your appliances from house bank with an inverter. Just buy charger for the shorepower voltage to keep batteries up..

[JPA Cate]

Stepdown transformer.

[BillKny]

Almost NO motors designed for 110 will also operate on 220. Anything with a heating element will draw 2X the normal power and will die a very quick death with lots of smoke, exciting sparks, and (if you are really lucky) flames!

EVERY one of your appliances has a label listing the power supply that it can safely use. Try reading those instead of asking the internet. If it says 110V-220V 50-60Hz then you are good to go...

Here is a best guess for 110V/60Hz appliances that will run on 220V/50Hz:

Blender. NO
Slow Cooker. NO
Heating pads. NO.
Fans. NO
PS4. Do not know, check the label
Hair Dryer/curling iron. NO
Nutri-Bullet. NO
Gopro equip and laptops. Most likely. Check the Label

[Scorpius]

Best solution, as previously mentioned: install a step-down transformer to "transform" the 220V to 110 where the power comes into the boat. That will also take care of the different grounding arrangements between European and North American systems.

Motors will generally run at only 83% (50/60) of their rated speed and that might impact the performance of things like blenders and fans.

Running anything built for 110 on 220 will generally destroy it instantly - quite probably starting a fire. Many modern electronic devices, like cell phone and computer charges will accept either 110 or 220 and will handle both equally nicely - but the rest of your stuff? Forget it!

Running something like a slow cooker from your batteries through an inverter will put an ENORMOUS load on your batteries and inverter and, I would think, drastically shorten their life span. I sure as heck wouldn't do it.

Get an adequately sized 220V to 110V step-down/isolation transformer.

[zstine]

I have a travel hair dryer that works on both 110VAC and 220VAC, with 'high' and 'low' settings. When you select the 220V switch it physically blocks the 'high' setting and forces use in 'low', but low operates similar to high when on 220V... So the hair dryer may work and my laptop charger accepts 110V-240V, 50-60hz.
That said, I would not plug in most 110VAC appliances directly to 220V. You can step-down the voltage with a transformer. The frequency will be 10hz lower and AC motors will spin slower, but should work mostly.
And as others said, use your inverter to get 110VAC, assuming you can still keep batteries charged. Can your shore-connected battery charger take 220V?

[bobmcd625]

You are lucky to live in these modern times. Most tech equipment takes 110 and 220 v but do read the labels. In general a step down transformer is all you need.
Years ago I moved to the south of France with my family and a big American refrigerator (those European ones were sooo small!) in a heat wave in August. I found a shop which had the transformer, but they wouldn't sell it to me 'cause I was not a contractor!!! All this in my broken French. Eventually we worked out a plan and I got the transformer and it worked very well. Yes, the motor ran more slowly but we never had a problem. Good luck and have fun...

[MountainKing]

BillKny is correct. You can check the input voltage requirements on the power supply brick or chargers for the laptops, phones, gopros, ps4. They should all be good.

If you decide to switch your system to 110V, you would need to replace the wires with thicker ones sized for the lower voltage. The power loss in wires is I^2R, and a device using 1/2 the voltage will require twice the current, so that will be 4 times the power loss, which is lost as heat that can melt wires and start fires if the wires are undersized.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by MountainKing

BillKny is correct. You can check the input voltage requirements on the power supply brick or chargers for the laptops, phones, gopros, ps4. They should all be good.

If you decide to switch your system to 110V, you would need to replace the wires with thicker ones sized for the lower voltage. The power loss in wires is I^2R, and a device using 1/2 the voltage will require twice the current, so that will be 4 times the power loss, which is lost as heat that can melt wires and start fires if the wires are undersized.

^^^^ Very valid point regarding the wire gauge. Probably the easiest thing would be to install a couple of new circuits fed from the step down transformer with the proper gauge wiring to a couple of handy locations for 110v Ac (probably the galley and nav station) and just leave all the existing outlets alone.

[zstine]

Originally Posted by MountainKing

BillKny is correct. You can check the input voltage requirements on the power supply brick or chargers for the laptops, phones, gopros, ps4. They should all be good.

If you decide to switch your system to 110V, you would need to replace the wires with thicker ones sized for the lower voltage. The power loss in wires is I^2R, and a device using 1/2 the voltage will require twice the current, so that will be 4 times the power loss, which is lost as heat that can melt wires and start fires if the wires are undersized.

He's already got a 110V system on the boat (12 AWG for a 20Amp outlets, I'd guess). So, why would stepping down 220VAC to run on his existing 110VAC distribution need any wiring changes downstream of the transformer??

[guyrj33]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

^^^^ Very valid point regarding the wire gauge. Probably the easiest thing would be to install a couple of new circuits fed from the step down transformer with the proper gauge wiring to a couple of handy locations for 110v Ac (probably the galley and nav station) and just leave all the existing outlets alone.

The OP wrote in part "I'm trying to figure out if I need to buy all new 220v/European appliances, or if I can use the ones I have."

Sure sounds to me like they are moving from 110v 60hz input to 220v 50hz input.

[AlanT]

Originally Posted by tanre

I have read much about this and there seems to be some disagreement and hoping to get some clarification. I'm trying to figure out if I need to buy all new 220v/European appliances, or if I can use the ones I have. I have heard that anything with a motor of sorts will need to be replaced, but also heard others say they have used theirs for years without damage. I am pretty sure that all my electrical stuff (computers,cameras, ipods, etc) can be used and protected with a travel adapter and power converter. Not too sure about the other household items. Assume a 1000W Inverter and normal 220V system. Below is an abbreviated list to give an idea:



Blender
Slow Cooker
Heating pads
Fans
PS4
Hair Dryer/curling iron
Nutri-Bullet
Gopro equip and laptops
Thanks

Most US boats transiting the Atlantic to Europe wind up in the Azores where Mid-Atlantic Yacht Services (Horta) supply all the needed equipment to convert a US boat to Euro incoming power. I wrote this up in my "Euro Mods Page" on our website here: Moonstruck Hylas Yacht European Modifications

Its the second or third item so scroll down a bit.

This will power your existing equipment on board including (in our case) our air-conditioners, fridge & freezer. We did (when commissioning) get a Microwave and TV that operate on both 50 & 60 cycles so those would be two items that you might have trouble with if you don't replace.

In brief most Euro jobsite tools operate on 110/120vac so these transformers are intended for that market. They are weather proof and comprise a plastic encased cube of about 16" square. You plug this into the Euro 240/220v shore power and plug the other end into your boat. One bonus is that you can put away your heavy US shore cord. I imagine you can pick up these transformers anywhere construction equipment is sold in Europe.

We used one of these for 3.5 years with no reliability issues. The only potential disadvantage is that you may need to manage your distribution loads (we could only run two a/c units at a time with ours).

We also wired up a pigtail 220v cord which came in handy when we, for example, bought a small space heater on Euro spec.

~Alan

[PLeffe]

I’m in Tahiti and running 110V everything in this 220 world. It was super simple. I went to ACE hardware here in Papeete where they sell step down transformers. It was less than $100 USD. Then. Made a pigtail from the boats 50amp input to a plug to go into the back of the transformer. Plugged the transformer into the dock 220 and it all works like magic. Toaster, A/C, battery charger. I’ve been running this way for two season now. No issues at all.

The transformer says it not only converts 220 to 110 and vise verse but deals with 50 & 60 cycles. There are no issues at all.

Happy travels
S/V Dreamtime
Papeete, Tahiti

[AlanT]

Originally Posted by PLeffe

I’m in Tahiti and running 110V everything in this 220 world. It was super simple. I went to ACE hardware here in Papeete where they sell step down transformers. It was less than $100 USD. Then. Made a pigtail from the boats 50amp input to a plug to go into the back of the transformer. Plugged the transformer into the dock 220 and it all works like magic. Toaster, A/C, battery charger. I’ve been running this way for two season now. No issues at all.

The transformer says it not only converts 220 to 110 and vise verse but deals with 50 & 60 cycles. There are no issues at all.

Happy travels
S/V Dreamtime
Papeete, Tahiti

Its good that all your appliances work fine. For clarification however a Transformer cannot change the frequency (cycles). Your voltage stepped down from 220 to 110 but the cycles remained 50 and it is your appliances that are OK now working fine at 50 cycles (most do).