[pool1410]

The dryer is 220v and Have it in Europe where it also 220voltage used. The hertz, though, are 60hrtz in the USA and 50hrtz here. Will the difference in hrtz effect the dryer use?
Thanks for you help.

[smoothy]

If it's a european drier, it won't work here... and it has nothing to do with the 60/50 hz thing.

Europe uses 220v SINGLE phase.. with a single hot and a common.

USA 220V is SPIT phase. It has two hot 110v legs 180 degrees out of phase and a common.

[pool1410]

The dryer(from the USA) is 220v and Have it in Europe where it also 220voltage used. The hertz, though, are 60hrtz in the USA and 50hrtz here. Will the difference in hrtz effect the dryer use?
2 dryers were brought to Europe from the USA.
A friend said when he connected his, and the motor smoked and did not function.
Now I wonder if they connected a transformer assuming the machine was a 110v instead of the 220v.
Hertz (60/50 hz) seems not to matter then dryer should work fine.
What do you think?
Europe uses 220v SINGLE phase.. with a single hot and a common.

USA 220V is SPIT phase. It has two hot 110v legs 180 degrees out of phase and a common.
Thanks for your response.

[smoothy]

Well in the case of a 220v USA device being used in europe... no transformer will work... you need a split phase and there is no possible way to do that with a transformer. Because Euope uses single phase. Transformers work on single phase items assuming they are sizes sufficiently for the required load.

If it's a 110v USA appliance... assume its single phase. If it's a 220v USA appliance assume it's a split phase.

As far as the 50 hz vs 60 hz thing... some equipment is sensitive to that part... others aren't. You have to reaad the tag on the equipment. It will tell you in most cases. While a 3rd grader might not understand it, many adults should (but not all will).


You can buy a new dryer for what you would pay for a transformer capable of letting a European dryer work here.

[pool1410]

Hello Smoothy,
I will look at dryer tag. Thanks for your help. If I cannot find an answer there maybe just try it and see if motor smokes. Any other options?
Thanks again

[smoothy]

Its going to smoke... because you will be feeding a 110v motor 220v which is TWICE what its rated at. Then you have the heating coil which WILL burn out as you will be feeding it twice the voltage they are rated at... look at it this way. THe dryer effectively is a 110v drier with two power cords in one.(its really not quite that simple but its easier for some to understand)... plug it into 220v and there is no doubt what's going to happen.

Its not an electronic device with a flexible input switching type power supply that can handle a wide range of input voltages by design... its hard wired to use only one specific input voltage.

[pool1410]

The dryer is 220volt from USA not 110v.
I got it specific for 220v since it was going to Europe.
Thanks

[smoothy]

The dryer is 220volt from USA not 110v.
I got it specific for 220v since it was going to Europe.
thanks

Ummmm read what I posted above. YOu do not understand exactly WHAT a USA 220V circuit actually is. We are talking AC not DC. And we are talking split phase... not single phase power. AC is not a constant voltage... it goes up and down 60 times a second in the USA, 50 times a second in Europe.

When one leg of a USA 220v circuit is High... the other leg is low. That's how you can have two 110 volt legs (as your drier actually is.. ) but see a 220volt differential. Its all WHERE you measure the USA circuit. That does NOT apply to European line voltage. There is no 220v single phase electrical power in the USA.

It is TWO 110v legs shareing a common return that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Between the two phases there is a 220v differential... but NOT on each of the legs by themselves. And that phase differential is why you can not use two transformers to do it.

You can NOT possibly attach a single phase 220v european power to a American 220v appliance and NOT burn it up... because they are apples and oranges. As in NOT the same thing.


Now you can try anyway and burn up a perfectly good drier that will cost a lot to repair or you will have to throw it out... or just wait until you return to the USA... or sell it to someone who is going to the USA sooner than you. Your choice.

And I've lived and worked in BOTH Europe AND the USA. I am very familiar with this topic.

[pool1410]

Thanks I understand it better.
There have been other dryers that have come from the USA and worked here. Is it possible to adapt an attachment that will allow two 110 volt legs to work into the single 220v as is used here?
Appreciate your help.

[smoothy]

Not that I am aware of. I don't have a drier wiring diagram handy either.

Part of the problem is a drier is a high current draw appliance. With an even higher intitial surge load. (the electric motor).

And keep in mind. A typical european house or apartment particularly the older ones is NOT wired for those sorts of current loads even if there was a way. I know several Italian apartments (like the 6 I have seen, different ages in different parts of the city) that only have a 30 amp 220v service for EVERYTHING.

A new drier isn't that much... even if your particular drier could be rewired to work... the tansformer you would need would cost more than a new drier would. And exactly what would you use that for in the future? Nothing. I have two smaller transformers collecting dust in my basement from when I lived overseas. And they are far more expensive today due to high copper costs.

This is most definitely one of those forget it and bite the bullet moments. Jst buy a European drier to use while you are there... and sell it to someone else when you leave to come back.

Its cheaper... and easier in the end.

Yeah you could reengineer the US drier to work if money was no object... but if you factor the time.. work and parts of someone qualified to do it (if you have to ask how, then you aren't qualified) you could buy a new one that can be actually serviced locally for less.

[pool1410]

you have been of great help.
The expression bite the bullet moment seems to be appropriate.
Thanks again.

[smoothy]

You are welcome... and trust me... I know where you are coming from hoping to save a few bucks by using what you have if it was at all possible. Sometimes you can... sometimes you can't. This was one of the sometimes you can't moments.