From a helpful correspondent:
I would like to inform you about my
experience with electrical equipment and the research I did about 50 and
60 Hertz (cycles).
I am an electrical engineer and live
on the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean in front of Venezuela.
On our island we have an electrical
mains of 127 and 220 Volt and 50 Hertz.
Because we are a small island about
150.000 inhabitants and are located close to the USA, some electrical
equipment sold is imported from the States, so made for a electrical
mains of 110/120 volt 60 Hertz.
There is however a big problem with
this and that is a lot of this equipment burns out after a while and
this varies between a day or weeks or months or years.
This depends on the quality of the
insulation of the electrical wiring.
What is the cause of these
burn-outs:
the function of a electrical motor
or transformer is dependent on the Hertz or cycles of the alternating
voltage or current. This means that a motor or transformer would not
function if the electrical voltage was not alternating.
Basically a motor or
transformer is made by a manufacturer for a specific Hertz or cycles, so
either for 50 or for 60 Hz.
This is mentioned on the nameplate
of the equipment.
Sometimes it mentions both Hertz 50
and 60, but this is only for small (low wattage) motors and small
transformers.
Larger motors or transformers
are only made for a specific amount of Hertz, so either 50 or 60
What happens if you connect a 60
Hertz motor to a 50 Hertz mains:
The motor turns 17% slower
The internal current goes up by
17%
The power (watt) goes down with
17 %
The mechanical cooling is less,
because of 17% less turns
The result is a higher current,
then designed by the manufacturer and the insulation of the electrical
wiring deteriorate much quicker, which after sometime results in a
burn-out, which could cause a
Example's:
a hairdryer has a heating
element and a fanmotor, the heating element is not a problem, but the
fanmotor is made for 60 Hertz, so can burn-out
a mains adapter for a
battery charger , for a laptop, or for a cellular phone has a
transformer in it and burns-out if it is only made for 60 Hertz
To-day's laptop adapters are mostly
made for the whole world and there is no problem as long as it
states on the name-plate: 110-220 volt 50/60 Hertz, if it only states
110 volt 60 Hertz(cycles) it can not be used on a 50 Hertz mains, even if
you connect it with a transformer let's say to use it in Europe on a 220
Volt 50 Hertz mains.
Solution:
You can use a transformer to solve
part ( the internal current can be lowered but the cycles cannot be
changed) of the problem, by connecting the 60 cycles apparatus to a
voltage 20% lower as mentioned on the nameplate:
So a 110 volt 60 Hertz apparatus can
be connected to a 50 Hertz mains on a voltage 20% lower then 110 volt=90
volt.
Example:
Connect a 110 volt 60 Hertz
apparatus with a transformer to a 110 Volt or 127 Volt or 220 Volt; 50
Hertz mains, by setting the primary voltage of the transformer to either
110 or 127 or 220 volt (dependent on the mains of the country) and the
secondary voltage to 90 volt for the apparatus
This solution is not a practical
solution for travellers, because you would have to carry a heavy
transformer of about 1500 Watt in order to use the hairdryer, simpler
is to buy (or rent) a new hairdryer in the visiting
country.
For all other
traveling electrical equipment like a laptop check first the
Voltage and cycles on the mains adapter, which in most cases is universal
for 110-220 volt 50/60 Hertz and if this is not the case buy a new
universal mains adapter.
The information on your web-site
should state roughly something like the following:
Electrical equipment
Electrical equipment is made by the
manufacturer for a certain amount of Current, Voltage and Hertz
(Cycles) which is mentioned on the name plate. The Current is
dependent of the Voltage and the Hertz.
If the Current through the apparatus
is higher then is designed for because of connecting it to a Voltage or
Hertz other then stated on the nameplate, the apparatus burns out and can
cause
a fire.
The electrical Voltage and Hertz are
different in different parts of the world, roughly you can distinguish:
120 and 220 Volt; 60 Hertz
(USA)
230 Volt; 50 Hertz (Europe &
Asia)
Because the electrical current is
dependent of the Voltage and the Hertz you cannot
connect electrical equipment with a motor and or transformer in it,
to a Voltage other then stated on the nameplate. If you connect 60
Hertz equipment to a 50 Hertz mains the internal current goes up with 17%
and can cause a burn-out. If you connect 120 Volt equipment to 220 Volt
the current goes up with 100% and surely causes a fast burn-out.
This means even if the Voltage is
the same, or if you put a transformer in between to transform the Voltage,
you still cannot connect a 60 Hertz motor or equipment with an internal
input transformer to a 50 Hertz mains.
A lot of equipment is made for
universal use all over the world like a laptop and in that case the
nameplate mentions: 110-230 Volt; 50/60 Hertz
In most cases a hairdryer is only
made for one Voltage and one Hertz and can only be used for this Voltage
and Hertz
Universal adaptor plugs for
different type of main outlet's can only be used if the Voltage and Hertz
are the same for the electrical equipment and the main outlet or if the
nameplate states it can be used for different Voltage and Hertz, or if you
can switch the Voltage on the equipment and it can be used for both 50 and
60 Hertz.
The message is:
If you are not sure do not use your
electrical equipment in other countries if the Voltage and or Hertz is not
the same as in your country
I hope the information is useful to
you. You can also visit my web-site
www.henkpasman.com,
which I specifically set up for the local people to inform them about this
problem.
Regards,
Henk Pasman
Mr. Pasman later added:
Please note that the same
problem also exist in transformers as I explained, they also burn out
after a while, also a transformer is made for either 50 or 60 Hertz. Take
for instance the transformers which are used for printers to convert
them to either a DC or AC voltage of somewhere around 12 volts, they burn
quickly if there made cheap in China or Taiwan. The insulation of the
wiring is done at minimum for 60 Hertz because of high volume and fine for
60 Hertz but not for 50 Hertz. Also the transformer for a celphone to
connect it to the mains and charge the battery.
The input transformer like a
computer or television or radio equipment is usually not a problem because
they are used by the manufacturer all over the world and they make in that
case only one model which can be used for both Hertz.
