Dryer Machine From Us Will Work In Los?

[tangcoral]

My dryer from the US built for a 220volt at 60hz.

In LOS the voltage should be fine however 50hz in LOS might not, from my understanding electric motors designed for 60hz will run slightly slower at 50hz which should be fine.

However will it affect the electronic control and display? I heard any hertz has no affect on electronic computer or display.

Now that I am on topic about electricity, would a washer from the USA designed to be 120volt 60hz will work if I get a transformer converter? Those converters will convert it to 220 but not to 50hz correct?

[Nagatus]

Should be fine, no worries

230 volts is not actually that it varies all the time anyways, I am not 100% sure about the herz difference (why do the US always have to invent the wheel again?)

wrt the 120 volt thing I would leave it behind, the converters you need or actually an inverter in this case will always give you a poor transformation ratio and hence will add more to your electric bill.

Sorry no more help

Edited May 30, 2009 by Nagatus

[thatguy]

the heat coils most certainly are 220, no problem.

the clock in the timer is no doubt 60 cycle, so it would run slower, but probably runs on 110, so would blow out. You could run the timer off a small transformer.

The motor could be 110 or 220. same problems. Even if the motor is 220, US 220 adds the voltage from two 110 legs. Thai 220 uses a 220 leg and a "neutral" leg or some dam_n thing. Check with an electric guy, there may be an easy workaround.

Thai dryers are expensive, 20,000 B plus.But if you need major modifications on a US dryer, it may come out the same.

[Tinkelbell]

quoted....."Thai dryers are expensive, 20,000 B plus.But if you need major modifications on a US dryer, it may come out the same...."

But how long does it last ? A year ?...5 yr ?...10 yr...?

My sis is the pround owner of a washer & dryer, a refrigerator, and a microwave. When her kid finished uni in the US in the late '80, she had her kid bought those major appliances and shipped them home to BKK.

After 20+ years in service, those appliances are quite old but still functional perfectly up until today.

My point is I'm willing to pay a bit more for a good one, it will last longer and eliminate the troble of time and costs for repair along the way.

[longball53098]

I do not think a US appliance (dryer) will operate here on the Thai supply voltages. The US system uses two legs of 120 volts and a neutral

See the attached drawing of a US dryer. I have looked at several models and they are all basically the same. There would be no way of splitting the Thai 230 volts into the needed 120 volts for L1 and L2 to operate the dryer correctly.

[helitool]

When my wife and I shipped our household possessions over 2 years ago and decided to keep our 15 year old maytag appliances as well as bringing back a modern clothes dryer. I had to rewire both of the driers because all clothes driers in the us are designed to use natural gas first and then this design is modified to use electricity for heating as a retrofit. As a result everything in the drier is 110 except the heater coil which is 220. This was not a problem for me as I am very good at electronics and electricity.

These US driers have 2 hot legs and a neutral the heater coil is attached across the 2 hot leads for 220. The power for the clock etc. is across one hot and the white neutral for 110. I had to separate the 2 circuits and use a step down transformer to get the 110. you should get a polarity checker from Radio Shack before coming here so you can make sure that the polarity of the transformer matches the polarity of the main 220 circuit. otherwise the breaker will blow. If this happens swap the leads coming out of the transformer.

The old maytags are great they will probably be working away long after I'm gone but the modern appliances that are made off shore are worthless and so under built that the motors overheat on 50 hertz and shutdown. These driers have a schematic somewhere usually behind the control panel that will give you some idea as to where the mods need to be made.

[Crossy]

I do not think a US appliance (dryer) will operate here on the Thai supply voltages. The US system uses two legs of 120 volts and a neutral

See the attached drawing of a US dryer. I have looked at several models and they are all basically the same. There would be no way of splitting the Thai 230 volts into the needed 120 volts for L1 and L2 to operate the dryer correctly.

Thanks for digging up that schematic LB

I agree that it's not going to be an easy task, you'll need to create a proper 110-0-110 supply using a transformer.

Even then we're not out of the woods, US appliances are designed to run on 60Hz. 60Hz motors tend to have less iron in the cores and will overheat when run on 50Hz, they'll also run slow.

You CAN convert 50Hz to 60Hz using a rotary converter or an electronic inverter, neither of which will be cheap

All in all, whilst it's POSSIBLE to run your appliances you need to consider whether it's PRACTICAL.

Besides, with all that free sunshine, who needs a dryer? We don't have one

[noahvail]

Besides, with all that free sunshine, who needs a dryer? We don't have one

And in the wet season? It's lots of fun to have the clothes drying on inside lines

edit: removed attachment

Edited May 31, 2009 by ubonjoe
fixed quote ubonjoe

[kennkate]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

[atyclb]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

220 volt coffee machine from US works fine in thailand.

Is it worth the shipping charges when u can get one locally?

[mogoso]

Should be fine, no worries

230 volts is not actually that it varies all the time anyways, I am not 100% sure about the herz difference (why do the US always have to invent the wheel again?)

Not certain as to the history of electrical usage, but believe it was an american inventor, Thomas Alva Edison that got the wheel rolling on it, or at least he shed some light on it.

An italian, Alessandro Volta discovered that electricity flowed like a current and not a sudden discharge. We named volts after him.

An englishman Michael Farraday developed the first electrical generator in 1831, by discovering that electrical energy could be produced through magnetism by motion.

40 years past before Edison developed the first practical DC generator.

Swan and edison combined their light bulb technologies

Tesla and Westinghouse develop alternating current that allowed for greater voltage transfer.

so I'm not sure of your comment that the US is always reinventing the wheel, it seems to be they coinvented it.

The US still uses the english system of measurement rather than the newer metric system So who reinvented the wheel there? Napolean tried to establish the metric system in 1793 and then scrapped it till 40 years later France reintroduced it. Is it any wonder a former British colony would stick with a system their people were comfortable with.

[maichai40]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

I think some people don't know how to spend their money, this is one of the top useless items you can own have in Thailand!

[chuckd]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

I think some people don't know how to spend their money, this is one of the top useless items you can own have in Thailand!

Tell this to my nice, dry clothes as we suffer the fifth straight day of heavy rains. A keyboard is one of the most useless electrical items some people possess.

[maichai40]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

I think some people don't know how to spend their money, this is one of the top useless items you can own have in Thailand!

Tell this to my nice, dry clothes as we suffer the fifth straight day of heavy rains. A keyboard is one of the most useless electrical items some people possess.

Five days of rain without a stop? Not even a few hours to dry clothes? Hope you stay at high floor!!

[chuckd]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

I think some people don't know how to spend their money, this is one of the top useless items you can own have in Thailand!

Tell this to my nice, dry clothes as we suffer the fifth straight day of heavy rains. A keyboard is one of the most useless electrical items some people possess.

Five days of rain without a stop? Not even a few hours to dry clothes? Hope you stay at high floor!!

My home is hardly in a rice paddy so it is safe. So is my other home and I have a dryer there as well.

Oops, there go the first rain drops of the evening.

[dave111223]

Who needs A dryer here in LOS ??

Leave it in the USA. Sell it, or Dump it, But dont bother to bring it. Just a wast of space here.

I think some people don't know how to spend their money, this is one of the top useless items you can own have in Thailand!

Depends how lazy you are. I am lazy, and wish i had a dried, but don't have a space for one. Can't wait to get a house then i can fit in a drier, hanging out the clothes and bringing them in is a real drag.

[thatguy]

Yes, the rain season is a good reason for a dryer.

And as mogoso pointed out, Tesla pretty mush invented AC systems as we know them, not reinvented. It was he who found that 60 cycle was the most efficient, how or why I haven't a clue. 110 in households is a safety thing, and is not the most efficient way to go.

[thatguy]

And Tinkelbell, we've had an Electrolux dryer @~ 25,000 for a little over a year No idea how long it will last. I've seen some for 15,000 that I wouldn't touch, and midrange name brand stuff around 20,000. Home dryers seem to be rather a new thing here, so reliability numbers may be a little hard to come by.

The motor in my Electrolux washer (ew500f) however has lost it's spin speed after about 5 years. I assume the high speed run coil is open.

[Tinkelbell]

Not only my niece had bought the US brand ' General Electric' major appliances and arranged to ship them on her way back to TL, some Thai students who finishised the uni ahead of her have been doing the same long before her.

I'm sure there are the correct ways to modify these US made appliances to work in Thai households. That's exactly happens in my sis's house, every pieces has been working perfectly up until now.

Sad note, THE NIECE has passed away a few years ago at young age, a victim of a cancer. Often when sis talks about this daughter, she would talk about how good these appliances, I see the connection.

'thaiguy', since you paid quite a lot of money for your dryer, I wish you're lucky to get a good one that gives you the best result and long lasting service.

[longball53098]

Yes, the rain season is a good reason for a dryer.

And as mogoso pointed out, Tesla pretty mush invented AC systems as we know them, not reinvented. It was he who found that 60 cycle was the most efficient, how or why I haven't a clue. 110 in households is a safety thing, and is not the most efficient way to go.

Here's some more info to add to the reason why the US is on 120 volts at the plugs. Edison could not make a light bulb to work well on 220volts.

Answer

The original voltage was actually about 90 volts direct current (VDC) which was Edison's plan. Tesla proposed that the electrical grid be alternating current (AC) and competed with Edison for the first generating plant to be built in the State of New York at Niagara Falls. Edison proposed a DC system and Tesla an AC system. As history tells us Tesla won the competition and because of that we had the industrial revolution. Had Edison won we would still be in the dark ages because of the inefficiency of transmitting DC over long distances. As Edison was promoting the electrical light bulb around the country almost every town had to have its own generating station because DC would lose so much in the transmission that it became unusable after only several miles.

Tesla also had invented the poly phase alternating current generators that provided for the ability to generate the voltages necessary for long distance transmission. Tesla kept the voltage about the same as what Edison started but raised it to the 110 volts alternating current (VAC) because of the higher related voltages of 220 VAC and 440 VAC which were integral to the poly phase generators of higher efficiency.

All AC voltages distributed to homes actually come to the buildings at 440-480 VAC. Within the meter box at every home the 440-480 VAC is broken down to 220-240 VAC and then to 110-120 VAC for use in lighting, wall plugs, and small appliances. All major appliances like electric ranges, clothes dryer, air conditioning, water heaters use the 220 VAC.

There is a good discussion of this subject at http://flyingmoose.org/truthfic/tesla.htm and good reading about the contributions of Tesla in "The Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla."

The standard voltage available in most parts of the country now varies from 110 VAC to 120 VAC+ volts usually around 117-118 VAC.