it hertz to be wrong

[jtTamad]

I bought a nice electric kettle by Osler, shipped from amazon. I plugged it in once, it worked. Next time, dead. I'm pretty sure the outlet is 120 V, the microwave is plugged into the same outlet and works fine.

I had a problem in Saudi Arabia. They said stuff bought in Bahrain was a different Hz I think and wouldn't work in Saudi. Is that what happened?

The electrical parameters:

120 VAC 60 Hz 1500 W

Edited September 8, 2015 by jtTamad

[SoiBiker]

A 120 volt outlet in Thailand?

[jtTamad]

Ys, sorry I'm thailand. I'm not certain it's 120 but will find out for sure now.

[klikster]

It may hertz more to realize that your problem is (220) volts.

[h90]

50 or 60 Hz matters only in very rare situations.....But Thailand has 220 Volt (well something between 200 and 240), not 120.

That the Microwave works doesn't mean anything there are many devices than can take anything from 80-250 Volt.

Kettle normally not

[h90]

Ys, sorry I'm thailand. I'm not certain it's 120 but will find out for sure now.

IF you didn't switch a voltage converter between it is 220 Volt, there is no 120 net in thailand

[jtTamad]

Previous kettle bought here worked for over a year. Guess it was 220.

[jtTamad]

So if I get a converter would it work or is it fried?

[SoiBiker]

You've lived here over a year without realising the voltage wasn't 120?

[jtTamad]

probably forgot. Been to a lot of places in the last few years.

[h90]

Previous kettle bought here worked for over a year. Guess it was 220.

It is possible that some primitive 120 Volt devices survive 220 Volt for a while.

Did the previous kettle heat the water extreme fast ....at about 1/4 of the usual time?

[jtTamad]

yess haha I thought it was great.

[h90]

So if I get a converter would it work or is it fried?

99% sure it is fried....

But with some luck it may has an internal fuse that can be replaced.

Also try a other device on the same plug, it is possible that the Thai plug went dead before the kettle.

good luck

[Tywais]

Moved to the electrical forum.

[jtTamad]

Send back. won't tell em what happened, altho they'll figure it soon enough i suppose

[h90]

By the way, when you work on the electric, please note: putting your fingers into 110 Volt is most of the time harmless....OK, you can still kill yourself but most of the time you survive.

220 is way more dangerous......More likely to kill you.

The 3 phase version which you may have in your house has 380-400 Volt and it is a real killer..

[jtTamad]

3 phase? How do you tell? The outlet has a ground, 3 plugs

[h90]

Send back. won't tell em what happened, altho they'll figure it soon enough i suppose

Just write it: Not good for melting Aluminum it broke before reaching 600 degree Celsius.....

[h90]

3 phase? How do you tell? The outlet has a ground, 3 plugs

that is two phase.

3 phase have 4 or 5 pin connectors and are not common in Thailand.

But sometimes the main electric supply to bigger houses are 3 phase so the fuse box has the 3 phase inside......so you shouldn't work inside it, unless you know what you do.

[jtTamad]

It's in a condo, probably the two phase I guess

[h90]

3 phase? How do you tell? The outlet has a ground, 3 plugs

to add: if it has 3 plugs it has the plug for ground, but NEVER trust that ground is really connected in Thailand.

Actually it is more often not connected than connected.

[jtTamad]

How would you know? Get inside the wall and see if it's connected to something? Can you have it connected if it isn't?

[h90]

It's in a condo, probably the two phase I guess

99.99 % sure only 1 phase (did I write 2 phase before?).

[h90]

How would you know? Get inside the wall and see if it's connected to something? Can you have it connected if it isn't?

If you have a multimeter, you can measure between phase and ground. If you measure nothing than there is no ground wire at all.

If you measure 220 Volt it might be connected.

[jtTamad]

Send back. won't tell em what happened, altho they'll figure it soon enough i suppose

Just write it: Not good for melting Aluminum it broke before reaching 600 degree Celsius.....

Could a shop fix it?

[jtTamad]

How would you know? Get inside the wall and see if it's connected to something? Can you have it connected if it isn't?

If you have a multimeter, you can measure between phase and ground. If you measure nothing than there is no ground wire at all.

If you measure 220 Volt it might be connected.

I'll try translating that into Thai.

[DirtyDan]

If you look on the kettle itself (or any other electrical device) it'll tell you what it's rated for usually 50-60hertz and120/220V but A LOT of electronics these days can handle anything from 120-250V.

In many places, the third plug is a ground. It's connected up to another wire in the junction box / switch (or the box itself) which is then connected through a series of wires to a copper rod stuck into the ground somewhere just outside the house - hence the term "ground". It idea is that should a voltage spike from the power company or a crossed wire starts touching somewhere behind the wall of your house, the current will travel down the easy metal conduit and into the ground, instead of into the wall, or the sink's plumbing, or whomever touches the electronic item at the wrong time

Unfortunately, there's no real enforceable electrical code here in LoS and often the third wire is not actually connected to a ground. As h90 says, you can test it but Be super careful touching anything electrical! There was just a guy in Pattaya that was killed working on his water pump and in another thread I mentioned the story how I shutoff my condo's main breaker but the garden light-switch still had power running to it! Condo builder has tied into another wire from the neighbour's condo... if I hadn't tested the wire, it would have ruined my day.

[jtTamad]

Not a damn word on the volts on amazon.

[jtTamad]

Its:

The electrical parameters:

120 VAC 60 Hz 1500 W

I posted in the OP.

[SoiBiker]

Just buy the right kettle.