Rechargeable toothbrush from inverter?

[blackrose]

Sounds simple enough but my electric rechargeable toothbrush doesn't much like my semi-sinewave inverter. it's not charging very well and the charge light flashes intermittently.

 

Is it safe or is it likely to blow up? I think I remember reading this happened to someone.

 

Before anyone tells me to use an ordinary tootbrush, I bought the electric on the advice of my dentist to prevent receeding gums.

[Grace and Favour]

Sounds simple enough but my electric rechargeable toothbrush doesn't much like my semi-sinewave inverter. it's not charging very well and the charge light flashes intermittently.

 

Is it safe or is it likely to blow up? I think I remember reading this happened to someone.

 

Before anyone tells me to use an ordinary tootbrush, I bought the electric on the advice of my dentist to prevent receeding gums.

 

I've read posts that claim that MSW inverters eat rechargeable toothbrushes . . . .

 

As it may be cheaper to buy a replacement toothbrush than a new inverter - - -

 

Have you considered a battery powered t'brush - and just use rechargeable batteries?

[dor]

I am that man. Yes my MSW inverter blew up my electric toothbrush. This led me to also be concerned about other things with battery rechargers like drills and phones. I've had no problems with a PSW.

[Laurie Booth]

I've read posts that claim that MSW inverters eat rechargeable toothbrushes . . . .

 

As it may be cheaper to buy a replacement toothbrush than a new inverter - - -

 

Have you considered a battery powered t'brush - and just use rechargeable batteries?

I use rechargable batteries in my tooth brush.

White teeth ->

[blackrose]

I've read posts that claim that MSW inverters eat rechargeable toothbrushes . . . .

 

As it may be cheaper to buy a replacement toothbrush than a new inverter - - -

 

Have you considered a battery powered t'brush - and just use rechargeable batteries?

 

From Dor's post it sounds like other rechargeable devices (including recgargeable batteries?) may suffer from the same symptoms?

[Grace and Favour]

From Dor's post it sounds like other rechargeable devices (including recgargeable batteries?) may suffer from the same symptoms?

 

I'm not sure - - I thought it was some of the fancy display panels on equipment that MSW doesn't like - rather than a straightforward battery charger . . .

 

I'm sure someone will be along to clarify the position soon . . . . .

[MoominPapa]

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect the problem with toothbrushes is not that they're rechargeable, it's that they feature a "demountable transformer". The primary winding is in the base and the secondary is on the brush, and power is tranferred magnetically.

 

I imagine that feeding the primary winding a grotty square wave rather than sine may dramatically change the amount of power dissipated in the coil and cause it to burn out.

 

No doubt Gibbo will be along soon with chapter-and-verse.

 

MP.

[bottle]

Moomin beat me.

[Grace and Favour]

I'm not sure about this, but I suspect the problem with toothbrushes is not that they're rechargeable, it's that they feature a "demountable transformer". The primary winding is in the base and the secondary is on the brush, and power is tranferred magnetically.

 

I imagine that feeding the primary winding a grotty square wave rather than sine may dramatically change the amount of power dissipated in the coil and cause it to burn out.

 

No doubt Gibbo will be along soon with chapter-and-verse.

 

MP.

 

 

You mean - he'll gum along and tell us the tooth . . . . ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok Ok - - I'm already getting me coat

[NB Alnwick]

Topic title changed from tootbrush to toothbrush.

[Guest]

Moomin beat me.

 

and me!!

[Gibbo]

I dismantled my electric toothbrush charger. The circuitry would definitely be damaged by a MSW inverter. But of course that's the only one I looked at and others might be different. There's no simple solution.

[Radiomariner]

Gibbo is probably right. It is most likley that a transformer with it's secondary removed as in a toothbrush will suffer from a poorly modified sine wave supply.

Also, referring to the OP many inverters have a form of "cut out" with the load below a certain level, I know with my mobile phone charging I have to have something else switched on at the same time else I get the results that the OP described.

(This cut out level is often adjustable and is designed to prevent the inverter from drawing excess current from the batteries when it is not in actual use)

[dor]

The inverter that blew my toothbrush was a Sterling 150W "coke can" inverter which probably didn't have the best of waveforms even for a MSW. Runs my TV and DVD player fine though.

[Jamboat]

We have a sterling 1800 msw & have had no problems with our rechargeable toothbrushes, rechargable batteries, cordless drill, phones or camera batteries.

[Derek R.]

Sine wave problems and power sources solved:

 

Replace battery/rechargable toothbrush with hand operated manual one.

[Guest]

Sine wave problems and power sources solved:

 

Replace battery/rechargable toothbrush with hand operated manual one.

 

Now then Derek - we didn't read the OP properly did we???

 

Before anyone tells me to use an ordinary tootbrush, I bought the electric on the advice of my dentist to prevent receeding gums.

[Derek R.]

Now then Derek - we didn't read the OP properly did we???

 

Granted. Shall I go into hospital now to prevent that broken leg?

 

Just brushing teeth may help prevent receding gums, but not necessarily. If dentists display such equipment in their surgeries for sale, there is a direct commercial incentive to 'sell' same.

 

Derek

[Guest]

Granted. Shall I go into hospital now to prevent that broken leg?

 

Just brushing teeth may help prevent receding gums, but not necessarily. If dentists display such equipment in their surgeries for sale, there is a direct commercial incentive to 'sell' same.

 

Derek

 

I don't feel qualified to comment on the evidence base but it is what has been recommended to the OP... so hey ho.

 

And whilst going in to hospital to avoid breaking a leg would clearly be 'overkill' and a bit silly, would buying an electric toothbrush to help prevent gum disease be so?.... probably not.

[blackrose]

Granted. Shall I go into hospital now to prevent that broken leg?

 

Just brushing teeth may help prevent receding gums, but not necessarily. If dentists display such equipment in their surgeries for sale, there is a direct commercial incentive to 'sell' same.

 

Derek

I don't think my dentist had any commercial interest unless she happened to have shares in Boots the chemist.

 

Brushing manually with an ordinary toothbrush was actually making the gums receed because I tend to press too hard and using a soft tootbrush just makes me press harder - I can't help doing it. Thus the dentist suggested an electric tootbrush which with its ossilating circular motion doesn't have the same effect. I also find it gets my teeth a lot cleaner.

 

The toothbrush seems to charge ok, just not as well as from shore power. By the way, since the shaver socket also works by induction, could it be damaged as well? (Sterling 1800w MSW inverter)

Edited May 9, 2010 by blackrose

[ChrisPy]

beats me why anyone would bother with a rechargeable toothbrush when a simple battery jobby running on a Duracell lasts for months before the 50p battery needs to be replaced.

[blackrose]

beats me why anyone would bother with a rechargeable toothbrush when a simple battery jobby running on a Duracell lasts for months before the 50p battery needs to be replaced.

 

Really? I had one of those before I bought the rechargeable and it went through batteries every couple of weeks.

 

Also the rechargeable toothbrush is a lot more powerful, better quality and does a better job.

Edited May 9, 2010 by blackrose

[Guest]

Really? I had one of those before I bought the rechargeable and it went through batteries every couple of weeks.

 

Also the rechargeable toothbrush is a lot more powerful, better quality and does a better job.

 

But if you only clean your teeth once a month???

 

Maybe that's the secret...

[ChrisPy]

But if you only clean your teeth once a month???

 

Maybe that's the secret...

let me just say that Colgate e-brush is rubbish and Oral-B e-brush is marvellous.

[ditchcrawler]

let me just say that Colgate e-brush is rubbish and Oral-B e-brush is marvellous.

I found that as well, I had a couple that take dry cells which replaced with AAA rechargeables. The Oral-b with its plug in charger is far superior piece of