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USA rated appliances


Texasboater

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I'll be returning to the UK soon and getting rid of most of the stuff that I have accumulated here in the States over the last twenty years. However I do have a few bits of relatively expensive things (to replace in England) that I would like to keep.....like Kitchenaid mixers and fancy ass coffee maker. These run off 110v US power. Can they be made to work on a boat?

 

Same question applies to some of my tools...just the battery ones. I aint shipping table saws, drill presses and chop saws back.......anyways I'm retiring right!

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I believe that power tools and kitchen appliances (including the charmingly-named fancy ass coffee maker) are widely on sale in the U.K. It would be perhaps less hassle (and certainly less freight weight) to have a tools & appliances sale before you leave America, and buy yourself some new kit when you get here.

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No reason not to have a 110V, 60Hz AC inverter on a boat, if you wanted to keep using the electrical stuff you already have. Obviously you'd not be able to use shoreline in the UK though - or would need a second AC electrical system, at 230V 50Hz.

Gotcha, Thanks,

or if you already have 230V a.c. on board, a suitably rated auto transformer for the load you intend to draw...

 

Nick

That's what I was hoping for. Thanks

If you go the auto transformer route, this will be fine on shore power but do make sure that any invertor already installed will accept the highly inductive loading

I'll bear that in mind. Thanks

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I believe that power tools and kitchen appliances (including the charmingly-named fancy ass coffee maker) are widely on sale in the U.K. It would be perhaps less hassle (and certainly less freight weight) to have a tools & appliances sale before you leave America, and buy yourself some new kit when you get here.

I realize that most of these products are readily available in England. However they are very much more expensive there.....you get about par dollar/pound. Therefore at the moment approx 65% dearer. Yard sales here (Car Boots sale)....people want to pay pennies and I can't stand haggling.

I'll be shipping a couple of Motorcycles back anyway, so I'll squeeze the smaller items into the Packing Crates

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I'll be shipping a couple of Motorcycles back anyway, so I'll squeeze the smaller items into the Packing Crates

 

How easy will it be to get these converted to UK requirements? Things like different fuel formulations, lighting regulations (not just dipping the other way), emission regs etc. You'll needed to meet these to obtain an MOT so you can use them on UK roads. When we develop US spec vehicles the changes are not insignificant.

 

Also think about tyres. Hot places like Texas have different tyre formulations to cold places like the UK. Tyres that grip well in the US won't necessarily in the UK.

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How easy will it be to get these converted to UK requirements? Things like different fuel formulations, lighting regulations (not just dipping the other way), emission regs etc. You'll needed to meet these to obtain an MOT so you can use them on UK roads. When we develop US spec vehicles the changes are not insignificant.

 

Also think about tyres. Hot places like Texas have different tyre formulations to cold places like the UK. Tyres that grip well in the US won't necessarily in the UK.

 

I'm on a couple of Harley Davidson Forums. The concensus is that the biggest issue is paying the import duty!

I would suggest that the most efficient way to run your stuff would on a boat would be to also bring a 12/110 inverter with you which would give you the 60 Hz the equipment was designed for.

 

That is worth looking into.

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Texasboater, on 07 Nov 2014 - 4:09 PM, said:

 

I'm on a couple of Harley Davidson Forums. The concensus is that the biggest issue is paying the import duty!

 

That is worth looking into.

 

I posted a link to such an inverter in the other thread.

The problem is you will need 3 electrical circuits, RCD's, trips, etc' and 3 sets of 'unique' plugs & sockets to ensure that the right plug/appliance goes into the right socket.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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I posted a link to such an inverter in the other thread.

The problem is you will need 3 electrical circuits, RCD's, trips, etc' and 3 sets of 'unique' plugs & sockets to ensure that the right plug/appliance goes into the right socket.

I was assuming that if he took this route he would install some American sockets whatever they are like. It would only require the inverter and one circuit of sockets with 1 mcb and rcd.

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I was assuming that if he took this route he would install some American sockets whatever they are like. It would only require the inverter and one circuit of sockets with 1 mcb and rcd.

 

I only have limited knowlwdge of the USA electrical wiring but I understand that they either do not have an earth (grounding - as they call it) or it is very different to our system and certainly does not meet IEC or BS specifications.

 

In the absence of a supply earth, devices needing an earth connection often used the supply neutral. Some used dedicated ground rods. Many 110 V appliances have polarized plugs to maintain a distinction between "live" and "neutral", but using the supply neutral for equipment earthing can be highly problematical. "Live" and "neutral" might be accidentally reversed in the outlet or plug, or the neutral-to-earth connection might fail or be improperly installed. Even normal load currents in the neutral might generate hazardous voltage drops.

 

Before spending money in shipping, it may be worth talking to the BSS folks for their interpretation.

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Be careful with 110v supplies. The building site 110v supplies we are most familiar with in this country do NOT tie neutral to earth,

Earth on this type of system is the centre voltage of the supply. If you measure from either live or neutral to earth you will get 55v

This is why you will normally see 2 pole mcb's on 110v supplies as you need to fuse both live and neutral.

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Be careful with 110v supplies. The building site 110v supplies we are most familiar with in this country do NOT tie neutral to earth,

Earth on this type of system is the centre voltage of the supply. If you measure from either live or neutral to earth you will get 55v

This is why you will normally see 2 pole mcb's on 110v supplies as you need to fuse both live and neutral.

I suppose that you could say that there is no neutral. Just two lives in antiphase.

 

With only 55V wrt earth they are pretty safe, though.

 

N

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If your kit needs 110 but will take 50Hz then an additional circuit with 110 yellow ceeforms should be available easily through the use of a transformer available in the uK.

If the kit does need 110v 60Hz then find and bring a moderate inverter with US socket and 110v 60Hz output.

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I suppose that you could say that there is no neutral. Just two lives in antiphase.

 

With only 55V wrt earth they are pretty safe, though.

 

N

 

As I understand it the American system of distribution is similar. they use a 2 phase 117v system. Normal domestic supplies use half (117v) but heavier consumption equipment requiring higher voltages use 2 phases (220)

 

as I understand it 3 phase is not normally run into domestic buildings in USA

 

eta the guy who was explaining this to me was a builder in the states but not an electrician so he may have had it wrong

Edited by John V
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If your kit needs 110 but will take 50Hz then an additional circuit with 110 yellow ceeforms should be available easily through the use of a transformer available in the uK.

.

Its going to be awfully inefficient :

 

12v DC feed into 220v (UK) inverter

110v Transformer plugged into Inverter

Coffee maker plugged into transformer

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