[Greenbuilding] 220v clothes washer

Haudy Kazemi kaze0010 at umn.edu
Fri Oct 29 18:04:36 CDT 2010


Most places around the world that have 220-240 volt electricity at a 
regular outlet, have it at a frequency of 50 Hz.  In North America our 
standard is 110-120 volts at 60 Hz.  Devices that run their motors 
directly off line voltage will pass that frequency on to the motors.  
This results in motors running faster (higher rpms) in the US at 60 Hz 
than places running at 50 Hz.  Some devices use the power line frequency 
for timers and clocks.  If they assume the power line is 50 Hz, but in 
reality it is 60 Hz, they'll run 20% faster than designed.

Whether this is a problem or not depends on the how time sensitive the 
application is, and whether the equipment can tolerate the faster 
running.  In a washer, it means a 15 minute cycle may only take 12 
minutes, with a more vigorous mixing during that time.  This might mean 
the scale of 'delicate' to 'regular' mixing might shift in the direction 
of 'regular' to 'rough'.




Benjamin Pratt wrote:
>
> I came across a clothes washing machine at a yard sale today. the guy 
> had brought it, and brought it back, from overseas. It is an "american 
> style" top-load washer but it runs on 220 volts. He said  had it 
> hookuped-up to 220v here--on his electric dryer circuit, and that it 
> worked great. He said that the wash style is fast, and it spins fast. 
> and gets the clothes really dry. It is appealing to me--especially the 
> idea of spin-drying the clothes more effectively. 
>   I don't know a great deal about electricity. Should this thing wok 
> in the US---or is it running too fast because of the difference in hertz?
> Ben
>
>
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