European equipment?

[jahilliard]

I was asked about bringing european computer and office equipment to the US and if I were able to do something to make it all work here the way it should. Not real sure why the guy is so set on bringing his office equipment here and not buying US. I certainly don't see an economical way to make this happen. I am curious if anyone has done anything like this for anyone and any details or ideas you may have to offer. Thank you

 

[eric9822]

Don't most computer power suplies accept 50-60HZ 100-240VAC?

 

[jahilliard]

I honestly have NO idea! but according to the info on my laptop cord you are exactly correct! Well that was easy.

 

[hillbilly1]

A lot of PC's have a slide switch on the back to select the voltage, so it may be just as easy to slide the switch to convert to 120, but I don't remember seeing anything on the monitors that allow you to do that.

 

[Besoeker]

I honestly have NO idea! but according to the info on my laptop cord you are exactly correct! Well that was easy.

Yes, pretty much all IT equipment is suitable for 100-24Vac 50/60 Hz.
I'm from UK but I travel overseas quite a bit including the US (Mrs B's from there) and my PC and phone usually go with me. And they work just fine.

One of our friends came over to stay with us for a while and brought a voltage converter (AKA transformer) not realising that her phone charger and laptop would here on our nominally 230V supply.

One thing you will need to consider is the plug on the power cord. In UK, this what we have:

Other European countries have different plugs and sockets.

I have a bunch of adaptors that do for most places. You'd probably need your guy to provide them - it might be a bit of a pain to find something in the US to adapt to US style receptacles.

Maybe a simpler solution would be to change his power cords for something like this:

The bit that plugs into the power supply is pretty much universal. Maybe Compaq have a different arrangement but it should still possible to source a suitable power cord locally.

 

[PetrosA]

Most of his computers and many of the peripherals should work here. He needs to check the nameplates to see whether they have universal power supplies (90-240V) ratings. Some may switch automatically, others may have a slider switch. Some equipment may not be universal like laser and inkjet printers while other things like vinyl cutters and plotters may be. He needs to do a transport cost vs. repurchase evaluation.

 

[jahilliard]

Ok I got a little more info...he actually has some "shop equipment". Not sure what type or total load but he's interested in the possibility of using his "expensive" equipment state side. SO the question is has anyone done this before or have any suggestions?

 

[GeorgeB]

Ok I got a little more info...he actually has some "shop equipment". Not sure what type or total load but he's interested in the possibility of using his "expensive" equipment state side. SO the question is has anyone done this before or have any suggestions?

I've commissioned much in plastics facilities. You need specifics. Many, but by no means all, of the 380-415/3/50 motors can be operated at 460/3/60 but will run 20% faster. Many control transformers have taps to handle the voltage change. Most controls have no issues with the frequency change. VFDs may (probably will) require parameter changes.

It is NOT a good idea to use a transformer to drop the 60Hz voltage to 50Hz levels; GENERALLY maintaining the volts/Hertz is appropriate.

EMPHASIZE that you need specific information for each piece of equipment.

 

[Besoeker]

Ok I got a little more info...he actually has some "shop equipment". Not sure what type or total load but he's interested in the possibility of using his "expensive" equipment state side. SO the question is has anyone done this before or have any suggestions?

What kind of shop equipment?
Do you mean it isn't all computer/office equipment?

 

[Jraef]

I've commissioned much in plastics facilities. You need specifics. Many, but by no means all, of the 380-415/3/50 motors can be operated at 460/3/60 but will run 20% faster. Many control transformers have taps to handle the voltage change. Most controls have no issues with the frequency change. VFDs may (probably will) require parameter changes.

It is NOT a good idea to use a transformer to drop the 60Hz voltage to 50Hz levels; GENERALLY maintaining the volts/Hertz is appropriate.

EMPHASIZE that you need specific information for each piece of equipment.

I totally agree, you can't generalize with "shop equipment", you need specifics. Ask him to write down everything from each nameplate and send it to you along with a full description of each piece of equipment. Anything that it 3 phase 380V will likely be OK at 480V but run faster as GeorgeB said. But single phase equipment over there is typically 230V 50Hz and we have 230V 60Hz, so the V/Hz ratio is incorrect and motors may burn up. But then again if it has DC motors and power supplies, they may be frequency insensitive. VFDs couldn't care less what the input frequency is by the way, but they do care what the voltage is, but if the line is higher (i.e. 480V vs 380V) they are generally OK with that. So do you see what we mean? Generalizations are almost useless, there are far too many variables.

 

[Electric-Light]

Japan has 50 and 60 Hz with domestic power being 100v and 200v.

Simple choke ballasts are often multi-tapped to allow use at different frequency and motorized equipment requiring relatively precise speed control often had reversible pulleys so the same load RPM can be achieved.

If shop equipment uses induction motor, you'd have to change the motor pulley to 5/6 the diameter to maintain same speed.

 

[Besoeker]

Anything that it 3 phase 380V will likely be OK at 480V but run faster as GeorgeB said.

The v/f ratio might be about right but most loads have a positive torque/speed characteristic so increased speed will most likely result in greater loading.For something like a fan, it would be much greater.
BTW, the nominal 3-phase voltage in the EU is 400V 50Hz.

 

[Besoeker]

If shop equipment uses induction motor, you'd have to change the motor pulley to 5/6 the diameter to maintain same speed.

It's actually the other way round - assuming it's a belt driven bit of kit in the first place.

 

[Jraef]

The v/f ratio might be about right but most loads have a positive torque/speed characteristic so increased speed will most likely result in greater loading.For something like a fan, it would be much greater.
BTW, the nominal 3-phase voltage in the EU is 400V 50Hz.

Should have said that, I usually do... thanks.

 

[Jraef]

Japan has 50 and 60 Hz with domestic power being 100v and 200v. ...

Thread: European equipment?

Last I checked Japan wasn't in the EU yet, but there has been a lot of movement in that direction lately... literally!


Just bustin' your chops a little, I couldn't resist the joke about Japan moving towards Europe.

 

[GeorgeB]

It's actually the other way round - assuming it's a belt driven bit of kit in the first place.

... I think he's correct ... assume 4 pole, 1500 rpm there, 1800 rpm here ... the 1800 rpm motor needs a pulley 5/6 that used on 1500 rpm motor for same driven device speed ... or am I ABSOLUTELY crazy?

 

[Besoeker]

... I think he's correct ... assume 4 pole, 1500 rpm there, 1800 rpm here ... the 1800 rpm motor needs a pulley 5/6 that used on 1500 rpm motor for same driven device speed ... or am I ABSOLUTELY crazy?

He's not.
Let's assume the driven equipment needs to run at 500 rpm. With a a 1500 rpm 4-pole 50 Hz machine you'd need the motor pulley to be three times the diameter of that on the driven machine to get the required speed reduction.

If the motor runs at 1800 rpm and you still want the driven equipment to run at 500 rpm you need to increase the diameter of the motor pulley to 3.6 times that of the driven load.
Being the ratio of 1800:500.

That's 6/5, not 5/6.

 

[Besoeker]

Apologies folks. I have it the wrong way round.
Think my head was on back to front when I made my previous posts on this.