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Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
johnmac11 wrote:Whirlpool do not supply this model in the UK. Uk models will be wired differently and do have 230v motors fitted.
I have however worked on quite a few of the US versions which are in the UK which used to be supplied to US forces and embassy personnel and all of these had a large external transformer so that they could work.
John
Were they the yellow site transformers common here?Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
I have a wiring diagram; found it behind access panel inside dryer..anyone an electrician! [/img]
Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
jon06 wrote:Were they the yellow site transformers common here?
No the ones they had were shipped from the USA and had a hand built feel to them, I never noticed any manufacturers labels on them.
JohnRe: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
My understanding of US electricity distribution, is that theor 220 (240?) V is derived from the phase-difference between 2 “hot” legs…either phase to neutral giving 110.
I can’t say what that means, in practical terms for this particular appliance (unfortunately I can’t see the image either!
Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
Correct Steve, someone has suggested I get a site 110v transformer and then re-combine a feed from the two outlets. This will only work if the outlets are out of phase or I will not get 240v back.
From the wiring diagram the only part that is fed 240v is the heating element; perhaps the whole thing will run on 110v but with low heat output from the heater?
I’m pretty sure that the site-trafo’s are straightforward isolating, with 2:1 (approx) ratio. there’d be no reason to make a phase -difference between the taps. That also depends whether the sec.is just a single winding with several sockets on parallel ,on the output, or multiple taps/windings.
You’d also need to establish what other peripherals(microswitches etc. ) were rated at,,A synchronous timer-motor would run “slow”, as you have a 10 Hz freq. difference, but that’s just a minor inconvenience,IF the voltage-rating’s OK.
You may find a solution on RSWWW.com but I don’t think any conversion is going to be cost -effective.Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
I am not an electrician but basically we wire most house circuits with 120vac single breaker. On our appliances that work on 240 vac we simply double up 2 120 volt circuits onto a double wide breaker. We run 2 hot 120 volt wires and they feed back off of our neutral bar on the electrical panel. In the case of this dryer the motor runs on 120 vac. So it is wired to the neutral wire(center) and one of the hot legs and it runs on a seperate circuit from the heater. The heater needs 240 volts to produce the massive 5000 watts of heat that this dryer demands. So 240 is fed to the heater through the timer to the centrifugal switch mounted on the motor. When the motor gets going the heater gets power. The heaters fuse is not mounted in that same circuit. It is mounted in the dryer door circuit. If the dryer gets too hot the fuse melts and the dryer quits. Just like when you open the door. So you see we have a probem here in that we need the 240 vac for the heating element to work properly but we need 120 volts to run the motor. That is why In a statement I made some moments ago(don’t you love it when your PM says that?)I could only imagine they remove the dryer cord and install a step down transformer to split the 240 volts to two 120 vac circuits with a neutral to feed back to source.
Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
I can get a transformer to step down my 240v supply to 120v; however I then have I think two problems.
1. The 110/120v output from the transformer comes as two supplies; i.e. 2 lives and two neutrals. I assume I can wire in the 2 lives OK but what would I do with the two neutrals?
2. On my enquiries with transformer suppliers it may be that the transformer supplies 2 x 110v in phase, not out of phase as in US so the phase difference does not give a 240v supply.I could probably do with a wiring diagram of a Whirlpool dryer supplied here in UK to compare to mine to perhaps give me a hint; although of course it will be of no use if all components are just supplied at 220/240v rating.
Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
A 110 -0- 110 centre-tapped trafo. would give you 220 across the “ends” with a “neut.”. centre-tap.
the cost of something through which you can pull over 20 amps is going to be prohibitive.
your machine is not the sort of thing normally seen in the UK,outside of commercial users…it would have to be hard-wired into circuit, anyway!
(no way would it feed from a ring-main or spur!
I’d seriously suggest you use the “find an engineer” feature on this site.
It CAN be done, but is it worth it?……..IMHO , it would have to be converted, so the heater runs on 230 , ancilliaries, (timer,motor, fan etc. on 110….that would also reduce the size of the required trafo.
I do not think that for you, it’s safe or viable to go it alone.
A job for someone who understands the electrocution/fire risks fully.
Re: Whirlpool Dryer from USA
That’s the problem; can’t seem to get centre tapped transformer and yes a transformer able to supply 20-30a is expensive.
There are plenty of ‘American’ dryers here used domestically (we had one when we lived here before) but it was bought here so I guess is UK 240v throughout. We had it hard wired into the main ring although direct to board would be best option – I have seen them wired through a standard 13a plug (not recommended).
Looks like it will have to be scrapped (shame as it’s only a couple of month’s old) or I may put it up on an emigrant site – anyone going to US could ship it with their stuff.
I will certainly get another Whirlpool ‘proper sized’ dryer; these UK ones can just about dry a handkerchief in one go!
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