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Originally Posted by Nugit
Aussies have 240V
We (europeans) are supposed to have around 220V, though I think its actually 230V. Not much of a difference though.
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Neither UK or AU have 220v, it's 240v in AU and 230V in the UK. China has 220V apparently, (at least according to this table:
http://www.listenhear.co.uk/voltages.htm
However bear in mind power companies are generally allowed +/-6-10%, so 216.2V to 253V is legally permissable. All thanks to European harmonisation in the way electricity is regulated, basically so that all the member countries have compatible electric supplies.
Using 220V on a 240V grid is not good. It puts strain on the equipment's voltage regulators/AC circuits. A 10% increase in voltage above an appliance's recommended voltage will result in 21% more power consumption. So more heat dumped in the loop and since we're looking at a device that normally works at 220V, 60HZ (US power) you lose a fair bit of performance using it in the UK.
However a curious thing to note is that looking at the two Iwaki's I have. One bought in the UK and one bought in the US (220V model), both say:
Voltage: 240V/220V
Frequency 50/60Hz
Leading me to believe that Iwaki's will adapt within that range. The interesting part is that the model numbers on the two are MD-15R-230GS for the UK (230V) bought Iwaki, and MD-20R-220 for the other purchased in the US.