Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dogbait
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. |
iirc it used to be 240v in the UK, but the entire EU standardised on 230V (thus covering the whole range of previous standards of 220v, 230v and 240v in the various member states) pre 1947 (when the UK's electricity industry was nationalised) a few areas operated on completely different voltages/plug standards etc....
the cynic/realist in me can't help suspecting that the "230" in the model number is a way of extorting more money from us for the same product
