European equipment and electricity

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Hello all,

Being in the middle of planning our move back to Santo Domingo, I got some questions about electrical equipment that we want to bring, maybe someone knows the answer.

1. We want to bring our european Washer and Dryer. Both ofcourse 220 Volt. During the years we lived in Santo Domingo we actually had a dryer working on 220 volt, would our washer and dryer work using the 220 volt supply in Santo Domingo?

2. We have a lamp hanging above the dining table that we are particularly happy with. It's a big ball of iron wire with a whole lot of small halogen lamps in it. Our moving coordinator told us that halogen lamps do not work with 110 Volt. Anyone who can confirm this?

Thanks,

Mauricio
 

granca

Bronze
Aug 20, 2007
1,418
48
0
87
Yes halogen lights do work on 110v provided they are 110v bulbs. European appliances work fine here with the exception of clocks. Just make sure they are supplied with 220v current. You can even buy extension leads which accommodate US flat pin, UK three pin or continental Europe two pin. I don't know about Australasian diagonal pins, sorry.
 

Freemo

New member
May 26, 2003
314
14
0
Somw will some wont

Hello all,

Being in the middle of planning our move back to Santo Domingo, I got some questions about electrical equipment that we want to bring, maybe someone knows the answer.

1. We want to bring our european Washer and Dryer. Both ofcourse 220 Volt. During the years we lived in Santo Domingo we actually had a dryer working on 220 volt, would our washer and dryer work using the 220 volt supply in Santo Domingo?

2. We have a lamp hanging above the dining table that we are particularly happy with. It's a big ball of iron wire with a whole lot of small halogen lamps in it. Our moving coordinator told us that halogen lamps do not work with 110 Volt. Anyone who can confirm this?

Thanks,

Mauricio

We brought a container load of UK appliances over to Santo Domingo.
Most were ok on the 220 supply,namely :-
American style fridge
chest freezer
oven
microwave
kettle
toaster
lamps

the 2 items that didnt work were :-
1. AEG Washer-drier and
2. Hotpoint dishwasher

Both the 2 above have been inspected by supposedly skilled technicians and the verdict is that the frequency in Hz is the problem. With the frequency you have to be spot on apparently. The items that worked ok all said they needed 50 to 60 Hz but the 2 that didn't specifically said they needed 50 hz so hope thats useful in some way.

Paul
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Thanks both of you.

Well, checked out the washer and dryer, they are both 50Hz (AEG as well). I think I heard that adapters exist that not only are able to change 110 to 220v but also 60 to 50 Hz. Have you tried that Paul?
 

Freemo

New member
May 26, 2003
314
14
0
Will have a look around

Thanks both of you.

Well, checked out the washer and dryer, they are both 50Hz (AEG as well). I think I heard that adapters exist that not only are able to change 110 to 220v but also 60 to 50 Hz. Have you tried that Paul?


No I will have a look around - if anyone knows of a likely shop that might do these converters please let me know. We have both Dominican and UK plug sockets fitted, the UK sockets have the 220 and the Dominican the 110 - but the frequency converter may indeed do the trick, its just finding ons. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Paul
 

holland1974

New member
Aug 13, 2008
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How do you get 110v and 220v, is it expensive to have both, I presume you need a big transformer.
CRAIG
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Craig:
In our appartment in Santo Domingo back in 2004 we had 220 besides 110 just for the A/C. When we bought a dryer an electrician made a new 220v connection, if i remember well, just by joining two groups into one.

For some equipment (stereoset) that I brought from Holland at that time I bought a small inverter that changed 110 to 220, just for that stereoset. I think it costed me like 20 euros

Paul:
I have been searching for frequence inverters a bit, and it seems they exist, but are kind of expensive. It seems I better sell my washer and dryer and buy a model suitable for the american market either here before moving or there once we arrive. However if I find a solution I'll let you know.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
If you are bringing a container anyway, I suggest you purchase 60Hz compatible models where you live now and bring them. Prices on appliances here are high.

Yes I know, but with the expensive euro, it might be cheaper to buy an american model there...
 

Freemo

New member
May 26, 2003
314
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0
Craig:
Paul:
I have been searching for frequence inverters a bit, and it seems they exist, but are kind of expensive. It seems I better sell my washer and dryer and buy a model suitable for the american market either here before moving or there once we arrive. However if I find a solution I'll let you know.


Thanks Mauricio
 

Freemo

New member
May 26, 2003
314
14
0
Already there

How do you get 110v and 220v, is it expensive to have both, I presume you need a big transformer.
CRAIG

The 110 & 220 circuits were there from the original construction. The 220 was to feed the A/C but all we did was get an electrician to run the 220 to various UK 3 pin plug sockets.

Suppose when we move out of this apartment we'll have to change them back to the 110 sockets or the new Dominican tennants will be scratching their heads over what to do with them.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Well, as it seems frequency converters do exist, but are rather expensive (starting at 300 euros probably). I'll have to find out if for that price the converter would be heavy enough to work with a washing machine. If I sell mine now and buy a new one that does work on 60 Hz I might need to add more than 300 euros.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Final status. We will have to sell both machines and buy new ones. A frequency converter heavy enough for a washing machine costs around 1000 euros.

Happily I found out now and not after shipping...:glasses: thanks Paul!
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
1,378
89
48
How do you get 110v and 220v, is it expensive to have both, I presume you need a big transformer.
CRAIG

220V and 110V are actually the same thing. If your building has 240V service the utility brings two wires in (line 1 and line 2). Each is 120V and each is 180 degrees out of phase with the other. Which is another way of saying, one is 120V and the other is -120V, making the difference between the two 120V - (-120V) = 240V. For a 120V device you can connect to either along with an eventual return, the neutral, to the ground bus in the main panel (on an insulated seperate wire from the safety ground wire). For a 240V device connect to both line 1 and line 2 and a third wire going directly to the ground bus in the main panel, not a neutral. You can also use a 2:1 transformer if all you have in the building is 120V, but I suspect the reason you rarely see this is because if the utility has 240V on the street it is much cheaper to just bring another wire in than to set up the transformer.
 
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J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
2,940
390
83
www.hispanosuizainvest.com
Washer:

European appliances are designed for 240 Volts by now.
In the DR, form the promised 110V we get about 80 to 100V depending on locations. If it'd be 220, that would mathematically amount to about 160 to 200V.
European appliances are designed for 50Hz... Here it's 60Hz.

Enough discrepancy to do a number on a European washer's digital control panel.

After they have started to become available in the US in the mid 90's, European style front load wash machines are slowly becoming available here in the DR too... but yes, certainly not at prices which would compare to what's available at MediaMarkt in Europe (as low as Eur 200.oo).

Dryer:

As for the dryer, I would recommend you get a US-style GAS dryer here in the DR. Dryers use up a LOT of energy (for heating) and if it's off your grid power you will not like the print on your electricity bill at the end of the month when using an electric heating dryer. Using a GAS dryer is a LOT less expensive... actually, it can virtually pay for itself after a few months of use if it helps you stay under the 700KWH wack rate, which is what most strive for here.

... J-D.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
It is entirely possible to live without a clothes dryer in the DR. If you do have one, you can easily keep the electricity bills down by only using it on rainy days.
 

holland1974

New member
Aug 13, 2008
153
6
0
Hi, what about appliances such as coffee makers, toasters and stereo systems which say 50hz, would they work?
I know most tv's say 50-60hz