Semi-OT 220v power in the home

[Paul Nash]

I moved here from South Africa 2 years ago, with several devices (like an HP
LJ4000) that needed 220V power.  Stove plug & socket, wired back-to-back,
with a tap off to a (SA-style) 220V socket, daisy-chained with the stove --
this fed the Kenwood Chef and other kitchen appliances.

HP LJ and other bits of geeky stuff were fed in a similar way from the
dryer.  As devices have died or been replaced, I have removed these
adapters.

And yes, you probably *should* put a separate breaker into the tap circuit
-- the SA sockets and devices are rated at 15A, while the stove and dryer
have 20A circuits IIRC.

Lots of baseboard heaters also run on 220V, on 10A breakers.

The 50Hz/60Hz seems to be a non-issue:  the electronics don't care, and
blenders and sewing machines run slightly faster.  No big deal.  My 220V UPS
got a bit confused, but still worked fine.

As with all these things, YMMV, and don't do this if you don't know what
you're doing; I'm (was?) a professional electrical engineer, have designed
building and subdevelopment electrical reticulation, so I know what the
risks are.

    paul


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