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JohnvR

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#143784 27-Apr-2014 06:56
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I have a kitchen mixer:
It is 325 watts, running off 110V in the USA.

 

I have a transformer:
It is second hand, that steps down from 220V to 110V, and says it can handle to 300 Watts.

 

I understand that we have 230V in NZ, and I was hoping to bring the mixer from the States to NZ and use it with the transformer I have.

So my question is:

 

1. Do you think this transformer will work OK for me, given that I'm slightly outside both the voltage and watts?
2. Is there a way that I can test this before bringing it over to NZ?

thanks,

John

 

 

 

 

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gregmcc
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  #1031870 27-Apr-2014 07:20
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It will work, but not for long, thow both the transformer and the mixer away and buy one desgined for the NZ market before you set them on fire



Bung
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  #1031872 27-Apr-2014 08:21
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The stepdown transformer is also likely to be an autotransformer rather than an isolation transformer. A fault in the transformer could result in 230 on the output.

sir1963
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  #1031894 27-Apr-2014 10:09
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JohnvR: I have a kitchen mixer:
It is 325 watts, running off 110V in the USA. I have a transformer:
It is second hand, that steps down from 220V to 110V, and says it can handle to 300 Watts. I understand that we have 230V in NZ, and I was hoping to bring the mixer from the States to NZ and use it with the transformer I have.

So my question is: 1. Do you think this transformer will work OK for me, given that I'm slightly outside both the voltage and watts?
2. Is there a way that I can test this before bringing it over to NZ?

thanks,

John

   


The issue is, because we are on 50HZ not 60HZ, so the voltage should be lower than 110V to stop the motor drawing too much current.

Best option is to buy a new mixer, its safer, comes with a warranty (and covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act)



Niel
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  #1032004 27-Apr-2014 13:54
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Buy new.  The frequency difference means the impedance (AC resistance) is different which is why the motor can overheat at 50Hz even if you have exactly the correct voltage.  They are not that expensive here, and the electrical compliance standards in NZ follow Europe which is in some respects very different than US (both good and bad).  For example US has no/little radiated immunity compliance testing, they leave it up to manufacturers to decide if their products will cope with interference, where as Europe include immunity testing with defined acceptance levels.




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sbiddle
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  #1032008 27-Apr-2014 13:57
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Anything that uses a motor can cause major problems due to the 50Hz vs 60Hz frequency difference, regardless of whether you've got a transformer.




kiwigander
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  #1038011 6-May-2014 23:21
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I wonder whether the OP's USA mixer is a KitchenAid.  If so, I can understand why he wants to bring it from the USA.

New KitchenAid KSM150 from Amazon.com: USD 320.00, which is about NZD 350.00 at the current rate of exchange; about NZD 400 including GST.

New KitchenAid KSM150 in New Zealand: NZD 995.00.  Perhaps available for as little as NZD 900.00 depending on the shop.

The showstopper will be the transformer.  The power factor of the KA motor is about 0.3.  That means you need close to a 1000 watt stepdown transformer to supply the mixer with power at 230 volts.  If you try to use your 300 watt transformer you will either burn out the transformer or damage the mixer or both.

Personal experience: When I migrated to NZ from Canada I brought my KitchenAid 325 watt mixer and a transformer.  The 750 watt transformer got a bit warm running the mixer but it was happy for over ten years (until we built a new house in which the kitchen wouldn't accommodate the big KSM5 mixer and had to get the smaller KSM150 model).  I suspect it was running at 5/6 of its intended speed at any setting, being geared for 60 Hz rather than our 50 Hz, but the recipes didn't complain.

A 750 or 1000 watt transformer is a monster: costly, heavy and ugly.  She-who-uses-the-mixer may not appreciate having it in the kitchen.

And don't blame NZ retailers for the price discrepancy between North America and Australasia.  As far as I can tell, this is a marketing decision by the head office in the USA; possibly abetted by the distributor in Australia.  But the UK price from Amazon.co.uk is GBP 370 - closer to the AU/NZ price than to the USA/CDN. 

k1wi
484 posts

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  #1038027 7-May-2014 01:12
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And there I was thinking A) That the KitchenAid's here in the US were pricey and B) my travel converter from Target was pricey at $25 (bought an iPhone speaker dock).


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