My apologies for inexperience with electricity. The question I have is; my wife has a new iron from France she wants working. Before changing the electrical plug, will the iron work safely on 220v 60 hz electricity?
Thanks

 

I vote that the iron from France (230V/50Hz) will work at 220V/60Hz.

 

Jony130, thanks for your reply. Everything I read lead me to think it would work.

 

It'l work OK she will just iron that much faster. (plus vite)
BTW, if you are in N.A. it will most likely be 240vac.
Max.

 

Wow... if there was only a way for us to know where in the world the OP was from!

If you're in NA, then there are not that many household plugs wired for 220-240V - in fact, I don't know of any, except maybe the occasional plug for a window air unit. You would be better off getting her a new iron for Christmas or for her birthday that conforms to the local grid.

 

Hello,

In France 230 Volts at 50 Hz is used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country
Wich country are you in?
Only a few countries seem to have 220 Volts at 60 Hz.

Bertus

 

One possible work around if in N.A. and have one of the older homes wired with kitchen plugs with each pair on the socket wired off L1 & L2.
Then they could be removed and a 240v socket fitted in place.
Just the ironing would have to be done in the Kitchen!
Max.

 

Yes, it will work here in the USA. If you change the plug to a NEMA style 1-15 or 5-15 and use our most common wall outlets you won't get much heat out of it (120v instead of 230v, and it'll therefore draw only about half the power). If you have a receptacle for a 240 v device in a small residential building, and install a plug to match that, it'll , be quite hot, as it'll be given a higher voltage than the French use (240 vs 220-230 ) and it'll also be using more power (a pure resistance device being powered by 60Hz instead of 50Hz). If you are in a larger apartment style building or hotel, your only available power other than 120v may be 208v, which is a bit lower than the French 230 (and perhaps slightly less heat).

If you are in the typical single family home in the USA, and have a "220 outlet" available, it may well be fairly high ampacity, so if this appliance is that important to you,,,, or it's primary user, you really should have a receptacle installed of the correct ampacity and overcurrent protection to match. It's my recollection that places using 220-230 v household appliances and lamps also use 10A branch circuits. Don't go with a branch circuit over 15A for that.

Due to the tomfoolery pervasive in the NFPA and some other building code related groups, someone will bring up "arc-fault protection" and even ground fault protection for the branch circuits supplying power for all your convenience receptacles in your home including this. Ignore them! If however, you're a "letter of the law" type, you may actually need to get some sort of plug-in "power converter" to run the iron from, and it would be bulky, heavy, etc..

 

Hello,

120v instead of 230v, and it'll therefore draw only about half the power

I think you are wrong about the power.
The power will be about a quarter of the original power as it is U*U/R.
When U is half, the power will be a quarter.

Bertus

 

One-quarter the power on 120V

 

A typical electric steam iron in the US runs anywhere from $5.00 and up through $10 to $60 plus. Unless this iron from France is a work of art and magic I would simply replace it. Here in the US running a dedicated line to power an electric steam iron is not worth the time and effort and if the iron is run on 120 VAC 60 Hz you will get about one quarter of the heat it once delivered. Finally if this is a smart electric iron with digitally controlled temperature all bets are off using 120 VAC 60 Hz power, while the 50 or 60 Hz won't matter a smart iron designed around 220 VAC will not work on 120 VAC.

Ron

 

Hello,


I think you are wrong about the power.
The power will be about a quarter of the original power as it is U*U/R.
When U is half, the power will be a quarter.

Bertus

Right on Bertus. I got lazy and didn't do the math at that point. The iron would be useless for pressing cotton or linen at 120 for sure. Kitty might like it though.

 

Thank you all for the replies. Fortunately; we are a single family of 3 living in a very rural area within the Southern USA with no implemented codes or inspectors to deal with.
When my French wife comparing US irons to French irons the US irons fall short of her steaming expectations.
Yes; all the codes and regulations are understood and appreciated. That is why the question was asked if it would "safely work" on 220v 60 hz. Inadvertently; due to my inexperience, the incorrect terminology was used in asking the question.
With all the expert replies I feel comfortable with providing a means for the French iron to be used.
Thank you all

 

my wife has a new iron from France she wants working.

love a wife that does the ironing

/me quickly runs and hides

 

Maybe the picture will help clarify the comparison.

 

Thank you all for the replies. Fortunately; we are a single family of 3 living in a very rural area within the Southern USA with no implemented codes or inspectors to deal with.
l

You should be able to achieve it quite easily without any contravention of codes, you just either need to run a supply to a suitable socket, is the area she intends ironing in near the laundry room?
Max.

 

Will a French iron want to work in a non French area ?

 

When my French wife comparing US irons to French irons the US irons fall short of her steaming expectations.l

I have a Black and Decker D2020 Type 1 that I'll match against any Frenchy iron any day. The steam output is continuous when the iron is down (in use), plus it has a steam pulse feature that almost lifts the iron off the board.

DISCLAIMER: I have no connection with the Black and Decker company of any kind. Most of their tools suck, but this iron doesn't.

 

What's an iron anyways ?

 

You should be able to achieve it quite easily without any contravention of codes, you just either need to run a supply to a suitable socket, is the area she intends ironing in near the laundry room?
Max.

Thank you Max. Plans were to utilize an existing 220v circuit in the spare bedroom which was used for a tanning bed.