Fan power : from 220V / 50Hz to 100V 60Hz

Thread Starter

thojdid

Joined Feb 3, 2019
4
Hello Everybody,

I have an industrial centrifugal fan of 750W supposed to work on 220V / 50Hz.
Located in Kansai in Japan where current is 100V / 60Hz, how could I run this fan properly without altering the speed and performance (which are accurately sized for the purpose) ?
Would a basic 220V AC to 100V AC converter do the job ? Is the frequency difference an issue ?
Thank you in advance for any insight.

Best Regards,

Thomas
 

Thread Starter

thojdid

Joined Feb 3, 2019
4
Hi Ericgibbs,
Thanks, I am glad I found this forum !
It sounds like a very straight answer. Glad to hear that. Thank you for the light !
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Frequency in this case (50/60) is not an issue like eric said. I got a hold of an aircraft transformer designed around 400 Hz and it was supposed to change voltage from (if memory serves) 120 V to 24 V at 400 Hz. It didn't like the 60 cycle I plugged it into.

Clocks designed for 60 cycle depend on that cyclage to keep time. Or at least there was a period of time when they did. Plugging such a clock into a 50 cycle service would not keep proper time. But as for a fan of the nature you describe the difference should not be an issue.

I used to work for a trade systems computer manufacturer. They built huge racks that took up entire rooms. When these would come back from the field there would be a lot of scrapped fans. I brought a bunch of 5 inch fans rated for 120 VAC and a couple bigger 8 inch fans rated for 240. The fans when powered at their rating would make a lot of noise. However, running the 240 fan on 120 would run gently and still move a significant amount of air but a lot quieter. If you can live with reduced airflow, which I think you indicate probably not, you might see how your 220 fan works on 100 volts. I don't think it will hurt the fan any.
 

Thread Starter

thojdid

Joined Feb 3, 2019
4
Hi Tonyr1084,

Thank you for these very interesting insights. The installations you mentioned seems impressive !
However, running the 240 fan on 120 would run gently and still move a significant amount of air but a lot quieter.
In my case, I am using the fan to create an air flow in a laminar flow hood used to work on sterile conditions for a D.I.Y mycological laboratory.
So the airflow of the fan is sized according to the surface of the filter to meet these requirements.
This means that if the airflow of the fan decrease proportionally to the voltage, it might not be good anymore ...
Thus, I was also wondering which direct influence the voltage conversion will have on the engine rotation speed.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Probably, and I'm guessing here, cutting the voltage in half would reduce the airflow by a factor of four. Meaning in this case, the airflow would be 25% of what it would be at full power. Doesn't sound like you can get away with my initial comment.
 

Thread Starter

thojdid

Joined Feb 3, 2019
4
Top