I know very little about electronics and electricity but I recently bought an old aircraft coffee maker that runs on 115v 400 hz. I plan on making a wood box for it and using it in my house. I have seen one running off a regular outlet before (at the airline I work for) but I don't know how they converted the power. Of course I would love a cheap and easy fix. Thank you in advance for any help.

 

You need to look close at the nameplate data on the coffee maker. For example 115 Volt 400 Hz. XXX Watts and note the required power in watts. There are inverters out there that convert 28 VDC and 120 VAC to 115 / 120 VAC 400 Hz. but you need to know the required power. There are also likely some coffee makers which may not care about line frequency. Anyway, make, model and full nameplate data would help.

Ron

 

You need to look close at the nameplate data on the coffee maker. For example 115 Volt 400 Hz. XXX Watts and note the required power in watts. There are inverters out there that convert 28 VDC and 120 VAC to 115 / 120 VAC 400 Hz. but you need to know the required power. There are also likely some coffee makers which may not care about line frequency. Anyway, make, model and full nameplate data would help.

Ron

Thanks for the reply Ron. I'm waiting for the coffee maker that be shipped so I will take a close look at the plate and provide additional information when it gets here.

 

If the coffee maker is a simple heater than it likely doesn't care about frequency, only voltage.

 

If the coffee maker is a simple heater than it likely doesn't care about frequency, only voltage.

That would be my thinking.

Ron

 

If its just an heating element, the frequency wont matter just the voltage.

 

@swaflyer

Open the bottom/back of the coffee maker and check if there is anything more than a switch and heater. If there is a transformer for any temperature sensing circuitry, then you should change the transformer to one designed for 60Hz. You will also need larger capacitors to smooth out the rectified voltage.

It is very likely to have some temperature sensing and auto-shut-off circuitry since it was designed for an airplane.