I am such a Dumbass!!!

[tflnemesis]

Bought a Drill Doctor from the US as it was about £30 cheaper than a UK model (even with import duty).

It came with a US plug on it....

All excited i cut off the US plug and fitted a UK plug... double checked my wiring etc, all good...
Plugged it in, switched it on and POP! SWMBO comes charging in asking me what has happened...

Then it dawned on me.... US is 110-120v we are 230-240v what a DUMBASS!!!

Having opened it up i might be lucky and have just burnt out a wire, but i dunno if i it will work as i have let the electrical smoke out of it so it might not have enough left to run...... Gonna pop a yellow 110v plug on it and try it on my transformer... fingers crossed!

 

[colnerov]

Ahh, the joys and disappointments of the internet.

 

[tflnemesis]

The worst part is, i have known that US stuff uses 110v for years, it just never occurred to me until it went bang

 

[Sid]

Just to further this thread, am I right in saying that US mains 110v is one live wire at +-110v rms and a neutral line, whereas UK site 110v has two live wires at +-55V rms in anti-phase?

If this is correct would that affect equipment used on either type of supply?

There is also the frequency difference as well which I would not reckon on helping US equipment on UK 110V.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I bought a 12v extractor fan intended for a bathroom to use in a camper conversion - then realised it was 12v AC (provided by a mains transformer) and not 12V DC !

 

[tflnemesis]

Just to further this thread, am I right in saying that US mains 110v is one live wire at +-110v rms and a neutral line, whereas UK site 110v has two live wires at +-55V rms in anti-phase?

If this is correct would that affect equipment used on either type of supply?

There is also the frequency difference as well which I would not reckon on helping US equipment on UK 110V.

TBH i haven't got a clue, but a lot of people have been able to just drop a 110v plug on US equipment and it works fine, the only other option i have is to buy a step down transformer 240v-120v and wire it in to that. I will say however that 110v plugs do have a live marked for wiring so it may be that the voltage is just stepped down to 110v.

 

[Appyasme1]

Thought about a rectifier,all is not lost.

 

[the snooper]

Thought about a rectifier,all is not lost.

For what ? The fan if so you can't rectify to AC

 

[Appyasme1]

He bought a fan at 12v AC,wanted 12v DC

 

[MattH]

To make matters worse I saw your comment in the other thread earlier about swapping plugs and almost posted to highlight the voltage difference.

But didn't.

 

[Appyasme1]

To make matters worse I saw your comment in the other thread earlier about swapping plugs and almost posted to highlight the voltage difference.

But didn't.

Sorry but you have lost me now

 

[MattH]

My drill doctor arrived today, i bought it from the recommendations in previous threads about drill sharpening. As soon as i have replaced the american plug with an english one i will be going through all my cobalt drills and regrinding them.

I was replying to the OP.

 

[tflnemesis]

A little update, got the 110v plug and fitted it, cut the burnt out piece of wire out to find its some electronic component that has popped. It looks like a resistor but has no colour bands on it, just a 6 digit serial number that is not bringing up anything on google. I have some resistors kicking around but without knowing what this component is or what value it should be i don't know what to do....

 

[Appyasme1]

I was replying to the OP.

No probs!!

 

[penfold]

A little update, got the 110v plug and fitted it, cut the burnt out piece of wire out to find its some electronic component that has popped. It looks like a resistor but has no colour bands on it, just a 6 digit serial number that is not bringing up anything on google. I have some resistors kicking around but without knowing what this component is or what value it should be i don't know what to do....

Show us a picture.

 

[GW8IZR]

A little update, got the 110v plug and fitted it, cut the burnt out piece of wire out to find its some electronic component that has popped. It looks like a resistor but has no colour bands on it, just a 6 digit serial number that is not bringing up anything on google. I have some resistors kicking around but without knowing what this component is or what value it should be i don't know what to do....

Photo might help

Its possibly an MOV for overvoltage protection

 

[MattH]

MOV's are usually discs. Could be a fuse.

 

[tflnemesis]

View media item 8986this is a pic of the burnt out component, the number reads CQ5AF1. i don't know if this is a value or a serial number.

It is the same size as a standard resistor.

 

[WorkshopChris]

+1 for a MOV or possibly a self resetting fuse. Do the motor windings look ok.

 

[tflnemesis]

A little more information. This component was in the live wire between the switch and the mains. The reverse side of it has a big hole in it and i can just make out what looks like CR before the hole starts.

The wire from the switch then goes into a rectifier which then sends DC into the motor ( an assumption due to markings +AC- the wires from the mains terminate at the AC markings on the rectifier.)