Excalibur Dehydrator question!

iqmdublin

Hi, don't know if theres many of you with dehydrators.
Had a question about Excalibur Dehydrators
They're a significant amount cheaper to buy in the U.S, but there is the issue with the 110v vs 220/240v
Both are 400W
No one I've emailed, rang and spoken to etc has been able to give me a straight answer.
So does anyone know can you use an American Version here?
Is it just a matter of using a different power supply & plug, or is there actual complicated changed made to the EU vs US model?
Any help would be great

thegreatiam

Youd really want an electricity forum, father than a health food forum.

Im not sure if youd need a voltage converter.

My american buddy doesnt use one to charge his electronics when he visits. Laptop, phone, tablet if thats of any use.

Ant11

I've bought stuff from the U.S, cut the plug and changed it to an Irish plug BUT if you do this any guarantee/warranty you had is gone so you must make sure that the product your buying is capable of carrying our higher voltage. This information is usually on the label. I know you said its 400Watts, which is the power output but does it say what rating it goes up to? For example a 60w bulb and a 200w bulb are both capable of a 240v supply but it's their internal resistors etc that control what wattage/output is there.

rubadub

thegreatiam wrote: »

My american buddy doesnt use one to charge his electronics when he visits. Laptop, phone, tablet if thats of any use.

Low power devices like these are converting AC to a DC supply, many can be plugged into 110 or 240V.

Not the same with high power things, 400W is high enough power, it would be rare enough to see one with dual voltage ability. If you plug it in here and it did happen to work it would draw about 4 times the power, and the element should burn out fairly fast, if something else does not blow first. The power does not simply double, its a ratio of the square of the voltages. If you plug a 230V device into 110V it usually will just not work, or give off a low power/heat, as the electronics/electrics can cope with lower power, but not the higher one.

You would probably need a step down transformer, one rated to 400W is going to cost a lot, it will also be a large device. Better to just get a 230V dehydrator, you can use an oven on low power to dehydrate, or get dehyrating calcium chloride crystals and make your own box. Some even make them with lightbulbs, old type bulbs not the energy savers, which do not get hot enough.

iqmdublin

ok, thanks for the input, will just go for the 230v in the end