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A comment on Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V?. Parent comment

Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by dboreham on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @12:09PM (#37310005)
Pretty much. My office building was formerly a woodworking shop and has wiring for 220V. Long ago I bought a laser printer on eBay. The seller omitted to mention it was a 220/240V model (probably why it was cheap). Laser printers unlike most appliances are not dual voltage because the fuser is run directly off the ac supply line. So I wired in a 6-20 outlet and changed the plug. Worked fine for many years. I also have a table saw running from a 6-20 outlet. There is a 6-15 NEMA type that presumably would provide a UK compatible supply. I think the problem might be how to provide in-wall cabling that's to code for 220V. In my case I already had conduit with THHN wire.

Not necessarily to code, consult your electrical engineer and lawyer before doing your own wiring, etc.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by rootusrootus on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:00PM (#37310735)
> I think the problem might be how to provide in-wall cabling that's to code for 220V

That's no problem, standard romex nm-b is rated up to 600V. The only real difficulty in doing that in most US homes is that it's all or nothing. You'd have to upgrade all receptacles on the circuit to 240V. Depending on when your home was built, the kitchen might well have several circuits for the wall receptacles (even just one circuit per receptacle, not terribly uncommon in my area), which makes converting one of the circuits to 240V pretty trivial.

Given how many appliances these days use switching power supplies capable of a wide range of voltage, I wouldn't be totally surprised if it was possible to wire an entire house with nothing but 6-15 or 6-20 receptacles and not have too much difficulty sourcing compatible appliances.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by londons_explore on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:32PM (#37311175)
Most kitchen appliances require the right voltage. They normally have a heater or motor driven direct from the AC voltage.

Most devices you'd use outside the kitchen usually will work on any voltage - with notable exceptions being vacuum cleaners, washing machines and fan heaters.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by rootusrootus on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:59PM (#37311527)
For sure you'd want to be careful. My Kitchenaid stand mixer would certainly be unhappy if it were plugged into a 240V outlet, but Kitchenaid makes a 240V version that I could replace it with. A lot of work, but technically doable.

Probably about as likely as wiring up DC receptacles throughout the house. Zero.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by bluGill on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @03:52PM (#37312990)
I believe that US code requires a dedicated circuit for all 240v outlets. Only 120V outlets can be chained. The only people who use 240v outlets are planing on using all the power it can provide, if they want a second outlet they want a second circuit as well.

Check with your local codes of course. Even if the local codes allow it, your building inspector may not.

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Re:Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? by mindslight on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:13PM (#37310911)
12-2 NM/Romex is fine for 240V (120V+120V), and is commonly used for things like large ACs, heaters, etc. Mark the white wire with red electrical tape at both ends.
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