XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: tl@none.invalid   
      
   Thomas Koenig   wrote:   
   >Scott Dorsey  schrieb:   
   >> Thomas Koenig   wrote:   
   >>>What is 220 V used for in the US (assuming that this took place   
   >>>there)?  I assume it would be 220 V/60 Hz?   
   >>   
   >> A 120V 20A outlet is limited to producing 2400W, and you're only supposed   
   >> to run loads at 80% of capacity, so that means continuous loads of 1920W.   
   >> So anything larger than that (stoves, clothes dryers, air conditioners,   
   >> film projectors, etc.) get put onto 220V or 208V lines.   
   >>   
   >> Yes, this means that American electric kettles are limited to 1750W so   
   >> they can go onto typical 120V 15W circuits, and yes, this means that   
   >> American electric kettles are slow and frustrating.   
   >>   
   >> 240V in the US consists of two hot legs, each of which is 120V from the   
   >> neutral.  Many appliances have a neutral connection as well as the two   
   >> hots, so a clothes dryer may use 240V for the heating elements but 120V   
   >> for the light bulb and the control circuits.  It's fairly ingenious and   
   >> I thing it's another thing we can thank Karl Steinmetz for.   
   >   
   >Interesting.   
   >   
   >In Europe, every household has three phases (plus a neutral   
   >conductor), so 400 V between any two phases. They are distributed   
   >more or less equally between different rooms, but high-power   
   >appliances like ovens or stoves use all three.   
      
   Nitpick: This is a bit of over-simplification.   
      
   It may be true of Germany that everyone always gets the full 400/230V   
   3-phases but it's definitely not true everywhere in Europe. And I'm   
   not sure I believe "every household" even in Germany if we're   
   including say older small apartments without electric heating - which   
   I would expect at least some to get a single 230V feed that is split   
   up in circuits.   
      
   I know of European countries where it's common that even free-standing   
   villas often just gets one (230V) phase - the 3-phase appliance you   
   mention VERY likely can be also be wired to a higher amperage single   
   circuit.   
      
   My oven/stove for example has two "sections" and can be connected to   
   either a big single 230V circuits (feeding both) ora smaller 400/230V   
   3-phase circuit using only two phases. AFAIK more powerful models tend   
   to have 3 "sections" but can usually? be wired to either a single   
   large circuit or a single 3-phase circuit.   
      
   Why limit where you can sell it if it's not actually using the   
   phase-to-phase voltage after all. I *have* seen wall-mounted electric   
   heating elements in Sweden that did run on 400V (not 3-phase, between   
   two phases) so there's definitely domestic items where this may be   
   used (and in industry a lot runs on on 400V 3-phase). So not ruling   
   out that you specific oven could be 3-phase only but sceptical unless   
   it's an industrial unit.   
      
   Also, while 400/230V 3-phase is nearly ubiquitos there's still some   
   countries (like Norway) which still has considerable amount of   
   "legacy" 230/133V 3-phase systems. IE, 230V is the voltage between two   
   phases, I expect all of these are old enough to originally have been   
   220/127V before the 220/230/240V "European 230V Unification" (early   
   2000s).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)