Espresso machine voltage conversion from 110V to 240V

[aaronmaestri]

I was wondering what's involved with converting a machine from 110V US power to 240V Australian power? Is it just a case of swapping over the heating elements? I have a Bezzera Family lever that i am considering bringing with me when i move from New York to Sydney, but maybe its not worth the hassle and expense? any ideas if this is easy? difficult? expensive?
Does anyone know of a parts or service place that might be able to assist me?
cheers, A

['Q']

You could alternatively go for a step down transformer to make things easy on yourself.

[Paul]

yup. For 110v -> 240v element needs to be changed. Neon lights (if present) will be ok. Autofill box (if present) will need changing to a 240v one.

[Paul]

forgot - if you have an autofill box then the af solenoid coil will also need changing for a 240v one.

[jesawdy]

Paul-

Is power "Down Under" delivered in a 3-wire config - Hot (~240V), Neutral and Ground?

If so, I think a step down would be the simplest solution....

[Paul]

Jeff - yeah, you're right. I hadn't looked at step down/up converters for years. Didn't realise that for only $90usd a 2 or 3kw convertor could be had (from Q's link above). Much better option, much cheaper than swapping bits.

[aaronmaestri]

I had originally thought i would go the step down transformer route, but was persuaded against it by someone. The only two electrical things under the hood in my Bezzera are the pressurestat and the element. I wasnt sure if i would need a new pressurestat or not, Is the voltage over the relay switch critical?
The other thing that has concerned me was availability of parts in Australia. Paul, your name has come up in connection to Bezzera Familia parts down under in another post, is this the case? I have never had a response from my emails to the Bezzera Australia website so i guess thats not promising.
Thanks for the advise everyone, its been very helpful

[aaronmaestri]

Wow, i just looked up stepdown transformers in australia and a 3000W one is around the $400 mark, guess i'll be buying one here then. Also what wattage should i be looking at? I have the espresso machine and a Mazzer super jolly grinder that will be plugged in and running at the same time.

[Paul]

a quick check on coffeeparts.com tells me that your element is 1350w. I dunno about the mazzer. Maybe 300w? I should think a 2kw converter would be fine (but welcome correction )

[jesawdy]

The Mazzer would be 300-350W, IIRC.

['Q']

If the 1350 and 300 are about correct then you'd probably be OK with the 2K, but in this case overkill is a good thing so the bigger the better. I wouldn't be too surprised on a 2K model if the heater coil were active and the grinder switched on that the resulting surge could trip it, depending on how well it tolerates.

As far as the question of the pressurestat; it's basially just a switch and (i assume) should have it's power rating printed on it. However, the most important thing would be the VA (or wattage) draw of the heat element. If you changed the element so that the wattage was the same (or less) on 240V as the current one on 110V I'd expect there to be no problem with the pressurestat except possibly a little shorter lifespan due to increased arcing from the higher voltage.

[danblev]

I have one of those.
To be exact, the $99.99 3Kw one. I decided that for the additional $10 it is worth it.
I also use it for my FR8 when roasting samples.
--
Danny

[gabriel]

I have one of those.
To be exact, the $99.99 3Kw one. I decided that for the additional $10 it is worth it.
I also use it for my FR8 when roasting samples.
--
Danny

Danny,

Where did you get your converter ? was it in Israel or in the US ?
I'm moving back to TLV from the US soon and would like to keep my Silvia and Mazzer M
From what I read the Mazzer is 250W and the Silvia is 1100W (although I read that the 110v Silvia really works in 800W)
I got a 300W transformator which I have been using in the US to drive my 220v hifi so I should be fine with the Mazzer
I was thinking about getting 1500W convertor for the Silvia
Any idea where and if I can get a good convertor in Israel and what should I expect to pay ?

Thanks
/gabi

[JavaJunkie]

I have an opportunity to pick up and move to Australia! Yeah! Naturally, my first priority is what to do with my espresso gear!

I have US models of the Elektra Semiautomatica and Mazzer Mini. I believe these are both Italian products, so presumably they are ready for 220V. Can anyone confirm that? Will I simply be able to put an adapter on the plugs and plug straight into an Australian power outlet?

Thanks!

[HB]

(I merged your question with a topic on the same subject).

I believe these are both Italian products, so presumably they are ready for 220V. Can anyone confirm that? Will I simply be able to put an adapter on the plugs and plug straight into an Australian power outlet?

If it were only so simple. Computers may have "universal adapters", but not espresso equipment.

I used a step-down transformer when I lived overseas in Europe and most appliances worked. Kitchen appliances with a heating element worked fine, appliances with motors ran slower than normal. Electronics was a mixed bag (e.g., radios worked fine, clocks that depend on the frequency didn't). In your case, a large step-down transformer would do the job. Allow a good margin of error on the wattage, otherwise you'll blow fuses (especially for the surge when a motor starts up, e.g., a vacuum cleaner).

Tip: Contact expats living in Australia before leaving, you may be able to work out a cheap exchange on non-transferable appliances with those departing around the same time you're arriving.

[JavaJunkie]

Thanks for finding the relevant post. I didn't know what to search for...!

[gabriel]

one more thing
try and get the convector in the US, I have seen 1500W boxes going for less than $100 in the US
http://www.220-electronics.com/Tr...rans/simranreg.htm

where I live now I had to pay almost double that amount and it only got me the simplest version without the nice box and fancy voltmeter

/gabi

[MajorMajor]

I have 120V models for the Rocky/Silvia combo.

I'm moving to Israel soon and am interested in taking my combo with me, where they use 230V/50Hz.

If you look at the labels, the Rocky states 110V and 50/60HZ and the Silvia states 120V and 60HZ.

It's fairly easy to buy a transformer for the voltage conversion, but I'm concerned about the frequency difference, particularly for Silvia.

Does anybody have any experience with using the American voltage models in Europe?

Thanks in advance.

[HB]

Aaron, I merged your question with a topic on the same subject. A step-down transformer should work. IIRC, the Rancilio Silvia has a ULKA EP5. According to their data table (below), it expects 60Hz, which means it will generate a slightly lower maximum pressure because it's running more slowly when connected to a step-down transformer overseas.


From ULKA "data table"

[MajorMajor]

Thanks Dan.

Would you expect the pressure to be linearly proportional to the frequency difference (ie 50/60=~17% less)? That would be approximately 1.5 bar.

Sounds like I should probably adjust the internal pressure valve to compensate.