Hugonl28 wrote:Just for info, I live in Austria and have a 220v Caravel, I'm in constant contact with brooksespressomachines (his name is Thijs) and he's a very helpful and very passionate guy.

I've seen his machines on Etsy and checked out his website. Pretty amazing pics showing the quality of the manufacturer's chrome versus the work he does, which includes additional surface prep before plating.

Here's the Brooks replacement handle on my Caravel 1.0. It screws right on and looks right now.

vze26m98 wrote:Actually nothing, but it depends on what type of plug you have on the other end. Doesn't make any sense to have a 110v element and a Euro 220v plug or vice versa. And with these mismatched combos come the usual issues of slow heating, or frying your (new) element.

So the plug should match the voltage of the element, the cord (assuming it'll handle 3-6amps and has a ground wire) is irrelevant.

HTH, Charles

Just to make sure I get this right... I have a 220v Caravel running on a 110v outlet with the use of a euro/us adaptor. It heats up sloooooooowly so I have to heat about 1cm of water in it for around 10 min. and then add some boiling water from the stove. That way can make a shot within a reasonable time.

Using the same machine but with a 110v element plugged in the same outlet with the same adaptor, I would still have slow heating problems?

Maybe I was being a bit naive or ignorant of electricity laws but when I ordered my new element I thought I could just swap the 220v one for a 110v one and have a lot less waiting time.

Thanks for your help!

SimonPatrice wrote:I have a 220v Caravel running on a 110v outlet with the use of a euro/us adaptor. Using the same machine but with a 110v element plugged in the same outlet with the same adaptor, I would still have slow heating problems?

Bonjour Patrice-

You original question was about the cord, hence my response.

If you change to a 110 volt element, your Caravel will heat more quickly. The cord has no effect in the equation, except that it must handle the current load, which it does, because it's already in use on your machine.

You should change the plug to a 3-prong grounded for 110 volts, however. The shape of the plug determines what power sources the appliance can be plugged into, so leaving the 220v euro plug on allows you to plug your Caravel into a power source that will damage your 110 volt element.

Because it's safety issue, and not an electrical one, you could keep the euro plug/us adaptor combination until you're ready to change plugs.

Make sense?

Amitiés, Charles

vze26m98 wrote:If you change to a 110 volt element, your Caravel will heat more quickly. The cord has no effect in the equation, except that it must handle the current load, which it does, because it's already in use on your machine.

Right now you have a 220 V element that you are basically running at half power, because you are applying 120 V instead of 220 V. Assuming the OEM element is 500 W like the Cafelat element, the OEM cord is designed to carry 2.27 A (500 W ÷ 220 V = 2.27 A). Once you drop in the 120 V element, which is still 500 W-rated, the current that the cord has to carry increases to 4.17 A (500 W ÷ 120 V = 4.17 A).

So the question is: Can the existing cord, internal wiring and components handle that additional current?

You can verify the ampacity of the wiring by cross-checking its gauge against its rated current-carring capacity. Has someone actually done this check? Because it would be a mistake to just assume that a machine designed to carry X amount of current can safely carry 2X the current.

Eastsideloco wrote:
You can verify the ampacity of the wiring by cross-checking its gauge against its rated current-carring capacity. Has someone actually done this check? Because it would be a mistake to just assume that a machine designed to carry X amount of current can safely carry 2X the current.

This is a great question for which the answer should be verified by someone capable. With the new, fortunate abundance of new elements available I would hate to see any of these machines needlessly damaged over this. There will be many (including me) who want to swap to 110v.

I recall hearing or reading that the existing wiring is capable - but I haven't dredged the thread to confirm it.

I'm going to post this question on the thread where Cafelat is offering the replacement elements. If anyone is capable, it's Paul Pratt.

Here's that thread.

Arrarex Caravel Elements + Tampers, La Pavoni Tampers

Eastsideloco wrote:Right now you have a 220 V element that you are basically running at half power

Half amperage, but even worse for power -- running at half voltage and half amperage => 1/4 of the power. So a 500 Watt 240 volt element only gives you a measly 125 watts if you plug it into 120V.

Eastsideloco makes a good point about whether the wiring is up to the increased amperage when switching out an element. Although it seems intuitive that wire gauge requirement might be related to the power (volts*amps) carried by the wire, that is not the case. Wire is rated for a given amperage (https://www.icmag.com/modules/Tutorials ... y/1655.htm .) So if you convert to a lower voltage, same wattage element, you may need bigger wiring to handle the increased amps. Not likely a problem for a little 500W element unless there's some very weenie wiring in there.

My biggest concern would be if the microswitch in the thermostat assembly can handle the current. Those things are not sourceable (at least not that I've been able to find). This is one of the reasons that I'm planning on converting my 220v machine with a 110v element to a PID system and bypassing the old thermostat entirely.

homeburrero wrote:Half amperage, but even worse for power -- running at half voltage and half amperage => 1/4 of the power. So a 500 Watt 240 volt element only gives you a measly 125 watts if you plug it into 120V.

Thanks for clarifying. I was wondering if that wasn't the case.

Not likely a problem for a little 500W element unless there's some very weenie wiring in there.

Right. Given all the care and attention to detail that went into the rest of the product design, I don't know why they would value-engineer the wiring and cut its current-carrying capacity close to the bone.

GVdub wrote:My biggest concern would be if the microswitch in the thermostat assembly can handle the current.

Yep, you can't just look that up in a table. And it's doubtful that anyone has the specs handy.

Maybe someone on HB has both 120-V and a 220-V versions of the Caravel and compare the internal wiring and components? (My impression is that 120-V models are rare, but there are some out there. Is that the case or did I just make that up?)