Bringing Russian kitchen appliances into the US

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I was actually not intending to plug it into a 110V outlet at all because I didn't want to damage it. I haven't been able to find anything equivalent to it over here. I don't think it's a blini maker; the end result is crispy, like a cannelloni, but with a pattern, like a waffle. I'll try 110V outlet now, though; the worst that can happen is that I'll have to go back to Russia to get another one.

Asian store for $2 or Radio Shack for $20. I'll need to think about that.

Thanks everyone!

There should be no danger of hurting the appliance - it's not like "not having enough juice" will fry it. There's a slight chance that it won't heat up all the way, but I'm willing to bet the heater doesn't draw the full 220 anyway. Probably more like half of that, which is convenient because that's what you have!

This is a very interesting topic. I am also concerned that if I bring appliances from Russia and then plug them in into 110 outlet with a converter that I will burn them...

Has anyone tried plugging in hair dryer or an iron with a converter ?

For the most part, you don't need converters for 220 to 110. You only need them the other way. Adapters for the plugs is about all you'll need t make them run. Especially something like irons or hair dryers.... TV's or other electronics I might get a converter just to ensure steady power flow, but a "dumb" appliance usually doesn't need more than 12 or 20 volts or something like that.

Most 220 (and even 110) are built to draw what they need and everything else just kind of goes right on by. The problem you run into is when you use a 110 in a 220 because it's only built to resist 90 or so "extra" volts. When 200 "extra" volts come in, it kind of messes them up! If you only have half the normal current coming in, no worries.

Most higher-end electronics (and especially those sold in international markets) will have the capability to regulate input power already built in, you just need the right adapter. Things like irons and stuff won't have that function but they'll work just fine with "less" power.

Bottom line - if it's something that's expensive, do your homework and make sure you line up the right power/resistance settings. If it's cheap, plug that sucker in!

Slim, you are confuisng voltage with current. The outlet provides 220 v (or 120v) period. it is always 220 or 110 and the appliance always uses that. It does not vary. CURRENT, or amperage DOES vary as the appliance is controlled by a device of some sort (a thermostat for example) WATTS is the measurement of work performed. Volts x Amps equals Watts. Higher voltage uses less amperage to produce the same "work" or result. It also uses smaller wires (wire size being based on amperage) Ths is the reasoning behind the higher voltage. Years ago it was determined anything more than 120v was simply too dangerous for regular household use, light switches, outlets and other things people can put their fingers in, for the USA. Europe uses higher voltage and has less transformer energy loss, can run smaller diameter wire etc. It hurts more when you put your finger in an outlet in Russia. Russian children have been warned not to do that. They also tend to use "line voltage" for everythng rather than transformers and low voltage controls like us tender, electrophobic Americans. Something I was rudely reminded of when changing my MIL's doorbell button...those things are the full 220v.!!

Electric appliances built for 220v have smaller wiring. Generally underpowering a resistive load (heating element) just results in poor perfrmance...about half the normal. An inductive load like a motor will burn up almost right away, it will usually growl a bit and then start to smoke and smell real funky.

[slim 1,525]

Electric appliances built for 220v have smaller wiring. Generally underpowering a resistive load (heating element) just results in poor perfrmance...about half the normal. An inductive load like a motor will burn up almost right away, it will usually growl a bit and then start to smoke and smell real funky.

Which all prove to the wife that she should've listened to you in the first place and just left that daggone waffle maker in Russia.

All technicalities aside, wouldn't a waffle maker (or whatever it is) be regulated by the thermostat and run simply as "off/on?" Then actual power input wouldn't matter so much? Sure, maybe it'd take a little longer to warm up, but wouldn't it typically just stay on a little longer? I understand that maybe it would only draw half the power it needed but I doubt it would heat all the way up and then wouldn't be able to stay hot enough to cook thin waffles. It would just be "working" harder, right? I know this is all "in theory" but with something that's $40, who really cares?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Electric appliances built for 220v have smaller wiring. Generally underpowering a resistive load (heating element) just results in poor perfrmance...about half the normal. An inductive load like a motor will burn up almost right away, it will usually growl a bit and then start to smoke and smell real funky.

Which all prove to the wife that she should've listened to you in the first place and just left that daggone waffle maker in Russia.

All technicalities aside, wouldn't a waffle maker (or whatever it is) be regulated by the thermostat and run simply as "off/on?" Then actual power input wouldn't matter so much? Sure, maybe it'd take a little longer to warm up, but wouldn't it typically just stay on a little longer? I understand that maybe it would only draw half the power it needed but I doubt it would heat all the way up and then wouldn't be able to stay hot enough to cook thin waffles. It would just be "working" harder, right? I know this is all "in theory" but with something that's $40, who really cares?

a thermstat is a temperature controlled On/Off switch, nothing more. The voltage (pressure) of electrical current is constant. Or should be if the poer company does their job right. It can vary a bit but it isn't something you control. The wattage (work produced) can vary by amperage which is dependent on the type and wiring of the appliance, motor, etc. . Some loads, inductive loads like motors, take more current to "start" which is the purpose of capacitors on larger motors...a boost at the start from stored charges. A waffle maker is a resistive load. It is either on or off. When it is ON it uses the same amount of electricty constantly regulated only by the resistance of the heating coil. same with a hair dryer, space heater, etc. When that element is on, it is using X watts. say 1500 watts (common rating for a hair dryer or space heater) 1500/120 v. equals 12.5 amps which fits it comfortably into a common 15 amp home circuit. Isn't that amazing? When you switch to the "low" heat, the voltage remains constant and the current is routed through a separate coil with lower resistance, lower wattage, lower heat.

The Russian waffle maker will be underpowered with our electricity and will produce, exactly, half the heat output it normally would. Whether that is enough to cook waffles is yet to be seen.

A "Rheostat" is a resistor itself, this is similar to your "dimmer switch". A simple dimmer switch is nothin more than a variable resistor (varistor). It asct as a "dam" to hold back some current. It does NOT reduce electricity consumed, the excess is drained into that box at the back of the dimmer called a "heat sink". It simply wastes the excess electricity as heat inside your wall. Romantic, but not energy wise. They also are not good for inductive loads (ceiling fan motors). They will shorten the life of fan motors and cause them to "growl".

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Electric appliances built for 220v have smaller wiring. Generally underpowering a resistive load (heating element) just results in poor perfrmance...about half the normal. An inductive load like a motor will burn up almost right away, it will usually growl a bit and then start to smoke and smell real funky.

Which all prove to the wife that she should've listened to you in the first place and just left that daggone waffle maker in Russia.

All technicalities aside, wouldn't a waffle maker (or whatever it is) be regulated by the thermostat and run simply as "off/on?" Then actual power input wouldn't matter so much? Sure, maybe it'd take a little longer to warm up, but wouldn't it typically just stay on a little longer? I understand that maybe it would only draw half the power it needed but I doubt it would heat all the way up and then wouldn't be able to stay hot enough to cook thin waffles. It would just be "working" harder, right? I know this is all "in theory" but with something that's $40, who really cares?

My point exactly about cost. Leave it in Russia and buy a new one designed for our electrical system. Will anything be hurt by her bringing it? No. will it work? I doubt it. You cannot assume it will eventually reach it's design temperature with 1/2 the design voltage, I doubt it. The "thin waffle" draws heat out of the plates and I doubt anything close to design temperature would ever be reached.

Sorry to include the technicalities, however the entire question can only be answered by technicalities. Whether intended or not, the OP asked a technical question.

[eekee 182]

I believe this device is called a "pizzelle maker" in the US.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I believe this device is called a "pizzelle maker" in the US.

Um...we always called it a "waffle iron", never heard of a "pizzelle maker" or a "pizzelle" for that matter. How does one make a pizzelle?

[payxibka 10,045]

I believe this device is called a "pizzelle maker" in the US.

Um...we always called it a "waffle iron", never heard of a "pizzelle maker" or a "pizzelle" for that matter. How does one make a pizzelle?

Ever eaten ice cream in a "waffle" cone? essentially a pizzelle rolled into a cone shape

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzelle

Edited December 1, 2009 by payxibka

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I believe this device is called a "pizzelle maker" in the US.

Um...we always called it a "waffle iron", never heard of a "pizzelle maker" or a "pizzelle" for that matter. How does one make a pizzelle?

Ever eaten ice cream in a "waffle" cone? essentially a pizzelle rolled into a cone shape

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzelle

Now that's what keeps me coming back to VJ. Learn something new every day, I never heard it called that.

[baron555 934]

I believe this device is called a "pizzelle maker" in the US.

Um...we always called it a "waffle iron", never heard of a "pizzelle maker" or a "pizzelle" for that matter. How does one make a pizzelle?

Ever eaten ice cream in a "waffle" cone? essentially a pizzelle rolled into a cone shape

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzelle

Now that's what keeps me coming back to VJ. Learn something new every day, I never heard it called that.

Having my grandfather come over on the boat from Italy, Pizzelles are common in my family and they are great.

My mother and my aunts make the best. Gary, I'll get some together and ship them to you for Christmas.

The best, by me, are those made with anise flavoring (very slight) and powdered sugar coating.

Totally to die for. I am sure the women will love them!

[slim 1,525]

The Russian waffle maker will be underpowered with our electricity and will produce, exactly, half the heat output it normally would. Whether that is enough to cook waffles is yet to be seen.

Why would the heat output change? Wouldn't it stay "on" until it was hot enough, then turn "off" once it was too hot? I don't see how the heat output would be affected at all unless we're talking the 110 just not being able to heat it to where it's hot enough to cook with. You think that'd be the case? I think it would just stay "on" a little longer to warm up (and maybe never actually shut off during the cooking cycle) but it would get plenty of power to still cook a "pizelle." (I too had never heard of that. It's a waffle cone!)

[eekee 182]

Gary--a regular waffle maker would make thick waffles, which is not what the OP describes.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The Russian waffle maker will be underpowered with our electricity and will produce, exactly, half the heat output it normally would. Whether that is enough to cook waffles is yet to be seen.

Why would the heat output change? Wouldn't it stay "on" until it was hot enough, then turn "off" once it was too hot? I don't see how the heat output would be affected at all unless we're talking the 110 just not being able to heat it to where it's hot enough to cook with. You think that'd be the case? I think it would just stay "on" a little longer to warm up (and maybe never actually shut off during the cooking cycle) but it would get plenty of power to still cook a "pizelle." (I too had never heard of that. It's a waffle cone!)

Yes, that is absolutely the case. All that stuff has design parameters. It is like putting a furnace in your house that is half the size it needs to be and saying "well, it will just run longer" No. And Yes. It WILL run longer, it will never reach 68 degrees on a cold day, it will just run constantly and never meet the design temperature. Half the energy available to heat the plates, designed for twice the heat, will likely result in warm goo instead of a pizzelle or whatever. The same appliance CAN be designed for 110v. electricity with properly sized wiring, resisitive coils, etc. and it will give identical performance (using twice as much current "amps") but you cannot design it and build it for 220v and expect anything close to normal performance at half the available voltage. Voltage is, to the electrical business, pressure. It is the force that pushes the current (electron flow) through the wires. It is the GUNPOWDER Slim! Reduce the gunpowder by 50% from design and what happens? Half the velocity? NO, the bullet sticks in the bore 8" up the barrel! GUNS, Slim...think Guns.

The resistance of the wires in the European pizzelle maker and the resistance of the electrical heating elements are designed for 220v pressure to push the current through and produce the desired result. Reduce the pressure by 50% and all goes to hell. Disconnect four spark plug wires from a V-8 truck engine and see what happens. Will it take longer to reach 70 mph? Or will you even reach 70 mph? Or 55? will it even get you to the corner store? Yet the 4 cylinder Toyota mini-truck will be speeding past you and laughing at you. How is that possible? They both, now, have the same number of cyliders firing, should they both perform the same?

Bottom line is that small electrical applicances are simply not worth bothering with. You would need a boost transformer to get them to work properly and that would cost as much, or more, than a new appliance.

In case you are thinking of simply wiring up a 220v. outlet in your kitchen and using a Russian plug she brings along, it will not work. European 220v electrcity is "single phase" and uses one "hot wire" and one common or neutral wire. In order to get 220v. in the USA we use dual phase, two hot wires from different phases (this is why your house has TWO hot wires and a nuetral coming in). A European appliance connected to our 220v power will be instantly fried. It will create a "dead short".

Except for laptops and cell phone chargers and other appliances with a built in transformer, it simply isn't worth it. We just kept our flat in Donetsk and left all that stuff there!

[eekee 182]

Get your wife a really nice one from Williams-sonoma, maybe with lots of different cool functions, and maybe she'll forget about her Ukrainian one

[IrinaNMike 0]

Get your wife a really nice one from Williams-sonoma, maybe with lots of different cool functions, and maybe she'll forget about her Ukrainian one

That's exactly what I'm going to do. She left the 'waffle maker' in Russia after I promised that there would be a pizzelle maker under the Christmas tree this year. I will let her choose the one she wants, and if she wants an ice cream 'waffle cone' maker she can have that as well. She will be happy, and that is what counts.

Thanks everyone for some really valuable feedback.

[SMR 368]

The Russian waffle maker will be underpowered with our electricity and will produce, exactly, half the heat output it normally would. Whether that is enough to cook waffles is yet to be seen.

Why would the heat output change? Wouldn't it stay "on" until it was hot enough, then turn "off" once it was too hot? I don't see how the heat output would be affected at all unless we're talking the 110 just not being able to heat it to where it's hot enough to cook with. You think that'd be the case? I think it would just stay "on" a little longer to warm up (and maybe never actually shut off during the cooking cycle) but it would get plenty of power to still cook a "pizelle." (I too had never heard of that. It's a waffle cone!)

Yes, that is absolutely the case. All that stuff has design parameters. It is like putting a furnace in your house that is half the size it needs to be and saying "well, it will just run longer" No. And Yes. It WILL run longer, it will never reach 68 degrees on a cold day, it will just run constantly and never meet the design temperature. Half the energy available to heat the plates, designed for twice the heat, will likely result in warm goo instead of a pizzelle or whatever. The same appliance CAN be designed for 110v. electricity with properly sized wiring, resisitive coils, etc. and it will give identical performance (using twice as much current "amps") but you cannot design it and build it for 220v and expect anything close to normal performance at half the available voltage. Voltage is, to the electrical business, pressure. It is the force that pushes the current (electron flow) through the wires. It is the GUNPOWDER Slim! Reduce the gunpowder by 50% from design and what happens? Half the velocity? NO, the bullet sticks in the bore 8" up the barrel! GUNS, Slim...think Guns.

The resistance of the wires in the European pizzelle maker and the resistance of the electrical heating elements are designed for 220v pressure to push the current through and produce the desired result. Reduce the pressure by 50% and all goes to hell. Disconnect four spark plug wires from a V-8 truck engine and see what happens. Will it take longer to reach 70 mph? Or will you even reach 70 mph? Or 55? will it even get you to the corner store? Yet the 4 cylinder Toyota mini-truck will be speeding past you and laughing at you. How is that possible? They both, now, have the same number of cyliders firing, should they both perform the same?

Bottom line is that small electrical applicances are simply not worth bothering with. You would need a boost transformer to get them to work properly and that would cost as much, or more, than a new appliance.

In case you are thinking of simply wiring up a 220v. outlet in your kitchen and using a Russian plug she brings along, it will not work. European 220v electrcity is "single phase" and uses one "hot wire" and one common or neutral wire. In order to get 220v. in the USA we use dual phase, two hot wires from different phases (this is why your house has TWO hot wires and a nuetral coming in). A European appliance connected to our 220v power will be instantly fried. It will create a "dead short".

Except for laptops and cell phone chargers and other appliances with a built in transformer, it simply isn't worth it. We just kept our flat in Donetsk and left all that stuff there!

Thanks, Gary, for clearing up a lot of the electrical misunderstandings that seemed to be going around. I disagree on one point though. A waffle iron (or similar device) will actually only have a quarter of the output power on 110V that it would at 220V, assuming the load is a simple resistive heater with a thermostat control. The voltage is half and since the resistance is the same, the current is also half resulting in 1/4 the power (P=V^2/R).

To the point, Slim, that means your waffle iron will really have trouble. Even if it did manage to heat up, when you apply the cold batter, the iron will likely take too long to recover from the resulting dip in temperature to perform normally (it's got to be really hot in order for things to get crispy). Gary went over that. I just think that only 1/4 of the power compounds the problem further.

On the subject of using two-phase to replace a 220V line, it would work if you cut off the grounding pin (use one phase as hot and the other as neutral). I wouldn't recommend it though because touching the wrong parts of the device may result in you being the dead short. That's why they invented grounding pins.