No actual details; WAY too much risky jackleg ideas
We can all different on our experiences. Here I am a registered EE in California, thus I do not sign off on a conversion of some device with zero details, it is basically to darn risky.
My experience has been that most all older dryers were simple designs and were designed when I grew up to run on 120 or 240 and the coil in 240 mode went across the 240 volts, and was across the 120 in the 120 volt mode or low heat mode.
The reason most all did this is the coil is simple; it has only two ends and is not tapped. To run on low one just used a switch.
Older dryers did not use an expensive triac to place 120 across the coil, they just used a simple dumb switch.
Basically to say to another that one can convert an unknown USA 240 volt dryer to 120 without knowing the model, schematic with an adapter cord is risky, ie casino betting, loony toons. At best it is a roll the dice and smoke test. ie you plug it in and look for smoke.
The proper way to design to convert running a 240 volt device on 120 volts is to actually provide some ACTUAL details, which is not done here at all.
Using an adapter cord on a totally unknown 240 volt dryer makes you a hero if it works, or wanted man if there is a fire or fault and one has insurance losses or somebody gets killed. Thus with an electrical fire report ones reports eludes to jackleg, or guessing more than solid real engineering.
It seems the trust of this thread is pure generalities; ie never mention the make or model and hope with dumb luck that the conversion works.
Even if it works for chap#2 today , another chap #34 can find this thread in a year and ruin his dryer, get electrocuted, or cause a fire and one might have a legal attack.
****Thus why not rise up and reduce the uncertain variables and provide an actual model number, a schematic?
ie an actual basis of the actual dryer to be converted?
This is the reason engineering is regulated in dealing with public matters, and why many cities have electrical codes with rules. The bulk of home electrical fires are caused assuming.
What is the FEAR in actually providing the model # or schematic?
