Wigwag coils from USA for whirlpool voltage

[bazzybtec]

Hi Everyone

Does anyone know if the wig wag coils in the whirlpool machines in the US are rated for 240 or 110 V. I know the power going to the switchboards in the US are 240V split phase and was wondering if these coils are actually rated for 240V. My understanding is a 240V coil will still energize on 110V.

Can i confirm if they will handle 240v?

 

[gizmo]

bazzy

They will be 110V and will go up in a puff of expensive smoke if you feed them 240V.

 

There is a small chance I have a good 240V wigwag, I will look sometime in the next week. (not at my place, it would be at our old house where a relative now lives.)

 

Have you checked the coils with a multimeter? It is very common for the wires to fail right at the terminal that pushes on to the wigwag. The constant flexing of the wires due to the back and forth motion causes the copper inside to fatigue and eventually break. You can't see it, the plastic insulation remains perfect but the wire breaks inside. You should look VERY closely where the wire joins the terminal, right where the wire enters the crimp, you may find the wire appears to be more flexible at that spot if you jiggle it around. Easiest way is just cut off the terminals, strip the wires and fit new terminals.

 

You could unplug the terminals from the wigwag, connect a multimeter to the terminals and run the machine to see if there is power to the terminals, but it can be an unreliable test as they may test OK if the broken wire comes together inside, and still be dodgy in use. It really is easier just to replace the terminals, it's quick and easy.

 

Years ago I got one that would click on and click off at every stroke of the wigwag, this was the broken wire touching and coming apart with each stroke, all happening unseen, inside the plastic wire insulation. New terminals fixed it.

 

If it is not the terminals and you really need a wigwag, search for MW095, that was a Stokes part number for Malleys Whirlpool wigwag assembly. Allfix in Albury appear to have one listed.

 

Phone all washer repair places run by grey haired old men ready for retirement, they may have one on the shelf. Country towns are your best bet, more likely to have a shed full of spares that hasn't been culled in decades. And phone around, the places most likely to have the part on a shelf are the least likely to be listing stuff on the internet. Think old school. Over 20 years ago I was visiting relatives in Northern NSW and we went in to an electrical appliance shop in Macksville. They had an astonishing supply of old spares out the back, this would have been 1990s and there were parts for 1950s machines stacked high on shelves. Who knows, they might still be there...?

 

[bazzybtec]

It was working ok when i took delivery of the machine however when i was testing it and putting it through a full cycle the outlet hose has caused water to splash up into the spin coil and is causing the RCD to trip every time it shifts to spin.

it can fill agitate neutral drain but every time spin then Click off with the RCD.

I suspect it was water related because it was running fine until i moved the outlet hose higher (the level i had it out was causing a weird siphoning effect.

I have tested the active to earth pin with a mega meter set to 250v 500v and 1000v and each show unacceptably high continuity when the spin is selected on the timer.

 

[combo52]

WP Wig-Wag Coils

Are 120 volts [ there I no such thing as 110 volts in the US since the 1950s ] and yes they will burn out in about 10 seconds on 240 volts.

 

Washing machines really should not be on GFIs if the machine is properly grounded, doing so can cause nuisance tripping.

 

John L.

 

[bazzybtec]

I would very much love it to not be on GFI however In Australia they have made it law that every GPO point needs to be behind an RCD. the only exception to this is Air conditioners and ovens and i think hot water units.

It is very annoying having RCD tripping.

 

[gizmo]

Is the spin coil encased in plastic or can you see wrapped windings? From vague memory the later ones were plastic cased, should be waterproof? Check your problem isn't just dampness - thoroughly dry it with a hairdryer, leave it in a dry warm place for several days, try again?? If there is evidence of a black sooty flashover mark, it is probably stuffed. I have never managed to resurrect a component that has that black burn/soot mark caused by getting wet and arcing across the damp patch.

If the early type with windings that are just wrapped, not sealed, if wet it will be very difficult or impossible to get the moisture out.

 

[gizmo]

110 / 120 V - thanks John, I was never sure of the correct terminology, I have seen US voltage written as 110, 115 and 120V.

In Australia the mains voltage was dropped 10 or 15 years ago, from 240V to 230V, but everybody still calls it 240. I suspect 95% of the population think it is still 240 Volts.

 

It was changed because of standards being aligned - Australia, UK and New Zealand used 240, Europe used 220, so it was decided to bring the standards together to 230V to avoid having to make appliances for two voltages. Everything for 220, 230 and 240 runs OK on 230V.

 

Funny thought occurs to me, the original voltages may well have been made different to discourage sale of imported goods, to support local manufacturers.

 

[DADoES]

 
It's common that people continue to refer to the voltages as 110 and 220.  My voltage at this moment is reading 122 and 123 on a standard wall outlet according to the displays on a couple computer APC-brand UPS units. One computer is not turned on, the other UPS has computer, monitor, speakers, cable modem, and WiFi router.

 

[maytag85]

For those who live in 230 to 240 volt lands, you might find this video interesting. Basically all homes in the US/North America have 240 volts in the electric service panels but usually is reserved for high powered appliances such as dryers, stoves, electric water heaters, HVAC units, etc.

 

[circlew]

The easiest way to explain this is that in USA and Canada, 240 volt service is line-line, and 120 volts is line-neutral, while in Australia 240 (230) volt service is line-neutral.

Of course there are other voltages in NA. 120/208 is occasionally found in residential services, and 240/480 and 277/480 are common in commercial/industrial installations, but not allowed by code for residential occupancies.

 

[DADoES]

 
The parents have 3-phase 240v available because of a city sewer-lift station near their property at back of the neighborhood.  The house's original (which lasted 30 years) and first replacement A/C were 3-phase.  The current unit is single-phase 240v.

 

[circlew]

When my cousins lived in Austin, TX they had 120/208 3 phase service, the air conditioning and pool equipment was 3 phase.

 

[bazzybtec]

they are the sealed type, so i think i will just let it sit and dry out, its winter here at the moment so the air is fairly dry anyway. it should dry out during the day no issues.

as for voltages here at least in my part of Australia according to the energex guy who was here connecting 3 phase up when i had my solar installation done he said that the only the voltage terminology changed not the actual voltage as the voltage operates on a range and anything between 220V and 250V is acceptable on a single phase. it also changes with load. the more load on the grid vs the generation short fall pulls down the voltage same with generation surplus to load results in a higher line voltage.

every time i have tested it at the point the voltage sits around 244v

 

[gizmo]

Hi Bazzy

The old standard was 240V +/- 6%, it's now 230v +10/-6%.

So old acceptable range was 225 to 254V.

The new range is 216 to 253V.

But if it regularly goes above 250V, at least here in Victoria, your local power provider (the poles and wires company, not your retailer) will come out to your transformer and reset the voltage to about 230V. In this area with many dairy farms, they like to keep the voltage on the high side as there is often a surge after milking, when lots of warm "cow temperature" milk has to be quickly refrigerated. That's the excuse I've heard. A couple of my friends have had problems with appliances often shitting themselves, I have lent them voltage monitoring gadgets to establish supply voltage and they have found them to be 250 to 260V for extended periods. In both cases they contacted the power company who brought out more sophisticated data logging equipment, as soon as it was established to be over 250V for more than brief periods, the technicians came out and swapped to a different tap on the transformer, which gave a supply voltage of about 235V. And they were compensated for the damaged appliances.

I occasionally check the voltage at our local community hall and it is usually 235 to 240V.

I'm off-grid so not affected by mains voltage.

Each State changed to 230V standard at different times, the decision to change was back in 1983 but it was a 20 year implementation plan and I think some states even ran over that.

 

the following link may be interesting reading on supply voltage in Australia...

Power bills up? Appliances burning out? You may have a voltage problem

Richard McIndoe used to run one of the country's major electrical retailers. But even he was surprised by power usage in his home. When he investigated, he discovered he was "being force-fed electricity".

www.abc.net.au

 

[aussie-plugs]

Fascinating story

Thanks, Gizmo. That was really interesting. I'd heard solar was presenting challenges to the network and now I have a better overall understanding of the whole thing, not just the solar angle