electrical voltage converters

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bimfi

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I don't know if this is the right forum to ask this question, but here goes. I am shipping a cordless 18volt drill overseas to the Philippines. I know that they use 240 volt 60Hz wiring. My question is this: should I send a transformer with it or a voltage converter. I understand the difference between the two, I just don't know which type would be best suited for recharging the battery. I learned the hard way that you don't hook up a coffee urn type pot that draws 1000 watts to a 300 watt transformer. I just don't know if a battery charger for a drill uses a lot of wattage. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 

Bob NH

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One thing you need to be careful about is NOT to send a converter that uses switching to develop 120 Volts from 240 Volts. Those kind of converters often use AC to DC to AC conversion and don't produce a clean sine wave.

I plugged a charger into an inverter and it blew the charger. When I got a new one the new version had a tag wrapped around the cord that said that inverters will damage the charger.

The ONLY kind of converter that you can reliably use with that kind of electronic unit is a TRANSFORMER which has a lot of copper and steel.
 

OscarG

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You might also look at the label on the battery charger power supply. Some of these can accept a very wide range of input voltage. My computer's supply can accept input voltage of 100-240V AC 50-60Hz. With the right plug adapter this will work in many countries. There may be a chance your charger has similar characteristics.
 

Bob NH

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Another possibility would be to determine if the same brand of charger can be purchased in the Philippines. It might be less expensive to send money and let them buy the correct charger.

If they are US expatriates who may have taken a lot of US stuff with them, they might want to have a big transformer, or they might have one. When my daughter went to Sierra Leone in 1989 I got a 1000 Watt transformer for her that she has hauled around for years in 220 Volt countrys.
 
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