Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had a chance to test the 120V unit in Japan, where the grid provides only 100V? Or had an idea how it would behave? It is clearly outside official specs, but I imagine it could still work fine, though perhaps the heater would output less power? Would really like to use one here!
Thanks in advance!
Specs are 115-120V as you say out of spec.
You might need something like this
to prevent prolonged usage at a too low voltage. The people who’ve disassembled or built the unit though can give you a better idea since they’d know the tolerance and consequences of prolonged use.
My mother uses something like that for 120->240 step up for a rice cooker she has from South Korea in Canada. IMO they are a little scary 
Remember if you go transformer shopping buy something for your local regions power and has a Wattage output of at least 800W (that’s what the anova says it uses).
Hey, thanks a lot for the quick reply, I’m actually aware of the step up/step down transformers route, though they are quite bulky and pricy for higher wattages needed here. So it’s an option, but I’d rather avoid using it in the kitchen, especially that I could find reports of Sansaire working fine in Japan. Anova would be my first choice though…
It definitely may or may not work.
Not having seen the schematics for the cooker, here’s my best guess…
You have two things going on inside this cooker. You have the control electronics, and you have the heating element.
The control electronics will have the ac input stepped-down, rectified and regulated. That means the ac input will be transformed from a high voltage to a lower one, will be converted to dc, and will be input through a circuit that will put out a smooth voltage that can be used by the control circuit.
The dc voltage input into the circuit normally is slightly higher than what is output.
Since 100v ac is about 84 - 91% of 110-120v ac required for the unit, when it is stepped down it will be 84-91% of the dc that comes out of the transformer normally. IF that voltage is higher than what the control circuit operates on then it should work.
The heating element should work on the lower voltage but slower at the lower voltage input.
So…plug it in and see.
What’s the worst that can happen?.. You lose a gadget.
Thanks for your comments markc. Wouldn’t the electronics rely just on a switched supply, the type we use in phone chargers, that can accept anything from 100-250V? Then it would be fine and the heater will just output less heat, but since the whole point of the device is to maintain a fixed temperature regardless of environment, it will probably adjust to it just fine. One other source of concern could be the motor though - from what I read so far, some types would compensate lower voltage with higher current and heat up more.
In any case, in the meantime I got a reply from the Anova Support, and they said they usually tell customers to use a transformer, but as far as they know 110V unit is applicable to 100V. I’ll take my chances and test it then (sadly, not before January, though…).
It’s possible that they could have a switcher that could accept those voltages. However, they do have 120v and 220v models which makes you question that. (We could guess until the cows come home).
As for the motor, in the interest of keeping down costs, I would imagine that it would be a straightforward simple type with a fixed impedence that would result in a lower current when presented with a lower voltage. ( more guessing )
Bottom line - were it me, I’d plug it in without trepidation.
Good luck.
markc, thanks again, I just ordered one. Since you are probably using it, could you please tell me if it comes with a three-pronged plug? Checked the manual and photos, but they do a very good job of not mentioning it. Compatible sockets are uncommon in Japan, so I could order an appropriate adapter in advance.
I haven’t received them yet.
I do have two version1 units and they are grounded ( 3 pronged ) plugs. I would imagine that Anova would do the same for this model.
For those who stumble upon this thread with the same question - the 110V cooker seems to be operating without any issues on 100V. The plug is indeed a three-pronged one, but adapters are easy to find. Thanks again for your support!
Has anyone bought this oven and is using it in Japan? Could you tell me what the experience is like? Did you have to do some kind of electrical adaptation to work well?