Hi! Has anyone ever had the same issue wherein they bought a 120V and brought it outside US where they use 240V? I’m from the Philippines by the way. I’m kind of sketchy to use a transformer for let’s say if I’d be cooking and leaving it behind for 36-48 hours or so.
Really wanna hear the solutions you did in terms of usage. Thank you!!!
It’s really not recommended to do this for high wattage appliances (actually voids your warranty).
The reason being that eventually your transformer will fail - and when it does, it will either fail closed (power off) or fail open and fry whatever 120V appliance is plugged into it. There’s also potential that a transformer could be providing varying levels of power, causing harm to the appliance that you’re using. (it’s for this reason that virtually all manufacturers advise against their use and that using these will void your warranty).
You should have bought a higher voltage unit that would work with the voltage where you live. If you’re outside of the return period for wherever you bought it, I’d suggest you sell it and use the funds to buy one for your locale.
I don’t buy it. I don’t see how a transformer could fail open, seeing that there is no galvanic connection between the primary and secondary coil. Moreover, a step-up/step-down transformer will have a fuse in it that will prevent excess current flow so, even if it were to fail open, the fuse would blow. If there is a short against the chassis of the transformer (primary or secondary side), an RCD (residual current device, aka earth leakage detector) will trip instantly. (Most households will have one of these installed by now. If not, get one installed immediately. These things save lives.)
The one thing that could cause problems is the different mains frequency. But the heater in the Anova doesn’t care about that, and the electronics almost certainly use a switching power supply, which doesn’t care about frequency.
The fact is that, if you have a transformer that is large enough to handle the load, it will work, period. The Anova can’t tell where the power comes from, nonsense about voiding warranty from the manufacturer notwithstanding.
I totally agree with your comments.
Something like this will do the job:
https://www.wallcann.com.au/1500w-step-down-transformer/#productInfoTab1
Note that these things are big, heavy, and expensive. Also note that you need something that will handle 800/900 W for extended periods. A 1000 W transformer might (just) be sufficient, but would struggle during the initial heating period, possibly getting too hot and turning itself off.
@fischersd Thanks for the reply! Appreciate your thoughts and opinions!
@michihenning
Thank you for your tips! Appreciate it! That is also what I was told that I had to buy a transformer that is double the wattage of the appliance that I bought, in this case, the annova nano, which has 750W. I also do hope that it would not give out on me if ever I would be cooking something for about let’s say 24 or 36 hours. But with that being said, don’t you think IF EVER, the transformer would give out, that it might cause a fire or something. I do have to sleep to you know. LOL
Make sure you buy a transformer with overload protection and thermal protection. No fire that way: the device will turn itself off once it gets too hot.