230V 60Hz Air Conditioners

The folks to ask are the HVAC suppliers. If they can't say that the gear will work on the 60Hz supply in Bolivia (having supplied it for use there), they should replace the stuff, supply any necessary additional equipment, or refund you (incl. carriage in all cases).

Thanks my friend but the problem is I am here in Santa Cruz and the company is in NJ and I am talking with customer no service. after talking with them I am pretty much on my own.

Thanks John

Please place the name of the company on this blog to warn off any other possible purchasers from buying for any reason at all from such a company.

Thanks in advance.

Dear guest,

Evaluate the cost of sending it back to the supplier for replacement of proper unit with correct specification on your requirement + lead time against buying frequency converter. However if ever you are decided to buy Frequency converter, as friendly advise, make sure of the following; correct specification on your requirement such as required kVA rating capable to your air conditioning unit and the possibility and accessibility in sending it back if again you received the wrong one for second time around.

On your question if the unit "will operate the same with no problem" My quick answer is yes and then you will expect problem as your compressor, fan motor and other parts that relate in frequency will next burn., I bought hair shaver with 60 hz, I used and cut my friend hair, when I plug it in to a supply with 50 hz my friend is very lucky, I almost finish when it burnt !!!

Kind regards

Roman

First, are the airconditioners inverter models? If so, they may well run happily on 50Hz. They probably have unity power factor rectifiers (look on the data plate, if V times A = W they are unity power factor) and should run happily. Plain diode rectifiers will be ok, I would expect the filter capacitors to be 20% small but tolerable.

If they are plain switch-thermostat type they will take very large starting current and require a costly inverter (or rotary) frequency converter. However some 50 years ago here in Perth Western, Australia we were inflicted with 40 Hz power. The 50 Hz conversion took years so 50 Hz sealed unit refrigerators were used with 250 to 210/200 volt autotransformers, some tens of thousands of them, with 10-15% less cooling but cheap and external. You will probably find a jobbing transformer maker to provide them,at 200 V and conditioner's current output. If 'off the shelf' 230 to 24 V double wound transformers,with the secondary phased to buck the 230 V, (the load current will add to the secondary terminal voltage) appeal to you more, they can be used.

Hello Zap,

I believed the guest is not technical person and haven't good understanding on V times A = W. lets just make it simple like, "Please check on the data plate if Voltage 220-250V, Frequency 50hz-60hz then he can conclude the unit is safe for both 50&60hz supply .

Dear guest, should you mind to supply us the model number so maybe we could help you to find out if it is inverter model as Zap mentioned.

Kind regards

Roman

Hi Roman

Thanks for the information, I have reviewed the specifications and the models do not have inverter technology. I would return the units but the company refusse to except the return or assis me with this problem.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

John

This is a very difficult situation. You have spent money and are stock with something that might not work. The last thing that you should do is invest a lot of money in a frequency converter.

The first thing to do is to look at the compressor rating plate (right on the big black motor inside the AC unit) and the blower fan motor(s). If you are lucky, they will be 230V 50/60Hz unit. In this case, there is little risk to running the AC unit on 50Hz. The control transformer should be OK. Since these were intended for US market, the AC rating plate is only 60Hz but the internal components might be flexible.

If one of the motors is only 60Hz, the least expensive option is to buy a small autotransformer to reduce the line voltage to about 50/60x230=190V. This will keep the same volt per hertz for the motors and protect them. BUT it will also reduce the cooling capacity and could give starting problems.

You might also decide to just try them and if they fail, so be it. Then you can replace them with suitable units next time. Any "solution" might represent more costs than just buying the properly rated units.

Your situation is now a problem throughout the world.

There are some people in Australia who unwittingly buy electrical products via the internet without knowing anything about electrical supply requirements. As a consequence, they have the same problem as you.

If the compressors are NOT inverter controlled & are not in any way electronically controlled, you may like to gamble with the "volts to Hertz" ratio. In your case, it is about 3.833333 (230 divided by 60). In order to maintain this ratio, your supply voltage would need to be about 192 volts at 50 Hz. You could buy a "step down" transformer to do this but it would need to be a specially manufactured item & probably expensive. This "concept" generally works but it is not proven & I personally don't endorse it.

Nonetheless & in any case, it is never a good idea to play around with this sort of thing. If you value the life of the A/C units, give them their correct supply requirements (230 volts at 50Hz).