220V Front Load Washer

Answered a bazillion times. Most appliances will run on either.

Motor speeds will increase by 6/5 and that's about it.

1. Can you plug a 230V 50Hz appliance into a 240V 60Hz outlet
   
2. Can you convert a 120V 50Hz appliance to a 120V 60hz appliance
   
3. Using 50Hz appliances on 60 Hz power - Austech
   
   

Welcome to CR4. Read the FAQ's.

You have several choices.

1. You could do nothing and hope for the best. Maybe you will be lucky and the mfr designed it for 50/60Hz.
   
2. You could go buy a very expensive frequency converter. You cannot use a cheap VFD, they are not made for this task. Some UPS units can work as a frequency converter, but you will likely have to double the size or more to handle starting the motors if they are Direct-On-Line.
   
3. You can buy an inexpensive buck-boost transformer and boost the voltage just to the motors to about 276V. Motors work based on a ratio of the voltage and frequency, +- 10%. So a motor designed for 220V 50Hz is more likely 230V 50Hz design, so the ratio is 4.6:1. If you are going to apply 60Hz to it, the equivalent voltage then is 60*4.6 or 276V. That way the motors will not over heat, but they will run 20% faster than normal. But you will need to get into the wiring and separate the motor circuits from the controls, they will not likely tolerate 276V.
4. You can look inside of your washer and see if the motors are electronically powered, most of the new energy efficient ones are now. If so, it's not likely that the controller, essentially a dedicated VFD, will care what the incoming frequency is because it just converts the AC to DC anyway. If the controls are electronic, they may not care either (this is an educated version of 31 by the way).
5. You can try to sell it to someone who is moving overseas, like the myriad of people posting in here every year who want to know how to make their 60Hz washers work in a 50Hz world. Then use the money to buy a washer designed to work here.
   

I would just trade it....but you can convert the frequency....while it's true the 50hz will run on 60hz it will probably shorten the life...

http://www.hzfrequencyconverter.com/60Hzto50Hz.html

Why didn't I think of that????

More likely, he got a GREAT DEAL on a washer that had been shipped by mistake and the distributor / importer, knowing that the freight to return it overseas is likely greater than the wholesale value, dumped it off at a very low price. Now he is trying to figure out how to make it work.

But that would fall into that "If a deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't" category.

As a side note, if it was shipped by mistake would it not be cheaper to just send it back and get the correct one? What does the contract fine print say (or have you already voided the return policy).

Cheaper than trying to build a frequency inverter if you cannot run it directly off a 60Hz source.

Just install it upside down,, works fine down under!!! ay

just run it...no worries. I've run 60Hz appliance items on 50 and vice versa should be ok. BUT, if you are a spec optimizing type, then swap out/trade-in the motor for a similar rated 60Hz motor. Maybe you could sell yours on ebay to offset the purchase of a more apt motor. that would be the cheapest option.

The bare facts.

The drain pump will almost certainly be 50/60 HZ.

The heater is a resistor and there will be no issue.

The drive motor will most likely be the type with brushes and will be driven by a controller. This may have a frequency setting by a soldered link all be it unlikely. Just cut the old link and solder a new one in the other position. It is most likely that the label on the back was printed for a location in my 50 HZ part of the world and that it the end of it!

Just plug it in and if there is no error message on the display it should be fine.

The problem is probably going to be the controller board and display electronics.Newer washers do not use gear boxes,but rather use commutator-less control of motor speed and direction.There's the rub.There is not an economical means of solving this that I can think of.

Send it back for the proper one.

I don't think it will matter as as far as I am aware, the only places where 60Hz is used are the water solenoids and any small pumps, which will run a bit faster....no problem.

The main motor is probably a 3 phase motor with VFD control, I cannot imagine that the difference in frequency will make any difference as the frequency required at any time is made electronically, not from the mains.

Basically the mains is rectified to DC, then converted to a (very loosely described) digital form of 3 phase AC (usually not a good sine wave, but motors don't care.....) with variable frequency and variable direction. Basically the variable DC is applied to each field coil in turn (120° apart), for speed and direction (yes 3 phase also has a direction component!).....

I cannot give a guarantee (sadly), but I bet it will just work.......a check of the motor connector should see either 6 or 7 connections, the 7th being a ground connection......the other 6 being the connections to the 3 phase coils, both ends, 3 x 2 connections. You could check with an Ohmmeter to be sure....

In passing, I am investigating the way to drive a washing machine with such a motor using a PIC, its proving to be very interesting!!! I am not very far on the road yet....

Wow, no one asked for the make and model number? You should contact the manufacturer and see what they say.