8 Dec
2006
8 Dec
'06
11:33 a.m.
I own a Toshiba microwave oven (with 3-prong grounding plug) that
will not power up if the mains socket is wired up with the feed
reversed. Drove me crazy the first time I tried to use it until I
Is this by accident or design?
[For those who
wonder what on earth I am talking about, portable
industrial power tools -- electric drills, for example -- in the UK are
110V devices.
At what level does this not hold true? For example, I've got a nice
big router (portable) that draws a full 15 amps at 120v at startup.
That would be a pretty large transformer. Nowadays, however, most portable tools are simply
constructed as
"double insulated".
Yes, so are these. But if that insulation fails, or the tool gets wet
(say on a building site), it's better to get 55V across you than 230V.
-tony