Barbel Bob Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi,Does anyone know of anything that would cause my appliances to stop working, first of all i used a wall paper stripper it lasted a day then just stopped working, then my george foreman used it a couple of times now it just wont heat up, bought a new wall paper stripper and it stopped working after 30mins?Is there something to do with the electricity that i should know when using english appliances in France?Thanks as alwaysJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Well, we're all on Eurovolts now (nominal 230 volts) so everything should be OK.You haven't got 3-phase by any chance? Connecting that wrongly could give 400 volts which will cook the appliance (and quite likely you too)Be careful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi Pierre,What is a 3-phase and how would i know if i have one? Really dont know anything about Electrics !J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 3-phase is a way of delivering more power than 'normal' mains, usually used in industrial applications or sometimes in domestic electric central heating. Instead of the usual Live and Neutral wires, you have 3 'phases' which you can combine to give 220 volt or 440 volts. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE PLEASE GET AN ELECTRICIAN IN I'm not kidding, 440 volts is LETHAL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Pierre,We only moved in recently and have had an electrician out to give us quotes for extra sockets etc, he had a look at power suppy and mains box etc and did not mention anything, so you think that if the previous owners have changed to 3-phase they this may be the reason for my new wallpaper stripper for not working ? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Use a circuit breaker just to be sure when using appliances. Or else get your rubber catsuit out.[6]Georgina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesFlamands Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 What sort of sockets do you have? If they are the old type often the sprung leaves inside which contact the pins on the plug are just worn out plus the fact that many appliances with 2 pin plugs have very thin pins. I assume you are not using English to French adapters which can damage plug, socket and user. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 A single phase appliance wouldn't last 30 mins on 3 phase. It would die rather quickly and effectively.edit: Being slightly pedantic - 3 phase voltage is not 440v, its 380/400v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi,Maybe its just my bad luck, first of all the dish washer leaked then the door fell off the washing machine, then the first wall paper stripper died, then the George foreman wont heat up but lights up etc. then today the 2nd wall paper stripper dies...............we managed to get it working again, it heats up for about 30mins and gives off steam then cuts out, its taken me all day to strip one wall!Its a new paper stripper bought in UK will return as faulty next time i am over, thanks to all who replied.Jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I would try different sockets possible a bad connection in the outlet or if using an extension lead check it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizfjr Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 We had similar problems with wallpaper strippers and gave them up as a bad job because they kept cutting out. And no. We're not on 3 phase. I reckoned it was to do with the thermostat. Back to sponge and water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Likewise we have given up on electric chip fryers. Took our one out from UK - it blew the fuses every time we used it, bought another French one and it did the same. Have now reverted to olde worlde deep pan of oil and basket method or will give up pommes frites altogether.We actually have three phase in our place - is this what is doing it I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ps Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 [quote user="Barbel Bob"]Hi Pierre,What is a 3-phase and how would i know if i have one? Really dont know anything about Electrics !J[/quote]If you look at the disjoncteur (not sure of spelling) (the mains box into the house) it will say 4 pole or 2 pole - 4 is three phase and 2 is single (mono in France). 4 because you have 3 live and 1 neutral for your supply and 2 because you have 1 live and 1 neutral.I do not touch electrics as I am no qualified but I need to establish whether a house is three phase or mono phase before supplying some of my products.We have three phase in our house and have no issue with any appliance some French and some from the UK.As stated I have no qualification for electrical work but I think I recall seeing different types of sockets (none in my house) for three phase applications before......but as I say, I think. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caussenarde Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Re 3 Phase:First of all, note that a monophase installation is just one phase of the 3 phase supply supplied to the EDF local transformer. The other 2 phases are distributed to other properties or areas so that EDF gets an approximate balance in load between the three phases. This is done for technical reasons: look at Wikipedia '3 phase'.This is a para. from Wiki which appears to map onto your problem:If the supply neutral of a three-phase system with line-to-neutralconnected loads is broken, generally the voltage balance on the loadswill no longer be maintained. Lightly-loaded phases may see up tosqrt(3) as much voltage as rated, causing overheating and failure ofmany types of loads. For example, if several houses are connected to acommon transformer on a street, each house might be connected to one ofthe three phases. If the neutral connection is broken at thetransformer, all equipment in a house might be damaged due to overvoltage.When we lived in the UK, just this problem occurred and the Electricity company forced entrance to get access to the cable feeds to all the houses on our road, if someone was out they dug up the gardens and cut the cable. No-one was allowed to go to bed until they declared the supply safe. They made it safe by replacing the neutral. This explained strange voltages in our earth, burglar alarm malfunctioning and all the transformer supplied lighting going caput. They paid for replacements. If you have this problem, ie there is a problem with your neutral, then you have a dangerous problem: sqrt(3) times 230 gives 400 volts in live cables which is lethal.You should get EDF in quickly if you have any doubts. Explaining these wierd occurences to them should immediately alert them to a neutral failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Re: electrical items not working.Can't comment on the GF grill, I've never had one, but I HAVE had several CHEAP and cheerful electrical tools, including a 9" angle grinder, a 24V rechargeable drill, and a belt sander.ALL have now been replaced by the same item made by Bosch, DeWalt, even Wickes Pro. Cheap tools= waste of money.Having said that, I also have a Wickes wallpaper steamer, been used here relentlessly, leant out and never missed a spurt. It's 15 years old.FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomoss Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 It is possible the paint stripper has a built-in protection device which cuts off the power if it gets too hot.Appliances for domestic use are often rated only for intermittent use, which implies switching them off periodically to allow them to cool down, and not for continuous duty.This information should be on the nameplate and/or in the instruction manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 [quote user="Barbel Bob"]Hi,Maybe its just my bad luck, first of all the dish washer leaked then the door fell off the washing machine, then the first wall paper stripper died, then the George foreman wont heat up but lights up etc. then today the 2nd wall paper stripper dies...............we managed to get it working again, it heats up for about 30mins and gives off steam then cuts out, its taken me all day to strip one wall!Its a new paper stripper bought in UK will return as faulty next time i am over, thanks to all who replied.Jue[/quote]No you stop and fill them up before they run out of water. Once the overheat breaker goes in them they take an age to cool down enough to use again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now