ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area 60Hz +/- ???

Posted for Bjarney:

Several Caribbean nations use 50Hz power, mostly those which were/are colonies of the UK or other European countries, e.g. Barbados, Jamaica (120V), Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica (220-240V).

The frequency will affect timing devices that are synchronized to the supply, as has already been mentioned, but there are other items which can be affected. The ballast in a fluorescent light fixture is an example. The inductive reactance is dependent upon the applied frewuency, so the current will be different when run on the "wrong" supply. Similar constraints apply to transformers: Although not a problem for small xfmrs in appliances, it can be significant for a big power xfmr (i.e. multi kVa).

Ahem... This is not what I have been told. To cut cost on small transformers, the iron core is made as small as possible which means that the headroom is so small that a 60Hz core reaches saturation when used on 50Hz. There are reports from travellers confirming that overheating is a problem.

Sven...

Allow me to un-confuse you. I was wiring a motor contactor from a manufacturer "ABB" and written write on the specs of the contactor were 50hz specs, and 60hz specs. So, judging from the responses on this forum I figure this contactor from ABB is sold worldwide.

thinkgood, were you just curious? why would you sine/sync a res electric service? maybe setting a gen set?the unspoken laws of electricity. they are truly fascinating , mathematical mysteries. i have seen these meters only when testing backup/emergency power gen sets at hospitals etc.to ensure synchronization between sine waves in service power and backup power. Because the damage that may incur when applying voltage that is lagging or leading the service (in cycles)can be incredibly disastrous to motors.
besides , the kind of meter it takes to read the frequencies accurately are very very expensive and come in clean, padded, fancy, drop proof, shock proof boxes LOL