Chile Forum

BUT if you have lamps etc- bring bulk lightglobes you will not be able to find many if any to fit them here- they use the screw ins here

Yep, I forgot to mention that, no bayonet bulbs available here.

If someone understands the logic in spam, please explain it to me.

James.

MikieO wrote:

jehturner wrote:There's a small difference in nominal voltage (downwards), but I don't think that should matter much. Maybe your electrics are just flaky?

Well, I agree with the earthing issue but as for the "small difference", I measured the 220V at 170V in El Tabo this summer.

Although this discussion was from a few months ago, it is a recurring theme: what electrical devices to bring when one moves to Chile, and what to expect, since there are many reports of appliances not surviving for long.

Among the many potential problems with Chilean electrical supply, low voltage is one that is common. Most "surge suppressors" only deal with sort term transients (millisecond spikes) and have no utility for voltage drops. Worse, some surge suppressors have been implicated in starting fires. It's a good idea not to locate a surge suppressor around combustible materials. I have had one surge suppressor that "flashed" during a spike, and it charred an office carpet.

For kitchen appliances that have electrical motors (mixers and whatnot) there should be a label showing the electrical supply (input) requirement characteristics. That may be 230 VAC, or 208 VAC, or other. For appliances that conform to EU and North American norms, the motors are supposed to be designed to operate with not less than 90 percent of the label voltage. So if an appliance is rated and labeled for 230 VAC, then the lowest "safe" voltage would be 207 VAC if the product is actually built to the standard. The normal EU "CE" labeling practice relies on manufacturer self-certification while the North American market (and workplace labour law) requires independent laboratory testing and facility approval for electrical products manufacturing.

Many homes in Chile have substandard electrical systems, and even the national design standards in Chile are not very good by international practices (e.g., North America, UK/EU).

It is not difficult to get an indication of the AC voltage in a residence. You can get a basic multimeter at Sodimac for 6000 CLP or so. Bear in mind that the voltage may vary according to multiple factors, such as high-demand periods which cause the voltage to drop (or the neighbour with the arc welder). You can stress your system somewhat by turning on every consuming device to see how that affects your mains voltage. I have seen a case where turning on a kitchen mixer caused the house voltage to drop about 5 volts. If that sort of in-use drop shows less than 208 volts for 230-volt rated appliance, then the life expectancy of that appliance may be at risk. And this is speaking only of the effect on the motor, not the electronics.

If your mains power if squishy and you wish to safeguard a valuable kitchen or other appliance, you may wish to consider a UPS, an uninterruptible power supply. Most UPS will tolerate considerable swings in input voltage and most provide output within about two percent of the desired voltage (e.g., 230 volts +/- 2%) . And that UPS is useful in power outages when you may need a battery- based storage power source for emergency lighting.