Voltage conversion assistance - 220v to 110v?
 

Hello all,

I bought an Italian lamp from Europe and have it in the USA now. It takes E27 light bulbs (i.e., European threads) and is rated for 220-240v. There is a dimmer on it as well which says it can handle 220-240v and up to 300W. The lamp itself has three 70 Watt bulbs (which I also bought from Europe). This is the lamp I bought if you need more info: https://www.dmlights.ch/en/foscarini...ra_white~00JC2

I assumed that I need to buy a voltage converter and did that for $25. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

However, I was reading here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...220-to-110.cfm that I may be able to just use the lamp if I simply convert the plug with an adapter to fit US electric outlets. Is this true? I further understand to make this true I'd need to use US bulbs (with E26 threads).

It works with the converter but the converter is an "eye-sore". So I am wondering if there is an alternate way to use the lamp without ruining it.

Thanks to anyone who has info - it's sure hard to find online.

You can plug 240V appliance into 120V outlet, you'll just get lower power output

You will not hurt anything by plugging it directly into 120v, but you may get some undesirable behavior such as humming or RF interference with nearby electronics because of the dimmer.

I'd likely just post a new thread in Travel Technology, should be plenty of info on voltage conversion there. Then request this one be deleted outright.

It's hard to tell from the pictures how hard it would be to replace the bulb socket with a North American screw-type socket. As an alternative, I found this website that sells 110v European base bulbs. (There may be more websites because I searched for all of 30 seconds.) Then, all you have to do is to change the plug (or even use a travel adapter) and you're good to go.

If there is a specialty lighting company or electrical supply place near where you live, you could go there with the European bulbs and see if they could match them in 110v versions.

Interesting idea! I couldn't find any via the link you provided however I found this: https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/gl...-es-e27-pearl/

It has an interesting purpose but may suffice for my needs. Thanks for the idea!

So it sounds like I am not able to just use a travel adapter with the bulbs I have now. But if I can find a bulb that fits my Italian lamp at 110v, then I can use the travel adapter without worry of ruining the lamp? Would this ruin the dimmer control (which states it too is for 220-240v)?

We used to live in Italy and when we moved here, I couldn't part with my tacky Leaning Tower of Pisa lamp that made Mr. Fink cringe whenever he looked at it. He just cut of the euro plug and rewired it with a US style plug (he is an engineer so I trust he knew what he was doing). No problem at all using it here, although it is a bit dimmer. The hardest part was finding a 110v bulb to replace the odd size E27 euro one it came with. A candelabra-type bulb worked for me.

I can speak to the dimmer but no problem either using an adapter or just putting a US style plug on it as long as you use bulbs designed for 110v.

Ms Nomad had me convert a few EU spec lamps for use in North America. With one exception, all E27 sockets worked fine with domestic E26 A19 bulbs. For the one exception I found similar porcelain E26 sockets at Home Depot.

To be on the safe side I also change the power cord with a UL rated one, as the gauge of EU conductors is higher than the North American ones (the higher the gauge, the lower the diameter).

The travel adapter is perfectly OK to use. The wiring will be sufficient as well because it was sized to carry a certain maximum current (amps). It's most likely sized to somewhere between 15-20 amps. U.S. wall outlets are most often 15 amps. That's a long explanation to say that you don't have to worry about the wiring inside the lamp.

Thanks to Georg Ohm and James Watt, we know that the European 220v bulb being run on U.S. electicity will shine about 1/2 as bright as in Europe.

My guess is that the dimmer switch rating of 220v refers to the input voltage. It can safely handle a lower input voltage. If it's a basic dimmer switch (and not solid state), it's simply a big variable resistor. It will work more efficiently in the U.S. because it doesn't have to dissipate as much heat with an input voltage of 110v.

If you would like to PM me with pictures of the ID plates of the lamp and dimmer (if there are two), I can give it a quick look to make sure I'm not missing anything. If the FT PM system doesn't take attachments, PM me your email address and we can handle things that way. I can tke a quick look at the rating panel and let you know if the wiring and other hardware is OK for the U.S.. In my day job, I work with folks from the Italian Space Agency. If they make lamps like they make satellites, I wouldn't worry.

I think the easiest thing to do would be to try to find 110v bulbs with European fittings that meet your requirements. If you find the bulbs, buy lots of them so you won't have to worry about running out of replacements any time soon.

Use European bulbs rated 4 times the US rating you would like.

Having spent over a thousand dollars on a lamp, you probably won't blink at the cost of taking it to a lamp shop for rewiring. I don't know how common such shops are. There's one not far from where I live, but maybe it's a really rare hold-out in the market. I would expect the job to cost a hundred dollars or less.

Much of the advice up-thread is probably wrong, by the way -- though there's no way to know for sure without more detailed specs than were available at the linked site.

The short answer is V=IR

So you are working with a V that is half , the R of the globe will remain the same

You probably have a 15 amp breaker in your home so that is Imax

You can run a 3600 watt 220 volt globe, would be kinda bright and hot

whatever brightness (lumens) you desire in USA watts buy a europe globe that is 2wice the wattage

if you want a 60w lamp get a 120 w globe from europe

Just whack the plug off and fit a new one to it -- Home Depot sells replacement plugs. I also like @FliesWay2Much's idea of just tossing a travel adapter on it and calling it a day.

As far as the bulbs go, if you're using incandescent bulbs, you'll get ~40% of the original brightness using them on 110v. No problem. It's trying to run 110v bulbs on 240v power which causes exciting things to happen.

If anything, because of the lower power usage, these bulbs will last a very long time, possibly indefinitely.

Here is the Dimmer:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/memb...ggy-dimmer.jpg

Thanks for taking a look, much appreciated.

And I agree, based on everyone's suggestions it appears the best thing if I want to get rid of the converter is to "try to find 110v bulbs with European fittings that meet your requirements". I tried others suggestion of just letting the bulbs be 40-50% dimmer using a travel adapter, but the light was way too dim for my use over the kitchen table.

You'll be fine with the dimmer. It's rated at 300W at 220V, meaning you could run up to ~600W in the U.S. and be OK. It's also rated for 50 or 60 Hz, which means that there won't be problem there as well.

Others went into a bit more detail about the wattage if you buy higher wattage European bulbs, so it's not exactly a straight-line conversion.