220 to 110 conversion

OK, so I am not much of an eletrical person and figured this would be a good spot to ask this question. But my issue is, I live in Germany right now until mid sept. I was given a mini fridge for free that can hold 2 korny kegs. I would like to keep it being I have limited funds as it is for brewing (SWMBO is still not fully on bored maybe the edworts apfelwein will change that) problem is it is 220V with european plug (can get adapter for plug) but I would like to convert it to 110. Is this possible with out having to buy an invertor to plug into? thanks for the help.

Nate

I'm not sure I understand your question.
Is your mini fridge 220V, and you want to plug it into a 110V connection, or is it 110V, to be plugged into 220V?

It is a 220V, but I want to convert it to 110 with out buying a converter. Basically Can it be rewired to be a 110V fridge?

So the fridge is 220V. No, you can't rewire it for 110V, unless you replace the compressor with a 110V unit (which, coupled with creating a new vacuum, and refilling the refrigerant, would probably cost you more than getting a used fridge off Craigslist).
What you can do is hook it up to the same 240V circuit your range is in. The fridge's consumption is minimal, compared to the range, so you shouldn't need to do any mods to the circuit, other than adding an outlet, and, if it's a German fridge, it follows DIN code which means it should work up to 265V.

OK, thanks for the help. Another question I guess then, Is that when I look for a house in the states is it hard to get a new 220 line say placed in a garage or shed?

Well, it'd depend initially on the house (how easy it would be to run the wires, etc), and then, maybe (I know very little about it) on any specific laws that might eventually restrict the use of 240V in some places...?
Again, I don't know if that's something that actually happens (maybe some other members here would be able to give you a better explanation), but, when it comes to construction, I've seen some pretty stupid regulations in effect, so it wouldn't surprise me if it did.
From a purely electrical point of view, it means running 3 wires, and hooking up an outlet. The part that, depending on the house, may be a little more involved, is running the wires. The rest is pretty simple.

Isn't it European convention to use 50hz 220v power? What happens when you run a motor and compressor designed for 50hz at a higher frequency?

Nothing. In the case of synchronous motors, they'll run a little faster, but that's it. The frequency difference is not enough to cause any damage.

Thanks, yes europeans use 50 hz, I'll have to wait and see where I move to beofer I start the 220 research from a construction stand point. I use to work the field a little bit and have a descent amount of construction knowledge so running the wires and everything I can do... hooking up iss a different story

Glad I could help.

One last thing: if you're gonna run the wiring to your garage, it's always a good idea to run a dedicated circuit, with its own breaker, just for safety.
Besides that, if you're able to do the wiring, getting an electrician to hook everything up should be pretty cheap. This would also be a good time to think ahead, and hook up an extra outlet or 2, if you're planning to get an electric setup...

fdemt84 said:

OK, thanks for the help. Another question I guess then, Is that when I look for a house in the states is it hard to get a new 220 line say placed in a garage or shed?

Click to expand...

If you find a house with the clothes dryer in the garage, you'll have 220V in the garage.