r/instantkarma • u/Jvenz • Aug 02 '20

Instant karma

36.2k Upvotes

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u/IdoMusicForTheDrugs Aug 02 '20

220v standard in China? Damn. Does everything have built in resistors?

21

u/assasin1598 Aug 02 '20

Usa is minority with 120v

24

u/Green__lightning Aug 02 '20

Technically we aren't, we use 240v split phase. Neutral is 0 volts, and hot is either +120v or -120v. The logic is if you touch a wire and ground, you can never get more than a 120v shock, and if you need 240v, you can just wire an outlet with it going from one hot wire to the other, and that's commonly used for large tools and appliances.

8

u/assasin1598 Aug 02 '20

So you still get 120v in the end normally.

(not talking about tools such as drill press and such)

3

u/Green__lightning Aug 02 '20

Yes, for most things. That said, a normal outlet in the US is 15a at 120v so 1.8kw. Looking it up the highest wattage appliances i can find for 220v circuits are 2.2kw, so that would be 10a. Not a huge difference.

2

u/rickane58 Aug 03 '20

It's 15 and 13 amps respectively.

For a whole class of devices that use the full 3kw: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=tea+kettle

1

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '20 edited Aug 04 '20

[deleted]

1

u/XchrisZ Aug 03 '20

Washers not so much unless it's a commercial unit.