Converting 110v Trafo To 220v Version

[spikey1973]

Hey guys,

Just a question. I'm stuck with a hot air solder station that is 110v instead of 220v.
2 parts differ.

1) heating element, but this i can easily bought again cheap
2) transformer..

I've looked around for a replacement transformer but can't find it.

Primairy coil is
0) 110v
Secondair coils are:
1) 31.5v
2) 11v

can i rewind JUST the primairy coil so i can power it with 220v instead of 110v.

At this moment i'm unaware of wire gauge and amount of windings.
so basically i have two questions.
1) easy way to find out the current specs. and second.
2) how to calculate the new specs

any thoughts.. formula's links tips or what else are welcome.

Kind regards

Matthieu

 

[(*steve*)]

You could get a suitably sized 220 to 110V isolating transformer (expensive) or autotransformer (much cheaper)

Note that many isolating transformers don't pass the earth through, which you want to do in this case.

Autotransformers can be potentially dangerous where plugs are such that you can swap neutral/active on their inputs.

In the case of some small bench multimeters, I have been able to fit a small autotransformer inside the case (this won't be an option for you).

 

[spikey1973]

Thank you for your reply.
I've been looking in 220v to 110v conversion but they are or to high priced (40 dollar) taking in the purcase price of a new one (50 dollar) or don't supply enough wattage (600W). This kinda leaves me only with rewinding as option.
which seems like a rather cheap option.

Kind regards

Matt

 

[(*steve*)]

If you were to rewind the primary you should count the turns as you remove the existing primary and replace it with one having twice the number of turns.

Use the same wire gauge (if it will fit). If you need to use a smaller gauge, ensure it is no smaller than half the cross-sectional area (70% of the diameter).

 

[Bluejets]

This will also change the secondary output.
Probably better to get a new iron.

On a different note, anyone have a spare bunker I can hide in for the next couple of hours?
Cyclone Debbie remnants just currently passing over the top here.

 

[(*steve*)]

Cyclone Debbie remnants just currently passing over the top here.

I understand you're getting the equivalent of 21 feet of snow today. Except it's all rain.

What do you mean by "changing the secondary output"?

 

[Bluejets]

Turns ratio primary to secondary .

 

[(*steve*)]

Turns ratio primary to secondary .

Yeah that's the point of rewinding the primary to make the 110V transformer work with 220V.

 

[duke37]

Doesn't the heater come from the transformer? If so it should not need replacing.
600W seems a lot. Is this to solder a funnel on a liner?
The primary needs to have twice the number of turns so you will have to count the turns as you take them off.
The primary is usually the first winding applied so you will have to take off the secondaries to get at it.
If there are two bobbins with the primary and secondary side by side, things are much easier.

 

[(*steve*)]

The primary is usually the first winding applied so you will have to take off the secondaries to get at it.
If there are two bobbins with the primary and secondary side by side, things are much easier.

I'm not sure I'd even bother unless it was on separate bobbins.

 

[J.R.Jones]

I have worked with equipment that had a transformer with a dual primary, basically two 110V primaries. For 110V operation they are wired in parallel, for 220V operation they are wired in series.
Check if the transformer in your hot air solder station has a dual primary. If so, just switch the configuration.
BTW, I would think that you would need to change the transformer OR the heating element, but not both, as the transformer should produce the correct voltage for the heating element. That's why the transformer must be matched to the line voltage, so it does produce the correct voltage for the heating element.

 

[Pieter Kralt]

Primary windings use to be hundreds or even thousends of turns of very thin wire. Rewinding it requires twice the turns of thinner wire. A hell of a job though some hobbyists have the skills and the equipment to make it. I ever tried but no fun.

 

[6PTsocket]

Hey guys,

Just a question. I'm stuck with a hot air solder station that is 110v instead of 220v.
2 parts differ.

1) heating element, but this i can easily bought again cheap
2) transformer..

I've looked around for a replacement transformer but can't find it.

Primairy coil is
0) 110v
Secondair coils are:
1) 31.5v
2) 11v

can i rewind JUST the primairy coil so i can power it with 220v instead of 110v.

At this moment i'm unaware of wire gauge and amount of windings.
so basically i have two questions.
1) easy way to find out the current specs. and second.
2) how to calculate the new specs

any thoughts.. formula's links tips or what else are welcome.

Kind regards

Matthieu

I priced 220 to 120 step down transformers with enough wattage to handle that hot air gun on your station. They were in the 20-30 dollar range. If you do that you do not have to replace the tip. In fact any of the rewinding solutions obviate the need to replace the tip. Rewinding strikes me as an extreme solution. The possibility that the primary uses two windings in series or parallel is a distinct possibility and worth checking out.Many products are made for the international market and this makes them more universal. Look for a schematic as the easiest way to check before opening it up.

 

[spikey1973]

Hey Guys,

Just been typing for an half hour and posted my reply but apparently it did not post and got lost.

to start, thank you all for your replies, and sorry for my late respons...i've been busy with a lot of things and kind lost track of this project. but i'm back..

so i'll make it bit shorter now..

I've surgically opened the insulating part of the primairy coil and found no parralel / serial winding that i could swap around. pitty as it would've been an easy solution. thanks for the idea though! much appreciated.

On the other hand i think there might be a possibility this or something like this is going on in the secondairy coil. just the way it is connected which makes me think that. the thing is that i actually have two of these machines. one 110v and one 220v so i can compare and the difference in wiring is that the secondairy coil wires are swapped color wise for the 220v and 110v version and also a different bundeling of the wires.

But i'm leaving this idea of transformer change / rewiring as when i opened it up it clearly seems like an impossible task, as said above. On the other hand i found out the following, which is very interesting.

The heating element uses mains power.. so the powering of the heating element does not go through the transformer and it is this part that uses most of the wattage limiting the use of a 220v to 110v transformer.
The heating element is controlled by the main pcb though but the manual shows that there is no difference in pcb for 110v and 220v. so from this i deduct that the controlling part can handle both 220v and 110v.

so the schematics of the pcb is:
0) mains in... (fuse in the connecting point, so need to swap this) mains goes to the pcb.. and from there splits to

1) transformer which then powers 31,5v and 11v to other parts of the pcb. and
2) heating element via the heating element controlling part of the pcb (this should be oke for both 110v and 220v)

So my thought now is .
1) swap 110v heating element for a 220v heating element
2) put a 220v to 110v transformer in the lead from the pcb to the 110v transformer powering the transformer with 110v.. and since this part will not use much wattage this should work without much problems as long as the pcb can indeed handle this.. ofcourse i understand that there is a chance that i blow up the pcb.. but since i can not use it now anyway i believe it is worth the try as this will be a simple and cheap solution.

Ofcourse i will need to recalibrate the heating element as but that should be easy enough to do.

but now i have a question on the 220v to 110v transformer question..

if i buy a 110v to 220v transformer.. and put 220v on the 220v out.. will in get 110v out on the 110v in?
simpler said can i invert the direction of the conversion or will this lead to problems.. as for as i understand transformers this really shouldn't be any issue.. that is if i understand it correctly? i will rip it apart any way so all the wall socket contact points will be obsolete for me. i will only use the actual internal transformer itself.

for some reason i can buy much cheaper versions going from 110v to 220v instead of 220v to 110v

Kind regards..

Matthieu..

ps: hoping that this post will post now.

 

[(*steve*)]

It is generally possible to use a 110 to 220 volt transformer the other way around.

You do need to be VERY careful.

I have a variable autotransformer that I use to check these things first.

 

[6PTsocket]

I don' t how,l I missed the obvious. You said the heating element is different for the two different line voltages.Therefor it goes directly to the line and does not go through the transformer. That means the wattage handled by the stepdown transformer is very small. Trying to rewire a transformer strikes me as far more trouble than it is worth. Get a little stepdown transformer and insert it into the primary leads of the built in transformer. You can probably mount it on the rear of the cabinet if not inside. I assume you can figure out what wattage you need. It is probably the smallest you can find.

 

[William G Whitaker]

Hi
What you need is an Electrician not a Electronics person. OK is this your Home? If so rewire a recpaclel and use only 1 leg of the split phase 220 and a good ground. Be careful if turning of a breaker and disassembling a receptacle is not your thing hire an Electrical. Caution, Use a licensed Electrician. If you don't hire a licensed Electrician your Insurance Company will find it if you have a fire. Regardless of where the fire started. Good luck

 

[twister]

Hey guys,

Just a question. I'm stuck with a hot air solder station that is 110v instead of 220v.
2 parts differ.

1) heating element, but this i can easily bought again cheap
2) transformer..

I've looked around for a replacement transformer but can't find it.

Primairy coil is
0) 110v
Secondair coils are:
1) 31.5v
2) 11v

can i rewind JUST the primairy coil so i can power it with 220v instead of 110v.

At this moment i'm unaware of wire gauge and amount of windings.
so basically i have two questions.
1) easy way to find out the current specs. and second.
2) how to calculate the new specs

any thoughts.. formula's links tips or what else are welcome.

Kind regards

Matthieu

 

[twister]

Hey Guys,

Just been typing for an half hour and posted my reply but apparently it did not post and got lost.

to start, thank you all for your replies, and sorry for my late respons...i've been busy with a lot of things and kind lost track of this project. but i'm back..

so i'll make it bit shorter now..

I've surgically opened the insulating part of the primairy coil and found no parralel / serial winding that i could swap around. pitty as it would've been an easy solution. thanks for the idea though! much appreciated.

On the other hand i think there might be a possibility this or something like this is going on in the secondairy coil. just the way it is connected which makes me think that. the thing is that i actually have two of these machines. one 110v and one 220v so i can compare and the difference in wiring is that the secondairy coil wires are swapped color wise for the 220v and 110v version and also a different bundeling of the wires.

But i'm leaving this idea of transformer change / rewiring as when i opened it up it clearly seems like an impossible task, as said above. On the other hand i found out the following, which is very interesting.

The heating element uses mains power.. so the powering of the heating element does not go through the transformer and it is this part that uses most of the wattage limiting the use of a 220v to 110v transformer.
The heating element is controlled by the main pcb though but the manual shows that there is no difference in pcb for 110v and 220v. so from this i deduct that the controlling part can handle both 220v and 110v.

so the schematics of the pcb is:
0) mains in... (fuse in the connecting point, so need to swap this) mains goes to the pcb.. and from there splits to

1) transformer which then powers 31,5v and 11v to other parts of the pcb. and
2) heating element via the heating element controlling part of the pcb (this should be oke for both 110v and 220v)

So my thought now is .
1) swap 110v heating element for a 220v heating element
2) put a 220v to 110v transformer in the lead from the pcb to the 110v transformer powering the transformer with 110v.. and since this part will not use much wattage this should work without much problems as long as the pcb can indeed handle this.. ofcourse i understand that there is a chance that i blow up the pcb.. but since i can not use it now anyway i believe it is worth the try as this will be a simple and cheap solution.

Ofcourse i will need to recalibrate the heating element as but that should be easy enough to do.

but now i have a question on the 220v to 110v transformer question..

if i buy a 110v to 220v transformer.. and put 220v on the 220v out.. will in get 110v out on the 110v in?
simpler said can i invert the direction of the conversion or will this lead to problems.. as for as i understand transformers this really shouldn't be any issue.. that is if i understand it correctly? i will rip it apart any way so all the wall socket contact points will be obsolete for me. i will only use the actual internal transformer itself.

for some reason i can buy much cheaper versions going from 110v to 220v instead of 220v to 110v

Kind regards..

Matthieu..

ps: hoping that this post will post now.[/QUO

Hey guys,

Just a question. I'm stuck with a hot air solder station that is 110v instead of 220v.
2 parts differ.

1) heating element, but this i can easily bought again cheap
2) transformer..

I've looked around for a replacement transformer but can't find it.

Primairy coil is
0) 110v
Secondair coils are:
1) 31.5v
2) 11v

can i rewind JUST the primairy coil so i can power it with 220v instead of 110v.

At this moment i'm unaware of wire gauge and amount of windings.
so basically i have two questions.
1) easy way to find out the current specs. and second.
2) how to calculate the new specs

any thoughts.. formula's links tips or what else are welcome.

Kind regards

Matthieu

 

[twister]

Just put a diode in the power line. This works for resistance loads only. I used it on a heater and it reduced the heat by 50%.