EKO gasification wood boiler

[The Hybrid Home Guy]

My homeowner bought an EKO unit straight from Poland, does anyone have any input on the weird 50hz electronics and is a converter is available here in the states. I have contemplated switching out the blowers and also get an american elecronic panel.

We have it connected now to the underground storage tank and are just working to get the boiler brought online so that we can fire the rest of the system.

 

[Duetech]

There are 50 to 60 and 60 to 50 MHZ converters out there. People going to Europe can get them for their computers and electrical devices. Circuit City is going out of business and might have a deal. Radio Shack might be another place to look. I am not sure if they are still in business but Long's (Electric or Electrical) might turn up something from a google search.

 

[The Hybrid Home Guy]

I wondered if that would work. The polish plug looks pretty cool, but I need to either switch it out or find an adapter. I will goto circuit city and check it out to see if they have a 50-60hz box.

 

[Nofossil]

You don't need to worry about 50Hz versus 60Hz - it doesn't matter, and you will NOT find anything that will do that conversion for you at a scale that would run the boiler for less than several hundred dollars. It's expensive and inefficient to change frequencies - you must either use a motor-generator unit, or convert the input to DC, then use an inverter to create AC at the new frequency.

You do need to deal with the 220V versus 110V issue. Probably the easiest thing to do is just wire a 220V outlet for it if you have a spare circuit available in your entrance panel. You can also get a small transformer. I believe that the controller can run on either 220 or 110 - might have a switch, so study it carefully. The fan is a 220v unit and will not run on 110v, so if you don't do a 220v circuit you'll need a step-up transformer. You local electrical supply house should have them for under $30.

 

[Duetech]

Nofossil,
There is a possibility you won't find a converter in the US. But I had one when I was stationed in Europe and they were a common stock item in the PX.

The Hybrid Home Guy,
You might be better off getting a new controller for the EKO if it doesn't have a switch to convert built in.

 

[Nofossil]

Nofossil,
There is a possibility you won't find a converter in the US. But I had one when I was stationed in Europe and they were a common stock item in the PX.

The Hybrid Home Guy,
You might be better off getting a new controller for the EKO if it doesn't have a switch to convert built in.

Those converters (as far as I know) just convert 220v to 110v and take care of the mechanical problem of mating plugs. Very few electronic devices care too much about the frequency.

My EKO does NOT have a frequency converter - just a transformer to step up the 100v to 220v to make the fan happy. Both the controller and the fan are totally happy running on 60Hz.