One Aw Shoot Wipes Out All Your Attaboys
In the military we had an expression for years that essentially meant you were only as good as your performance on your very last task .. One "Aw Shoot (sometimes different words were used 
) Wipes Out All Your Attaboys". Didn’t always seem fair, but hey, life itself isn’t always fair, is it?
Since we moved to the Philippines I have pretty much been collecting attaboys. Haven’t burned the house down, haven’t gotten into any family fights, been driving nearly two years now with no damage to our car or anyone else’s (that little paint rub on the passenger side mirror doesn’t count, there are other scratches and dings from parking lot door rash that are bigger *smile*), haven’t had the police at the door, etc.
But a couple weeks ago I set out to do a tiny little household chore … wanted to drill a couple holes to mount a door bell and I committed an "Aw Shoot" that has happened to so many people that I know of already that it made me laugh … after I got finished with a few choice cuss words.
I plugged the charger for my expensive battery-powered portable drill in to charge one of the batteries before I started using it. The charge cycle usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes, so after checking to see that the "Charging" light was on I went off to do something else. When I came back 30 minutes or so later I thought it was strange that none of the lights were on. I pressed the button on the battery pack itself that shows the state of charge and,surprise, almost dead flat, no charge at all.
I looked up to see if for some reason the charger had come unplugged and … can you guess what had happened?
That’s right, "Mr. Experienced with Living Overseas", "Mr. Electronics Technician’, "Mr.Home Handyman extraordinare", namely me had gone and plugged his 110 volt US battery charger right into a 200 volt Meralco wall socket, instead of into the conveniently located 220 to 110 volt stepdown transformer located right there on the counter underneath the 220 volt plugs. Come to think of it, I did notice a strange burned smell in the air as I walked over to check on the charge. As Homer would say, "D’oh"!
Well, if a similar thing had happened in the US I would probably have just gotten in the car and driven to Home Depot, to buy another drill, because service on a consumer-grade appliance like that just isn’t easy to find and the first thing a service tech would say, after charging a fee to look at it of course, would be "Sorry Sir, we can’t get parts for these things".
But I don’t live in the US, and sometimes one of the good things about living here in the Philippines is that repairmen still actually repair things. I strolled just a couple blocks down "Network Road", the main street running past out subdivision to an electronic repair shop recommended by Ponga, a local electrician who had done some work for me. Actually, I went to Ponga first and asked him to repair the charger, knowing he would take it somewhere and charge me a small cut on top of the outside shop’s charge … he’s a pleasant, hard working fellow with a couple little kids and I always like to throw some work his way. Ponga, however, wouldn’t hear of such an arrangement. he wanted me to take it myself because he didn’t want people to think he cheated me by marking up the price.
At the shop, I saw the tech behind the counter starting to smile as soon as he saw what was in my hand. He listened while I explained what happened and said, "Transformer probably burned out, sir. It will run about 600 pesos (about $13 USD at today’s rate) for a rewinding job, and I can’t get it back until this afternoon. Would you like us to convert it from 110 to 220 while we are doing the rewinding, so you don’t have that problem again"?
"How much will that cost"? I queried.
"Oh same price sir, it’s no extra work, you decide before we send it to the rewinding shop."
"Make it 220", I replied, "So the family idiot .. me … can’t burn it up again."
I went back and got the charger next morning, complete with some special home made "220 Volt" labels attached. Plugged it in, intentionally to 220 thus time, charged my battery and made my holes.
There are drawbacks to living here … dealing with US appliances and 200 volt service is just one of them, but there are some advantages also. Heating type appliances, appliances with multiple motors like washing machines and a few other appliances aren’t readily convertible, but a great many 110 appliances are easily converted to 220, quick and cheap.
Here’s a good reference on power in different countries, just in case you hadn’t thought that through in planning for a move. Now, if I can just avoid any more mishaps, I ought to have another two or three attaboys back in my account in a month or so ….
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Already happened to me
. Btw, have you experienced this difference in hz also – like 50 hz and 60 hz? I don’t understand what it is myself, but I think it is 60 hz here and 50 hz there (Canada/US). I was told that even with a transformer, eventually this difference in hz will destroy the equipment. Is this true?
@Ellen: I answered this one with its own post, it will be on line in a few hours. A perceptive and not always easy to answer question … but in most cases, you can work around the issue.
Thanks again for reading and participating, it makes it easier to write when peple are reading
Philly – Some mention of “duty cycle” should be made with regard to inductive (and some resistive) loads. Goes hand in hand with the AC frequency check – an electic product usually will state duty cycle requirements if the manufacturer believes there is concern. A higher duty cycle required of a lower duty cycle device could end up in a burn-out.
@Paul: Oh yes, agred Paul, and thnaks for the comment, but what am I talking about here? Household appliances. Would the duty cycle of a home vacuum be different in the UK at 50Hz than in the Philippines at 60 Hz?
Homeowner type itemss typiclaly don’t even have that sort of information available to the homeowner. You buy a $19 Chinese Black and Decker hand drill, I am sure there is an engineer somewhere who got far enough into the weeds to specify the device’s duty cycle … but it isn’t even something that’s published at the consumer level.
There would be a measurable difference in the Power Factor as well, between 50 Hertz and 60 Hertz, but, unless we’re designing a commercial building or ensuring the operation of critical life support equipment, we typically just assume a PF of unity, make sure we don’t have 22 amps on a 20 amp breaker and press on with plans for dinner.
What’s _really_ needed is a fool-proof system of wiring a house for 110 and 220 that won’t let people mismatch the devices to the wrong voltage. It’s very common in areas around rthe former US bases for exisitng homes to be wired for both voltages, and it’s ‘doable” everywhere for a reasonable price 9depend son how many 110 outltes you want), but there’s no real standard for how to do it, and it sure isn’t fool proof … not when you have fools as clever as me, at least. Thanks again.