Can you run 240v machine on single phase?

Answer 1

In general, no don't try it. The result will either be damage (e.g. overloaded motor burnout) to the appliance or a severe reduction (e.g. an electric heater giving off only 1/4th its rated heat) in its performance.

Answer 2

It depends on what the appliance is. Some smaller appliances have a dual voltage switch which allows you to adjust the appliance to the supply voltage. Look on the manufacture's nameplate label to see what they recommend as a working voltage. There it will also tell you whether the appliance can be used on another voltage source.

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Yes, you can. But it will fail ("burn out") almost immediately. If it's one that accepts either input voltage or if it has a little '120/240' switch on it, and you flip the little switch to the '240' position, then you're no longer talking about a "120v appliance".

Answer 3

You can if the appliance load is a resistive load such as an electric heater and as such, the heater is governed by Ohm's law. Current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance. As the voltage goes down so does the current.

For example take a 2400 watt heater at 240 volts = 10 amps. R = E/I = 240/10 = 24 ohms of resistance in the heater. Now take the 2400 watt heater and using the same formula and at 1210 volts. I = E/R, Amps = Volts / Resistance. 120/24 = 5 amps.

As you can see ohm's law holds true, the current is inversely proportional to the resistance and as the voltage goes down so does the current.

To answer the question, yes a 240 volt resistive load will operate on a 120 volt circuit but at 1/4 of the wattage that the resistive load (heater) is rated at. W = A x V = 5 x 120 = 600 watts. 600/2400 = .25 or 25%. It is for this reason why no motor loads will operate at one half their rated voltage.

Answer 4

In some situations 240 volts is classified as single phase. So the answer to your question, the way it is stated is, yes.

Answer 5

Some equipment is designed for variable voltage, but a true 240V appliance should not be plugged into a 120V circuit; you will likely damage it by doing so.

Answer 6

No