 Poster: A snowHead
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I've decided Im happy to invest the extra few ££ to get a proper waxing iron instead of a domestic iron, but whilst domestic travel irons are easily available in dual voltage (for US & Europe), I can't find a proper waxing iron that is dual voltage.
I've looked the Holmenkol, the Kunzmann, Burton, Dakine, and googled lots but they all seem to be available in 110 or 220, not as dual voltage.
Anyone know of a proper wax iron available in dual voltage for less than 40-50 quid ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Gazzza, the reason they don't exist is because shipping such an iron to and fro across the Atlantic simply isn't worth it.
Get a nice one for home and either get a cheap one for the US (or learn to cork).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Sorry I might be being thick, but what is the difference between lobbing my waxing iron in my snowboad bag when I fly to Geneva, or lobbing it in the same bag when I fly to Denver? ie. if I'm happy to lug to my iron & service kit to Europe on trips for a mid-week waxing then I'd happily pack it and lug it to the US.
And surely the difference in weight to make an iron dual voltage as opposed to single voltage is fairly small (a small transformer in the electronics) compared to the weight of the iron itslef (which is mostly the weight of the base plate). I'd think it would also be fairly cheap, as a good number of domestic travel irons are dual voltage these days.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Gazzza, AFAIK there ain't a dual voltage model on the market.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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not seen one either and I bought my Holmenkol one this year
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Gazzza wrote: |
Sorry I might be being thick, but what is the difference between lobbing my waxing iron in my snowboad bag when I fly to Geneva, or lobbing it in the same bag when I fly to Denver? ie. if I'm happy to lug to my iron & service kit to Europe on trips for a mid-week waxing then I'd happily pack it and lug it to the US.
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It's cheaper to buy a US iron in the US than it is to pay the weight penalty, run the gamut of security questions, and pay upfront for the extra design, marketing, distribution, and stocking costs of such a super-specialty item.
Who would bother when the alternatives are so plentiful and either cheap or convenient?
- shop waxing is more convenient and can be found for ~$10
- One can buy US irons for $40 or less
- Corking regular wax without an iron costs less than $10
- Liquid and paste waxes cost less than $20 and don't require corking
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And surely the difference in weight to make an iron dual voltage as opposed to single voltage is fairly small (a small transformer in the electronics) compared to the weight of the iron itslef (which is mostly the weight of the base plate).
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Don't even need that, a simple switch to switch a section of coil in or out of circuit would be enough. It's the design and marketing and stocking of such an obscure small-market item that costs money.
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Same with boot driers - I'd gladly buy a dual voltage pair but given stores here stock both 110 and 220v versions by the same manufacturer I struggle to believe in the marketing/stocking cost problem. 1 SKU better than 2 IMV
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As it happens, I'm doing some servicing today so I pulled my Toko TO-06 apart hoping to just find an option to just wire it differently to change voltage. No such luck! However, it did occur to me that a 220V iron will still work on 110V but it will be a bit slower to get up to temperature. Should be no problem if yours has two (or more) power settings.
Also bear in mind that US mains is, in fact, centre tapped 220V so, with a bit of jiggery pokery, 220V is available. This is how many kitchen appliances are wired.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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You could of course use a 110v version and wax twice as fast in countries with 220v. 
Seriously though, a good question. It would be fairly easy to knock up a 110v - 220v converter transformer, but it would weigh a little bit to take with you. I'm guessing that the 60Hz versus 50Hz wouldn't cause any problem as the first step in the iron would be to convert this to DC.
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| mfj197 wrote: |
| ...as the first step in the iron would be to convert this to DC. |
No it won't. An iron is just a resistive element.
But yes, it doesn't care what frequency the mains is at.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| altis wrote: |
| An iron is just a resistive element. |
Ah, fair enough - I made an assumption as I hadn't actually taken one apart but yes, that would figure. In which case a converting lead could very easily be manufactured with a toroidal transformer.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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mfj197, toroidal transformer? 
Again, why would you need to? Rampant over-design.
Power goes as V^2/R. Simply /switch/ a portion of the heating coil -out- of the series circuit.
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comprex, I'm not at all sure you'll find a heating element you can /switch/ a portion out of! Although I'm not an expert on iron design and haven't taken one apart to have a look.
Toroidal transformer over-design?? Not really! Although I think we're just trying to find electric solutions to the OP's problem when it might not be required ...
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm still not sure why you'd go to the trouble of a toroidal over the traditional solution of an autotransformer where the primary and secondary share part of the winding.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Some autotransformers are toroidal - it simply refers to the type of core (i.e. a ring, or toroid). Toroidal transformers are the most efficient (or at least they were, back when I was studying them, but that was a wee while ago!).
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Poster: A snowHead
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mfj197, very simple: take 4 110V heater coils, have a switch to use either 1 coil or all 4 in series. That's how cheap dual-voltage travel irons and hair dryers do it.
Putting ANY transformer into an iron, including a toroidal, is overdesign. No matter what you use, you can't get around core size (and core weight and core temp) limitations at 50/60Hz.
Of course, I think packing an iron for one or two mid-week waxing sessions is already too much luggage for not enough benefit, as compared to a proper saturating preparation at home and corking or shop waxing while away.
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| Although I think we're just trying to find electric solutions to the OP's problem when it might not be required ... |
Exactly. All the OP really needs to maintain skis while away is their regular wax, one of these:
 <-synthetic cork
and some upper body exercise.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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comprex, I think we were talking at cross-purposes - I was trying (in a light-hearted way) to find a way the OP could use an existing iron whereas you were redesigning the iron for the manufacturer. But you are correct, it is impractical to use a transformer for the job simply because of its size and weight - see my first post.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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FAQ
You're right, pretty durn easy.