110 volt tools pros and cons

[Wilson joinery]

Evening everyone

I’ve never used a 110 volt tool so have no experience of using them but could any of you please let me know of any pros and cons vs 240v counterparts?

The main one I can think of is the need for a transformer and the weight of the transformer which for me personally wouldn’t be a problem.

The main reason I ask the question is I’m looking at a festool 2200 router which is £400 second hand in 110volt guise and £600 second hand in 240volt guise. Both are described as nearly new. So I just wanted to get some opinions before I probably plump for the 110v and get myself a second hand transformer for around the £30 mark (still £170 cheaper than the 240v one!)

Many thanks all
Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Go for it. Once you have the transformer you pick up 110v stuff as and when. I happened by a second transformer and have one in the garage (workshop) and one in the shed (workshop) both hard wired with an outlet at either end. I have one on a neon socket so it doesn't often get left switched on - they obviously use electricty when not in use - they're always warm, I haven't sorted the other yet - I'm going to wire an LED in tandem with that one. You can pick up transformers cheap enough - many tradesman are ditching 110v for battery stuff and decent extension leads don't fetch much. I cut one down to wire both transformers in. CPC is quite good for plugs and sockets. Many experienced users will tell you they reckon 110v to be better built than 230v stuff - it's primary purpose is site work not DIY.

 

[Sideways]

Back in the day, I picked up a used 110v site transformer and collected a few "new other" quality powertools very cheap. I find lugging a 110v transformer tedious so I sold most of these tools on.

I then discovered that Carroll and Meynell make a super compact 110v transformer that is rated about 1000W for maybe 10 minutes on, 20 minutes off. This is high quality and well suited to such as drills. It has a rating of maybe 600W continuous, so it would work well for a 110v random orbit sander too. The smaller transformer is much nicer to use if you have to carry it.

So that was me until recently when I acquired a used magnetic drill. An occasional tool but so good at making big holes. The little portable transformer will power this, but with an 1100W drill motor plus whatever extra is needed for the electromagnet, I felt I needed to add a bigger transformer and this MOD surplus monster popped up.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373982736644

Superb quality and heavy, but I won't be moving it beyond my workshop. Rated 1.5kW, but there's no time limit mentioned so that is probably 1.5kW continuous and 2.5 to 3kW intermittent. Transformers can usually be used with a duty cycle just like welders. Manufacturer Blakley sell to the MOD and to the railways.

I'm not convinced that 110v tools are any more durable than their 240v equivalents if the manufacturer offers the tool in a choice of either. It's just fewer turns of thicker wire in the motor windings. Bearings and the design of electronics will be exactly the same. There are a small number of "industrial" tools that are only made in 110v and those you would expect to be especially well built. The mag drills are a good example. I haven't seen a mag drill in 240v.

If you expect to use the tool in the same place and not have to move a transformer around, that's a large financial saving and there won't be any downside in buying a 110v router. You'll have to pass the saving along when you come to sell it on though. The next buyer is going to want the same incentive.

 

[Sideways]

Well, the last one of those big transformers sold within a few minutes of my post above.
I hope it was one of our members snagged it

 

[deema]

The big advantage is that it’s powered by 110v isolated supply, so it is much safer than 240V if you happen to cut the power cable.
The advantage the @Sideways highlighted is thicker and fewer wires around the armature, which in the days before they fully epoxied the connections (not every manufacturer does today) meant that it was more robust and would last longer.