Can you use a 120V to 240V step up transformer for an electric range?

Answer 1

(110V outlets and 120V outlets are practically the same for this discussion. I will refer to them as 120V. Same with 220V/240V outlets.) For your 120V source I assume you plan to use a standard US 120V 15A outlet. This outlet can provide a maximum of 15A at 120V. This means the outlet can provide 1,800W of power. ( Volts x Amps = Watts ) This is the maximum amount of power this outlet can provide, no more. Also, this is assuming nothing else is drawing power off the circuit this outlet is on. If you try to pull 1800W from an outlet and plug anything else into this circuit, the breaker will blow. Your oven is designed to run off a 50A 240V circuit. Let's say, for argument, it draws 40A at 240V. This means your appliance requires 9,600W of power to run correctly. This is over 5.3 times the absolute maximum amount of power your 120V outlet can provide. There is no way you can run this appliance off this outlet. You have a larger problem here than the voltage difference. Probably not advisable. One of the way Transformers are rated is by the maximum wattage the transformer can safely accommodate. Electric ranges (or any appliance used to heat or cool) consume much more energy and require a much higher wattage rating than most other appliances. Unless you know the wattage rating of your transformer and are certain it can safely provide for your electric range, you should NOT use a step-up transformer with your range. Bear in mind that the wattage requirement for any electric range may vary greatly from model to model and varies even more with the demand placed on the range. For example, wattage required by one burner set to 'low' is much less than the same burner set on 'high'. Even more current and wattage is required to run 2 burners, 3 burners, etc... As you can see, there are many variables. The safest situation would assume that the range will always operate at it's maximum capacity (i.e. All burners on and set to high, cooling fans set to their highest level, any light bulbs on, both upper and lower oven heating elements turned on if applicable, any other accessories turned on and operating at their highest setting) and therefore should have a transformer at least 20% higher in capacity than the range at maximum consumption. The maximum wattage rating of the range should be printed on the manufacturers label, the Underwriters Laboratories(UL) label, or in the product installation/owner's manual. If wattage is not specifically given then use this formula to calculate wattage: Watts= Volts x Amps. I think a good question to ask yourself before doing this is, "Am I cool with my entire house burning down?" If your answer is, "No." then you probably need to pay an electrician to run a proper 220/240v line. A modern oven/range combination can easily consume 12,000-15,000 watts. As a comparison, a large hair dryer can consume as much as 2,000 watts. A 15,000 watt step-up transformer easily costs over a thousand bucks. So, unless you happen to have one lying around it's probably cheaper to hire the electrician anyway. One last tip: If the transformer doesn't weigh over 100 pounds, don't even think about it. Transformers are heavy. The bigger, the heavier. Here's a good website: http://www.voltageconverters.com/commercial_transformers.html