Using a North American bought coffee maker in Europe

Found 25th Oct 2016

I had a brand new Bosch Tassimo coffee maker given to me but although it works perfectly in North America, it will not pump the coffee in UK. I was using a standard travel adaptor. I believe this is to do with the voltage. Would I have any more luck taking it to our house in Portugal where the voltage is again different? Thanks in advance

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11 Comments

25th Oct 2016

doesn't it have a sticker or moulded in to plastic a plate with voltage.

25th Oct 2016

Nope. As far as I know European voltage was standardised to 230 wheareas US is 115. Try and see if you can get an adaptor which does the conversation.

25th Oct 2016

Voltage in North America is 110-120 volt, but in the UK and Portugal it will be 230-240 so it wont work in either of these locations as it is. Double check the rating plate label on the base of the machine to be sure. You could however buy a transformer to reduce the voltage.

25th Oct 2016

post a photo of the label on the coffee machine that shows the voltages,

25th Oct 2016

As Jim says, post a pic of the label. It is not just the voltage we need to know before advising on what "Stepdown" transformer to use, but also the wattage.

Edited by: "getmeone" 25th Oct 2016

25th Oct 2016

USA mains electricity operates at a different frequency (60hz) compared to the UK's 50hz, depending on how the pump motor is driven this might cause problems. A step down transformer will take care of the voltage but will do nothing for the difference in frequencies.

25th Oct 2016

US use 110V so if you plug it into a UK or european mains, the machine will melt as the voltage in the UK is more than double at 240V so you probably broke it now.

I made the mistake with a rice cooker I bought in the US and instead of cooked rice, I got a cooked cooker for the bargain.

25th Oct 2016

Or you could possibly run it off a shaver socket if available, or install one if not too awkward/unsightly. I doubt the frequency would matter that much.

25th Oct 2016

Might be worth contacting Bosch . If its a common model (ie worldwide) there might be a link connected to the internal transformer that can be easily moved to change it to European voltage.

25th Oct 2016

I have lived in Canada for the past few years and i know that you will need a step down converter. If you plug it in a UK socket with a travel adaptor it will blow.

Step down converters usually cost around £40 but you may as well just buy a tassimo machine for that much.