can someone tell me what is the different between 110 and 120 volts?

Question

i have a new welder and it says 120 but the house i think is 110.
(electricity).

Answer 1

go ahead and use it,120v appliances will work ok on 110v and vica versa.

Answer 2

The standard nominal voltage is the US is 240V (not 220) and 120V (not 110). The people that quote 120 and 220 are odd because 220 isn't 2 times 120. There is a wide tolerance on the voltages, so you may get 110, 115, 118, 122...all will work find with the same devices.

A 120V welder? I thought they were high power devices that would normally be 240 (like your stove). Current is the other issue. If over 15A it will have a different plug that can't go in a "normal" outlet.

Some side notes: various things will have voltage ratings that aren't 120V, which is OK. The actual receptacles are rated 125V. Light bulbs come in different voltages, and the quoted power (watts) and lifetime are for that voltage. If your actual voltage is a little higher or lower, the bulb will use a little more or less power and burn out sooner or later (one way to get bulbs to last longer is use a higher voltage bulb, I believe 130V is available).

Answer 3

WARNING! After having read all above, do not plug in your welder into a 220 Volt outlet!
It says 120V on the product because that is what it is (theoretically) rated on. This is how it works:
They advertise that the welder can produce a current of, say, 50 Amp. Wow you think, I'll buy that. Then you plug it into your 110Volt outlet and realize (most likely you even don't) that your welder only gets to 45 Amp ( = 10% less than advertised).
But their *** is covered, they only promise 50Amp at 120 Volt.
And some countries do have 120 Volt at home, so the manufacturer only wants to create one version, for 110 and 120 Volt countries.
Result: You can use it, you just have 10% less "oomph" than you thought.

Answer 4

This is the same AC current in either case. Your welder will work fine, as long as it requires 120 v, 60 Hz AC, and your house provides between 110-120 V, also at 60 Hz.

The standard US voltage provided by utilities is 115 V, with a +/- 5 volt tolerance.

Answer 5

Originally the power company produced 110 wolts for residential usage over the years this has increased due to demand. It is not uncommon now to find it as has high as 125 volts. Butr 110 or 125 doesnt matter all new appliances will run on all voltages in that range. Dont listen to the moore family answer..110 volts is not the same as 240 volts. The voltage comes form the same transfomer but it is not the same. I dont have enough time to tell you how all this works. But dont worry about your 110-125 voltage difference.

Answer 6

120 is what homes in the U.S. have electrically that we use to plug in the T.V, VCR, DVD. etc. I think your confusion about 120 is actually 220. The power we use to run our electric dryers, electric stoves, is actually 220. I10 and 220 have a different plug and use electricity differently. Next time you are in the hardware store ask someone in electrical to show you the difference between the two plugs and them explain the difference to you. Also contact the company that manufactured your welder. They should be able to explain the 120. Perhaps they printed the instruction booklet wrong.

Answer 7

Actually the national standard is 117 RMS but some call it 110 or 115 or 120.

Answer 8

cost of electric used the 110 will cost more than the 120 other than that no difference and this is mammal

Answer 9

If you have 120v.It means you are close to the transformer for your neighborhood.Voltage drops over long distances of wire.The first house on the line will have 120v the last will have 105v.I'll bet the transformer is on a pole in your yard. 20 years electrition

Answer 10

The difference is 10 volts! Seriously though they are the same system, same plugs, etc.

Answer 11

10 volts is not a huge difference. You should be OK.