This is a really high end Swiss-made front loading washer with an 1800 rpm drum speed, high temp internal heater, good warranty, etc. I heard about this from a swiss friend of mine.
But how can I get one? There is no dealer in the US and Google searches of "v-zug washer" almost exclusively show german or french sites.

It takes a differnet european voltage, I know, and is there a transformer or converter to 220?

Am I wasting my time?

In Germany

Ferget it, V-Zug's are not sold outside of Europe period.

Even if you were lucky enough to nab these units, it would require 220v/240v wiring as they pull too much power for using a converter.Oh there is that pesky fact European power is 50hz as opposed to North American 60hz. Unless modified most if not all European washers will not run well because of the difference in cycles. On board computers/circut boards, motor, timers etc would all be off because they would run faster. Strain on the motor would cause it to fry as well.

Still, if you find a way to get one of these behemoths to this side of the pond, please let me know! *LOL*

Launderess

Actually V-Zug machines are not sold outside Switzerland. The one on eBay is actually in Switzerland too. V-Zug states on their website that they manufacture products that are specifically made for the demands of the Swiss market.

Hmmm.. a country that is comprised of three "tribes" that were not part of any other and by default formed a country, who don't have their own language (and perhaps a cohesive sense of oneness) have a SPECIFIC laundry need..

Why does this not compute?

No offense or judgement at all-- intended or implied.

..but from the pic alone THAT IS A WASHER!

Actually they have four languages, one of them is spoken in Switzerland only: German, French, Italian and Rumansh

Probably they don't export because Switzerland is a relatively small country and they've geared their manufacturing capacity to meeting Swiss market demand and that only.

There is a potential way to solve the power conversion problem, though it's probably expensive as hell. What's needed is a very large uninterruptable power supply (UPS) designed for the Euro market, that puts out 50hz AC. If you feed 240 volts at 60 hz into it, it will probably still produce a 50 hz output. I don't know this for certain but it's an educated guess based on the fact that a UPS has to produce AC from its batteries when the mains power is down, so the input frequency should have no bearing on the output frequency. This would require an "online" UPS where the input is converted to DC, and the output always comes from the DC side converted back to AC.

I can write to the engineering department at one of the major manufacturers of UPS in the US to find out what they have to say about this.

You have to have a cycloconverter onboard somewhere to change the frequency.
Cycloconverters in the past are HUGE ( size of a house furnace) and EXPENSIVE for cooking devices with power demands around 6-7 Kw.
A washer with a heater probably uses around 3-4 Kw.

New solid state switched power supplies are starting to appear ( they are the size of an old Stereo Hi Fi) but they are state of the art and VERY EXPENSIVE.

Hi Guys,

Our APC UPS's can change between either 50 or 60 hertz from 100-280 Volts at 10 amps.

I cant see why it wouldnt work. But the cost would still be about $1500AUD

Jon, are you talking about those huge converters like are in the NY Subway System? I think that they converted AC to DC, maybe, yes/no? One or more of our electrical wizards posted about those things earlier in the year and it was fascinating. I remember something about how they were started with ac line voltage, but once they got up and running, they did not need an outside source of power because the process powered itself. Probably I have that all wrong, but it sure seemed magical when I was reading it. I bookmarked the site about the old subway system.

Noctilux: Forget the V-Zug. I have moved from Switzerland to Canada recently and we used to have the Adora SLX. Sure washes well and efficient and anything you want. BUT...after the first year (i.e. after the warranty period, thank you) we started to experience problems almost every month with wires falling off sensors or sensors blowing out, leaving us with wet soapy clothes until the thing was fixed. Since the machine is not sold in the US, service is not around the corner. Plus as you say, there's the 220 V issue to address. Look for something that you can get service on and that is reliable.

Toggleswitch: We might be 4 tribes (since you forgot the Rumantsch) but at least we don't have a problem with free speech (or free trade) like others...since we can openly dissent with our 7 gnomes (i.e. the federal council) without having the police coming to our doorstep... no pun intended either

You have it mostly right, all converters need a constant source of supply power to convert. They don't make power out of a steady state they take it from the mains.

Early Cycloconverters like NY's were made of huge Motor Generator Sets. These would take supply power and run a huge motor that would turn a huge Dynamo that would be physically geared to the new frequency and physically wired to output the new voltage.
As you can guess there was alot of waste from friction in these systems.

What is coming into vogue now are SPS Switched Power Supplies.
And these are all made possible with the invention of the IGBT-Insulated Gate BiPolar Transistor. These IGBT's can handle large currents and voltages.

All the new "solid state switched" converters take electrical energy at "X volts" and "Y frequency" and then convert that to DC internally. From the DC rectified power the converter takes that and uses IGBT's [Insulated Gate Bi Polar Transistors] to chopp the DC power into a new supply voltage and frequency. With "Switched Power Supplies" SPS you can pick your output from a range.

Brisbat81 is right they run about $2000 US here for a few kilowatts output but climb in price when you start heading upwards of 6-10 Kilowatts.
A normal electric cooktop runs around 7-8 Kilowatts to operate.

These units are about the size of our old Stereo Receivers circa 1970's.

Thanks for all your suggestions and input. I have decided not to pursue this because there are really no dealers around here (I mean the entire US) to service the thing. Fireblade 99, thanks for relating your experience with the Adora. If I knew someone in Baltimore who could easily fix the machine and could read German, maybe I'd be more inclined to pursue it.

As for voltage, my electrician said he could acquire the transformer to convert or step up the 220 volt 60 cycle power supply to 400 volt 50 cycle power for about $2,000. Either way, without someone to repair a V-Zug, I think it's a lost cause.

I'm probably going to get a Miele Touchmatic with a condenser dryer and stack them.

Thanks, Jetcone, and everyone else.

Interesting that GE's name for the FL model they exclusive to the Home Depot is "Adora", also.

After having worked 26 years at Lufthansa German Airlines, the few German Swiss who worked there hated the Germans. I always found the Swiss to only like the Swiss. Figures they would make a machine only for use in Switzerland.

Indeed, miele is better! I once saw that our machines can run on 50 or 60hz Cycle, because theyre sold all over Europe! We have different cycle frequences here. Have you ever thought about using a generator to produce 220 Volt?

Westyslantfront: I don't want to get into the politics of why Swiss and Germans do not get along, let me just say, that most people get along fine, it's a few jerks on BOTH sides of the border who think they have to lash out constantly at each other. I have very close friends in Germany and part of my family is from Germany.

But let's look at the reason why V-Zug has not yet been simply driven into bankruptcy by German manufacturers who can produce cheaper due to larger quantities: After the war, Swiss industrials decided to adopt a different norm in kitchen and laundry construction than Germany, i.e. 55 cm (ca 21.6 in) width rather than 60 cm (ca 23.6 in) to protect local industry. This standard has persisted until today and is the reason for the existence of V-Zug, Schulthess and Merker. It is also the reason why building a kitchen in Switzerland is so expensive, unless opting to have a German company building it or having a good carpenter who can modify the kitchen to fit German cheaper machines. So it isn't because "the Swiss don't like Germans".