Phaedru5

Hi, I know that Canada runs on 110V and 60Hz as oppose to the UK 240V 50Hz (110-120 and 220-240 ish respectively)

What I am struggling with is that a lot of my appliances are 50/60Hz but only 200-240V - will this or will these not work in Canada? For example my Karcher pressure washer; you can buy them in Canada and I struggle to believe they would make they same product in two types for the two markets... would they? Why wouldn't they just make them all 110-220V if they're already making them 50/60Hz? Why are so many appliances 50/60 but not the voltage variability aswell?

Basically, shall I take my Karcher, or sell it here in the UK and buy a new one in Canada?

mikelincs

To use your UK one in Canada you would need a step down transformer, I suspect thzt it would be much better to sell in the UK and just buy new, the same goes for any appliance that isn't dual voltage.Many of the new ones are dual voltage.

hpka

The answer to products like Karchers is usually: Sell it and buy a local one if and when you need it.

To best answer your question: A few appliances in a typical home (dryer and oven mainly) are 240v. They have distinct plugs/sockets. You won't easily confuse the two.

Having lived in Canada for many years, I don't miss any of my UK electronics whatsoever. As I write this I think I have a belt on that I bought in the UK, a few small antiques at home. For some reason last time we were there we really wanted some bone china teamugs for 2 quid each from Sainsburys. Hopefully this paragraph emphasises that generally it's "too each their own" on what you bring, but large appliances that may not work on the power supply are generally a no.

rivingtonpike

When we bought our house, it turned out I have a 220 volt power supply in there. I simply put the appropriate plug on a UK four way adapter and I could use all my British voltage power tools - including a pressure washer. With time, they have all now been replaced, but it saved a heck of a lot of financial outlay at a time we most needed it.

Siouxie

Compatability of Goods-Canada : British Expat Wiki

Souvy

I spent a chunk of Saturday with my arm through a hole I'm made in the drywall. I was fishing for a 220V cable and what it was connected to. I was doing it all by touch.

On reflection, I should probably have turned the power off first.

Atlantic Xpat

Houses, or more accurately garages will often have a 220v Supply for a welder or compressor. Mine does. Of course for the OP to properly embrace the Canadian way he should forget about his namby pamby electric pressure cleaner and get a gas powered one when he gets here. ;-)

AshMyl

I'm in the midst of this and just be advised that although the power supply to the house is 220V, it is 2ph so in effect you take 110V and put it on the live supply and another 110V and put it it into our UK Neutral position. I brought with me a couple of UK surface mounted wall sockets and face plates to make sure that there is no mixing up of appliances and putting a 110V into a 220V supply by mistake.

I also bought a step-up transformer from Amazon.ca to run some smaller items. You can get them 1, 2 & 3kW and they are not big money.

Davita

My highlights of your post is correct and I've argued this point many times.
The N. American 220VAC supplied to houses from the Electrical Company is not the same as UK's 220VAC supply for the very reason you point out. Unless the 220VAC is provided using a transformer.

UK generates single phase 220VAC on one live wire, The neutral is 0VAC as is the ground/safety wire.
Canada generates 120VAC on one phase wire and 120VAC on another which would make the UK appliance live with 120VAC on the neutral wire. The ground/safety becomes neutral.
N. American 220VAC appliances, like cooking ranges and clothes dryers, are wired appropriately for this system but UK 220VAC appliances aren't.

Phaedru5

THIS

I sold my pressure washer yesterday

dbd33

It's easy enough to hire a pressure washer anyway. I do, but then it's the sort of thing I use every thirty years or so.

Souvy

Yes it is. When we wanted to do the deck we just hired one from HD for a few hours.

We do have an electric one but it's only really useful for washing the car/siding (rarely done) or carving out the old sand between the pavers on the front path (done once).

Other than that, it's just clutter. We need less clutter. Souvette has informed me that she intends to retire in a couple of years. This means selling our mortgage-free house and buying somewhere near Quebec City, for cash. That means we will have to downsize. An awful lot of stuff will have to go.

Engineer_abroad

From my old physics days electrical power in watts = Voltage (volts) x current (amps).

As the north American market uses lower voltages the current would have to be much higher to provide the same power. This means forcing the voltage (energy) at a faster rate. Most electrical devices are rated at a given current for safety reasons. The step down transformer drops the voltage running to the device so that rated current can be achieved.

For most electrical devices it is often cheaper to repurchase than ship anyway.

uk_grenada

NB if you do use a step down or up transformer, the classic design is called an EI because thats what the plates look like, you will lose 10-30% of the energy in as theres no such thing as a perfect transformer. If its slightly warm - great - if its bloody hot, you are paying for that, and typically they are hot, humming, leaking magnetic fields and costing you, even when everything on that circuits off [actually some are worst when off load.]

The best solution is a high efficiency donut or torroidal transformer, wound with LCOFC copper. These will cost you 5% typically of the load, and for max efficiency should be rated around 2x the anticipated load.

Worst, a 5kva EI unit [typical thing found in a house wired in circuit] even when nothings on might be costing you the same as a 1 bar electric fire on constantly.

uk_grenada

The ac line frequency is an issue with devices that counyt cycles - or use cycles to control speed - primitive mains clocks are the best example. While you can get a power converter that converts voltage and frequency, its like trying to make toilet water in the southern hemisphere turn clockwise [read about coriolis forces - fascinating] do-able but why the hell would anyone except the american embassy try... They costalot in large sizes.