The hair dryers that you buy here have a sticker on them that says:

DO NOT REMOVE STICKER !
and
Do Not Let Hair Dryer Fall In Bath.

It isn't as bad as it sounds, as long as you take sensible precautions.

The problem is changing from what you are used to.

In the UK, a surge along the line would blow the fuse in the plug, and you would have to change the fuse, here you have to accept that if it happens, then the appliance might go "kaput".

The power socket in the Bathroom ? If it concerns you, you can get those thingys that go in them to block them off, kid safe things. ( I haven't a clue what they are called, but hope you know what I mean)


leannefr, what part of Brisbane are you coming over to ?

I advise that you all buy a decent surge protector for your PCs. Lightening storms etc can make a good fry up. Same for any circuited electrical goods eg TVs, videos, DVDs etc. If you want high up time for your PC a UPS is a must.

And an Earth Leakage Detector for the little darlings that may attempt to stick their tongues in the socket.

We brought multiway power boards with us from the UK (as suggested on this site) and changed the plugs on the ends to aussie ones so as to reduce number of plugs to change etc..

I found that there were two sorts of plugs on offer, neither with fuses, but rated differently - 10A and 15A.
I bought a 15A heavy duty plug without realising, and done the necessary, but when I went to plug it in, it didn't fit the wall socket! The earth pin is about 3mm too wide for the hole!

When I went back to the hardware shop they couldn't answer me why this was so!!! 'Dunno mate. maybe you need to buy a heavy duty wall socket to fit it in to.' Smart fella?

I've never come across that, and i've changed plenty of plugs over here.

I'll have a look next time i'm in the hardware shop

His reply was good though

And light switches in the bathroom ( I don't mean the the pull cord type which are legal in the UK) .. Isn't that illegal in the UK.. To have a light switch in the bathroom?

I know when I was building, I made the sparky put the light switches outside the bathroom ( he was a kiwi by the way) . And he asked me why? lol.

I also have a big spa bath, next to the sink and the sparky was going t wire a socket above the bath by the sink... I made him put the socket on the opposite side of the wall.. away from the sink and spa.


perhaps you can wire up "pom" houses.. I could have done with a Brit sparky myself. Hubby wired up a lot himself (yes I know it's illegal to do that here in Brissie).. but he actually does a lot better job than the sparky's here.. his father used to be an electrician and growing up he used to go on jobs with his father as young as 8 .. ie his father used to send him down the lofts of houses as he could get where his father couldn't.

Yes, you'll have fun here being a sparky - the laws here are not as strict as the UK regarding electric sockets and light switches in bathrooms.


cheers

Ere Dracupg what do ya reckon to Ceris dogy wiring. Will you tell her insurance company? I know you are watching.

ahh P8ss off

it actually is a better job than the sparkies here.. very neat and tidy - AND SAFE

cheers

We've not only got light switches but plenty of electrical sockets in our bathrooms. Very useful for toothbrush, hairdrier etc. Can't see what the problem is, you would have to have an extension cord and be a bit mad to try to blow dry your hair in the bath.

Not that I blow dry my hair, you understand.

think I know what's the prob with kiwi's now ..lol - too many electrical outlets in the bathroom... shocks must have done something to their speech

eh? bin fushing eh?

Why do you think that a 15A pug does not fit in a 10A wall outlet ???

Having wall outlets in your bathroom is not unsafe. As long as they aren't too close to the 'wet zone'. The size of the bathroom determines whether you can or can't have wall outlets (perhaps all UK bathrooms are very small ).

Is that a trick question?
I was making a point that they have different sizeshere. Where as in the UK where British Expats come from, we don't have this.

My dossier on Ceri is getting larger by the minute.

I get 56 threads return when I do the search "+Ceri +Illegal" ... Coincidence? I don't think so.

Anyone who wants to top themselves can use an extension cord

This forum getting you down a bit Don?