Like I said earlier, sparkies are full of shit!

May be, may be not.

He likes to spread the gospel that most things made in China are crap, not realizing that he had to be a multi-billionaire to not use anything made in China.

Mrs JTL

Hi,

With regards to the fridge not working properly.........After transport you should let the fridge sit for a few hours BEFORE switching it on to allow the gas to settle.........After shipping to oz (or anywhere of distance) it's better to let it sit for 24 hrs before switching on.

If it's not getting down to temperature it may be just the compressor needs re-gassed

That's because they are.

Back to your shirts, I'm guessing the ones made in Europe were better.

I buy virtually all my clothes on my annual trips back to the UK. The stuff I buy might be made in Moroccan sweatshops but they 100 times better than the ones made in China you get here in Australia. If I see "made in China" on the label I put it back down. I try to avoid buying Chinese whenever I can. I hate the bastards (the government that is, not Chinese people per se).

Or if you switched it on straight away after shipping the compressor is possibly shot

Yup... how many years should it take to realise they should put a bit more space for the wire!

Not all sparkies mate

Its true that in Australia (not just QLD) you are not supposed to change the plugs and only a qualified spark can do this.

Its mainly for insurance purposes. If there is an electrical fault on the plug you change and results in a fire , you will NOT get paid a peanut.

Not trying to scare any one or owt , but thats how its always been in Oz.

Coming from Uk where basically anyone can do your own Electrical work
it does seem wierd/stupid that you have to pay someone to come and do it for you.Saying that every other Uk person i meet have changed thier own.

Darren

No, that's not strictly true. In NSW you are freely able to change your plugs on your own electrical equipment without being a qualified electrician. You can even do it at work without being a qualified electrician, providing that you have passed the Workcover sponsored competency assessment.

Here are the precise wordings from the Government of Victoria:

WHICH ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS CAN ONLY BE INSTALLED BY
REGISTERED ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS?

Electrical safety regulations in Australian States and Territories prohibit electrical installing work being carried
out by other than registered electrical contractors or licensed electricians. So although it is legal to buy products
like electrical cable, switches and power points, it is illegal and dangerous for unlicensed persons to install the
items.

The Regulations DO permit unlicensed persons to connect plugs to their own electrical cords. However, the use
of ready made extension cords is encouraged as they may be safer than home wired ones. An incorrectly wired
plug can be fatal.

And here is the link:

Source

However, since the publication of that document, Queensland have legislated that it is unlawful to change plugs, though, as yet, no other states have followed suit.

Probably because they are not nanny states.

S

Have you visited China? How well do you know the country, its government and its people?

In the countries where your clothes, houseware and electronic appliances are made, do you think their governments are all innocent of all human right crimes?

Wrong guess - the Jagaer shirts are far better than the Next or M&S shirts. I'm not saying clothes from Next or M&S are of poor quality. In fact they're not otherwise I wouldn't have bought anything from them. I look at the quality of the goods instead of checking where they are made. And by the way, Next, M&S, and most UK shops have at least some of their stuff made in China. Same goes for shops anywhere in the world.

It makes me laugh every time someone on here says "I hate all the cheap Chinese made clothes here", "I much prefer the stuff from Next or M&S". I mean, hello, a lot of the clothes from Next or Marks n Sparks are made in China too - did anyone not check the labels like renth has?!

I agree some of the cheaper line of products made in China (or anywhere in the world in fact) are of low quality but you know that when you pay a low price. When we first got here we bought a few GMC gardening equipments and yes they were made in China and yes they were crap. But that's because GMC (a China-based company I think) mades crappy products. You can buy a different and better brand, most likely still made in China, and get an entirely different experience.

Mrs JTL

P.S. Note to self - this is my last post on the "made in China" debate. Sorry to the OP for hijacking your thread.

I have actually visited China, it's a dump. Last time I checked it was a repressive dictatorship were the people have few human rights and those who do speak out are jailed or forced to work as slaves making cheap crap like plugs and shirts for us westerners. They also invaded Tibet and killed and beat up loads of Buddhist monks.

Of all the countries I visited in my 2 years of travelling around the world, China was the crapest one. Dirty, polluted, very unfriendly people, bureaucratic, crap food, no regard for animals or their welfare etc.

The only good thing I saw in China was the Terracotta army in Xian which was incredible. Apart from that you can keep it.

I agreed - rudist & worst people I have ever met.

This is good advice. I did something similar myself.

Been here over 3 yrs, changed about 5 or 6 plugs, and the rest of our shit is still uk plugs. I prefer them, as they have a fuse in, so kinda bit happier.

Especially with our computer equipment.

Seems fkn stupid paying upto $300 buying surge protected plug banks, when I have a 10 pence fuse in each plug !!

Im a fqn GENIARSE !

I would suggest that you bring a few trailing sockets and just change the plug on the end like someone here already said.
Firstly it will give you time to sort things out and the second is that all those transformer type plugs will be fine too- like mobile chargers and computer speaker/modems and phones etc.