Hey. Arrived in Australia on Thursday - big move! We brought some electrical bits and bobs, as you do, which of course all have UK plugs. We have a few UK-Oz plug convertors, but I went to Dick Smith shop today and was surprised to see that they're not especially cheap - $16/$17 or so. An Aussie power plug is only $3 however.

I'm confident with UK plug wiring, and Aussie plug wiring looks easy too. What I'm not sure about is that fact that UK plugs have a fuse and Aussie plugs do not. Why is that then? If I cut the plug off my laptop's charger lead and wire on an Aussie plug, what's the risk to my equipment, if any?

On a related note - any recommendations for buying stuff like this online? Dick Smith doesn't seem cheap - or perhaps the exchange rate just makes things seem expensive? - but usually online is cheaper. I need to buy a couple of multi-voltage power supplies too (e.g. for baby monitor) and don't fancy paying Dick Smith prices for those either.

Cheers

This is why we advise people to bring power boards for UK stuff - cheaper and easier than plug changing (and in some States more legal) - my place looks like spaghetti junction, specially as there is only one power point in each bedroom and only one in the living room.

Thanks for the reply!

It is a great idea, but I'm already here! Can I get a UK power strips here?

The idea of using a UK power strip did occur to me but only after arrival. However the question remains the same - if I do have a UK power strip, it will have a UK plug on the end of it, and I will need to change it for an Aussie plug. The UK plug has a fuse, the Aussie plug does not. I want to be sure that I'm not going to be frying anything!

Cheers

In WA at least it's illegal to wire a plug yourself, you'll find it hard to find spare plugs in a shop. They're available on the internet. also all houses by law should have an Rcd on the power so fuses are irrelevant.

Do Bunnings et al not sell them over there? It's supposed to be illegal over here but they all sell them so most people do their own. Disclaimer = everyone I know anyway.

Seriously?! (Of course seriously) Thankfully I'm in NSW. So if you accidentally bust a plug, you have to pay for someone "qualified" and no doubt overpriced just to wire a simple plug? How is this policed/regulated?

if it all goes down in a fire caused by a screwed up plug installation, an insurance co is probably going to have a say. Noone is going to bust into your house checking plugs, don't worry.

Bunnings do sell plugs here in Wa.

The fuses in UK plugs are an additional safety factor which ensures that the failure of one appliance won't blow a main fuse/breaker and disable all the power points on that circuit - but it only works if you have the right size fuse in the plug which most don't. It's not essential.

Don't try buying plugs etc from Dick Smith, they're not in that business any more. Either go to Bunnings or Jaycar and rewire your appliances or buy one of these which will take any plug used in the world.

Good advice. Didn't know those coverters exisited. Looks handy.

Yep, don't buy from DS, much cheaper at Bunnings.

The fuse in UK plugs is a legacy from before RCDs were used and is now kind of redundant. You can get plugs at Bunnings but I prefer the Clipsal ones which you can usually only get from an electrical wholesaler. I find that they are not as easy to wire as UK/SA plugs but you will soon get the hang of it if doing lots.

I think the Australia plug has serious design flaws, but that's another topic.

I have loads of those that I bought in Singapore. They work well and save a lot of hassle.

Thanks all. Have myself a plug, wire cutters and screwdriver. Going to give it a whirl...

I miss websites such as ebuyer, Misco, cclonline, etc. for getting cheap stuff. Even Amazon was pretty good most of the time. e.g. DS had a replacement power lead for my laptop's power block (so just the mains to block bit) and it was something like $15. Stuff that. Can't help think how I could get these in the UK for peanuts! Any suggestions for similar ebuyer, etc. websites?

Ebay

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