Nix and Mike

I have a few questions for those who came from the USA .....

* Obviously it is not worth it to bring large appliances like fridges and TV's etc. But what about the small ones like CD players etc. Can you buy a convertor and is it worth it?
* What about the plugs for lamps and other electrical goods (hairdryers, cell phone chargers etc). Where did you buy adaptors - in the USA or Aus? And was it worth it?
* Is the VHS system NTSC or PAL?

Any other electrical related issues I haven't thought of?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Nix

Dorothy

Unless it's something that you absolutely love I would leave it at home. Some people have brought their electrics and done fine, but we found even with converters the difference was too much for our older items.

Nix and Mike

Dorothy - thanks. A great help!

Nix

CDM

When we moved back from the States to the UK some years ago (UK has same electicity as Oz), we got rid of everything electrical except our expensive sewing/embroidery machine and a few major garage tools. When we got back to the UK, we bought a heavy duty 110/240V transformer and it has served us well ever since. The transformer wasn't very expensive (found a great web-site online) and in hindsight, I would have kept ALL the garage tools and just bought a couple more transformers. The type we have has 2x110V sockets and we still have extension cords so we can plug multiple things in (provided the Amperage rating isn't exceeded by all the devices that are concurrently connected).

Obviously, it isn't particularly handy or convenient to have a transformer in every room (the heavy duty ones can be quite heavy - ours is about the size of a 2Lb pack of sugar) but 2 or 3 dotted around the house is certainly doable - and it could certainly be argued that buying a transformer might be cheaper than selling the electrical appliances and buying them again new.

Over time, you'll probably replace your 110V appliances with 240V ones anyway simply through attrition.

With regards to the Dorothy's experience above, I would suggest that the converter she used might just not have been rated sufficient enough for a hair-dryer (which requires lots of Amps) - not heavy-duty enough. I'm not suggesting the one she used was no good but I would be very wary of those smaller units that you can pick up at airports. That said, it does highlight the fact that if there is a problem with your 110V appliance, you might not be able to get it repaired locally since everything is 240V in Oz.

- CDM

CDM

Forgot to add one more point. It isn't just the difference in Voltage between the US and Oz/Europe that you need to worry about. It's also the frequency (Hz). In the States, the freuqency is 60Hz whereas it is 50Hz in Oz/Europe. This may have an adverse impact on some types of appliance. A transformer will only adjust the Voltage - it will NOT adjust the frequency.

- CDM

Nix and Mike

Thre frequency comment is a valid one.....
This is so frustrating....We moved from S.A. to Aruba (USA electricity system) and got rid of all our electrical goods....and now 8 years later, we are about to do the same ! Can be an expensive excercise !
I still have my digital piano and keyboards from SA.....at least they will be relevant !

What about computers! This is another whole area to think about! We have three NEW laptops in this family and I certianly do not want to replace those....
Any thoughts?

THanks for all the advice. Very helpful.

Nix

TMRE

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=577583

Spotted this yesterday in MBTUK. Think most of it would apply to OZ as well, apart from socket shapes and plugs but might give you an idea.

MarkMC

Most new laptops will work fine. look at the power pack - it should say input 100-240v at 50-60Hz

Dorothy

If your laptops are new they should be fine. They'll have the switch at the back so you can change betweek The comment about the transformers not being rated high enough is one I never thought of. Oh well, it was a good reason to go for a new hair cut.

Nix and Mike

Mark - just looking at my laptop now....and that is exactly what the power pack says.
But I see no switch on the back as Dorothy suggests....
Do I simply change the plug and / or power cord and then plug it in......or is it more than this?

Sorry for this ignorant questions....

Nix

CDM

I think you'll find that it will be that desktop computers are those that typically have the switch on the power supply unit on the back (usually right around where the power cords goes in). Laptops are not fed directly from the mains; they are fed via a powerpack/transformer. That powerpack will typically be rated for both types of power supply (it should be printed on it) and will simply convert appropriately down to whatever the laptop requires (this is why there is a large cable going from it to the wall socket and a smaller cable that carries the coverted power to the laptop itself.

- CDM

Nix and Mike

CDM - thank you !!!!!

CDM

I've one last little observation if I may. Having lived in the States for 7 years, I did notice that electrical appliances that are made for the US are less likely to be accommodating to other electrical standards elswhere on the planet.

For example, power supplies (such as those for laptops and the like) are often ONLY rated for 110V, whereas those in Europe tend to usually be dual-rated (will support BOTH 110V & 240V).

The same observation is also true for video devices such as TVs and DVD players. In the US, they will usually ONLY support the NTSC video standard, whereas similar devices in Europe will typically be capable of supporting BOTH PAL & NTSC by default. I've been able to use European (PAL) & US (NTSC) formatted DVD discs in ANY DVD player I've had here in Europe but I had a nightmare trying to find a DVD player in the states that supported PAL as well as NTSC.

Not sure what, if any, conclusions can be drawn from this! ;-)

- CDM

Nix and Mike

I cna draw some conclusions from this, but I won't on this bb !!!!
And I agree with your observation by the way......

Thanks for making the point. A quick check on the back of an appliance will now solve this problem. Knowledge is power !

Cheers
Nix