manishkhanna3002

Hi

As per my knowledge voltage in Britain is 230V/50Hz whereas that in Canada is 110V/60Hz. Also the sockets on wall are different in Britain and Canada then how the British Laptop and mobile chargers work in Canada.

Do travelers buy just a pin converter or a voltage transformer for converting 110V/60Hz to 230V/50Hz. Anybody please suggest.

Thanks
Manish Khanna

SchnookoLoly

Laptops and other electronics have built-in protection so that the differences in voltage don't fry the device. Just use any bog standard plug converter, you don't need transformers or anything fancy.

However, 'simplier' electronics, and in particular appliances with motors or heating elements (electric toothbrush, hairdryer, iron, blender, mixer, coffee maker, etc) will not work properly between the two countries. A US/CA product in the UK will get overloaded and basically melt; a UK product in US/CA won't draw enough power to work effectively.

james.mc

With a suitable adapter, you can plug/try any devices from the UK/EU into 110VAC in Canada (Don't bother bringing kettles and heaters. Buy new here in Canada) if they work properly then great! If not, you will need a step-up transformer. We have two. One on my workshop for 220V tools that I brought with me, and also one on the Kitchen. Our Nespresso Coffee machine and the wife's mixer and other kitchen gadgets are still going strong after 2 years in Canada

Example step up transformer - check out: 1500W Step Up / Down Voltage Transformer Voltage_Converters | Voltageconverters.Ca

I've also noticed that some power supplies on our UK/EU devices (house phones for example) quoted 220VAC as the required input voltage, yet when coupled up to a suitable adapter and plugged into 110VAC the device works fine!

Don't be tempted to plug a 110 device into a 220 UK socket though!!.. unless it has a power supply that you know for a fact is auto-sensing and can work between the two voltages.

Pizzawheel

For a laptop you can just get the cable that goes between the power pack and the socket/receptacle to replace your UK one. Or just wire a new plug on.

Obviously this doesn't work with phone chargers with the plug built into the powerpack.

the blairs

Hey there!

Question about the Nespresso machine...

I'm taking it the pods you buy out there are the same as in the uk?

I'm so happy that you say your machine works fine on a transformer! I love my Nespresso machine with all my heart

Linz x

SchnookoLoly

The pods are the same, yes, but you might need to check on whether you are allowed to import them!

We had a Nespresso machine in the UK that we loved, but decided we couldn't be bothered with a transformer in the kitchen in Canada, so we sold the UK version and put the money towards buying a fancier one here.

the blairs

I wouldn't bring pods with me, just the machine. Did you sell the machine on to a friend? Not sure where else I would advertise it?

SchnookoLoly

Well, we were going to just give it to my in-laws, but they insisted on paying for it. However, if they didn't want it, we were going to advertise it on gumtree - we sold a few other items on gumtree before we moved. I just did a search for "Nespresso" there - nespresso in United Kingdom - Gumtree - should give you a decent idea of what you can get for your model. My in-laws gave us just below the average price - and only because they insisted!

We did have a lot of debate about what to do with our various appliances etc. We had some nice stuff. Ultimately we just decided that it would be too much of a faff to try to get it all to work in Canada, though. Step-up transformers can be quite large and unwieldy, we couldn't really find one small enough we were happy with, plus we didn't want it sitting on the counter. We spoke to an electrician about running a 240V line (some large appliances, like the stove, run off of 240V lines) and just having a specific 240V outlet for our appliances... the electrician said it technically is possible to do it, but we may run into issues if there were ever any problems and the insurance company had to get involved (electrical fire or whatever).

Since our plan was (is) to stay in Canada for the long haul, we decided to just get Canadian/American versions of appliances. (We did buy a few things in the US as well to save money, though that was when the exchange rate was a bit more favourable!)

Others, like Bristol, are happier to just have the transformer unit, so really I think it just comes down to your own preference.

(Worth also considering your faff threshold if you have any warranty issues with any of your appliances you bring overseas...)

the blairs

Yeh, I see your point about a transformer on the kitchen worktop :-/

I've just been round the house looking at all things electrical and jotting down watts and voltage etc... now to search and see what will work and then decide if it's worth it or not.

Lots to consider

SchnookoLoly

Yeah worth seeing what might work on just a normal converter plug... but generally anything with a motor or heating element won't work. (General rule, not hard and fast rule!)

We did bring our printer with us, and that works fine on a normal converter, have used it a few times with no issues.

Kitchen appliances we had quite a few. Definitely don't bring anything large (white goods), which includes the microwave. Some things generally aren't expensive to replace either, like the toaster. Also worth deciding how much you want to be farting around with changing plugs in a transformer box! Appliances in our kitchen:
-kettle
-toaster
-electric mixer
-hand blender
-nespresso machine
-regular coffee machine

the blairs

In the kitchen it would only be my Nespresso and Philips juicer I would want to bring
both are 220-240v 50/60Hz and Nespresso is 500-700w where as the juicer is 1260w
Haven't a clue what that means or what type of transformer I would need :-O

the blairs

Also got 3 Panasonic Tv's all are 220-24-v 50/60Hz and two of them are 255w where as the smaller one is 67w
again - no clue as to what this means or if we can even use them in Canada! Hoping someone on here does!

Pizzawheel

There's your answer- leave the UK stuff and buy new here. I'm an electrical engineer and I don't mess around with voltage conversion! It's not a standard transformer you can buy in a shop btw- you would buy at an electronics specialists (think Maplins in the UK and wire it yourself.

There is a thread on here somewhere whereby someone did this for their workshop in the shed but to me a kitchen is a totally different gig. Also if anything goes wrong your insurance might be invalidated...

SchnookoLoly

No idea. This is partly why we decided to just replace them here, lol.

We bought our Nespresso from Bed Bath and Beyond, and I used a 20% off coupon to get it. (Sign up for their mailing list to get regular 20% off one item coupons!) I think it came to $320 before tax (13%). This is the one we bought: De'Longhi Latissima+ EN 520.B Nespresso Machine

the blairs

I wouldn't be rewiring things!!!

I'm sure I read on here that people just bought a transformer (which I was thinking was like a plug adaptor/powers strip.