nero

We only have two UK to NZ converters and all our UK stuff arrives soon. Any idea where is the cheapest place or way to convert UK electrical items. I have seen at Dick Smith that you can get UK to NZ converters for $14.95 which seems very expensive. I know that some things I can buy new leads for which is slightly cheaper.

Not being an electrician how feasible is it to just change the UK plug to a NZ plug. Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

spackster

Go to Mitre Ten and buy loads of plugs. They are really easy to change. Well they are when your other half does them for you. No fuses in the plugs is the norm.

nero

Oh that is excellent and sounds a lot cheaper. If there is no fuse does that mean if there is a power surge there could be problems (the item blow up????). Not even sure if we have power surges here.

Sorry as you can see I am not too bright :-(

spackster

Pretty much Not had power surge yet, however I tend to use surge protected mutliplug extension leads for expensive/sensitive items.

adie

lardyl

The NZ/Oz plugs are a pretty crap design mind (was reminded of that by a Kiwi Engineer at work the other day before anyone flames me!!) and the cheaper ones are hard to wire up decently - you need to be careful about trapping the inner conductors between the two halves of the cheaper plugs.
I'd suggest UK extension leads with Kiwi plugs on the ends at least for your low voltage adapters (mobile phone chargers, etc) and I have the same on my wonderful old Belkin Surge Protectors for the HiFi, PC/Laptop riser and the big screen TV. The mains around here is pretty dirty too (again confirmed by paid up sparkie, Kiwi-types).

Safety warning - check the markings on your travel adapters - most say only 5amp load, thats about 1kW or a small heater, or a PC and monitor or a very small kettle - also and more inportantly they are almost all NOT EARTHED so don't use them for earthed appliances, eg your PC, toaster, some kettles, irons, etc etc as this could result in electric shocks or (heaven forbid) death for you, the kids or OH. In those cases PLEASE USE A CORRECTLY WIRED PLUG or get an electrician to advise you. Good luck, Ian
PS went to an electrical fire today, took out the whole roof of the house and could have killed the occupants if it happened 12 hrs later as they had no smoke detectors. Live safely people!

lardyl

You will have power surges in Auckland, plus more blackouts than you had at home, even if you live in the City, on the shore or out in the sticks. The surge protectors and UPSs sold by Dick Smith, etc are pretty popular for a reason.......lots of overhead (ie more vulnerable) power lines and dirty mains

nero

Thanks Lardyl much appreciated - will make shopping list accordingly. Will also ensure we get smoke detectors for the new home

lardyl

Dick Smith had some decent ones when we bought ours - forgot we had screwfix wireless ones in the container .... doh .......
Having said what I said about surges I dont know of anyone who has had a problem with PC, etc but I have experienced more irregular brownouts here (in built-up area) than in (rural) UK.

TeamEmbo

We just brought over loads of 4 gang extensions, put a NZ plug on that and plugged all our uk stuff in as normal. Works fine. OH changed some stuff over to NZ plugs, like the kettle and hoover (but not the iron cos I hid that ).