Pony

Did you try removing the 2 pin part of your charger and sliding the 3 pin UK part of your daughters on to it?

its this, with a UK plug (or US etc) on the other end.

dbark

No, didn't try that ... didn't think of it...

The figure of 8 - aha! Like many audio equipment has then? Thanks again!

wtkp0u

Good luck trying to pull 3000W from a standard US outlet

Pony

We have some of the best electricity supplies in the world! I can tell its working as the street lights dim when I attach my printer!
It works just fine, I am not sure what you mean

Knight

That saves me posting about my powerbook, I just need to buy the end part of the power cord, and replace the 3 prong plug with a 2 prong on, $20. Excellent.

Pony

You can simply cut the end of the power cord off and swap it for a US plug, a couple of bucks at the most. I converted all my UK electrical appliances that were 110V compatible by replaing the 3 pin UK plugs with US 3 pin plugs. I had a UK power strip, replaced the UK plug with a US one and plugged 4 UK style plugs in it - talk about cheap!

Knight

it's just going to be all my office electricals (PC, mac, printer) together, so I may go for that great penny-pinching idea! Thanks!

Andy_LongIsland

Ooh think i'll get one of them for my guitar stuff. No way i'm chopping all the heads off all of that Dave that would run a uk power strip full of stuff yeah?

Pony

UK powerstrips, plugs, cables etc are all to a much higher specification than the US stuff. I bought the highest rated 3 pin US plug available. So long as all your guitar stuff doesn't pull more than 3000 watts you should be just fine. The transformer has a built in trip, so its not as though it will cause any damage should you exceed the load.
The transformer only changes voltage, it doesn't change frequeny (60Hz
North America vs. 50Hz foreign). There is some debate as to whether this is a problem or not (for example some UK microwave ovens may not operate properly on the US 60Hz).
Here is a list of appliances that worked for me, your mileage may vary (I did not find an appliance that did not work!

table lamps
television
PlayStation 2
VCR
DVD player
Canon inkjet printer
Epson inkjet printer
HP laser printer
Vaccum cleaner
JVC HiFi
Waffle iron
Electric clothes Iron

As I said, all these work just fine. I've yet to find anything that doesn't work. I did a little research before buying the transformer, and found discussions about the difference in frequency. I've been using this stuff for about 8 months, and it just works as before.

Disclaimer:
I'm not an electrician, nor an expert on electronic devices. This information is my experience and not a recommendation or advice.

Andy_LongIsland

Thanks for that Dave, Don't think i'll be pulling more than 3000watts - think the walls would start falling down if I turned my amp up that high Well I'll give it a go when my stuff arrives - looks good that one though - half the price of ones i've seen that aren't as powerful

dbark

Dave, are you talking about UK stuff that you now use in the US? Would this work the other way around?

Pony

This is UK stuff I'm now using in the US.

The transformer works both ways.
So you can take 110V and get 240V
or take 240V and get 110V

The same unit does both.

dbark

OK, sorry to labour the point, but to take US items to the UK, would it be worth buying this transformer and taking it over (and change the plug), or d'you think we would we be able to get one over there?

Edit: Looked some UK ones up online. Here was one I found:

http://www.beststuff.co.uk/autotransformer_step_up.htm

Looks good to me

Pony

The transformer you quote only powers 100w (thats an average size light bulb). You could run very little using this. The unit I mentioned is 3000W (30 times that). However it weighs 32 pounds, so would be difficult to transport to the UK.

Are you visiting or moving back to the UK, and what items are you looking to use (one or two items, or a whole bunch)?

dbark

I might have to move back temporarily with some belongings to help sort out a situation there with my daughters. I'm not sure what I would want to take, although definitely my laptop computer and ipod, possibly also my video camera.

How about this one? It can be used up to 3000W.

http://www.beststuff.co.uk/pbright_vc3000.htm

Of course, it costs a whole lot more than the US version