Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

A few questions for the more technologically capable people out there.

I asked for (and recieved) some new hair straighteners and a hairdryer for my birthday because my UK ones didn't work properly over here. The hairdryer sounded like a mouse farting and the straighteners usually warmed up just in time for me to straighten my hair before I went to bed.

Should I keep the old ones for when I travel back to the UK? Will the new ones work on 240V? Will they explode? Should I try it just for a giggle, or is it likely to blow my hand off?

My stuff is due to arrive soon (hopefully next week) and somewhere in the 30 odd boxes is a stereo (mini hi-fi). Based on my experiences with the above, I think it's quite likely that my entire CD collection will have morphed into Leonard Cohen when I try to play it on this voltage. Will the stereo work at all? Is there a quick fix? Can I get it converted for less than the cost of a new stereo?

I also packed up and shipped out somewhere in the region of 80 video cassettes (pre-recorded). Can I convert them to play on US video recorders? Can I convert the video recorder to play them?

Should I have thought of all of the above before I paid two and a half grand to ship my stuff here?

All help much appreciated. Please keep accusations of gross stupidity (though probably true) to yourselves.

Cheers :D

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Briefly, never use any electrical appliance other than on the voltage it was designed for - a 220V appliance running on 110V won't work properly (as you discovered) but a 110V appliance connected to 220V is extremely dangerous! :scared:

Your British videos almost certainly will necessitate that you to buy a dual standard VCR, which you will have to buy from an on-line specialist. Circuit City, Best Buy, and The Wiz do not sell dual standrd machines.

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Just as I thought. What, then, do American women do when travelling to the UK? Not dry or straighten their hair??? :scared:

Interesting side point... they sell plug converters at the airports, right? Do they have warnings on them? I.e. don't actually use this plug converter because if your appliance has the wrong plug on it, it probably won't work anyway?

Do you happen to know how much (approx.) a dual standard vcr would be?

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

they use what's provided at the hotel...can get convertors, but decent ones aren't cheap.

Places to get convertors:

http://www.threedoubleyou.com/converters.htm
http://www.dvdoverseas.com/

Dual vhs player abou $300...

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Ouch :eek:

Any idea about the hi-fi thing?

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

This is an important matter that should not be trivialised. I had a sad story. My beloved GHD's gave up the ghost over here and of course it's impossible to by GHD's in the US. I know this because I tried to get them to make me a special pair for use here. Really. Anyway, after much research I discovered CHI's which are almost as good as my GHD's. So I use the GHD's when I go back to England, the CHI's over here and all is well.

Re the vids. You can pop along to a video or film place locally and get the actual vids converted to US format wassit. I did that with a few favs and they only charged me $1.50 a copy.

If you have any hair product queries, feel free to contact me.
( product junkie )

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Now that sounds more like it!!

Reckon they'd do a bulk discount? :D

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

VHS you bringing any Betamax Too?? :D

Your going to the most expensive place on the planet don't tell the neighbours you have them :)

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

We brought over a few things such as hairdryers, lamps, stereos, TV & video combo to play our UK videos. We were given 2 voltage converters by a friend who lived here a couple of years ago, they are as big as boulders and a total plie of crap, we plugged the lamp into one and the light was barely visible, plugged it into a normal plug converter thing we bought at the airport and it was much better... :confused: Stereo didn't work at all and the TV, video combo doesn't work because my 2 year old rammed a screwdriver and various other objects in it.. :mad: So if you want my opinion, chuck it all out and get new stuff. Hair straighteners here are also a bag of shite though, don't use them myself but my daughter has tried 'several' different ones and she says there all rubbish..

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

I just want to confirm that my british hair straighteners will not work in the states????? I have really great, exensive ones and I was hoping to get a good converter. The normal converter did not heat them up enough.

What do I do??

Frizzy in England

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Bring a 240v petrol generator over with you????

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

The do a make here called Chi. They are very good. Not quite as good as GHD's but the best on the US market. Alas you'll have to save your English ones for trips home.

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

my english straightners work fine when I'm in the US.....
they are the Babyliss ceramic straightners.....so maybe you might be better getting some of those when your next in the uk and just us with a converter.....they are the only straightners I've been able to use in the US

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

WTF language is that ...These women live in another world ...

Re: Electrical conversions and other stuff
 

Some modern portable electrical equipment work on dual voltage nowadays (usually indicates somewhere on the product or power supply. Obvious examples are laptops, mp3 players (well mine does anyway) and so on, and I'm sure my fiancee has hair care stuff that works on both (she definitely took enough of them last time we went to the UK), presumably because these are designed with travel in mind. If it doesn't say it works with the voltage you have available then don't do it. I've never used a converter myself (never bothered to bring anything from the UK as I only planned to be here a year or two but that's another story), but I figure it's probably easier to buy new stuff unfortunately.