cwtseng

Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush, etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks very much!

Fred_Scuttle

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cwtseng:
Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush, etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks very much! [/Q





Leave the TV behind.PAL system in UK,NTSC in the US.

emmamae

Good question, I was going to ask that myself, i am thinking about taking some of my bits with me, and I think that you need a step up transformer, but dont quote me on it. I lived in the states before and brought some of my small bits back to the UK with me, I had to get a step up transformer. Lets wait and see what others say.
Good luck on the move. Can I ask who you are moving/packing with? I am currently looking for a good company to pack it all up for me.

cwtseng

Hi, wish I knew a good mover as well - to hawaii- we just made the decision last week to move and have six weeks to do this. If I find one I will post back. Good luck with your move and for the info on the step up transformer - will keep our eyes open for more info.

Keith Willshaw

"cwtseng" wrote in message
news:442207.1034502113@britishexpats-
.com...
    > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small
    > appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush,
    > etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If
    > so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with
    > this? Thanks very much!

Yes you can buy such adapters but dont even think
about it. The TV wont receive us programs (NTSC
no PAL) the DVD wont play region 1 discs and the
shipping costs of everything along with the cost of
converters exceeds the cost of buying replacements.

Keith

Bert Hyman

In news:442207.1034502113@britishexp-
ats.com cwtseng
wrote:

    > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small
    > appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush,
    > etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If
    > so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with
    > this? Thanks very much!

You folks use the PAL system for TV, right? So, leave the TV and DVD player
behind.

Your toaster and coffee maker combined probably draw about 2000 Watts; a
converter like that would be large and expensive.

Take advantage of the move to buy new stuff!

Go to places like http://www.bestbuy.com/ or
http://www.target.com/ to get an
idea of what things cost.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN [email protected]

suebo

When we got here, we had a few of our appliances with us. We had to buy converters. The main converter for our TV was $90US and the smaller one was about $50US. On top of that you have to buy plug adaptors to suit the sockets. We have been here just over 2 years now and have put all the appliances into storage and bought new stuff.
Electrical appliances are pretty cheap here. eg Toaster can get a basic for around $10-15, coffee maker $20 (sometimes less on sale - $12) Basic DVD $100+. Just bought a new TV last month 33" JVC for $369. So when you add up the cost of converters, plugs and shipping costs, it would work out around the same if you bought new things when you get here. Your TV will probably not work here unless you have a dual system. One of ours worked (purchased in Asia) and the other didn't (purchased in OZ)

Larry & Wanda Finch

cwtseng wrote:

    > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small
    > appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush,
    > etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If
    > so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with
    > this? Thanks very much!
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

I can't add much. The cost of replacing the coffee maker, toaster and
electric toothbrush is probably less than the cost of shipping them. If you
add the cost of a step-up transformer that can handle that much power (they
ARE available) it will certainly be cheaper to replace them. A transformer
is relatively inexpensive for the TV and DVD, but you will only be able to
watch DVDs you already own on the TV. Both DVDs and live TV signals
available in the US are incompatible with your DVD player and TV.

Larry


--
Larry Finch

N 40° 53' 47"
W 74° 03' 56"

cwtseng

Thanks to everyone for the advice - very helpful!
We also found the following website that is very good for those who really want to take it all with them (not us anymore) - click on "the most often questions asked about international electricity" - it explaines adaptors vs. converters vs. transformers, how to choose what, etc.

http://www.walkabouttravelgear.com/wwelect.htm#text

Miguel Cruz

cwtseng wrote:
    > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small
    > appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush,
    > etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If
    > so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with
    > this? Thanks very much!

Sell it all.

Only keep stuff that's dual-voltage (computers, etc.).

Prices for new stuff in the US are close to prices for used stuff in the UK.
Between that, the cost of transatlantic shipping, and the cost of sufficient
voltage conversion equipment, you'll be much better off.

Hawaii ain't cheap, so if you're swinging through the continental US, buy
your stuff there.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world:
http://travel.u.nu
New mini photo-feature: Life in DC:
http://travel.u.nu/dc/

Mark Brader

C.W. Tseng:
    > > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors ...

Keith Willshaw:
    > Yes you can buy such adapters but dont even think about it.
    > The TV wont receive us programs (NTSC no PAL)

*And* the channels are different, and the power frequency is wrong.

    > the DVD wont play region 1 discs ...

This is worth expanding on. DVDs *are* compatible worldwide, but
for marketing reasons they can be artificially restricted to playing
in a particular "region" only. For this to work the DVD player has
to know what region it's in. Presumably you're bringing disks from
Britain and expect to buy new ones in the US as well -- for this to
work, you might need to buy *two* American DVD players, one of which
will be told it's in Europe. Or maybe there's a better solution.

You need to check this out someplace where people know more than in
a travel newsgroup.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "And kissed her for a hundred and sixty-nine years."
[email protected] | -- Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Dennis P. Harris

On Sun, 13 Oct 2002 23:47:13 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada,
[email protected] (Miguel Cruz) wrote:

    > Only keep stuff that's dual-voltage (computers, etc.).
    > Prices for new stuff in the US are close to prices for used stuff in the UK.
    > Between that, the cost of transatlantic shipping, and the cost of sufficient
    > voltage conversion equipment, you'll be much better off.
i'll second that --- and the OP also needs to know that UK TV
sets and DVD players won't work here.

if you do bring a computer, check first to make sure it's dual
voltage. most modern ones are.

Hatunen

On Mon, 14 Oct 2002 03:07:18 GMT, [email protected] (Mark Brader) wrote:

    >This is worth expanding on. DVDs *are* compatible worldwide, but
    >for marketing reasons they can be artificially restricted to playing
    >in a particular "region" only. For this to work the DVD player has
    >to know what region it's in. Presumably you're bringing disks from
    >Britain and expect to buy new ones in the US as well -- for this to
    >work, you might need to buy *two* American DVD players, one of which
    >will be told it's in Europe. Or maybe there's a better solution.

The way DVD players are made you can't change the region code. Not
easily, that is. A Google search will turn up ways to do it, but they
generally require replacing a certain chip with one that you can get
through certain web sites. In other words, it's a hack.

Some early APEX DVD players had an Easter Egg that would get you to a
regional code menu, but they're gone now.


************ DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) ***********
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
******* My typos are intentional copyright traps ******

David Gibson

1. The cost of all those adapters would be prohibitive.

2. The cost of shipping the appliances would be more than their
cash value (and possibly hard to insure against loss or breakage).

3. Whatever manufacturer's warranties they might have would be
invalidated.

Buy new -- buy better -- buy cheaper!


cwtseng wrote:
    > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    > We would like to know if we can buy voltage adaptors so that our small
    > appliances (coffee maker, toaster, DVD player, TV, electric toothbrush,
    > etc) which all run on 220-240v 50hz can be used in the us 120v 60hz. If
    > so, up to how many watts, etc. Does anyone have any experience with
    > this? Thanks very much!
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Jon Bell

In article ,
Mark Brader wrote:
    >C.W. Tseng:
    >> > Hi, we are moving from the uk to the us.
    >Keith Willshaw:
    >> the DVD wont play region 1 discs ...
    >This is worth expanding on. DVDs *are* compatible worldwide, but
    >for marketing reasons they can be artificially restricted to playing
    >in a particular "region" only. For this to work the DVD player has
    >to know what region it's in. Presumably you're bringing disks from
    >Britain and expect to buy new ones in the US as well -- for this to
    >work, you might need to buy *two* American DVD players, one of which
    >will be told it's in Europe. Or maybe there's a better solution.

If I understand the situation correctly, under the terms of the DVD
technology licensing agreements, it's illegal for manufacturers to sell
players in one region that can play discs that are not coded for that
region (or are not coded for "all regions").

However, some players (oddly enough, they tend to be the really cheap ones
from China) can be coaxed into a "region-free" mode, either by pressing a
"secret" key combination on the remote, or by replacing the firmware that
controls the player's functions (by burning modified firmware onto a
CD-ROM and loading it into the player, the same way that the firmware is
normally installed or upgraded).

Officially, of course, the manufacturers disavow any support for such
modifications, and performing them voids your warranty (unless you can
undo them before submitting the player for warranty service!).

One example that I'm familiar with is the Sampo family of DVD players,
which can all be made region-free by various means. Not only that, all of
them can play either PAL or NTSC discs, and convert the signal to the
other format, depending on what your TV wants. See
for details. I bought a Sampo player
specifically so I could buy opera DVDs and the like from Britain,
Australia, etc., which aren't available in the USA.

--
Jon Bell Presbyterian College
Dept. of Physics and Computer Science Clinton, South Carolina USA