Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Hello, does anyone know if it is necessary to re-wire our UK lamps to work here in the US or is it possible to just change the plugs?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Unless they're priceless heirlooms, I wouldn't suggest doing either... just buy new lamps.

Ian

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Not priceless but we have quite a few. For example matching pairs in bedrooms and there are quite a few very nice ones I would hate to just get rid of. :(

I assume if you are saying get rid, just changing the plugs wouldn't work?

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Toss the whole lot and buy new ones over here. Major issue is voltage difference between US and UK... I had to buy special equipment to power my PS3 when I arrived, since i plugged it into a travel adapter and nothing happened. Whether this would affect lamps I do not know... prob not worth the shipping cost to find out.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Interesting about your PS3 all I need was new cable with the US style plug and it works just fine.

Dependant on the style of your lamps you maybe able to buy new bulb holder for them.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

I didn't suggest you get rid of them.

Ian

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Same here. My PS3 just has a standard computer style cable, so I just swapped that and it works fine. I also have an Xbox 360, which wasn't as simple. I had to order a new power brick off of eBay as the U.S. one was only good for 120 volts.

My main concern about the lamps would be the switches. If they were not built with 230 volts in mind, it could be a bit of a fire hazard in the UK.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Just remember A*V=W

Amps times volts = watts, of course if you know 2 factors you can calculate the 3rd.

So ignoring led's for now a light might have a 60 watt bulb, and its uk plug a 3 amp fuse.

?x240=60 so this is using 0.25 of an amp though on power on it might be a bit more for a fraction of a second.

Take this to america, change the plug and put in an american bulb.

?x120=60, its now using 0.5 amps, tiny, and if it was an led bulb miniscule...

Practivcally if you fit an led bulb, go for it, its using almost nothing, go for it.

HOWEVER

You also have a 3 bar heater, uses 13 amp fuse and 2500 watts

?x240=2500 so its using more than 10 amps, meaty...

Take it to america, replug, and let it rip NOOOOO

?x120=2500 so it wants to have more than 20 amps, which is i think going to blow your houses circuit fuse, and possibly worse, DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT FOR HIGH POWER CONSUMPTION DEVICES like hair dryers, basically beware of anything that heats or cools, otherwise read the spec.

So why did america screw itself with low power circuits? Because quite rightly, the american authorities decided americans would kill themselves with higher voltages... the distribution system is fine at similar very high voltages but in houses delivering higher energies is just more wasteful / expensive to deliver.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

If you really, really love them, you could bring them and fit both new plugs to suit US outlets and lampholders to suit US bulbs.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

The actual bulbs are the same fittings globally, the potential issue is actual flex cabling conductor diameter and plugs but plugs are easy to change and if you change to led bulbs the cable size cannot be an issue fullstop and even incandescent bulbs arent likely an issue, but check the cable metal conductor diameter if you want to be sure, replace if you can, old flex is never ideal.

https://www.quail.com/Catalog/Techni...on_Section.pdf

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/WireCapacityChart.htm

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Thanks everyone. It's worth a try. The lamps are already here in the US!

Perhaps we will start with changing the plugs and then as suggested changing the bulb holders if necessary.
I first thought we would need to have them re wired and as mentioned not worth it on most of them.

Thanks again.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Side note: our energy provider gives out free LED bulbs to promote energy efficiency. Maybe yours will too.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

My PS3 was fine. Just plugged it in through a travel adapter and it worked fine (and still is 3 years later).

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Er, no. This is not true!

Generally, UK bulbs have a bayonet fitting whereas US bulbs are screw-in.

Also, the wiring is very unlikely to be a problem. Lamps have such a low current draw that it's extremely unlikely that it would be an issue.

The biggest difficulty would be sourcing the plugs and lamp-holders as they are not common items. Then making sure they'll fit the particular lamp would be a potential nightmare!

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Rewiring lamps is a piece of cake. They actually sell the kits in Home Despot or even Amazon with the wire, plug and base. Even I, a simple woman, have done it and is it quite cheap $11 and under.

https://www.amazon.com/Lamp-making-K.../dp/B01CSPUELO

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

I concur... this is my experience so far.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

I remember once I bought the adapter, it worked.. approx 3 months later I had the yellow light of death. In sum, I guess that I cant rule out I had either a faulty system, or the adapter blew it out.

I have the newer slim PS3 now, it works fine, but remains untested through a normal US socket.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Errm no, sorry but if you wander into any uk diy store you will find bayonet or screw thread bulbs, ikea are exclusively screw, new houses can be either, both are made to uk and eu regs.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Lamp holders for bottles / bottletop shaped holes are common everywhere, you might need some epoxy putty if its close, if not, well it depends on what you are fitting, but the fittings often have standard screw in inserts you could get for local use, power plugs for your new locality are of course freely available individually ir made up into flex.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Not so... Heating devices are resistive. The current is dependent on the voltage and resistance. Resistance does not change significantly.

If you take a 3kW heater from UK (240v) and plug it into 120v, you'll end up with a 1500W heater.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Well i can personally prove it doesnt work with hair dryers, my daughter took hers, amd the result was pyrotechnic...

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

More likely the motor burnt out rather than the heating element.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Well bopefully we are in agreement - if it physically fits in a socket fine, but make sure that the cabling is up to whatever is asked of it, bearing in mind in america it needs larger conductors for the same amperage, but if using led bulbs this is highly unlikely to ever be an issue, but incandescent bulbs - possibly - just possibly a dangerous situation if you used a big bulb...

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Not quite right. Assuming the resistance does not change, the voltage is halved and the current is also halved. So power goes down by 4 and you have a 750 watt heater.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Just echoing the others in here, my PS3 worked fine post move, but you're quite right the 360 wont without the *correct* US one as the power brick has some intelligence built in with its incoming power sensing.

This is my thoughts.

I've gotten through my fair share of hair dryers over the years, mainly from the motor burning out as well as crap getting on the element. Worst i've had is a mini flame thrower!

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

[Not sure if anyone has said this yet]No, they aren't. Bulbs in the UK are almost always bayonet fittings, whereas most US bulbs use an Edison screw fitting, so as Lizzyq said, you'd have to change the bulb holders as well as the plugs.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

not true, as i said above, both are in wide use in the uk 240 volt, and the american ace hardware in the caribbean sells both types - screw and bayonet, and both voltages 110 and 220/40 so they are all available somewhere, but i understand that bayonet bulbs in the states are not very common, i could find a few but can't be sure they are b22's

HOWEVER A converter both ways is available, they are on amazon.com to as a fix for uk bulb holders...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/skytronic-4...MN7M0HNZMS1H60

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Light-Bul...MN7M0HNZMS1H60

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

I stand corrected :o

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Been here and tried this.
Most UK bulbs are bayonet. ALL USA bulbs are edison screw of different size.
There are adapters that go between and they work OK.
The plugs are not changeable as UK plugs have fuses and USA do not, so they tend to be molded types, not meant for re-work. So you need to re-cable the lamp.

The one item nobody has mentioned is the lamp shade metal ring size is different from UK to USA, so a USA lamp shade will not fit onto a UK lamp. We tried half a dozen lamps and shades and in the end we chucked them all out.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

this used to be true, but screw fittings have become more prevalent over the last decade in the UK. Whether it's the prevalence of ikea and/or other continental retailers I don't know, but I'm sitting in our lounge and three out of the five light fittings in here are screw not bayonet (two designer ceiling lights, one floor lamp from ikea)

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

That isn't correct. I placed an order for some US bulbs that have a bayonet fitting only a few days ago.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

There are elements of truth in there, but suffice to say (i) bayonet or similar (non-screw) bulbs in the US are confined to certain special situations (bulbs for some appliances), and (ii) in many lamps, adding in any sort of adapter is going to either leave the bulb sticking up/down out of the shade, or (if the shade is supported by the bulb), going to leave the shade riding too high/low.

All that said, in the US it is much easier to get replacement parts for many household gadgets, including electrical fittings, appliances, locks, taps, etc. than it is in the UK, so I would expect it will be possible to find suitable replacement bulb holders fairly easily and not have to to färting around with adapters.

The fact that you had to "place an order" proves that what Marc is, for all practical purposes, true. You cannot walk into any mainstream retailer in the US and buy bayonet-fitting bulbs for anything but a few special situations.

Which is why I didn't say "all". ;)

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

I would say that Amazon US is a mainstream retailer, even if it is online, given how large and ever-present it seems to be in many people's lives. I could have substituted the words "placed an order" for "bought", given that the bulbs were already in stock.

I have seen bayonet cap lights at my local Ace Hardware store too, although I would agree that bayonet cap type fittings are more niche than screw fittings. However, to say that all US fittings are screw type is wrong.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Argue whatever you like, but that is not what I meant, and I think you know that. :rolleyes:

I have tweaked my post (one word), to more precisely say what I meant. But taking your argument at face value would enable you to argue that Marmite is a popular grocery item in the US because it is readily available on Amazon, however that would obviously be nonsense. :lol:

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

It's fun to argue semantics, eh? It seems to be the British thing to do. :lol:

As others have suggested, I didn't bring anything electrical over from the UK, except for a few things that charge via USB, like my electric toothbrush, or explicitly support dual-voltage, like my Macbook Pro charger. I had bayonet cap lights in the UK and left them there. If I need new lights over here, I'll just buy some.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Now there's some good advice that I can get behind. :)

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

On topic, I have a Christmas decoration that is US wired that I brought back to the UK. The bulb specifically said it was 120v stamped on the top of the screw, so I got a 220v equivalent (E12 fitting, common in night lamps) and plugged it in via my international travel adapter and it's working fine.

The wiring and switch are rated for European voltages - it's a schwiboggen that I bought in Berlin. Actually, I bought it round the corner from the Breitscheidplatz, so it's a bit more poignant now.

Re: Re-wire UK lamps?
 

Its a global trend - its just easier in the factory - if you make something that needs mains power you would try to make one that you could sell and would work everywhere.

For anything with a transformer like small electronics, led bulb based lights etc, this is easy, where its really based on input mains, not so easy. If it has a box in the power line, get out the magnifying glass and read the certifications, typically you might see 'input 100-250 volts' ergo it works everywhere if you have the right plug or physical adapter.

How about a lava lamp?
 

Ok electro-boffins - upping the ante here.

I have a Mathmos lava lamp decorated with 12 years worth of dust. I'm sure that the sproutlet would love it, but any ideas how I go about converting this bugger? I've done a few searches over the years to try to find a US voltage bulb but turned up empty-handed.

Asking now on the incredibly slight off-chance that someone's solved the same problem.

Thanks in advance.

Re: How about a lava lamp?
 

On paper the "best" way would be to replace the lamp holder to take a US bub - it has to be an incandescent bulb because the "lava" needs the heat to function.