Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 12132510)

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

Originally Posted by H Bomb (Post 12132484)

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

Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 12132510)

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!

Originally Posted by uk_grenada (Post 12132362)

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.

Originally Posted by uk_grenada (Post 12132571)

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

Originally Posted by chawkins99 (Post 12132561)

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

Originally Posted by cmsebast (Post 12132308)

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.

Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 12132510)

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.

Originally Posted by chawkins99 (Post 12132582)

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

Originally Posted by uk_grenada (Post 12132401)

The actual bulbs are the same fittings globally ...

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 12132612)

[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.

Originally Posted by Peter124 (Post 12132587)

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.

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 12132612)

[Not sure if anyone has said this yet]Bulbs in the UK are almost always bayonet fittings