[Lloydie]

I'm a bit confused about the whole electrical items thing!

I've read that some things will work in NZ and other things won't - some will need and adapter etc. But is it electrical items from U.S. or U.K. that are the problem?

We are moving over to Wellington in Sept from the UK and hoping to bring:
Microwave
TV
DVD player
Kettle
Toaster
Fridge
Washing machine
Hair dryer
CD player
Stereo

Can anyone tell us which of these will work, or if any of them will need an adapter? Also how much does an adaper cost? And the TV - someone told me it will work as a monitor to play DVD's on but not as a TV Is that right?

Thanks so much!!!!

[srivett]

This thread should be able to answer all of your questions.

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=591

Or this one for the short-but-sweet version:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12208

[IanW99]

From your list you shouldn't have any real problems from the UK.

Most of the items will just need a new mains plug (or possibly a UK multi-way extension lead with a NZ plug).

Some TVs will work without any problem e.g. if they can tune to PAL B/G otherwise you can use them through Sky or Video with A/V or Scart, or as you say to just connect UK devices to e.g. playstations or DVD players.

For DVD players, best if multi-region so that you can buy NZ DVDs later.

You may want to consider getting additional items whilst in the UK though as they can be more expensive or difficult to buy in NZ.

Ian

[kanatakiwi]

Hi Lloydie,
yes the confusion about adaptors and converters is because north american folks need those as they are on different voltage. UK folks dont have the same problems.
G

[Nathan]

...also, US uses 60 Hz vs 50 Hz in NZ.

[marcia]

As others have said, you shouldn't have any problems with stuff from the uk, but definately get some 4 way entension cables and NZ adaptors at least to start with! The NZ plugs are horrible fiddley little beggers to change, in fact kev has totally given up on them and I'm the only one now who cahnges them. We have been doing it slowly a few at a time, in fact we had our housewarming party on Saturday, but we called it a 'bring a plug party', so I've got a few more to go at - hey just had a thought, made a big boo-boo, should have had the people who supplied all the plugs changing them too - a new twist on party games!

So yeah if you have room for all your electrical stuff - chuck it in! :nice1

[zardell]

So yeah if you have room for all your electrical stuff - chuck it in! :nice1



Yep - bring the lot, especially washing machines and dryers - expensive to buy here by UK standards.........:yes

Julie

xx

[barryp]

If you're used to clean power, prepare to adjust your thinking. It doesn't matter what power company you choose - what comes out the wall will be dirty, and aperiodic fluctuations are the norm rather than the exception. If you've considered quality surge suppressors a luxury (or a form of superstition) you might consider re-visiting that assumption too. Equipment that is sensitive to spikes should be routed via a power conditioner even if you don't need the voltage conversion, IMO.

[martinp]

The NZ plugs are horrible fiddley little beggers to change, in fact kev has totally given up on themAfter my own experience of this, I really don't recommend buying mains plugs from Mitre-10. They are very difficult to fit, and don't seem to be made to a very high standard.

The ones I purchased from Placemakers are marginally better, no, compared to the Mitre-10 abominations, they are much better, but still not easy to properly fit, especially to the heavier mains leads on some UK appliances.

If anyone knows where I can get high quality, and easy to fit, NZ mains plugs, I would be very interested.

[marcia]

If you're used to clean power, prepare to adjust your thinking. It doesn't matter what power company you choose - what comes out the wall will be dirty, and aperiodic fluctuations are the norm rather than the exception. If you've considered quality surge suppressors a luxury (or a form of superstition) you might consider re-visiting that assumption too. Equipment that is sensitive to spikes should be routed via a power conditioner even if you don't need the voltage conversion, IMO.




:confused:

Sorry, but for the non-electricfied, 'English' - tell it to me straight and allergic to technolgy 'ites' on the forum (ie us folk who don't understand nowt unless its straight forward and has a set of instructions to read!!) Will you please explain your post!!:D

[barryp]

Afraid I don't know how.

The important idea is that electrical power has QUALITY. Poorer quality power means your gadgets won't work as well and are more likely to die early. NZ electrical power is of low quality campared to most of the First World.

[whiskythedog]

yes! all our stuff arrived monday :yes
our 4 year old philips tv from uk tuned in nicely to all of the 9 terrestial channels via automatic install
this was after about 3 hours and many choice words when fixing mitre 10 plug to 4 way uk plug- it is definitely an artform
the key then was to reshuffle the progarms into a sensible 1,2,3 order etc but once that was done it is fine
(our rental came with all of the white goods so not tried them - fridge/freezer top corner got mashed in anyway in transit:( - insurance claim here we come)
will give uk video a go next...not as hopeful on that one but never know

[Lloydie]

Thanks everyone for all the advice:cheers

Ian you said something about buying other stuff in the UK before we come over as it might be cheaper - what stuff did you mean exactly? (never one to miss out on a shopping opportunity esp if it involves a bargain)

Re: the TV - it seems that ours won’t work in NZ unless we buy a separate tuner (eg video player). I understand that it is not a problem for new TVs as long as they are multisystem and can be set to PAL-B/G and as ours is bulky we thought might take opportunity to get a LCD flat screen and therefore help reduce our freight cost (at the moment we are over a container).

However prices have come down so much that many are ‘HD’ and are digital ready. Do you whether this is an advantage, ie when is digital TV expected in NZ? and will a UK digital TV work for NZ digital?

More answers just lead to more questions!!!!:laugh

[IanW99]

My thoughts are the same as zardell really

Yep - bring the lot, especially washing machines and dryers - expensive to buy here by UK standards.........

Wish we had brought a decent condensing Clothes Dryer, very hard to find them here and if you do they are very expensive.

A lot of others have said front loading washing machines, again quite difficult to get, also decent non-stick saucepans, not very common and if you can find them then very expensive. Doesn't appear that you can even order these from US or UK?

NZ now has freeview (via satellite) and will have terrestrial freeview next year. But it is NOT compatible with UK freeview so don't pay extra for this.

Would check prices before I bought a new TV in UK due to warranty if there is a problem, but if good price then go for it (supports PAL B/G of course). Check other posts for HD ready issues (some TVs are much less ready than they appear) if you want the HD support (not currently transmitted in NZ anyway apart from e.g. blu-ray or PS3 etc).

If you do buy anything new to bring over, remember officially it has to be 'used' so get it out of the packaging and give it a go. If it's electrical and the warranty might be a problem then get it running for at least 24 hours as most electrical products that will fail, fail during this time.

Ian

[Lloydie]

Hi Ian

thanks for that - sounds like good advice.

so much to think about and so little time to do it all in. eekk!