[Daniel Park]

Hi all,

Quick question about bringing electrical stuff from the UK to NZ. Is it simply a matter of buying a boxful of plug adaptors (and who sells them?) or can you snip off the old plug and just wire up a NZ plug?

I read another detailed post about US voltage differences but I don't think it's a problem for UK electrical things, is it?

Just thought I'd ask before I manage to electrocute myself making our first cup of tea in NZ!

Dan

[SteveR]

just cut off the uk plugs and wire in a NZ style plug. a few 4 or 6 plug UK style extension leads are usefull, you can then put a NZ plug on it then run a few things before you swap the plugs over or if the plug is molded into the appliance like some mobile phone chargers or small adaptors for powering cd players/cameras etc.

[Beach Kiwi]

...or can you snip off the old plug and just wire up a NZ plug?



You should be able to do this on most, if not all your electrical goods, as I did it with stuff my father bought back from the UK. We run on 230V, like the UK, so as long as you get the wires the right way around things should work just fine. :nice1

Plugs can be bought almost anywhere.

[Junnifer USA]

SO, cutting off the ends and putting on new plugs only works for items from the UK...?
Question? Will it work for my lamps from the US... or other things?
Thanks
Jennifer

[markkellaway]

Jennifer,

The US operates at 110v I'm afraid, you won't be able to use your electrical goods in NZ at all :no . It is possible to get converters to allow you to run goods at 110v from a 230v source but that would be prohibitively expensive, not sure if they would be available in NZ either.

Mark.

[cloudboy99]

Not to mention the frequency of the current as well. In the US we use 60Hz, the UK/NZ/Japan/etc. use 50Hz. What this means is although you can buy a transformer to step-up the voltage (110 to 230V) the frequency will still be slower, hence anything with a clock (microwave, alarm clock, etc.) will loose 10 seconds every minute or 10 minutes every hour. Anything with variable speed (electric hand mixer, vaccuum) will operate at about 83% efficency.

Short of it is, feel free to bring any furniture, beds, clothes, but leave anything electrical and the car at home. Ah the joys of being stuck in the land of standard measures and 120V.

[SoCal Gal]

Junnifer, we are bringing a few electrical things. If you can do a search on a forum member named Rich Adams, he has detailed breakdowns of things, he moved from Arizona. Also, you can bring your lamps, and just get that plug converter, but you have to use NZ lightbulbs. It's not much, but I was happy to hear that, as I have some really nice lamps I didn't want to get rid of. :cool

[deebat]

Junnifer, the post SoCal Gal mentions is at:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=613

Rich is the best!

HTH,
Dan

[sarahw]

Hi Daniel,

We bought a bunch of plugs today from placemakers $5.25 each to swap for all our UK plugs - everything works!

[SteveR]

if you want NZ plugs to wire up go to a $2 shop in new zealand, there is a couple around Rotorua so presume they are in most towns

[T-and-L-PDX]

Hi all --

New to forums and finding them very useful. One item not covered in the great thread on electrical items to take and leave is musical equipment.

Specifically, we have US-wired tube amps. If we do take our household gear, we'd want to take them. Hard to replace, sound great.

Any info on this would be invaluable.

Best,

T

[veronica]

T & L PDX Are you from the US or the UK with US equipment thats been used in the UK as the 2 countries electrics are different, I checked your profile but theres no clues there.

[T-and-L-PDX]

Sorry -- US-made equipment used only in US. We are coming from Northwest.

I would assume I could use a transformer but don't want a nasty surprise.

Thanks.

[Beach Kiwi]

I would assume I could use a transformer but don't want a nasty surprise.



As mentioned earlier, this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=613) covers it quite well, and it would apply to musical equipment too.

[mattford]

Am I right in thinking that NZ style plugs aren't fused? I've found that it's easy enough to rewire UK stuff with a NZ plug, but what about the fuse that fits inside the UK plug? Does it matter that this is missing when you re-wire in NZ?

Matt

[Beach Kiwi]

^ New Zealand homes have a separate fuse box that protects everything electrical. It has fuses for lighting, electrical outlets, hot water and stove, so your appliances are perfectly safe with just the plug. :nice1

However, for computers you should still use a surge protector in between the outlet and the computer.

[mechidna]

I understand some of that, but I am electrically confused (inept).

So that leaves me one question. What kind of transformer is requred for the refrigerator? The word transformer brings up a lot of differnt images. Will this also work with my chest freezer? I imagine they are expensive over there.

I guess that was two questions. :roll:

Thanks!
mechidna

[Beach Kiwi]

I don't really know about the situation with your freezer, but have you checked this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=613)?

It seems to answer your questions. :cool