[Shana F]

We have a number of nice kitchen appliances (i.e. KitchenAid mixer, deep fryer) that I would really hate to leave behind, but I don't know how much hassle/expense will be involved in using adaptors for these.

Also, we're going to be in the market for a new laptop soon and I understand they are quite a bit cheaper in the States, but then there is the adaptor issue again.

Any thoughts?

[Park City Partner]

Buy the laptop in the States as they are far cheaper...at least I bought my Mac there..no adapter issue with laptops as powersupplies are dual voltage but you will need a plug adapter. As far as appliances go...we bought some transformers but in hindsight I probably would leave that stuff behind... while things are expensive to replace the transformers are big and bulky...for example the one that was big enough for my Cuisinart is huge and REALLY Heavy. I leave it on the counter (bench) as it is nearly impossible to lift and if I had to lift it up everytime I used my cuisinart I would never use it. But it takes up a lot of space and is ugly. Plus I blew a fuse the other day in it and I haven't sorted out what to do about it...one plug still works so no rush.....

[CjChris]

We bought a new apple laptop in the states before coming here. It doesn't require a converter and an adaptor plug/end can be bought at the apple store online pretty cheap (we got on here in Welly for 18 bucks).

We left all our appliances behind. Things with a motor apparently will run slower here and eventually burn up more quickly, so we figured why shorten the life span up a bunch of good appliances when someone else could use them? We donated many things to charity and will use this for tax purposes, and we plan to buy all new stuff here.

Additionally, we hated to leave the fridge, sep. freezer, and such behind, but we don't feel that it would be safe to run large appliances on a converter, so we opted to donate these as well. We didn't have a kitchenaid mixer but if we had had a new one, I might have brought that and figured I'd get my use out of it while I could!

[barryp]

We bought a few adaptors - in retrospect, too many. Figured the small gadgets worked well enough, and we had room in the container - so why not?

A single low-wattage adaptor is probably sufficient for any kitchen appliance, though you'd probably want at least two cuz in the event of failure.

Plug adaptors are not sold here, so get those for a buck or two each for anything you can plug into the wall safely w/o a converter. Almost any computer will switch voltage and frequency automatically, though you definitely want to make sure before you plug it in! Same for many computer peripherals, stereo gear, lamps, etc. (Bulbs would need replacement.) It's just a matter of making the physical connection possible. Pictures here, though I haven't used this particular vendor:

http://www.international-electrical-supplies.com/new-zealand-plug-adapters.html

[jen]

These are the ones we bought:

http://www.amazon.com/SIMRAN-AR-500-REGULATOR-STABILIZER/dp/B000NBFTL6/ref=pd_sim_misc_1/105-7437220-6198866?ie=UTF8&qid=1191902977&sr=8-3

IMO this size isn't too heavy to move from a kitchen cabinet to the counter and that's what I use for my small kitchen appliances.

We brought our cuisinart, blender, mixer (I have an old-but-still-great Kitchenaid), nice coffee maker, cd player and vacuum. Though using the vacuum is kind of silly since to get all the way around the house I have to plug an extension cord into the adaptor. We have one 700 watt adaptor that is the only one strong enough that the vacuum cleaner doesn't blow the fuse and it's definitely too heavy to mover around the house!

As Barry said we brought too many including one even larger (1000 watt?) but we were able to sell them on trademe.

Jen

[Oregonkiwi]

Plug adaptors are not sold here

We bought a plug adaptor for our laptop at Dick Smith in Auckland.

[barryp]

That's cool. Perhaps it depends on where you move *to*.

I visited 3 different Dick Smith outlets in Wellington this year, and none sold them. One sales clerk volunteered that they used to sell them but no longer do for unspecified 'safety reasons'. Guess too many people put their 120V light bulbs across 240V mains!

[Oregonkiwi]

We bought ours 12 months ago, so perhaps my info is out of date.

[*Paul]

No problem here getting adapters and transformers as required, Trademe is a good source. I use a large 1KVA transformer for my laser printer but it would have been much cheaper to buy a new printer here.

If you use a water-pic type of dental cleaner, bring one - you can't buy them here.

[kendravixie]

Even if you bring them... there's no guarantee that they'll work with the differences... Especially if they contain motors.

[kanatakiwi]

All of our small items, (battery charger, phone charger, clock, radio , etc) work fine with adaptors. We bought the plug adaptors & transformers in Canada (London Drugs has them for about $10) as they are much cheaper there than here. You can buy them here though, look around, travel shops have them. DON'T buy them from the $2 shop they are not reliable.

That said larger items are less reliable. We blew our power when we plugged in our North american electric bed warmer thingy, and had to buy a new bed warmer here. And a friend blew up their stereo from Canada. And as said, anything with motors, you are taking a chance.

[flatshoes]

I had brought a couple large appliances (killer vacuum cleaner that sucks up toast crusts and legos, favorite grain mill, etc.) that worked off of a rather large transformer that I brought over, but as it turned out, when I thought of having to drag out that transformer to use them, I often decided against it and the things didn't get used that often.

[DanFromCali]

anyone use a transformer on a flat panel television or gaming system?

[dilanium]

We will be using a transformer with our wii and other nintendo systems. Our TV accepts all power sources as do our computers. Our PS3 also accepts all power sources despite the exterior saying it doesn't (Yes, we opened it and looked).

Of course we'll be arriving in July so I'll give an update then of how it all works. :)

[barryp]

Flat panel TV's aren't typically a problem - though of course Your Model May Vary. The tuners included in them are not likely to be useful, but the odds are that you'll use an outboard tuner here anyway, either for Freeview or Sky.

[Ojai]

We only brought the KitchenAid mixer and sewing maching (to run on transformers). The laptops, cell phones and iPods, etc all run just fine with the $10 adapter you can get at Dick Smith's. Essentially from what I can tell is if it has an external power supply, you're fine with an adapter.

We were going to get a flat panel TV to bring with, but didn't want any possible NTSC/PAL or frequency issues with it, so we didn't.

[IanW99]

...
The laptops, cell phones and iPods, etc all run just fine with the $10 adapter you can get at Dick Smith's. Essentially from what I can tell is if it has an external power supply, you're fine with an adapter.
...


Just like to point out that the last statement is simply false, you can't rely on the fact that if it is an external power supply then you can just plug it in and you will be fine.

You need to check that it can cope with 240V, normally it should be on the label on the power supply. If from USA it will likely say AC110V-240 in which case it has a 'univerasl' power supply and will work just fine in USA or NZ.

If it only mentions 110V then it isn't suitable to just be plugged in.

A lot of electronic gadgets do come with universal power supplies because the manufacturers are aware that these devices may need to be used anywhere e.g. Laptops, cameras, shavers etc but not all do.

If you do find that your external PSU can't be used in NZ, then check out the manufacturer if they can provide a suitable replacement and at what cost.

Also check out a generic PSU which will provide the same supply with several different connectors.

It may well be cheaper to replace the original PSU than to get a step down transformer, it would certainly be more convenient.

Ian

[Ojai]

Just like to point out that the last statement is simply false, you can't rely on the fact that if it is an external power supply then you can just plug it in and you will be fine.

I thought my "as far as I can tell" was pretty clear in that "So far as I have seen on the side of every external PSU that I had in my house in the US." Without exception.

I would hope anyone would double check before plugging in. I was saying a rule of thumb, not a hard and fast no need to verify fact.