[TheCosners]

Hello All!
Well, my wife and I are busily planning our move to Wellington in March and I had some questions for any and all of you tech savvy American ex-pats :). Due to the high price of gadgetry in NZ (TV's, computers, video game systems, etc.) I have a number of electronics that we would like to bring with us. Have any of you been in a similar situation? If so, how did you resolve the electrical issues and properly acclimate your devices? My thinking was buying several step-down converters to deal with the voltage differences. I should mention that our flatscreen TV won't be used for local NZ television, but will simply be used to watch movies or play video games. I also have a small HD projector I would like to bring, too, since it will function quite well in tighter living spaces.

Oh, and are there any issues with hooking up a US-manufactured computer to a NZ internet service provider? I'd like to think not but I figured I'd ask anyway!

:D

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone!
Michael

[dilanium]

You need more than a converter. In the US it's 120V and 60 Hz, and NZ has (220 or 240?)V and 50Hz so you need a transformer for your electronics to work properly instead of a converter.

Also, for your computer- you may be able to adjust it to the proper voltage and frequency either by switch or automatically. So you may not need to worry about that (plus for some computers you can just replace the plug).

Depending on your TV, it may support the PAL signal in NZ. I know several LCDs and Plasmas have this option, so you might want to look into it.

Now I haven't moved yet, but from my research this is what I've found. Other people will be able to illuminate more (especially the people who have gone through it already).

Good luck!

(and I'll be watching this thread as well since we're planning our LCD TV with us).

[IanW99]

Hi Michael and welcome to the forum.

Never moved electrical goods from the US to NZ but will offer some general advice on bringing electrical goods from the US.

US voltage is 110V @ 60Hz whilst NZ voltage is 240V @ 50Hz

Some electrical goods will have 'universal' power supplies that will run at either voltage so of course can be used in US or NZ e.g. Laptop compters etc.

If they can't run on 240V, you can generally you can use a transformer to step down the 240V to 110V so that the item will function, a few items also rely on the frequency and so will not run at the correct speed and may fail prematurely (this is generally things that have motors e.g. turntables etc).

For electrical items that require a lot of power to operate, they will require large transformers to be able to handle the power. Large transformers are expensive and difficult to move around, so the general opinion is to sell large electrical items such as washing machines unless it is something that is very special and cannot be easily obtained in NZ.

For smaller electrical gadgets then either they will be able to work anyway, or you could get a replacement power supply if the item is also sold in NZ, or if not then get a transformer for them.

For PCs, you should have no problems using them in NZ. Most will either cope automatically, or will have a small switch on them. Worst case, you can just get a new PC PSU assuming the case is standard.

For the TV, you may need a transformer to get it to work in NZ. Once you have got it working then you obviously can use it to connect console games etc, but you may also be able to use it to watch NZ TV if you want to. If it has support for PAL B/G then you will have no problems, but otherwise you could use a Sky Decoder or NZ Video recorder to directly connect to the TV bypassing the tuner e.g. via composite video etc.

Ian

[constablechuck]

We bought a transformer/converter for NZ $100, we have a 6 plug (US) extention cord plugged into it and we run all of our US devices off of it, it's been over a year and have had no problems, for the laptops we just bought new plugs that plug into the transformer on the computer cord.

[jdbob]

Oh, and are there any issues with hooking up a US-manufactured computer to a NZ internet service provider? I'd like to think not but I figured I'd ask anyway!

Fortunately those sorts of things are pretty universal. I've used both ethernet and Wi-fi in New Zealand with my laptop without problems.

I've never tried to use my telephone modem but from what I understand the signals are compatible but the plugs are different.

[coyotewildwomen]

Hi, Michael:

Welcome! Let's get together when you arrive!

We are also Americans who have been living in Nelson and are moving to Wellington in Feb/ March. I am going to cut and paste a older post from Rich Adams that we found very helpful in my next post.

Keep in mind that transformers/ converters are very heavy to haul around so you may want one for all your kitchen gadgets that you don't have move around. It will take up a block of space on the counter- which is probably going to be smaller than you are used to in the US.

Don't plan on dragging around one for your vaccum for example.

I have found appliances are pretty cheap if you buy them on sale- but you do need to shop carefully. No Costco or Sam's Club! Our portable phones worked fine with a transformer and our laptops did not need one, just a plug extension.

Shop on Ebay for transformers for decent prices. We are not bringing our televisions as we have heard making them work properly is a major hassle- as mentioned by others, check your specific tv- ours are older so they won't work. Yours should work for games however. Our laptops work fine, by the way.

Internet can be slower and more expensive per month as is cell phone service.

Used washing machines are not allowed because they have dirt in them- customs won't allow them. so don't bother trying to get them into the country.

Refrigerators would be great to bring over but often won't fit in the space allowed for them in Kiwi homes, as is the case with even a new washer or dryer from the US.

Our appliances are super sized compared to Kiwi versions. We are bringing a wine refrig. to store our wine cellar as it is a quarter of the price! It will have to go in the garage. Most houses don't have basements or even cellars but it depends on the area.

If you buy a dvd player in NZ and want to run US DVDs, you may have some difficulties. However there is a way to change the setting on the player to accept all dvd formats. We had a problem at first with some of our movies- and had to change the setting on our Kiwi DVD player. There is a easy to use website that helps you do this.


Hope this helps and happy moving!

Wendy

[IanW99]

...
Used washing machines are not allowed because they have dirt in them- customs won't allow them. so don't bother trying to get them into the country.
...
Refrigerators would be great to bring over but often won't fit in the space allowed for them in Kiwi homes, as is the case with even a new washer or dryer from the US.
...
If you buy a dvd player in NZ and want to run US DVDs, you may have some difficulties. However there is a way to change the setting on the player to accept all dvd formats. We had a problem at first with some of our movies- and had to change the setting on our Kiwi DVD player. There is a easy to use website that helps you do this.
...


Some misleading information in the last post, so would like to clarify.

Used washing machines are indeed allowed into NZ, we certainly had no problem with ours. MAF don't even check them for dirt unlike vacuum cleaners so this is just plain wrong. The main problem would be as I stated earlier in that you would need a large and expensive transformer for these appliances.

Although I agree that most Kiwi homes don't have the space for larger fridges it is wrong to make this a generalisation. Some homes can accept larger models and shops such as Harvey Norman sell these larger appliances also (I assume that they don't just sell them for export :no )

For DVD players, NZ is region 4, general rule is to buy or set your DVD player to multi-region to allow it to play any DVD from any location. A couple of points though, it is not possible to switch some DVD players to multi-region via a simple code, so it is worth checking first before bringing it (it may require a more costly hardware modification). Also, some DVDs will not play on multi-region players i.e. they are produced to play only on the region that they were intended for (to be fair, I've never actually found one though).

Ian

[TheCosners]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback! I've started looking into stepdown transformers/converters and there seems to be a lot of websites offering them. Would anyone care to suggest a particular website? A few of sites (and ebay sellers) appear a bit dodgy so if you've had good luck with one, a point in the right direction would be great!

To keep shipping costs down, we aren't planning on transporting any major kitchen or washroom appliances beyond a crock pot, toaster oven, and our coffee maker. :)

But this brings up a question - does "unfurnished rental" in NZ mean that washer/dryers, refrigerators, ovens are also not included or does this refer simply to basic furnishings (beds, tables, etc)? :confused:

Hey Wendy - congrats on your move as well!! Our departure in March/April is going to be heavily influenced by how quickly we can sell our house. Here in North Carolina, the market is faring quite poorly at the moment. :( If you get to Welly before us, you'll have to send us your contact information! Chances are quite high that we'll be living near the CBD (to be closer to my new job and to minimize the need for a car right off the bat).

Some of you have already cheered in the New Year but to the rest of us (mainly here in the States) have a Happy One!!! :cheers

All the Best,
Michael

[IanW99]

...
To keep shipping costs down, we aren't planning on transporting any major kitchen or washroom appliances beyond a crock pot, toaster oven, and our coffee maker. :)

But this brings up a question - does "unfurnished rental" in NZ mean that washer/dryers, refrigerators, ovens are also not included or does this refer simply to basic furnishings (beds, tables, etc)? :confused:
...
All the Best,
Michael

For the crock pot etc, one thing that might be worth checking is the amount of power that they take i.e. in NZ max power at the outlet is 10A or 2400W, most electrical items are normally under this value but certain appliances such as heaters, kettles etc may not be. If they are rated above 2400W then it may be best not to bring them.

Unfirnished rentals mean no furniture including appliances except Cooker (I believe all rentals include cookers). If they include washing machines etc then they will normally say includes whiteware (or some similar term).

Most rentals that we looked at included cooker and dishwasher.

Ian

[Bryon]

I have had to purchase step down transformers for my work, the site recommended by the company electrician was TSL (http://www.tsltransformers.co.nz) although this is not an endorsement against any other companies.

[Bryon]

Sorry, also make sure that you carefully check the power capacity of the transformer, which I'm sure you will bring a techie, and that VA (volt-amps) = W (watts). If you have to convert from ergs or BTUH then I think you've gone overboard! :)