[wwwdot]

Time to get your measuring tapes out! I hope someone could be able to tell whether it is possible to find a "standard size" (?) kitchen doors 59.5cm x 69cm to fit in front of our fully-fitted dishwasher that we have now decided to take with us to NZ?

If not, that's another thing to buy in IKEA before the packers come in...

And no, we won't take the current door as it will cover the new cupboard we will put in plus the colour is creamy beige, whereas most NZ kitchens seem to be grey (WHY OH WHY?) so we might get bright colour or stainless steel looking thing.

[Moorf]

Unfortunately our kitchen was handmade to fit so it's not standard - however, one suggestion is that you could easily get a cupboard door made and fitted here in NZ as there are plenty of builders/kitchen fitting outfits around. Without knowing what location/kitchen etc you'll be fitting it in (which side should handle go etc) I imagine it could be a bit hit and miss ordering in advance?

[nippa&pippa]

my kitchen's units is green :laugh lovely! don't know where my OH put his tape but mine look narrow for dishwasher.

[Caroline and Dave]

One thing you should check here is the power consumption of your dishwasher.
Because the maximum plug fuse here is 10 amp it will mean that any appliance that draws more is not going to heat as efficiently as it would in the UK. The maximum power wattage here is about 2.4 KW. So if your Dishwasher or Washing machine takes 3 kw then it will not get as hot so may not clean as good. Many people bring theirs over and have no trouble at all but as long as you are aware it may not be as efficient. Also dishwashers over here do not have a place for salt as they do not use salt here as there are not as much hard water problems here.It will still work but at a less efficient pace. If your dishwasher takes less than 2.4 KW then you are fine.The same applies to a kettle. A 3 KW UK kettle will take longer to boil in NZ. We did not bring a dishwasher over but there maybe someone who did and could tell you if it worked as efficient here.

[Leccy-Lee]

Dave, much as would hate to disagree with a friend i have to pick a few holes if i may in your comments above. Little worried on the incorrect electrical advice. Forgive me my friend....

As you say the normal rating of sockets here in NZ is 10A, which is 2.3kw. However should you for arguments sake plug in a UK 3kw kettle (or washing machine / Dryer etc), it will STILL draw 3kw, it will not adjust itself to NZ laws ;) Sadly an element is a ceramic and metal coil that has no brain to tell it which plug in which country it is plugged into, a 3kw element will always draw 3kw, and a 2kw will draw 2kw and so on...

SO, our now 3kw appliance will STILL draw a current of 13A !! Even if plugged into a 10A plug outlet, no the circuit fuse would be very unlikely to blow as the circuit will still handle drawing that current (unless you have other plugs drawing similar amounts of current). As here in NZ individual plugs on appliances do not have a fuse within i would not recommend using any appliances over 2.3kw in a NZ socket !! Using anything higher than 2.3kw (10A) is OVERLOADING your plug, the cable and the socket. It "could" and i stress "could" for fear of scaring people, be a fire risk !

So in summary, UK or Foreign appliances rated over 10A or 2.3kw should NOT be used in NZ normal socket outlets !! It is unsafe to do so.. Also i might add using an RCD socket (trip type socket or plug) will NOT make it any safer as they have no effect on overloads.

The ONLY safe way of using an appliance of 2.3kw or higher is to have an Electrician install a larger 15A socket and permanently wire you appliance safely to your fuse-board.

[IanW99]

...
As you say the normal rating of sockets here in NZ is 10A, which is 2.3kw. However should you for arguments sake plug in a UK 3kw kettle (or washing machine / Dryer etc), it will STILL draw 3kw, it will not adjust itself to NZ laws ;) Sadly an element is a ceramic and metal coil that has no brain to tell it which plug in which country it is plugged into, a 3kw element will always draw 3kw, and a 2kw will draw 2kw and so on...
...


Agree with everything you say Lee, just a couple of minor comments.

Electrical appliances made for the NZ market will be rated as a max of 2400W which are also acceptable to use so a rating of up to 2.4kw or 10A MAX.

Also, I know that some Clothes Dryers are actually manufactured for multiple markets and so have the ability to have their power rating restricted e.g. for some you can set them to 10A or 13A where the 10A setting takes a little longer to dry the clothes - I assume that the same can be said for other appliances, so it may be worth checking.

Ian

[Leccy-Lee]

Indeed sorry,yes 2.4kw is fine.. I just work on the fact that official voltage is 230v (hence 10Ax230v = 2.3kw), but of course it was once 240v hence the old and still safe 2.4kw rating ;)

Same as UK, that changed from 240v to 230v supply years back too... Only us sparkies really noticed though i think..lol My UPS next to me now shows 232.1v right now..

[Familyofmonkeys]

most NZ kitchens seem to be grey (WHY OH WHY?)

Depressing isn't it?? All 3 rentals we've had so far have had grey kitchens, grey walls etc. Really hoping OH can make some nice wooden cupboard doors for us, or we can find someone who can do it cheaply.

[benandclare]

One thing you should check here is the power consumption of your dishwasher.
We did not bring a dishwasher over but there maybe someone who did and could tell you if it worked as efficient here.

We brought one over and it's working like a good one :clap oh pooh that'll be the kiss of death on it now :D:D

[wwwdot]

Aww, I would love to have a handmade kitchen but now it sounds like the electrics may be more of a problem than the door. We'll have to rethink the dishwasher case now...

I am a hopeless kitchen appliance junkie with my Dualits and Kitchen Aids and I just had a mad rush around the kitchen checking the electrical specs...I don't want to leave my babies behind:wah

Please correct me if I am wrong, Dualit toaster is 1700W i.e. 1.7kW, right, but with a 13AMP fused British plug. So can I (or a qualified NZ electrician) in this case change the plug to a NZ one and it should work properly?

I have changed EU plugs to UK ones and have not yet started any electrical fires... However, on some other NZ forum many people have seemed to start electrical fires by plugging UK appliances in NZ network. So are things safe if Wattage is low enough even if the Amps are not? I need a quick course in electrical engineering here, please. I dated an electrician when I was 18 but this was not one of the tricks he taught me;)

So now assuming some of my appliances are ok for NZ, what's the going rate for an electrician to change the plugs and checks the safety of everything?

I would hate to lose money by having to sell everything here and buying in NZ (I have seen the Dualit and Kitchen Aid prices there), especially since shipping is free for us.

Maybe the resident electricians on this forum could write a stickie about the electrical goods...sounds like some expats are starting so many fires that maybe the rates would go down if that was reduced:)

Thanks for all the detailed comments so far:nice1

[Moorf]

Depressing isn't it?? All 3 rentals we've had so far have had grey kitchens, grey walls etc. Really hoping OH can make some nice wooden cupboard doors for us, or we can find someone who can do it cheaply.

Yep, same... all grey.. except the bright blue one :wah - either that or really unhygienic grooved wood...

[Familyofmonkeys]

or really unhygienic grooved wood...

i'd be cleaning the grooves out with toothpicks :roll

[Leccy-Lee]

Please correct me if I am wrong, Dualit toaster is 1700W i.e. 1.7kW, right, but with a 13AMP fused British plug. So can I (or a qualified NZ electrician) in this case change the plug to a NZ one and it should work properly?

I have changed EU plugs to UK ones and have not yet started any electrical fires... However, on some other NZ forum many people have seemed to start electrical fires by plugging UK appliances in NZ network. So are things safe if Wattage is low enough even if the Amps are not? I need a quick course in electrical engineering here, please. I dated an electrician when I was 18 but this was not one of the tricks he taught me;)

So now assuming some of my appliances are ok for NZ, what's the going rate for an electrician to change the plugs and checks the safety of everything?


Yes the toaster will be fine at 1.7kw :) ignore the 13A plug as thats the MAX rating it can take, your toaster will use about 7.4A, i wont go into the tech of it all, but the toaster is fine. For checking other items, look for the wattage only either in Watts or Kw's, Under 2.4kw (2400w) will be fine on a normal plug, if its higher and you dont want to leave it behind then i suggest bringing it and have an Electrician fit it in safely.

And charges? Being employed i am unsure what guys are charging out there, i would "guess" $40-$80 an hour maybe? Although if you coming to Wellington i would happily change any plugs etc for a cuppa and a chat! :)

[wwwdot]

Yes the toaster will be fine at 1.7kw :) ignore the 13A plug as thats the MAX rating it can take, your toaster will use about 7.4A, i wont go into the tech of it all, but the toaster is fine. For checking other items, look for the wattage only either in Watts or Kw's, Under 2.4kw (2400w) will be fine on a normal plug, if its higher and you dont want to leave it behind then i suggest bringing it and have an Electrician fit it in safely.

And charges? Being employed i am unsure what guys are charging out there, i would "guess" $40-$80 an hour maybe? Although if you coming to Wellington i would happily change any plugs etc for a cuppa and a chat! :)

Phew, thanks for clarifying this Leccy-Lee:nice1 This all makes more sense now...

We will be all the way in Dunedin so it's a bit of a long journey for a cuppa and a change of plugs but thanks for the offer:)

[IanW99]

Phew, thanks for clarifying this Leccy-Lee:nice1 This all makes more sense now...

We will be all the way in Dunedin so it's a bit of a long journey for a cuppa and a change of plugs but thanks for the offer:)

Just a couple of comments as it wasn't too clear to me when I read all this the first time around.

When checking appliances, they normally have a rating plate or label on them which should state voltage (240V) and power (W or Watts) or current (A or Amps). If it say power then check it is 2400 or less, if it says current then 10A or less and you won't have a problem.

Also, it is fine to buy NZ mains plugs from the local hardware store and replace the existing UK ones yourself. You shouldn't have any problems if you can already do a UK plug.

Ian

[wwwdot]

Yep, same... all grey.. except the bright blue one :wah - either that or really unhygienic grooved wood...

I wonder whether the grey trend is set by property developers who...errr... improve... or rather ruin lovely old houses (I am referring to many beautiful old wooden villas in Dunedin).


When checking appliances, they normally have a rating plate or label on them which should state voltage (240V) and power (W or Watts) or current (A or Amps). If it say power then check it is 2400 or less, if it says current then 10A or less and you won't have a problem.

Also, it is fine to buy NZ mains plugs from the local hardware store and replace the existing UK ones yourself. You shouldn't have any problems if you can already do a UK plug.

Ian

Thanks again Ian and Leccy-Lee:nice1 Good to hear we have nice professionals on the forum that don't charge a fortune for a consultation:p

[Caroline and Dave]

Dave, much as would hate to disagree with a friend i have to pick a few holes if i may in your comments above. Little worried on the incorrect electrical advice. Forgive me my friend....

As you say the normal rating of sockets here in NZ is 10A, which is 2.3kw. However should you for arguments sake plug in a UK 3kw kettle (or washing machine / Dryer etc), it will STILL draw 3kw, it will not adjust itself to NZ laws ;) Sadly an element is a ceramic and metal coil that has no brain to tell it which plug in which country it is plugged into, a 3kw element will always draw 3kw, and a 2kw will draw 2kw and so on...

SO, our now 3kw appliance will STILL draw a current of 13A !! Even if plugged into a 10A plug outlet, no the circuit fuse would be very unlikely to blow as the circuit will still handle drawing that current (unless you have other plugs drawing similar amounts of current). As here in NZ individual plugs on appliances do not have a fuse within i would not recommend using any appliances over 2.3kw in a NZ socket !! Using anything higher than 2.3kw (10A) is OVERLOADING your plug, the cable and the socket. It "could" and i stress "could" for fear of scaring people, be a fire risk !

So in summary, UK or Foreign appliances rated over 10A or 2.3kw should NOT be used in NZ normal socket outlets !! It is unsafe to do so.. Also i might add using an RCD socket (trip type socket or plug) will NOT make it any safer as they have no effect on overloads.

The ONLY safe way of using an appliance of 2.3kw or higher is to have an Electrician install a larger 15A socket and permanently wire you appliance safely to your fuse-board.
Hi Lee,
You are quite right in what you are saying and what I forgot to mention was the dangerous side to this. I am correct in saying that appliances will work and take longer to achieve their task or work less efficiently but I did forget the danger side. Bear in mind kettles,toasters etc are relatively cheap over here compared to the cost of getting an electrician in. It is more worth doing this for washing machines etc but not small appliances

[Caroline and Dave]

Also, it is fine to buy NZ mains plugs from the local hardware store and replace the existing UK ones yourself. You shouldn't have any problems if you can already do a UK plug.

Ian

Just to clarify this a bit.
This is fine to do this if your appliance draws less than 2.4 KW or 10 amp. If it is more then you need to do what Lee says and get an electrician to wire it permanently to the supply via a 15 amp connection. This is a job for an electrician.

[Leccy-Lee]

Correct in saying appliances will work and take longer to achieve their task

Sorry again Dave, the appliances will STILL do there job at same time/speed and efficiency as they will do in UK (or wherever) and you wont notice any difference whatsoever. As i explained a 3kw device will still draw a 3kw current, hence it will still work as planned by designers and will still do the job at same speed etc.

BUT it wont do it safely as it will be overloading your socket and plugs....

[gemmanz]

Just a couple of comments as it wasn't too clear to me when I read all this the first time around.

When checking appliances, they normally have a rating plate or label on them which should state voltage (240V) and power (W or Watts) or current (A or Amps). If it say power then check it is 2400 or less, if it says current then 10A or less and you won't have a problem.

Also, it is fine to buy NZ mains plugs from the local hardware store and replace the existing UK ones yourself. You shouldn't have any problems if you can already do a UK plug.

Ian

So as I read this I can put a NZ plug on and problem solved? C&D's post says you cannot put a plug on over 2.4 kw. Which one is correct?The original post re appliance power concerns appliances over 10 amp


Gemma

[IanW99]

So as I read this I can put a NZ plug on and problem solved? C&D's post says you cannot put a plug on over 2.4 kw. Which one is correct?The original post re appliance power concerns appliances over 10 amp


Gemma

The original post doesn't quote power at all, so I'm a little confused at your question.

My posting should have been read as one complete statement and not two separate facts. Obvious to me, but clearly not to others, so sorry for any confusion.

In NZ, you should NOT use any electrical appliance in a normal household socket if it draws more than 10A current or 2400W power, full stop.

Just changing the plug doesn't change this at all, and shouldn't be done. If in any doubt you should consult a qualified electrician.

If you do have an appliance that does require more than 10A then there are still options open to you, but just changing the plug is NOT one of them.

Ian

[Leccy-Lee]

What Ian said ;)