US Vs NZ Electronics

[canajanz]

RE the washer and dryer, would it not be possible to bring over the set and swap out the motors with kiwi ones? WE spent alot of time recently looking at the home appliances, and they were pretty pathetic. THe top of the line models all seemed like rickety plactic toy knock offs.
.

I have a set of full [american] size appliances .. MAYTAG
NZ new but everything else just like in the USA

Whirlpool and Westinghouse are already big into the friedge market and are adding to the bigger 'american size' market in the laundry department

[canajanz]

I've travelled back and forth with mu computer and all I ever had to do was buy it a new cord with the right plug on the end .. and for laptops that's the end that does NOT include the transformer so it's cheap.

I found it easier to just get an adsl cable with the 'right' telecom connection.

[richsadams]

I have a full [american] size MAYTAG washer and drier purchased new here in NZ
There are other models but none so robust.

I should go back and update my original post. They were importing more-or-less full sized washers and dryers just as we were leaving. The prices were pretty scary though. Hopefully that's improved as well.

[richsadams]

I have a set of full [american] size appliances .. MAYTAG
NZ new but everything else just like in the USA

Whirlpool and Westinghouse are already big into the friedge market and are adding to the bigger 'american size' market in the laundry department

The downside to any "larger" appliances is that the typical Kiwi home isn't able to accomodate them without some remodeling if at all. We brought our full-sized refrigerator with us but it was too large to put in our seaside Tauranga home's kitchen. It was a typical U.S. Admiral model; single door, etc. It was too wide and stuck out from the wall too far. So it ended up in our garage and we had to buy a new Fisher and Paykel. We would have never been able to have an "American" sized washer or dryer for the same reason.

Some newer houses like the one we had in Auckland were built with more space, but most NZ homes just cannot handle "American-sized" appliances.

[richsadams]

What a good thread.
Wanted to add that we used this site http://www.voltageconverters.com/ to buy plug adapters and a voltage transformer and are very pleased. The prices you will get for plug adapters here are about 25% of what you will pay at Radio Shack etc. Kind of wish we had bought more but are doing ok with the ones we brought.

Hope you like Oregon, we certainly are feeling less culture shock than if we had moved from Oregon to Mississippi or another state.

Glad you received some good pricing on adapters. The markup on them is amazing so going directly to the source was a good move.

Oregon is great. It reminds us of NZ in a number of ways, particularly when we drive to the beach...but on the other side of the road. It also makes us miss it too. (NZ that is...not the other side of the road. )

[Castle]

Lights

Floor and table lamps that use incandescent bulbs will work in NZ. You’ll simply need to buy US to NZ plug adapters and new light bulbs once you get here!

Is this true? US lamps will run fine on 240V with no transformer?

Also has anyone brought over a KitchenAid stand mixer from the US and used with a transformer? Does it run slowly?

Thanks

[dilanium]

I've travelled back and forth with mu computer and all I ever had to do was buy it a new cord with the right plug on the end .. and for laptops that's the end that does NOT include the transformer so it's cheap.

I found it easier to just get an adsl cable with the 'right' telecom connection.

All I've done is put a plug adapter on my computer- works perfectly and cost less than a new cord.

[IanW99]

Is this true? US lamps will run fine on 240V with no transformer?

Also has anyone brought over a KitchenAid stand mixer from the US and used with a transformer? Does it run slowly?

Thanks

The point on lamps may be a little misleading as some lamps may include other electronics e.g. touch sensors, dimmer etc so may not be a blanket statement.

But, yes if your lamp is a plain standard lamp, then just replacing the bulb should be fine without needing a transformer.

For the mixer, I guess it will depend on if it uses the mains frequency to determine speed, if it does then yes it will run 20% slower. You could ask the manufacturer or service centre how they regulate the speed.

Ian

[richsadams]

The point on lamps may be a little misleading as some lamps may include other electronics e.g. touch sensors, dimmer etc so may not be a blanket statement.

But, yes if your lamp is a plain standard lamp, then just replacing the bulb should be fine without needing a transformer.

For the mixer, I guess it will depend on if it uses the mains frequency to determine speed, if it does then yes it will run 20% slower. You could ask the manufacturer or service centre how they regulate the speed.

Ian

Good point on the lamps, hadn't considered touch sensors, etc. Not sure what the results might be, if any difference. Our "normal" U.S. lamps worked fine with NZ light bulbs and a plug adapter though.

One of our friends is using a transformer to power their high-end mixer/blender and they report it's been fine for more than a year now.

[Castle]

Thanks for the replies on the lamps and mixer.

Last one... Anyone bring a US Wii over? The AC adapter says 52 Watts. So a 200W transformer should be fine, yes?