Move US to Ireland - bringing electrical items

lecky1

I'm moving back to Ireland from the US in a few months. Currently going through my stuff to see what to sell/discard/bring. Finding it overwhelming.

I know that it doesn't make sense to bring anything much in the way of electronics/electrical. So will donate/sell most appliances.

Any comments/advice on the following:

Probably no-go on these...
Printers - One says 110-127V, the other 120v. Not worth much anyway. Would it be worth buying a printer here to bring? if there is such a thing as a dual voltage printer.
Wii and Wii Fit w balance board - games are region specific but Balance Board is on batteries, maybe could be registered to an Irish Wii and they would get along. Will Wii autodetect voltage?

Maybe?
Two portable harddrives, can't find power rating on them. Would think they should work anywhere with a plug adapter.
Kitchenaid mixer - not sure about that, large and heavy, would need a transformer which would cost about Euro 100. On the other hand Kitchenaid mixers are a vicious price in Ireland.
Phone set - Have a fairly new set of Panasonic phones - base station and four handsets. Would need new power cords with brick thing. .
ObiHai - little gadget that lets me attach phone to computer for VOIP calling, I use now with Google Voice.

Yes (with plug adapters)?
Monitors - Dell Monitor 120-240v and Viewsonic monitor 120-240v so should be OK
Computers - desktop (switch on back to change voltage?) and laptop

InTheTrees

Yes, If it says 100v~240v then you'll be okay with just an adapter. And new computer and tech stuff should be like that.

And if it doesnt then you'll need some kind of transformer. But honestly for kitchen stuff i'd just buy new. Shipping it would be a pain too.

lecky1

I'll be shipping stuff anyway. But don't want to be carting stuff that's useless over there.

The only kitchen item I'm considering bringing is the KitchenAid mixer - the KA Artisan sells for about $200 here (when on sale) whereas they are 2-3 times that price in Ireland.

Thought I could find the phone model on the Panasonic site or on Amazon UK but failed. Irish phones use RJ11 jacks too right? If that works I would still need to figure out how to get replacement power cords.

coylemj

lecky1 wrote: »

Thought I could find the phone model on the Panasonic site or on Amazon UK but failed. Irish phones use RJ11 jacks too right? If that works I would still need to figure out how to get replacement power cords.

With cordless phones, the plug and power adapter are usually in the same brick so you'll need travel adapters, not new power cords, unless the plug says 100-240V.

Irish phones use RJ11 plugs.

spideog7

Cordless phones might well work but may not be legal. They will potentially use different frequencies that are allocated for something else in Ireland. That means they will either interfere with something else here or suffer interference from something else.

spideog7

Cordless phones might well work but may not be legal. They will potentially use different frequencies that are allocated for something else in Ireland. That means they will either interfere with something else here or suffer interference from something else.

lecky1

coylemj: Good about the phone jacks being the same (RJ11). When I said power cords, I meant replacement power cords with the brick from Panasonic. But of course if I had to buy directly from them, it would probably cost more than a new phone system.

spideog: The phones use DECT 6.0 so I think interference should not be a problem.

spideog7

Wikipedia says:

"Beyond Europe, it has been adopted by Australia, and most countries in Asia and South America. North American adoption was delayed by United States radio frequency regulations. This forced development of a variation of DECT, called DECT 6.0, using a slightly different frequency range; the technology is nearly identical, but the frequency difference makes the technology incompatible with systems in other areas, even from the same manufacturer. DECT has almost universally replaced other standards in most countries where it is used, with the exception of North America."

Looks like US DECT 6.0 uses 1920-1930MHz, which in Ireland is right in the middle of the terrestrial UMTS band, ie 3G.

coylemj

Not worth the hassle for cordless phones, all the electrical shops sell them with one or multiple handsets. Power City have a Philips quad pack for €55.

davork

[TmcB] A lot of our stuff in Ireland originates from the US... and still does

Probably no-go on these...
Printers - One says 110-127V, the other 120v. Not worth much anyway. Would it be worth buying a printer here to bring? if there is such a thing as a dual voltage printer.
[TmcB] I'd buy a new one in Ireland - the chances of the printers being dual voltage is very low

Wii and Wii Fit w balance board - games are region specific but Balance Board is on batteries, maybe could be registered to an Irish Wii and they would get along. Will Wii autodetect voltage?
[TmcB] We bought a 240v Wii power supply from amazon. Job done. Be aware that you might have some issues with EMEA Wii games (we simply carried on buying the US versions on my trips there)

Maybe?
Two portable harddrives, can't find power rating on them. Would think they should work anywhere with a plug adapter.
[TmcB] Highly likely they will work. Search for the part number and see what you find

Kitchenaid mixer - not sure about that, large and heavy, would need a transformer which would cost about Euro 100. On the other hand Kitchenaid mixers are a vicious price in Ireland.
[TmcB] Not my area of expertise Again check for the service manual in google

Phone set - Have a fairly new set of Panasonic phones - base station and four handsets. Would need new power cords with brick thing. .
[TmcB] We use dual line Panasonic beasties - have for over 8 years We got a step down adapter for it

ObiHai - little gadget that lets me attach phone to computer for VOIP calling, I use now with Google Voice.
[TmcB] We have a number of the ObiHais. The adapters on ours go 110 - 240 according to the tiny print on the power supply... If yours have the same you should be good.

Yes (with plug adapters)?
Monitors - Dell Monitor 120-240v and Viewsonic monitor 120-240v so should be OK
Computers - desktop (switch on back to change voltage?) and laptop
[TmcB] All ours work fine BE AWARE that some laptops do NOT switch. It's a TINY TINY TINY amount of laptops, so check.

[TmcB] Look up Wonpro for cable adapters - these do NOT do stepdown. Try here for the stepdown http://cpc.farnell.com/autotransformers we have used the PW00942 version VERY VERY happily since August 2005(!!)

lecky1

Davork, thanks for all the great tips.

Will bring Wii, might buy a few Region 1 games before I go although really only use it for the Balance Board. Will dump printers. I'm taking Kitchenaid, actually bought a second one for my sister. I know I will need transformers for these (will look at Wonpro for stepup) and they will work less efficiently, but the price difference on these is huge. Will leave phone sets but bring OhiHai, although I hear that GV is ending its free service in March.

I'm back again for more advice. It's getting closer to my moving date (which still isn't fixed but sometime in January, which is just around the corner). Someone said that Irish lamps would work in Ireland by just changing the plugs. Anyone have any experience with that? Are the bulbs the same as long as they are the screw-in type? I see I have more than a dozen brand new CFLs, which are probably more expensive there. Wondering if it's worthwhile throwing those in.

coylemj

lecky1 wrote: »

Someone said that Irish lamps would work in Ireland by just changing the plugs.

Is that a typo? By any chance did you mean to ask ....

Someone said that US lamps would work in Ireland by just changing the plugs


The lamps will work no problem but US bulbs are manufactured to work with 110V, they will last a fraction of a second on the 220V system here after which they will blow. The filament of an incandescent bulb will simply melt like an overloaded fuse, I'm not sure how a CFL or halogen bulb throws in the towel but I'd still say don't bother as it could be messy at best and at worst downright dangerous.

lecky1 wrote: »

Are the bulbs the same as long as they are the screw-in type? I see I have more than a dozen brand new CFLs, which are probably more expensive there. Wondering if it's worthwhile throwing those in.

Thanks for the most part to IKEA, most places that sell bulbs in Ireland now stock both the old-fashioned bulbs with the bayonet fitting (BS) as well as screw-in bulbs (ES). You will be able to buy bulbs for your lamps no problem here but I'd give the US bulbs to the neighbours.

lecky1

coylemj wrote: »

Is that a typo? By any chance did you mean to ask ....

Someone said that US lamps would work in Ireland by just changing the plugs

The lamps will work no problem but US bulbs are manufactured to work with 110V, they will last a fraction of a second on the 220V system here after which they will blow. The filament of an incandescent bulb will simply melt like an overloaded fuse, I'm not sure how a CFL or halogen bulb throws in the towel but I'd still say don't bother as it could be messy at best and at worst downright dangerous.

Thanks for the most part to IKEA, most places that sell bulbs in Ireland now stock both the old-fashioned bulbs with the bayonet fitting (BS) as well as screw-in bulbs (ES). You will be able to buy bulbs for your lamps no problem here but I'd give the US bulbs to the neighbours.

Yeah, I meant to say "...US lamps would work in Ireland"

Good to know about the bulbs. Won't risk that then.

ozmo

You can get a cheap wifi inkjet printer for 50 euros here and house phones for as low as 20 if you shop around.

Step down transformers can be bulky, get hot, and will cost you in wasted power( at least the one I have for charging my USA sourced camera does) - especially high powered devices like a mixer...

All those adapters and step down are messy and can be a fire long term depending on their quality- not worth it IMHO unless you will be returning with them at one point...

Also some USA lamps I saw have very light cables and light plug and may not be suitable or rated for higher power ... There may be a mark on the actual cable you can check the max voltage.

coylemj

ozmo wrote: »

Also some USA lamps I saw have very light cables and light plug and may not be suitable or rated for higher power ... There may be a mark on the actual cable you can check the max voltage.

It's the current (amps), not the power or voltage that matters when considering the limit of what a cable and lamp fitting can safely handle. When you buy a lamp in Ireland, it will usually say the maximum wattage (power) but this is calculated based on the Irish voltage, the limit is really how many amps it's designed to carry so if the cable and fitting can carry a maximum of (e.g.) half an amp, it will say max. 100W.

The power (watts) is the product of the voltage and the current so if the bulb of a US lamp is replaced with an Irish bulb of the same power rating, the current that flows through the cable and the lamp when in Ireland will be half the current in the US because you've maintained the same power (by replacing the US bulb with an Irish bulb of the same power) but the voltage has doubled (220v here vs. 110V in the US) so the current (amps) will be halved.

This means that there will be no problem with the lamp itself and the cables, it's only the bulbs that need to be replaced. You can just snip off the US plug and replace it with a 13A UK/Ireland plug.

ozmo

coylemj wrote: »

It's the current (amps), not the power or voltage that matters when considering the limit of what a cable and lamp fitting can safely handle.

Non EU, lower voltage, cables can be fierce weak and No way up to EU standards. Some lamps I've seen come with almost christmas tree light wire.

I agree power is a major factor (too light will cause wires to get hot) - but Voltage does matter as it determines the type and thickness of insulation required .

If its wired and designed for 110v there is NO way you can safely guarantee over the internet it will work with 220v without a professional checking the quality of the wiring used - just dangerous to suggest otherwise.

coylemj

ozmo wrote: »

Non EU, lower voltage, cables can be fierce weak and No way up to EU standards. Some lamps I've seen come with almost christmas tree light wire.

We're talking about an appliance from the US, not a country with dodgy or no standards. Your use of the term 'non-EU' suggests that the rest of the world is inferior which reminds me of the time that they started importing Japanese secondhand cars and the Irish motor trade (SIMI) started a campaign suggesting that because the seat belts didn't have EU approval that they were somehow substandard.

It doesn't matter if the cables are 'fierce weak' - if they can carry the (higher) current based on a 110V system then they will be well able to handle the (lower) current in a 220V system.

ozmo wrote: »

I agree power is a major factor (too light will cause wires to get hot) - but Voltage does matter as it determines the type and thickness of insulation required .

No, you're not paying attention. The power is not the issue when it comes to the wires, it's the CURRENT. The same applies to fuses, they are rated based on AMPS which is a measure of the current. Read my previous post.

ozmo wrote: »

If its wired and designed for 110v there is NO way you can safely guarantee over the internet it will work with 220v without a professional checking the quality of the wiring used - just dangerous to suggest otherwise.

At the end of the day, I wouldn't bother bringing any mains appliances back from the US so in that sense I agree with you.