American Voltage product.

[Ashley Hill]

Mrs H has just bought an electrical item through Amazon from America without realising it would not be suitable for English 240v. Before trying to return it are adapters or transformers available to reduce it to 120v? Perhaps @GRALISTAIR might know?

 

[birchesgreen]

Yes you can get them, they arn't too expensive. I have one i bought some years ago in order to use a US power rated Macintosh 512K i got from a garage sale once, it worked pretty well. Unfortunately it doesn't have a brand name on it so i can't remember who made it, but a quick look on the Big River indicates quite a few are available.

 

[JamesT]

Mrs H has just bought an electrical item through Amazon from America without realising it would not be suitable for English 240v. Before trying to return it are adapters or transformers available to reduce it to 120v? Perhaps @GRALISTAIR might know?

https://www.diy.com/departments/uk-...ax-current-mains-adapter/5055538102967_BQ.prd is one of the first things that come up with a search.
Though I’m surprised there are devices out there that are only single voltage. PSUs that can cope with multiple are pretty common now.

 

[Dent]

It depends what the device is, and what its voltage, current and frequency requirements are. These should be on a label somewhere on the device.

Electronics often have a wide enough tolerance that they will work without any transformer. If the current requirement is high then a suitable transformer will be big, heavy and expensive. If it has a mains-powered motor then the frequency will also be an issue as some types of motor designed for the US 60 Hz frequency will run at the wrong speed if connected to the UK 50 Hz supply, and transformers don't generally change the frequency.

 

[renegademaster]

Amazon has very generous refund policies, including for free postage for the return. If you dont need the product very urgently, you should order the correct item, and refund the current rather than shelling out for a voltage converter.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Mrs H has just bought an electrical item through Amazon from America without realising it would not be suitable for English 240v. Before trying to return it are adapters or transformers available to reduce it to 120v? Perhaps @GRALISTAIR might know?

One of daughters bought us a gift. It blew when we plugged into UK mains. However, my company laptop works great(though there is an inline transformer in the power lead anyway) in the UK as does my cellphone. But yes, adapters are not too expensive.

UK 230V nominal ( used to be 240) 50Hz
US 110V and 60Hz

 

[dosxuk]

Mrs H has just bought an electrical item through Amazon from America without realising it would not be suitable for English 240v.

Was this brought through the Amazon UK website? If so, complain to Amazon - they should not be selling consumer electrical goods which are not suitable to be connected to the UK mains supply - including having the correct UK plug - and have got into serious trouble over this in the past. You should expect a refund as a minimum.

If it was bought through the Amazon US site then you can ignore the above. Look for a product information sticker detailing the electrical requirements, it may be suitable for connection with a different adaptor or cable.

 

[renegademaster]

Was this brought through the Amazon UK website? If so, complain to Amazon - they should not be selling consumer electrical goods which are not suitable to be connected to the UK mains supply - including having the correct UK plug - and have got into serious trouble over this in the past. You should expect a refund as a minimum.

If it was bought through the Amazon US site then you can ignore the above. Look for a product information sticker detailing the electrical requirements, it may be suitable for connection with a different adaptor or cable.

Their's all kinds of Chinese stuff I bought thats "fulfilled by Amazon" that comes with only a europlug

 

[Ashley Hill]

Thanks everyone. It’s an electric pressure canner she bought (a bit like a pressure cooker). Only an American style lead and plug came with it. The label on the rear of the product says 120v. The seller has stated it is a worldwide product and therefore should work. Pressure Canners are not well known in the UK.

 

[najaB]

Mrs H has just bought an electrical item through Amazon from America without realising it would not be suitable for English 240v. Before trying to return it are adapters or transformers available to reduce it to 120v? Perhaps @GRALISTAIR might know?

Yes, you can get a step-down transformer, but before you go that expense, double-check that the item isn't actually multi-voltage. Anything that uses a switch-mode power supply is likely to support anything between 85V and 240V.

Edit: Have read the rest of the thread now and agree that you really should return it for a refund since it's not usable in the UK without extra expense.

 

[lyndhurst25]

I can’t see how anything like that, with an electric heating element inside, would be designed to work on both US and UK voltages. Using a transformer to step down the voltage from 240V to 120V is a possibility, but you would be needing a high power one.

 

[dgl]

You can just use a 110V site transformer, most should be more than capable of powering something with a heating element. Would help to know the rating of the device so you get a transformer that's suitably rated.
Available from places like toolstation or screwfix.
Either change the plug on the device to a 16A yellow ceeform or make an adaptor to an edison plug.

 

[dosxuk]

Their's all kinds of Chinese stuff I bought thats "fulfilled by Amazon" that comes with only a europlug

Then it's probably being illegally supplied and if you inform Amazon they'll remove the product from sale. They got into serious trouble with Trading Standards a few years back and as a result they are very quick nowadays to remove those products, and will terminate the accounts of sellers who are deliberately ignoring the regulations.

 

[Ashley Hill]

It’s 1785w so it will be beyond any usual domestic transformer.

 

[renegademaster]

It’s 1785w so it will be beyond any usual domestic transformer.

I'd send it back. You can get those transformers builders use but it will give off a horrible buzz all day you probably wont want

 

[Ashley Hill]

Thanks everyone. I think Mrs H is coming around to the idea of returning it.

 

[Trackman]

Thanks everyone. It’s an electric pressure canner she bought (a bit like a pressure cooker). Only an American style lead and plug came with it. The label on the rear of the product says 120v. The seller has stated it is a worldwide product and therefore should work. Pressure Canners are not well known in the UK.

Never heard of one, just watched a you-tube clip about them. Fascinating.

 

[Ediswan]

I can’t see how anything like that, with an electric heating element inside, would be designed to work on both US and UK voltages.

Two heating elements with a series/parallel switch. Not common, but possible.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Two heating elements with a series/parallel switch. Not common, but possible.

Never seen anything like that in a product. They usually just make different US and European models if they want to sell in both markets.

 

[edwin_m]

Never seen anything like that in a product. They usually just make different US and European models if they want to sell in both markets.

A quick web search finds a selection of dual voltage travel kettles and hairdryers, at least some of which have a selection switch.