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Voltage Question


Phil Mailloux

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hey guys,

So i'll be moving to Australia next year and bringing along all my tools and stuff.

Question is I live in the Netherlands where the mains are 230 volts at 50hertz. Australia has 240 volts at 50 hertz.

What I want to know before I invest some more money in more power tools is will my tools work in Australia?

I DO know that the plugs are different. Thats not a problem. What I want to know is will the 10 extra volts damage my tools or not.

Opinions of anyone who might have made a move like this are VERY welcome.

(and of people who actually know something about this also :D )

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this doesn't help much, but my mother is dutch/indo. :D don't worry about video, we have PAL here. although our DVDs are Region 4 and in Europe they are Region 2. but multi Region DVD players are cheap as chips. i am not an electrician so you might have to ask someone if our extra 10 volts is going into your electronics will fry your electronics over time. you may need some some kinda step down transformer box. so where about are you moving to in Australia?

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are you sure your voltage is 230? cus I know in the UK the voltage is 230 - 240... you dont actually get perfectly even current through the mains, it varies... as I said here its between 230 and 240... the same in Aussie I think... and probably the same where you live :D

Personally I think it should be fine... but if I was you I'd try some cheap piece of electronics out first to see if it blows... if it dont, work your way up to your most expensive tools... heh

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It'll be fine - England is now in line with the rest of Europe. We've dropped down to 230 Volts (well sort of). Originally England was 240 Volts +/- 7 Volts, this has now droppes to 230 Volts + 9 Volts - 7 Volts or something vey much along those numbers, so with diversity it really makes no difference.

Dunno if Oz uses standard 3 plug like over here or double pins like in Holland. I can't see any problem though.

Not that this makes any difference, but if you've got a piece of kit that has 2 plugs and you plug one into your house and one into your neighbours, you will have 400V and blow yourself up. Because it's likely that your neighbours house is a diffecent phase to yours. Only learnt that the other day.

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Thanks for the replies guys. I'll just bring the stuff anyway. We'll see once we're there.

PageMaster: we're moving to the Brisbane area, but not before our application form gets approved. We sent the papers in March, I hear it takes about 10 months to get the final answer :D

the reason I started this thread is because if you look at the back of europeen electronics it's usually written 230 volts at 50 hertz where UK and Australia ones say 230-240volts at 50 hertz.

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The 10 v difference won't bother you, must electronics now adays are made for 50~60hz, and if they are 50hz in both places thats what matters, since the hertz are the ones that dictates the speed of the equipment, ie. you have a 60hz clock, (not solidstate) and plug it in Germany (Deutchland) it will go a lot slower than in the states... but if you take one 50hz from Germany to any other 50hz region it will still run the same, since these kind of equipment speed is dictated fy the frequency and not the voltage...(I hope I make sense here) I just got back from Germany and that was what was explained to us about the electricity over there.

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:DWelcome to oz

you fellas betta learn the dinkim lingo if you gunna speak like us true blue aussies. Careful up North and don't touch the crocs or our sheilas. Our lectric stuff is powered by jumping roos...do you even know that you got powa where you going mate!

Should have no worries cobber, just don't go to far outback or us natives i'll get ya!

And don't get burn't in the sun, watch the sharks and by the way, up north when it's summer the oceans are full of stinging jelly fish...come down south to Melbourne some time for some real cultua...it's only a coupla thousand km each way

plenty of room

psw

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along the same lines i need help from people overseas about your power. what i need to know is this. (i know you use different plugs. but is it orientated the same way is what i wish to know.)

my shop has a 240 plug in it (well aproximately anyway 240 as it isn't quite regulated well here depens on wiring and stuff) and i was wondering. this.. i can take a 240 plug and knock off one of the extra lugs on it so it doesn't give me the full 240 it actually gives me just the 120 since you have the two hots parralled and the two neutrals grounded (well thats how it is in the states anyway.) so what i want to know is. if i am building an amp for someone overseas. would this be a terrible problem as it all seems to work great here on the amps i have tried it on. and i really dont' have a 240 transformer yet. i mean asl ong as i get the correct pin orientation from someone in australia wouldn't this work??? any takers

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Welcome to Australia!

I dont know much about voltage apart from it is 240v, though my brother got a mp3 player from switzerland (i think) and the prongs on the charger were like parallel and we just bent em sideways until it fitted, lol, it worked fine. I know this story is of no use to you but hey... welcome to australia.

Ben

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Get y'self some o' dem der adapter thingies, mate.

Benno is obviously aussie cause only one o' me own a'd think o' bending the prongs on da plug...

What ya tryin' to do cobber, ow 'ol economy is based on taking money off'a them blokes overseas...you don't wanna kill 'em

Cricky mate, someones gotta make a quid down 'ere, fair go...

AKA Steve..."croc bait"...Irwin

'and us another baby love, this crocs snappy...What...a dingo got the last one...cripes!...I TOLD you, dont leave the kids outback...bloody American tourists...AY...oh nothing love!

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Your right Benno but then our Prime Ministers a bit of a Drongo and He's from Sydney...by the way Forum Fellas...how come theres no OZ Flag in the smilies...it's a big world you know and there seems to be a few of them on this site

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Yeah, mate

Now if I could just remember what ours looks like...

Now last time I say it it had one of these :D in the corner, then it had the colors and stars just like one of these here :D ....

hang on a minute...if you do this B):D ...thats our flag...

Join me mate and protest in true aussie style...lets burn our own flag...

Now where did I last see it...I think it was Sydney in 2000

croc bait pete

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