Thinking of buying a KitchenAid from the USA - opinions??

[kiwidreamer]

As far as I can tell from the 3mins of research I've done since DH sent me a text saying he's going to the US for work on Sunday for a week, a KichenAid from Amazon.com is about $350, converts to £225, John Lewis have them for £429 or I believe you can get them for about £400 from House of Spurs.

That is quite a large price difference but of course if something goes wrong with it I'd be up the creek, plus would always have to use a power adapter, JL also have a 5 yr guarantee with theirs. But its almost half price....

Would you do it??

I think this question has already been asked on here somewhere and the answers are usually no, there's too much difference with regards to power (you can't just buy an adaptor/change the plug).

I wouldn't do it. No guarantee, possible issues with the power/motor and with some of the attachments you'd be dependent on buying from us because the design is slightly different on the utensil connector (certainly was on the ice cream attachment that dh bought me).

This is what Kitchenaid says about it - also, you will need a transformer, not just an adapter, as the power is different. It does not matter so much for a laptop, for example, but I believe when it comes to something like a mixer, it really can cause problems with the motor power. See more here: www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/06/will-a-kitchenaid-from-america-w/ - read the comments as they explain quite a bit:

Q: Will the US-model KitchenAid mixer work in Europe?

A: Yes, they will work. But we do not recommend it. US units are 110V, Europe runs on 220V. This will slow down the unit causing it to overheat.

Q: Is it possible to use a converter or transformer?

A: That is possible as well, and again, we don?t recommend it.

Q: If I take my mixer out of the country, is the warranty still valid?

A: If you take the unit out of the United States, it does void the warranty.

Q: Are there any other hazards to using a US-model KitchenAid abroad?

A: Hazards include: overheating, possible property damage, and personal injury.

The bottom line is we don?t recommend use of the units outside the US?due to the hazards that could arise.

Ahhhhh now I remember it's the actual voltage that's different not just the plug bit... sounds like a no-go then, thanks for the words of wisdom :)

Maybe DH can bring me back a twinkie, I've always wondered what they taste like :)

We lived in the USA and brought our Kitchen Aid Mixer & Food Processor back to UK nearly 2 years ago. We bought an "down adapter" from Maplins for £100 and we use them both all the time and have had no problems at all.

Don't bother with twinkies - they are disgusting!

Get the pretzel M&Ms - they are yummy! And make up is a great buy - check out the Sephora website. Also any electronics, always a good saving to be had.

Get JL to price match Harts. They did it for me this week no problem. That a least brings it down to £399.

Bought mine from amazon after watching closely for price to drop.
Twinkies were a life saver when suffering with bad nausea in vomiting in pregnancy. Brought blood sugar level right up! Would never eat otherwise though!

I was given as a gift > Kitchen Aid from US. I have so far bought in 3 convertors as it keeps conking off. US works on 60 HZ while UK on 50 HZ. though most convertors will work, however in equipment like Kitchen Aid, this results in the convertor blowing up. I am looking for a specific convertor - if I find one I will I will post in the link.
please note on Kitchen Aid website it does not reccomend to use the mixer in UK brought in US . thanks