Which electricals work in US?

[MovingtoUSmum]

Hi all,

Moving to NY in next few months.
Can you give me an idea in terms of which UK electrical items will work in the USA so I know what can be shipped over.
I already know that we'll have to dump/sell the TVs before we leave as the voltage is different, but for everything else i.e. vacuum, DVD player,iron, Xbox one, lamps, hair dryers /straighteners/ toasters/digital radio/ blenders you name it... is it just a case of literally putting an American adaptor plug on top of the UK one or will they just not work??

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks xx

I moved to Canada and use my UK hair straighteners daily with a plug converter.

I bought a 1500watt transformer over here (eg
www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Continuous-Transformer-TC-1500/dp/B00NJI9IRQ)?tag=mumsnetforum-21 and keep it in my kitchen which means I can use my UK Kitchenaid mixer and blender, as well as my hand blender.

I bought my Dell computer over and got a new lead locally for it so it worked fine (it was a desktop, not a laptop though, no idea if that makes a difference). Must have had a dual currency inside it I guess.

But we left most other things behind. So sad to give my Dyson to a family member...

Thanks for this thread, we are just preparing for a move from the uk to the states and I was asking myself this very question.

Does anyone know if a PlayStation 4 works with just a different plug, or if it doesn't, whether games bought in the U.K. Will work in a machine bought in the states? Thanks

There are people here in my town moving to the U.K. and they post their electricals on the local FB page. Might be worth joining your local group if where you plan to move to and see if there is anyone. So much easier if you can just swap stuff.

Any idea of a sewing machine and overlocker will work? I don't want to leave mine behind

They will work with a transformer Across. We lived in the US for a few years and used most things with a transformer. Returned to the UK IN 2008 and still have US wired appliances running without issues in transformers.

this sort of thing. Check what you need/are buying.

Some things that are dual voltage run slower/quicker depending on which direction you are crossing the ocean.

Don't take anything that heats or has a powerful motor. Other than that, you can take almost anything.

We had a British zone in our house with a TV, VCR etc run off a heavy duty transformer. A lot of American houses will have a 240 supply in their basements, so you may be able to do away with a transformer.

All I want to take it my sewing machines. I don't want new ones (sentimental) and we probably won't be able to afford it for a bit with all the moving costs.

Your sewing machine will run about 20% faster in the US.

It will probably not have a long life, but you weight up the cost of this vs buying new in the US.

It will probably not have a long life

I moved to the US in 2004, ran all sorts of things using transformers, came home a few years later and many of those things are still going strong.

Some sewing machines/overlockers have a switch on the bottom to change voltage (mine do). These machines are designed to be robust enough to handle the different cycles (50Hz vs 60Hz).

None of mine are computerised.