what to do with an American plugged item?

[Betty Noir]

for Christmas, have bought my other half a light up New England Patriots sign, which has come supplied with a standard 2 pin american style plug.

Is my best option to find someone good with electrics to change the cable so it operates with a standard UK 3 pin plug, or just plug it in using a travel adaptor?

Thanks!!

Betty.

[VillageVicar]

What a lovely thought! I once brought home a lamp I bought in the states. I thought using a current adapter would be fine...and typically they are. However, for some reason, the bulbs were buring out too quickly...almost weekly sometimes. I 'think' it had to do with the adapter not being able to always maintain its conversion. So I took the lamp to a lighting shop and they re-wired the entire lamp, using out three pin and a socket based bulb. It has been grand ever sense.

Cost wise..I'd think it would be less to just buy a converter...but test it for a bit and if you find the bulb burns out, you may consider having it re-wired.

Be well

Fr Bill

[Betty Noir]

i was worried about that - a friend of mine bought an American made hair extention glue gun and found that when she plugged it in with a travel adaptor, it kept blowing up, because it couldn't handle the voltage. Similarly, when she went to america, she found she couldn't get her british hair straighteners to heat up properly because there wasn't enough voltage.

maybe i should err on the side of caution and get ot re-wired!

thanks Fr. Bill.

[cruella]

Hi Betty
It would be much safer to have it re-wired completely.
Apart from insurance issues, best to be safe than sorry. Of the few appliances that I have brought back from the USA or Europe, I have always had them re-wired.

[fo3nix]

A simple transformer should do the job. I have an american electronics item, that I use with a transformer (due to voltage differences).

See what its power rating is (in Watts), and use something like one of these:

http://www.accessorystore.co.uk/acatalog/us_uk _transformers.html

[maxi2]

If this is an American item with an American 2 pin plug it will be designed to run off a 110 volt 60 hertz supply. Putting 220 volts 50 hertz across it is dangerous and will cause damage. As fo3nix says, you will need to use a transformer to get down to 110 volts. The frequency (hertz) shouldn't be a problem.