us electrical products

can anyone advise on us electrical products working in the uk, as i love the xmas decorations that you can buy in walmart as they are lovely and so cheap but are they safe to use in england?

You would probably need a transformer as the voltage is different 110 as opposed to our 240 Volts. Even then wouldn't like to guarantee the safety of it.[msnsmile]

You can get plug adapters that also step the 240v down to 110v - I've certainly seen them in Curry's and are handy for this kind of thing.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by traceya89
can anyone advise on us electrical products working in the uk, as i love the xmas decorations that you can buy in walmart as they are lovely and so cheap but are they safe to use in england?
[/quote]


I have been using the U.S lights for the last 8 years with a 110 volt transformer. Keep adding to them every year :) and hope to add more this October.

Lorraine

LORRAINE,

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR 110 VOLT TRANSFORMER???
[8D]

Tracey,
It is one Paul uses for his power tools, he bought it from Screwfix, its a bit of an ugly thing and only realy suitable for the garage. the transformer that is [msnwink]

Lorraine

That's right. I have seen compact US/UK adapter/transformers in electrical shops. I think you'll get a better choice and price in specialist Electrical Goods shops. Our local one in Wootton Bassett has them and so I expect most such shops elsewhere will.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by traceya89
LORRAINE,

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR 110 VOLT TRANSFORMER???
[8D]
[/quote]

You can get them from places like Radio Shack in the Florida Mall, or Circuit City, even BestBuys (OBT) may do them.

Ive had my Xmas lights for at least 10 years and they are great. We have almost as many US electrical goods as we do UK, as Im always buying new stuff!!:)

Lucy

MM interesting one!. Presume we are talking fairy type liights which can be dangerous at the best of times, can't remember the stats but various fires are caused in December by these type of lights. Interesting though to see people have used for years with no problem.

We have seen these transformers in walmart, at the back near where they keep suitcases, padlocks, we were surprised to see them! cant remember how much they were tho'
Liesa

Weve been using christmas lights for years, but we dont use a transformer, had it checked out by a sparky and its ok what we do,

We wire 2 strands of lights into 1 plug, this doubles the 110 to 220, so it works without a transformer.


This works for the outside lights, but thats the only place we havent
used a trnasormer

tracey we have had indoor and out door lights from florida working for the last 9 years,bought a transformer in the uk,they work fine and look fantastic outside.just buy some extra bulbs

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrisj
Weve been using christmas lights for years, but we dont use a transformer, had it checked out by a sparky and its ok what we do,

We wire 2 strands of lights into 1 plug, this doubles the 110 to 220, so it works without a transformer.


This works for the outside lights, but thats the only place we havent
used a trnasormer
[/quote]

I did that with my lights too but didnt want to post incase it was dangerous but mine have been fine since 1992!!

Have to say we have been using the US lights we brought back in 1984; Only a few lamps have blown but we bought spares just in case. We use a transformer since the lights are indoors. If you think about it it is the way they are wired since none on the indoor lamps are rated at 110v.

Hi Yes you need a transformer and the only place I know of is in Beales factory outlet I think it is a store called electrial outlet they have them on a stand and buy the largest transformer you can 1600 volt?. But a word of warning don't use outside lights as they are no good for all the rain the UK get ours worked wonderful and looked fantastic until it rained and then haf on half off.
Dislyn

Talking of transformers what do people use to power their laptops in Florida. Do you use the normal 240v one and it just takes longer to charge the battery?

My laptop take 100v to 240v so I just need a plug adapter. Look on the laptop power pack it will tell you the input voltage.

Dave,

Cheers, your right it does. Don't have to worry about that then.

Regarding transformers, depends on how many lights you intend to run. The small ones mentioned by other members will only run a relatively small number of lights but would be ok say for a christmas tree and a few others. Check out uk website www.maplin.co.uk they sell larger transformers which would power up more lights. Or for the whole hog as previously suggested a 110v builders transformer will power loads of lights. A member suggested that the US lights are no good outside in the rain in the UK, I think they must have been unlucky, proof of this can be seen on my website [website link edited] This is my house which we decorate every year with US lights bought in Florida from Walmart,Target and the like. We have been doing this for charity now for 6 years, some of the lights stay up (but not lit ) all year round and apart from the odd bulb popping or loose connection , no trouble at all in the rain. Just make sure your 240v supply into the transformer keeps dry. We use three builders transformers to power our display but we do have 8 x 8ft inflateables, 500ft of rope light, 35 net lights, 12 blo mould figures, zillions of icicle lights and string lights etc etc. You are just too late I have just sold all mine as we are intending to move to Florida later this year and will probably start my collection over again, we could have had a deal !!!

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Harry and Jayne
Regarding transformers, depends on how many lights you intend to run. The small ones mentioned by other members will only run a relatively small number of lights but would be ok say for a christmas tree and a few others. Check out uk website www.maplin.co.uk they sell larger transformers which would power up more lights. Or for the whole hog as previously suggested a 110v builders transformer will power loads of lights. A member suggested that the US lights are no good outside in the rain in the UK, I think they must have been unlucky, proof of this can be seen on my website [website link edited] This is my house which we decorate every year with US lights bought in Florida from Walmart,Target and the like. We have been doing this for charity now for 6 years, some of the lights stay up (but not lit ) all year round and apart from the odd bulb popping or loose connection , no trouble at all in the rain. Just make sure your 240v supply into the transformer keeps dry. We use three builders transformers to power our display but we do have 8 x 8ft inflateables, 500ft of rope light, 35 net lights, 12 blo mould figures, zillions of icicle lights and string lights etc etc. You are just too late I have just sold all mine as we are intending to move to Florida later this year and will probably start my collection over again, we could have had a deal !!!
[/quote]
Why has my christmas light website been deleted? It is not an advertising site nor do I make any money from it. It is merely there so that people can view my annual christmas light display which I do for local charities. You only have to view the site to see how harmless it is. I was only posting a reply to a fellow board member giving advice on questions asked about using US electrics in the UK. So tell me... no tell us all where is the harm in that? We would all love to know

I'm sorry but the forum rules http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/rules.asp (or via the link at the top of every forum page or post area) do not allow links to a personal website or one in which you are involved. As you are new to the forum I understand that you may not be aware of this. You need to ask the forum owner (floridadreamvilla.co.uk) for permission to post this as you say it's for charity.