US to UK/IRE plugs

cormie

Hi,
I'm about to buy this blender: http://www.2-life.com/site/blendtecform.html

Blendtec HP3A Blender
Includes a Great New Recipe Book 248 pages —>

3 Year Warranty on motor & base
Lifetime on blades & coupling
1 Year on the Jar
Dimensions: 7" x 8" x15.5"
Motor: 3+ Peak HP - 13 AMP - 1500 Watts
Colors: Black or White

My friend has been on to the sales line and they are saying something about it not being able to work (or work as well) in the UK because of the plug.

Can't you get adaptors that sort this out though pretty cheaply? Will it still work 100% correct if I have the right adapter? What adapter would I need would anyone know?

Any feedback appreciated

byte

I see it on Amazon.com too, with the following: Voltage120 V / AC / 60Hz / 11.5 amps. Power 1500 Watts

So you'd need a voltage converter that could handle the above. At 1.5kW, it might not be easy to find one to cater for a such a heavy load.

Otherwise, try and buy one that can be used here directly. On Blendtec.com it says to contact them if you wish to buy a blender for other voltages.

cormie

Rang blentec alright and we have a number for an Irish and UK importer, but I'm guessing they are going to be terribly expensive compared to the link above. My friend rang them yesterday and they didn't have the model we wanted (which is the most popular one strangely enough) but what they did have started at about £600 sterling:eek:

Would this be the kind of thing to buy: http://www.voltage-converter-transformers.com/step-up-down-transformer.html#vt1500-stepup/downvoltageconverters

It's 25lbs so shipping is going to be crazy expensive too. All this for a blender:p

Homer

Also remeber that auto transformers only change voltage and not frequency.

50Hz/60Hz

i.e.

US clocks would lose 10 minutes per hour
or more importantly in your case..
US items such kitchen based appliances with
motors, would operate at a faster speed!

Worth taking into account when you are balancing everything out in terms of saving on price, shipping costs, warranty, extra bulk having to use step down transformers (which at 1500watts is not going to be small let me tell you!!) etc

Hope that helps!!

cormie

Jeez, didn't know about the speed thing. Is there anything out there that will make it work just as it is supposed to? What about the item I linked to above? Would that not have the right speed setting are you saying? It's a step UP transformer though, right? 110-220? 25lbs it weighs according to that link:eek:

Homer

So what you are looking at is a $400 blender, add another $80 for the transformer, add shipping for the blender and more importantly the 25lb transformer, add possibily customs and excise and the fact that you will have a bulky transformer sitting on your counter and a product with little or no warranty unless you want to ship it back to the US...

Can you see where I am going with this?!

Is there nowhere here or UK even that does a similar product?

I personally wouldnt bother but thats just me! If you "have" to have that particular one, then the link you posted is for a stup up OR down transformer and will work with the exception that the blender will run fast.. No way around that period i'm afraid!

Hope that helps!

cormie

It's quite mad just for a blender alright! hahaha

Would I be able to bring it anywhere who could change something and attach a 3 pin plug and a UK motor or something like that? They do supply 220v, but only to sole suppliers of the UK and IRE who want to charge about 600 euro for a blender I can get for 200 euro in the US:mad:

Homer

cormie wrote: »

Would I be able to bring it anywhere who could change something and attach a 3 pin plug and a UK motor or something like that? They do supply 220v, but only to sole suppliers of the UK and IRE who want to charge about 600 euro for a blender I can get for 200 euro in the US:mad:

I would doubt it but could be wrong.. It would need a new motor and transformer which added to the cost of bringing the US one in the first place would probably cost you as much if not more than the irish one!

What the hell do you want a $400 blender for anyway!! Just curious!
I normally buy gadgets like this, use them a few times and then they gather dust ; )

You a closet smoothie freak or something

cormie

Haha, well my friend and I both use it for a lot of things, nut milk, nut butter and he's now become raw food so he'd be using it every day and I would too hopefully:pac:

Just on the Hz thingy, byte above said it operates at 60hz according to amazon.com, so isn't that what we operate at here? so it'd be the right speed? or would it still go faster? The speed is pretty essential in this blender because of all the preset functions, if the speed was too fast this could mess up what it's doing:(

Homer

Europe uses 50 Hz power while USA uses 60 Hz so it aint gonna work properly i'm afraid... Sorry!

cormie

Damn thanks very much for clearing all that up, so a 220v one is the only option now, noooo!!

zilog_jones

If it's a DC motor, the mains frequency won't matter. I don't know what the motors usually are in these things.

cormie

What do you mean? Are you saying one from the US will work here:eek:

watty

US blenders are often very unsafe here. (Less insulation/spacing on 110V). You really need an Isolation transformer (expensive) rather than an auto transformer.

If the motor is AC syncronous like old record player, it will go at 5/6ths speed. But Blenders, Drills etc use a "Universal Motor", a special kind of DC motor design that works direct on AC, so the 50Hz vs 60Hz is not a huge issue.

Safety is. US appliances (unless the Universal Switch Mode PSU brick kind) must be run on a Isolation transformer.

On the universal PSUs (Laptops, PCs etc) you should never use the US two pin blade, but change the plug or cable (if it has inline socket at PSU end). The USA two pin blade very unsafe via a direct 220V adaptor.

Don't import goods intended only for USA. Asking for trouble. Esp anything high powered or anything doing TV/Video.

Krusty_Clown

I bought two very small blenders/food processors from the US, and put Irish plugs on them (in my innocence). One blew instantly. The other lasted for many years, but would smell rather badly after prolonged use.

Sharp blades + motor with unpredictable half-life = Extremely dangerous. :eek:

Still, didn't stop me using it for many years. Not much by way of common sense on tap, I'm afraid..