Using appliances in Oz, New Zealand, Hong Kong & Fiji...

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

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I'm off to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji soon and have bought a travel adaptor that tells me should work OK there but only with "non-earthed appliances" :confused:

I know I'm probably being a bit (lot) thick but what does this mean??
I will basically be wanting to use my mobile phone charger, power lead/charger for my netbook and the missus will be using her hair straighteners and hairdryer!!

Any advice on what I can and cant use??

Thanks......

StevieP
 
StevieP said:
I'm off to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji soon and have bought a travel adaptor that tells me should work OK there but only with "non-earthed appliances" :confused:

I know I'm probably being a bit (lot) thick but what does this mean??
Click to expand...

It means appliances which are not (and follow me closely here) "earthed".

:)
 
StevieP said:
I'm off to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji soon and have bought a travel adaptor that tells me should work OK there but only with "non-earthed appliances" :confused:

I know I'm probably being a bit (lot) thick but what does this mean??
I will basically be wanting to use my mobile phone charger, power lead/charger for my netbook and the missus will be using her hair straighteners and hairdryer!!

Any advice on what I can and cant use??

Thanks......

StevieP
Click to expand...
it means appliances which won't work without an Earth-connection won't work.

there aren't many appliances like that, however, so you ought to be fine.
 
As far as im aware, phone chargers will be ok..

My undertanding is because it has no where for the earth to go if it was to short it may be slighly painfull
 
On uk plug if the top pin (one on its own) is metal its earthed, if plastic its not. However living in NZ for a while I can say 99% will work (infact nothing I have used didnt work)
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.....

I've had a look and the plug for my netbook power lead and the top prong is metal - does this mean its earthed and might not work??

I dont want to take the chance of it wrecking my new netbook by simply plugging it in!

From what people have said, Honk Kong will work normally but I'll need an adaptor for Oz and New Zealand - how about Fiji - anyone any ideas??

Thanks.....

StevieP
 
StevieP said:
Thanks for all the replies guys.....

I've had a look and the plug for my netbook power lead and the top prong is metal - does this mean its earthed and might not work??

I dont want to take the chance of it wrecking my new netbook by simply plugging it in!

From what people have said, Honk Kong will work normally but I'll need an adaptor for Oz and New Zealand - how about Fiji - anyone any ideas??

Thanks.....

StevieP
Click to expand...

It'll be fine, earthing provides an extra level of safety by giving electricity an escape route if there's a fault. Unless a device is designed to only work if it's earthed (and I can't think of anything that does this) you'll be fine.
 
You'll be fine in HK, NZ and Oz (an adapter is needed for the latter two). I don't know about Fiji as I haven't been there.

As above, the earth prong is a safety feature. All power sockets in NZ are supposed to be earthed and should have the 3 ports for your prongs. I've got a bunch of appliances I brought back with me last year and they all worked fine with an adapter (including the PC, TV, blender, Xbox, wife's hair dryer, etc...). I've since replaced the plugs on most of my appliances and the wiring has always been the same - just a different shaped plug.
 
A little offtopic but why does everywhere else have such flimsy plug/sockets. It makes me really quite angry over here (In Australia) when with the slightest tug or cable movement, my computer plug drops out the wall.
Why don't they have big, meaty plug/sockets like the UK!
The only slightly good foreign plug/socket design is the US and that's because the prongs are thick compared to the socket so they need a good yank (no pun intended) before they come out (ooo err misses).
 
oddjob62 said:
Agreed.. and a quick google found this info for Fiji
http://www.washington.edu/computing/global/hp_fiji.html
Looks like they use 240v with those strange angled 3 prong sockets
Click to expand...

Thanks! Had a read of this but I'm still unsure if the travel adaptor I've bought for Australia & New Zealand will work OK!?!?

The adaptor I have has 2 thin pins that can tilt slightly from vertical - does anyone know if I will be able to just use this in Fiji???

Thanks for all the help and guidance guys....

StevieP
 
megakid said:
A little offtopic but why does everywhere else have such flimsy plug/sockets. It makes me really quite angry over here (In Australia) when with the slightest tug or cable movement, my computer plug drops out the wall.
Click to expand...

That's because it requires less pressure to remove, which in turn is due to the fact that the cord is in line with the pins (unlike UK plugs, where the cord is at right angles to the pins).

As an Australian in the UK, I now prefer the shape of UK plugs over Aussie ones because they are flat and easier to fit into confined places. The only problem is that they have these ridiculous little fuses, which are a complete waste of time! :confused: :rolleyes:

An Aussie plug in the UK shape would be great.

:)
 
Here's a question :
How do you find out whether something will work on less voltage? I want to send an electronic fireplace to the states but not sure if the thing will power ok? Majority of things work fine - but then my sonicare unit didn't charge as the voltage was not enough (well I assumed) - is there a way of finding out? (dont have the manual or anything :()
 
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