Voltage question

[marcb]

We bought a new guitar and amp pack for my son on e-bay and it shipped with an amp rated at 230V, 50-60Hz and a European plug. Is this safe to use in the UK and will it work in the same way?

Thanks

Marc

[John_ZIZinvalid]

Yes. It can be used in this country, just swop the european plug for a suitable UK plug, or buy a European to UK convertor.

UK mains is 230 volt, 50 Hz.

J

[marcb]

John_ZIZinvalid wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Thanks - I always thought it was 240V.

M.

[John_ZIZinvalid]

It was made common with Europe a few year back.

J

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , John_ZIZinvalid writes

Actually it was just a fiddle - it conforms to the european standard of

230V +10%/-6%, but the voltage was not changed and is still nominally 240V.

[Tim Morley]

Nothing changed!

The spec is now 230v +10% / -6%

So legally our supply can be anything between 226.2v and 253.0v

[tony sayer]

In article , Tim Morley writes

And even if its lower it can be a pig getting the electrical powers that be to do anything about it!....

[John_ZIZinvalid]

I was refering to the notifications used on equipment, but yes nothing really changed, except the supply company can be more lax than before, when they was before.

J

[Chipmunk]

Interestingly other countries in the EU [the old 220v ones] got the opposite, 230v +6% / -10%

Nice bureaucratic fiddle, but it *does* mean that appliances are now typically designed to handle a wider voltage margin without complaining, that in itself is a good thing.

I noticed the same kind of confusion in the US, people often quote the voltage as 110v, with 220v across the 2 lives for larger appliances, yet the actual supply is 120/240 nominal and can actually hit 130/260 before it goes into 'power company has to fix something' mode.

GE seem unaware of this when designing lightbulbs. Cheap GE lightbulbs generally last about 20 hours.

I am waiting for the first bright spark to come up with 230 volt lightbulbs here, that will last less than a day. They'll make a mint.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes, it changed from 110V to 120V in the 1950's, but the 110V number is still stuck in peoples' minds. States can do their own thing though. California is supposed to be 117V as part of it's energy saving scheme.

[Mark Carver]

How does that work with switched mode PSUs then ?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Oh, it doesn't work with lots of things, including any heating on thermostatic control, but it does still reduce consumption of any devices without any power control, which gives an overall reduction. We have been know to do the same in the UK during periods of electricity supply shortage.

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

It will work fine and is within specification.

However, I believe it is illegal to supply an electrical item in this country without a UK plug fitted.

sponix

[BigWallop]

It is illegal through retail outlets, but not through E-Bay I'm afraid. A private sale is deemed as not under these requirements. That's as long as the seller hasn't fraudulently described the goods as being useable in this country when they are clearly not.

The same applies to goods you buy abroad when on holiday. The goods must not be described as being usable in other countries if the retail store can't provide the proper plug-top for the power flex.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I can't recall any exclusion in the Plugs and Sockets Regulations which might apply to anything purchased through eBay. The regulations certainly don't only apply to retail outlets -- they have been applied to private sales at car boot sales, for example.

The main exception to the rule for portable appliances is that an appliance with a transformer built into the plug does not have to be supplied with a UK plug.

The UK Plugs and Sockets Regulations apply in the UK only, and someone outside the UK would not be breaching UK law if they sold something outside the UK claiming it was suitable for the UK when in fact it wasn't. They would probably be breaking their own local laws covering misdescribing items.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Butr he bought it abroad...

[Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)]

Not just the top, a complete plug is required to be fitted.

[bof]

They draw more current, and dissipate more power in the cables from the generator . . . ah . . . some mistake shirley?