Can An American Washer And Dryer Be Adapted To Work In The Uk?
My husband is in the military and we are going to be in the UK for three years, I want to know what American appliances can be adapted for use in the UK. We are mostly concerned with our washer, dryer, computer and stereo system.
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Tagged with: Adapted • American • Dryer • Washer • Work
Filed under: Your Questions
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American electronics/appliances work on 120V and U.K. uses 220V. Use can use the American ones if you get a transformer to convert to voltages.
I was over there in the Air Force. They will loan you transformers and/or appliances if you need them, but you may have to wait until one becomes available.
You may want to have your husband see if his sponsor can get you on the waiting list early.
I am an American in the UK. We borrowed an english dryer from the base to use in our house. The english dryers are almost useless though. I have had 4 different ones and they all take over an hour to dry a load of laundry. They also aren’t as big as American dryers so you have to do more loads of laundry. I believe that the wall plugs are 3 amps while American dryers require 5 amps…or visa versa. Either way, you would need to request permission from your landlord to pay for and change the plug and corresponding electrical wiring in the wall. I have also heard that you would need to cut off the plug from the American dryer and reattach a different one and then use a transformer on top of that.
The military will not ship your washer and dryer to the UK but the installations have American and UK dryers that you can borrow. If I had known that laundry would be triple the work and electricity when I first moved here, I may have opted to live on base instead. Our electric bill is over $300 a month and that is due in large part to the fact that we use miserable english dryers. All the rain tends to hamper the ability to hang the clothes out on a line too. I believe most Brits have lines inside their homes. I have yet to see any dryers in any of the British homes that I have been in.
America uses 110 volt electrical supplies. Where the UK uses 220 volt. Do not despair, many electrical items come with a change over switch or are dual voltage these days.
There should be a manufacturers plate on the machine if it can be used on both supplies it will have something along the lines of -
Volts / voltage – 110v/220v
If not and only states a single voltage supply then it won’t be of use in the UK. To do so would mean an electrical burn out of the equipment.
Best to get a professional to have a look for you to be sure.
Washer and drier maybe ok if they are 230V provided they don’t have synchronous motors. In all probability they won’t be happy with 50Hz power because the commutator will be cut differently. Better to buy a local washer drier as the life span of white goods tends to be only five years anyway. Computer will required a new power cord and the power supply voltage switch shifted from 115V to 230V. The PC monitor will probably be ok without modification other than a new power cord but check the label on the back, 90V-230V is normal these days. Stereo, again a tricky one. If the deck or cassette have synchronous motors working off of 115V then it ain’t gonna work. Had this problem with a 4 track stereo, a transformer worked for the amplifier but the motor was 115V 60Hz sync and wouldn’t play with 50Hz.
If you’re going to residents of the UK for as long
as three years, then I think your washer and drier
unit would be a waste of time, money and effort.
The only item that’s you should consider for adapt-
ing is your PC and stereo system–both of which
should be relatively easy.
But, as long as your washer and drier unit is fairly
good condition, you might as well sell them.
(It’s going to one heck of hassle lugging that over
there. And if you sell it, it will help to buy a pair of
their machines; once you’re settled, you’ll be able
to just plug them in a couple of wall sockets.)
It should be doable, we do work on a different national voltage system to the USA though so it may be best to check with the manufacturers and a skilled electrician either side of the pond before you go to the expense of moving all your stuff. I once blew up my Wife’s hairdryer from the UK at our friends house in New Jersey, it had a switch to alter the voltage from UK to USA needs, and back, and I forgot! Ooops!!
A cheaper alternative maybe putting your US goods in storage and hiring what you need in the UK, I know it is possible to hire washing machines, TV’s, stereo’s etc at very reasonable rates. You get the latest models, no mending fees and return it all when you leave, no hassle of moving stuff! Check sites like Currys / Comet and Dixons in the UK for rental deals.
don’t think so its all a different voltage
not sure… check the label on the product…. US uses 120volts with 60 hertz,,, uk uses 240 volts and 50 hertz,,,, but you will have to pay to ship those items and the plug itself may be different
My husband was also in the military. He is out now. All you have to do is wait till you get to where your going and see what type of plug it is. Then all you do is go down to a hard ware store and buy a new plug for it. My husband had to change out the plug for ours. Its easy.
You can get an electrician to change the plugs but you’d probably be better off getting ones over there. Sell your US stuff on eBay and then get UK stuff in England.
I know you can buy an adaptor for the stereo and computer, but the W&D are hardly worth the shipping costs.
get a UK plug adaptor, i have an american ps3 and it workds fine with the plug adaptor. you can get them in all supermarkets here (UK).
Not a very good idea. Europe uses different outlets than we here, plus the amount of electricity going through the outlet is different. We can leave things plugged in here, say your hairdryer when you are not using it, but over there (and trust me, I did it!) if you leave it plugged it in, it remains ‘hot’ (still on) and could catch on fire (yes , this is what happened to me
) Also it is too costly to take those things with you. Better to sell them , and get new ones there.
Adapters can be used for the smaller stuff.You can find good ones at Radio Shack.The dryer,if it is 220 volt it should not be a problem.You may have to replace the plug configuration.The washer,being 110 volt and more amperage I would not take a chance w/ an adapter.Good luck