Jim said:
I know this may sound stupid but I have recently relocated to the
untied states from Australia I am just wondering if I bring a couple
of table Lamps that are 240volts Can I use them as they are in the
United States with 110volts or do I need to rewire them. Can you
please send any replies to me directly at
[email protected]
Thankyou
Jim
Jim: I was partly wondering if this was a serious enquiry!
However;
What kind of lamp (bulb) sockets do the Australian table lamps
use?
Are they bayonet type, like in the UK or are they Edison (medium
size I think?) screw in as used in North America (US and Canada).
So change the bulbs to 110 volts and change the plug to fit into
North American duplex two or three pin outlets and they should
work OK.
I presume that the wiring would be heavy enough to carry the
current required; that is a 100 watt bulb in Australia requires
approx. 0.4 amps at 240 volts. A 100 watt bulb at 120 volts
requires 0.8 amps. That's still less than one amp so the gauge of
the copper wires in the lamp plug in lead/cord would normally be
more than adequate to carry that higher current. And voltage
should be OK too since the wire is insulated for at least 240
volts.
However having said all that does the worth of a couple of table
lamps justify the amount of effort. There may be other appliances
that you will need in North America that you will have to buy.
Few if any microwave ovens for example are 'dual voltage'.
If you could plug the 240 volt lamps into 110 volts (say by
changing the plugs but leaving the lamps otherwise the same) they
would be very, very dim, giving less than one quarter the amount
of light!
Also you can buy kits of the parts that people use to make lamps
out of found objects such as big glass bottles, pieces of
driftwood etc. for a few dollars, and provided you are handy and
have a few tools convert your lamps to 120 volts using North
American bulbs and plugs, fairly easily.