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How to convert US electrical product to AU?

Evening all. I have purchased a mini craft iron which has a plug that is unsuitable to use in Australia. I believe it is a

Type A plug, which is a North American two-prong, ungrounded plug.

From what I have read I think it needs an adapter and also a step down converter due to the difference in voltage. I’m unsure exactly what I need and hoping someone may be familiar with best solution? Thanks so much

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Comments

EricL

Hello @Narla

Thank you for sharing your question about converting US electrical products to Australian standard. Generally speaking, a step-down transformer or a stepdown voltage converter AU-US is used to enable you to use the appliance. However, I suggest speaking to a licensed electrician to confirm what type and what wattage you'll need to safely operate the device. They will be able to tell what you need to safely operate your appliance.

Let me call on our experienced members @CSParnell and @MikeTNZ for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Narla

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51771#Comment_51771

Hi @EricL thank you so much for your helpful advice and sharing my query. It is greatly appreciated:)

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/88041#Comment_88041

Hi @Narla

What you will need is known as a stepdown transformer (or converter). they can be quite expensive, there is an example in the link below. You may get them cheaper on Ebay but who knows what the quality will be like.

https://www.altronics.com.au/search/all/?sr=120v%2Bstepdown%2Btransformer

MitchellMc

Hi @Narla,

It's great to see that @R4addZ has been assisting.

Our friends over at Officeworks have this Inbound Universal Travel Adaptor, though I have concerns that it might not step down the voltage to the required 120v from 240v. Perhaps @R4addZ can confirm for us.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51791#Comment_51791

Hi @MitchellMc

Unfortunately that officeworks adaptor is just a passive device for making one plug fit a dissimilar socket and has no active components for stepping down voltage. Many electronic devices are made to work on a range of voltages from, for example 100vac to 250vac and these are useful with those pieces of equipment. A heating device which appears to be what the OP has will probably simply have an element and if you apply too high a voltage it will burn out. This product appears to have been designed to solely work on 120vac so it probably would be dangerous to try to use it without a suitable transformer.

Another word of warning is to ensure the transformer is capable of delivering enough wattage as there are a number of 10w travel transformers out there and they would be overloaded by this iron. I would also look for a regulated transformer. These have electronics to control the output voltage because the output voltage on an unregulated transformer can vary depending on the load placed on it.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/88045#Comment_88045

Hi again @Narla

So it sounds like, unless you want to purchase an appropriate step-down transformer, you might be better off looking for a mini craft iron that is designed to be used in Australia.

Mitchell

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/109642#Comment_109642

Hi @Narla

If you don't want to spend the money on a stepdown transformer, you will have to purchase a different iron and as you seem to like this one, I did a search. I couldn't find an Australian version but I did find an English one by the same manufacturer and as the English voltage range is the same as ours, you could either get the plug changed or buy one of the Officeworks adaptors. See here....

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/335401367869?_skw=mini+craft+iron&epid=1030941951&itmmeta=01JT7ZG20RY42HXR2XWBFD7NKP&hash=item4e177ab93d:g:4noAAOSwOrRmSxtf&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eo3JIn9qhCV%2FhNQ4vvJxvpVk9GQSSPelxoGlC1xnAq%2BaTXAcKi8mZiv5tn8mRiNbcvVFcFNXJzB8eujpN3sKiTuwjVOMHbAsZVk2c1969L4NaTrx9mx8bzSxt3vlKYxUjQNGFRGdATcrZQrqajyvQXDqbY9RXRV9XbR%2FsNk%2BZwHmYpxde3beZ3s6bp%2B%2FNs%2FdZqrg1ee6H2PjvG7wkLEQU%2B5Ig0vo51D8p1DGFxMDKuj6iBi%2FvDwsJShRKlwCp3Ad%2FoNdL66a31A4u2KfywPfSBfh1LxFOqLnyOf%2BfIGrmNwA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMxqDA_9Fl

Narla

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/122171#Comment_122171

@R4addZ @EricL ,and @MitchellMc Thank you all so much for your amazing help. I’m incredibly grateful for the time and effort you have gone through to help me.After looking through all your posts I have purchased the eBay iron suggested by @R4addZ and will return this one;)

AlanM52

Hi Narla,

This is what you need and won't bust your budget.

Power Converter Adapter Transformer 220V-240V to 110V-120V Step Down Up Voltage.jpg

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125648443153

Cheers

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51832#Comment_51832

hI @AlanM52 @Narla

I didn't recommend this item for the stated reason in it's description...

5. Please run this converter 10-15mins before get your appliance connected. Heated or light appliance are not suggested to use this item.

The Iron is a heated appliance and so not recommended for use with the mini iron and any product that needs you to run it for 10 to 15 mins before connecting a device to it is a bit sus IMHO

MikeTNZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51832#Comment_51832

Seriously, I would not use anything like that.

These sorts of adapters are very rarely electrically compliant down in this part of the world,even if they say they are.

When you consider that you can get a decent 240V soldering iron from a lot of places, I fail to see why you would need a 120V one.

This is so much extra "work" to make something work that you don't need to have happen.

Furthermore, a lot of them adapters don't have any primary side over-current protection, if there is an internal fault on the transformer or switch-mode side of the supply.

Depending on a fuse or circuit-breaker (fuses are worse) in your switchboard, is just asking for trouble.

Cheers,
Mike T.

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/89599#Comment_89599

Hi @MikeTNZ

I don't know what happened here but a lot of posts have gone missing from this thread. I believe the OP returned the product and purchased a 240v UK version that I located.

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/110617#Comment_110617

Hello @R4addZ

No need to worry, the rest of the discussion is on the first page. If you look all the way down this page, you'll see an arrow with the word previous. If you click on that with your mouse, you'll see the original first part of the discussion.

Eric

Jeaniek

Wonderful, Thank You All so very much, this makes a Stressful situation Work ..😀🙋‍♀️👌

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