How to convert US electrical product to AU?

[Narla]

 

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

[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]

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

[R4addZ]

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]

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]

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]

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=01JT7ZG20RY42H...

[Narla]

@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.

    

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

Cheers