Electrical Power in Australia and NZ

I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

Thanks.

--
Ken Blake
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Since you have an adapter [ / \] plug, thats all you'll need. Look on your
laptop Powersupply/charger specifications plate/decal. You should see:

input 100-240 V, 50-60 Hz or similar which covers North Americas 115-120/60
Hz and Aussies 240V/50Hz as well.

Their system worked fine with my Dell North American laptop and Philishave
(cordless) razor chargers.

Dont try to plug in anything from "over here" like a blow dryer or electric
razor that doesnt have its own "power supply"/transformer though...

It'll work..run FAST. but for a very short time


I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Ken Blake writes:

I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Yes it's 240 VAC, 50 Hz nominal. The variance is generally specified to be
+/- 10 VAC so in reality the nominal voltage, depending where you are and
what sort of loads are on the local supply grid, will be anywhere between
230 and 250 VAC.

If your laptop has a power supply that works with both supply types, all you
need is the right mains cord with an Australian 3-pin plug to connect your
laptop to an Australian GPO (general purpose outlet).

Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is different.
Might be wrong.

Craig.
--
Craig Dewick - HO-Scale Railway Modeller and Professional Train Manager at
http://lios.apana.org.au/~craigd or if you're game!
More good stuff at RailZone Australia - http://www.railzone.org - No Fundies!
http://lios.apana.org.au/mailman/lis...us_rail_safety for Oz Rail Safety

"C. Dewick" wrote in message
...
Ken Blake writes:

snip


Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is
different.
Might be wrong.

Plug is the same in NZ and Aus.

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:50:31 +0000 (UTC), C. Dewick
wrote:

Ken Blake writes:

I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Yes it's 240 VAC, 50 Hz nominal. The variance is generally specified to be
+/- 10 VAC so in reality the nominal voltage, depending where you are and
what sort of loads are on the local supply grid, will be anywhere between
230 and 250 VAC.

If your laptop has a power supply that works with both supply types, all you
need is the right mains cord with an Australian 3-pin plug to connect your
laptop to an Australian GPO (general purpose outlet).

Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is different.
Might be wrong.

Craig.
No, in NZ the plug is the same as used in Australia, and, to be
pedantic, the voltage is 230V +/-6% 50Hz.

--
Regards
Malcolm
Remove sharp objects to get a valid e-mail address

Ken Blake wrote in
:

I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

Thanks.


One more little tip, plugs in OZ are all switched, with little switches
above the plug fail to flip the switch = no power.

--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

Malcolm Moore wrote:
On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:50:31 +0000 (UTC), C. Dewick
wrote:


Ken Blake writes:


I live in the US, where we have 120V 60 cycle electrical power. What
is used in Australia and NZ? Is it 240V 50, as in most of Europe, or
something else? My laptop can use either, and I have a plug converter
for Australia, but do I also need a transformer?

Yes it's 240 VAC, 50 Hz nominal. The variance is generally specified to be
+/- 10 VAC so in reality the nominal voltage, depending where you are and
what sort of loads are on the local supply grid, will be anywhere between
230 and 250 VAC.

If your laptop has a power supply that works with both supply types, all you
need is the right mains cord with an Australian 3-pin plug to connect your
laptop to an Australian GPO (general purpose outlet).


Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is different.
Might be wrong.

Craig.

No, in NZ the plug is the same as used in Australia, and, to be
pedantic, the voltage is 230V +/-6% 50Hz.

indeed. although +/- 6% is laughable when at the end of a long dangly
wire. back in my videogame days in the 80s we used 2kVA 10% or 15% boost
autotransformers to drive the arcade games in places like murupara,
where I have measured line voltages as low as 180Vrms


--
Regards
Malcolm
Remove sharp objects to get a valid e-mail address

Cheers
Terry

"Joseph Coulter" wrote in message
7.136...
Ken Blake wrote in
:

One more little tip, plugs in OZ are all switched, with little switches
above the plug fail to flip the switch = no power.

--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

NO the wall sockets are switched. In the UK plugs contain a fuse.

Regards

David Bennetts

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:18:11 GMT, "PeeKay"
wrote:


"C. Dewick" wrote in message
...
Ken Blake writes:

snip


Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is
different.
Might be wrong.

Plug is the same in NZ and Aus.


And looks like:

/ \

|


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Wandering Again...

On 4/28/08 3:52 PM, in article ,
"Alan S" wrote:

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:18:11 GMT, "PeeKay"
wrote:


"C. Dewick" wrote in message
...
Ken Blake writes:

snip


Also will my US-to-Australia plug connector work in NZ, or do I need a
different one there?

I believe the voltage in NZ is the same as here, but the plug is
different.
Might be wrong.

Plug is the same in NZ and Aus.


And looks like:

/ \

|


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Wandering Again...

Hurray! Something besides spam. I thought rec.travel.australia+nz had gone
the way of all flesh!

--
Martha Canada