I have just purchases a Kitchen Aid Artisan Food Mixer from America.
Its a 350watt motor and has a 3 prong American plug.
What do i need to do to get it to work in the UK.
Thanks in advance for any help.
4 Responses to “Can American Appliance be used in the UK.”
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Get a UK travel adapt-or and its should work although the UK may work on different watts.
no it will not work our voltage is diffrent
You will need a voltage adapter KIT. The kit will include the adapters for the plug shapes used in different European countries, as well as a voltage converter that will change UK voltage from 220v down to the 110v that American equipment uses. The kit is good for up to 1600 watts of short term use (like mixers, shavers, hair dryers, etc) and 50 watts of continuous use. You can buy a complete kit for $20 at Walmart, and Radio Shack will also carry them.
For those who wonder how you can get to Walmart or Radio Shack if you’re already in the UK, try walmart.com or radioshack.com. Look under Voltage Converter.
Check the rating plate.
If you bought it from the US it is extremely likely to be designed for 110 volts. If so do NOT plug it in - it WILL be seriously damaged.
If it’s designed for 220v (normally used in the US for washing machines and other large domestic appliances) you /might/ get away with it because our nominal 230v is /just/ within acceptable limits but be aware that a small surge (250v is possible though rare) will probably damage a 220v appliance.
Also, the motor and gearing will be designed for 60 Hz but the UK uses 50Hz. The mixer will run slower than its design speed.
This mixer is widely available in the UK and, had it been bought from the UK would - by law - have been fitted with a UK 13amp plug and would have been designed for the UK power supply.
Added: A 50w continuous rated step-down transformer is not likely to be sufficient for a mixer that may be operating at full load (for breadmaking, for example) for 10 minutes or more. In addition the item suggested by another poster has only a two-prong plug and is, therefore, not earthed. The mixer may be double-insulated (does the rating plate show a square within a square) but this is not a safe assumption to make. This UK version from Maplin electronics is rated at 300VA (so is close to the required 350W), is designed and built to UK specifications. The output is clearly fitted with a 3-prong US style connector and it can be assumed that earth continuity is present.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx.ITAG=SPEC&ModuleNo=13358&doy=16m5#spec
Item VR05F