u.s. versus australian power supply

[gypsy3]

hi all...can anyone out there tell me, would a U.S. based power filter be able to be used here?I have an opportunity to buy a fluval fx5, 6 months old, from a friend in America for $180 landed here, an opportunity too good to pass up.Would it work here, or could i get some sort of adapter?

[ILLUSN]

you wont be able to plug a us device into an aussie power point.
australia uses 240v 50hz
US uses 120V 60hz

[topline]

You can get a transformer 240 - 110V, but cost might make it cheaper to buy a fx5 new...

I bought a diatom filter from the states and have a transformer that runs it, but in the end would have been cheaper to buy it from a country with similar voltage to us.

Cheers
Brian

[apistodiscus]

You can get a transformer 240 - 110V, but cost might make it cheaper to buy a fx5 new...

I bought a diatom filter from the states and have a transformer that runs it, but in the end would have been cheaper to buy it from a country with similar voltage to us.

Cheers
Brian

Really? I am shocked. You can get step down transformers over here for a little over 10 € delivered

[tzwms]

You should be able to get one of those 'universal power adapters' that would allow you to plug US items like hair dryers into an Ausie plug.

[gypsy3]

from what i've read its a lot more complicated than just getting an adaptor. thats what i thought i could do when i had the chance to buy it, but looks like you need a transformer, and a fairly pricey one at that.

[Proteus]

You should be able to get one of those 'universal power adapters' that would allow you to plug US items like hair dryers into an Ausie plug.

All an adaptor does is allows different plug heads fit into a differently configured inlet.

1st issue you have is the 220-240 volts that our power system uses, then you need to modify the hertz range (decrease overall voltage from 220-240v to 110v, increase hertz value from 50hz to 60hz).

There are plenty of transformers out there, however you wont get the most out of the filter as it was built specifically for the U.S. market.

You must also factor in that if there are any issues which are a result of using such a device (power failures, electrical fires etc, etc) your home insurance is null and void as it is not an approved product for Australian use... hopefully it will never come to this, but you need to be aware of the facts.

Given that I send and recieve a lot of goods from the U.S. I think that $180 figure might not be totally correct, unless you are getting the filter for like $50 and the rest is freight... based on cube size alone no carrier would bring something in that big for less than AU$120-$140 unless it was sent via Sea mail and would take 3-4 months to get here.

[apistodiscus]

I just checked the FX5 specs. At 110V it consumes 50W.
This transformer http://cgi.ebay.ie/100W-Step-Up-Volt...QQcmdZViewItem will be plenty to run it in OZ

[taksan]

I just checked the FX5 specs. At 110V it consumes 50W.
This transformer http://cgi.ebay.ie/100W-Step-Up-Volt...QQcmdZViewItem will be plenty to run it in OZ

Thats a step UP transformer..... he needs to opposite thing.

[apistodiscus]

my apologies
copied the wrong link in my last post

http://cgi.ebay.ie/100W-Step-Down-Vo...QQcmdZViewItem

This one should do the trick