Can I use my US lamps in the UK?

my mover just cam today for the survey and told me that I can use my US lamps in the UK by just using the plug adaptors and changing to UK light bulbs. is this true?

I told him that everyone tells me to leave ALL electronics at home since they don't work in the UK. he reassured me that lamps are the exceptions.

please confirm, anyone.

thanks!

I shall await a more experienced person to come along and give a definitive answer but my understanding is as long as the wire is rated for UK voltage (which is obviously double the US voltage), the appliance is earthed (if metal bodied) and it dosent contain any electronic dimming circuitry/transformers (ie low voltage halogen) you should be OK just replacing the bulbs and changing the plugs. Although I would suggest finding an electrician or other capable person that could re-wire the unit properly for 230v.

A relatively easy but inefficient way of doing it would be using a plug in 230/110v transformer and leaving it as it is, only problem then is getting new bulbs.

And re using other electronics in the UK, some will work I am sure...some may indeed have transformers capable of switching between 230/110v, some others may work happily on power transformers some won't...i'm not much help I know!

Hiya

Mr Happy is correct, so long as you have 'basic' lamps, and the wiring internally is rated for 240V you just need to change the plug on the end to a UK one and off yer go.

Nowadays pretty much all lighting has cabling which meets the higher voltages standards/ratings so that there's no difficulties in exporting to different parts of the world.  We've done this with lamps that were from India for instance, although to be on the safe side, I re-wired the internal wiring myself.

As for electronics, well pretty much everything will work here ! the most notable exceptions being Visual equipment, TV's, Camcorders, Projectors, Playstations etc as they use the NTSC video standard. You can get around it by buying Multi System/standard equipment though. Everything else, Laptops, PC's, Monitors, Cell/Mobile phones (most, not all) digital cameras, PSP's & handheld gaming systems (not all again)Ipods & MP3 etc etc all work here and usually amounts to just finding a cheap £2-3 plug type adaptor to plug into. Some items may require a transformer though.

there's quite a few topics/posts about this sort of stuff..  have a breeze through and see if any of it applies to the electronics you have ..
cheers!
DtM! West London & Slough UK!

As Dennis says, the cords are unlikely to be a problem as all UL-listed modern cords in the U.S. are rated to carry 300 volts maximum.  The lampholders may not be suitably rated to carry British 240V though -- See reply #16 in the Technical issues thread.

A relatively easy but inefficient way of doing it would be using a plug in 230/110v transformer and leaving it as it is, only problem then is getting new bulbs.

So long as you don't want fancy shaped or colored bulbs, it's not actually that difficult.  Building sites in the U.K. use 110-volt power for hand tools and temporary lighting.  Regular pearl 110V bulbs are available in ES (Edison Screw) style, and in standard 40, 60 and 100-watt ratings (among others).

thanks, everyone. it's good to know that we can bring our lamps and not have to buy new ones.

paul, is that thomas edison you were referring to? i currently live next to his former house in west orange, nj; he was buried there next to his wife.

paul, is that thomas edison you were referring to?

It sure is -- Thomas Alva Edison, once dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park."    He was actually born in Milan, Ohio, then lived in Michigan before moving to N.J.   

The Edison lamp base (the "normal" fitting in North America) is not used so much in Britain.   Traditionally, the double-contact bayonet cap is the more usual type here:



However, ES lamps have become more plentiful in recent years, partly because we're seeing more light fittings imported from Europe where the ES-type fitting is also common.

By the way, although Edison is often believed to have invented the first filament light bulb, the truth is not quite so simple and as with many inventions, multiple developments were taking place more or less at the same time.    English inventor Joseph Swan filed his own patent for a light-bulb before Edison, and in fact to avoid any problems Edison and Swan went into partnership for the British market, creating the "Ediswan" Company.