US to UK Shop Move - Anyone have experience? 120v-240v Questions

no worries. To be honest I didn't have a huge amount of tools when I moved from Australia to the US, but the power tools I did have I sold before leaving. We don't plan on moving back to the UK (where I'm from) anytime soon thankfully, that'd be a complete nightmare of a job - we planning on moving states soon and that's going to be a serious task.

Where abouts in the highlands are you moving too? I rode from John O'Groats to Lands End when I was at university in Birmingham. Absolutely stunning part of the world, though the weather sucks for most of the year :) (tip - don't ride with your mouth open in summer, it'll fill with midges)
 
When I was wandering around (1980ish) most of my landing points had 120 volts available. A simple solution would be to sell the low end stuff and buy local. But, doing so for a housefull of stuff can get right expensive when done all at once. A part here and a gizmo there doesn't hurt that bad. Doing it all at once, does.

Frequency isn't the main concern, beyond motors running a little slow, and a little warm. The 120 volts is what matters. Some devices use a switching supply that spans the difference. For the things that don't, simply use a transformer across the 240 volts. Using a center tap will give 120 volts to each side. The secondary need not be used unless you want isolation. Just tape off the leads. Last I bought one, a 5 KVA 16/32 volt "buck-boost" was around 50 bux. But that was 30 years ago, no telling what it is today. Running the primary as an "autotransformer" only requires an isolated neutral. ie, the white wire is not grounded.
 
Purchasing or renting?

Check out the electrical before you start pulling a lot of current-

 
mattthemuppet2 said:
no worries. To be honest I didn't have a huge amount of tools when I moved from Australia to the US, but the power tools I did have I sold before leaving. We don't plan on moving back to the UK (where I'm from) anytime soon thankfully, that'd be a complete nightmare of a job - we planning on moving states soon and that's going to be a serious task.

Where abouts in the highlands are you moving too? I rode from John O'Groats to Lands End when I was at university in Birmingham. Absolutely stunning part of the world, though the weather sucks for most of the year :) (tip - don't ride with your mouth open in summer, it'll fill with midges)
Click to expand...

Ah that sounds like an amazing trip. Yeah, stunning is the word. I’m in Newtonmore, just on the edge of the Cairngorms.

I ride with a full face but I’ve been hearing about the midges, not looking forward to it. And as far as the weather goes, I’ve been here for two months and have traveled around Scotland for a few years just visiting and so far the weather isn’t an issue. I can deal with the cold rain all the time, it’s the heat I like to avoid. Even in CT back home we’d regularly get 100° F with high humidity in July/August. Not fun.
 
Bi11Hudson said:
When I was wandering around (1980ish) most of my landing points had 120 volts available. A simple solution would be to sell the low end stuff and buy local. But, doing so for a housefull of stuff can get right expensive when done all at once. A part here and a gizmo there doesn't hurt that bad. Doing it all at once, does.

Frequency isn't the main concern, beyond motors running a little slow, and a little warm. The 120 volts is what matters. Some devices use a switching supply that spans the difference. For the things that don't, simply use a transformer across the 240 volts. Using a center tap will give 120 volts to each side. The secondary need not be used unless you want isolation. Just tape off the leads. Last I bought one, a 5 KVA 16/32 volt "buck-boost" was around 50 bux. But that was 30 years ago, no telling what it is today. Running the primary as an "autotransformer" only requires an isolated neutral. ie, the white wire is not grounded.
Click to expand...

For 120 volts I’ll be bringing zero things from the house. Aside from an electric toothbrush, haha. The shop stuff is what I was most concerned with. A fair amount of good old tools that I’ll need to get rid of. My grandfather’s Milwaukee sawzall being one. And his skill saw. Last thing I want to do is replace that stuff with cheap Chinese made crap. I do most of my tool shopping at flea markets so hoping covid restrictions will lift so the “car boot sales” will start over here. I like picking and finding good stuff people think is junk. Will be fun to see what the old UK made tools are like.
 
Howard E. said:
Purchasing or renting?

Check out the electrical before you start pulling a lot of current-

Click to expand...

Renting right now but it still has a garage with excellent bones just waiting to be converted to a shop. The plan would be to live here then buy property and build my own home, using this rental as a home base as I build.

The breaker panels are plastic but I have no reason to suspect they can’t handle a small lathe and welder which would draw the most current.
 
DaveBarbier said:
My grandfather’s Milwaukee sawzall being one. And his skill saw. Last thing I want to do is replace that stuff with cheap Chinese made crap. I do most of my tool shopping at flea markets so hoping covid restrictions will lift so the “car boot sales” will start over here. I like picking and finding good stuff people think is junk. Will be fun to see what the old UK made tools are like.
Click to expand...
There are things of Pop's that I never forgive myself for disposing of. I have a "newer" Sawzall, but even Milwaukee tools are junk compared to the older stuff. For a family "heirloom", just pack it away and sit on it. Don't dispose of it.

.
 
Bi11Hudson said:
There are things of Pop's that I never forgive myself for disposing of. I have a "newer" Sawzall, but even Milwaukee tools are junk compared to the older stuff. For a family "heirloom", just pack it away and sit on it. Don't dispose of it.

.
Click to expand...

Good thinking
 
All transformers (and motors, too) have a volt-time product limit (saturation of the magnetic parts does
bad things) and 50 Hz means that some 240V 60 Hz items work best with 200V at 50 Hz.

You'll want to read a lot of labels carefully before changing plugs to Scotland standard types.

Some items that take high power (laser printers, welders...) are impractical to convert.
DC powered devices (cellphone chargers, computers) often tolerate wide ranges of voltage and frequency,
and just need a different plug or power cordset.
 
whitmore said:
All transformers (and motors, too) have a volt-time product limit (saturation of the magnetic parts does
bad things) and 50 Hz means that some 240V 60 Hz items work best with 200V at 50 Hz.

You'll want to read a lot of labels carefully before changing plugs to Scotland standard types.

Some items that take high power (laser printers, welders...) are impractical to convert.
DC powered devices (cellphone chargers, computers) often tolerate wide ranges of voltage and frequency,
and just need a different plug or power cordset.
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah I plan on reading labels and seeing what will work and what won’t.
 
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