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Moving Electrical items from the USA to Dubai....

38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 01:14

My family and I are moving from the USA to Dubai this summer. We know the voltage is different from the USA (220v verses 120v) but I wanted to know if anyone on this forum has recently moved from america/canada and taken their electrical items with them; like TV, Stereo etc......and purchased a transformer to support the voltage change???

Any advice on this matter would be truly appreciated as I have one sulky husband at home not wanting to part with his TV!

many thanks

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38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 15 June 2012 - 18:11

Sorry if this is a stupid question but when i look at the transformers on-line it looks like they all have US plugs..... do you then use a travel adapter into the wall or did you buy your transformers in dubai? We bought our transformers here. We plug our US appliances into them, then plug the unit into the wall. Ok -great thank you!! Where can we get them from in Dubai?

3376

Posts

EW MASTER

Latest post on 15 June 2012 - 17:43

Sorry if this is a stupid question but when i look at the transformers on-line it looks like they all have US plugs..... do you then use a travel adapter into the wall or did you buy your transformers in dubai? We bought our transformers here. We plug our US appliances into them, then plug the unit into the wall.

38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 15 June 2012 - 17:37

We brought our 2 dogs as well. Good luck with the move! Sorry if this is a stupid question but when i look at the transformers on-line it looks like they all have US plugs..... do you then use a travel adapter into the wall or did you buy your transformers in dubai?

38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 15 June 2012 - 17:36

Sorry if this is a stupid question but when i look at the transformers on-line it looks like they all have US plugs..... do you then use a travel adapter into the wall or did you buy your transformers in dubai?

3376

Posts

EW MASTER

Latest post on 12 June 2012 - 08:48

Can't comment on large appliances--we moved here with a couple of suitcases. However I really regret bringing my T3 ceramic straightener and hair dryer. Both went "pop!" within the first two weeks of moving to Abu Dhabi. I don't know if the wiring in our building there was screwy (have had no issues here in Dubai with hair tools now). I also suspect that 2 years of plugging my laptop into a converter damaged the battery. I have never had a Toshiba laptop that died within 2 yrs of purchase. They get SO hot, too. That being said, I am not excited about buying a new laptop here. :(

172

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 21:19

The US Vehicles can be tricky at times... like when a car accident happens and destroys the entire side of the vehicle. Parts had to be shipped and took a couple extra weeks That happens if there's a lot of damage whatever the type of car. The US-made cars you can buy here come off the same production lines as the ones sold in the States. All they do is put the Arabic writing on the door mirrors and make it go "bing!" when you hit 120Km/h - that's all that "Gulf spec" actually means. We brought 3 cars with us from the US nearly 4 years ago, and have never had any issues with them. I smacked up one, and had to have the running board replaced. It was easy and cheap.

Madge_Gustard59558

841

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 20:57

The US Vehicles can be tricky at times... like when a car accident happens and destroys the entire side of the vehicle. Parts had to be shipped and took a couple extra weeks That happens if there's a lot of damage whatever the type of car. The US-made cars you can buy here come off the same production lines as the ones sold in the States. All they do is put the Arabic writing on the door mirrors and make it go "bing!" when you hit 120Km/h - that's all that "Gulf spec" actually means.

180

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 20:01

We brought our 2 dogs as well. Good luck with the move!

38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 18:14

Suzieq123 - We don't have kids (at the moment).....just our 4yr old dog.

38

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 June 2012 - 18:11

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION!! I will have one happy husband!!!

180

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 17:03

I am so sad I didn't bring my car. There is so much here that is new, that it would be nice to be driving a familiar vehicle and not a brand new one! We have a simran 2000 transformer for the TV and a Terminator 1500 for the kitchen. We try to only plug 2 things it at a time in the kitchen just to be safe. I was told to add up or look at the eletronics you want to plug in, build in a buffer, and use that for how big of a transformer you need. Good luck with the move! Do you have kids that will be going to school here?

774

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 16:54

what power transformers do you use for your mixers/coffee machines? i always get so confused when i go to look! We have a Terminator 3000W Model: TACC 3000W that I use to run my mixers. DH got it at MCC at I think Jumbo electronics. I can run my Kitchen Aide and my Cuisinart at the same time. It can handle a lot. We also shipped both of our cars from the states. It was easy and affordable. Great minds think alike huh DlnAces21? *Wink Wink*

214

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 11:46

We did not listen to the common advice and shipped almost everything we owned with the exception of large appliances, including the shipment of two vehicles. I am very happy with our decision because it has worked great for our family. It has been wonderful to enjoy all our own things. Brings home into our home here. And the thought of running all over Dubai trying desperately to replace everything I already have hunted before was ugly. I figure though, some stuff will never return to the States as we will use it's lifespan out here. Other things will return and many new things will make the journey home someday. The vacuum, well I have two large converters; one in the front of the house and the other in the back. Sundevil is right, those things are heavy if they must be dragged from room to room. My USA Mixer fell victim to an improper calculation of voltage. Let's just say it saw a warm, smokey end that made a stink in the house all day. I also lost a converter to the same but, the blow dryer survived and has seen me through many-a-hair-do. Anyhow, we wanted to enjoy our things and we are. The US Vehicles can be tricky at times... like when a car accident happens and destroys the entire side of the vehicle. Parts had to be shipped and took a couple extra weeks. So, that was a bit inconvenient. But it is fixed now and I am back behind the wheel.

230

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 11:28

what power transformers do you use for your mixers/coffee machines? i always get so confused when i go to look!

774

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 10:04

We moved from the USA to Dubai almost 3 years ago. The advice we got from fellow Americans who had been living here for several years already was to leave everything behind and buy new electrical items here. We mostly followed that advice and have regretted it ever since. We brought our receiver, PS3, TiVo (not in use right now), and speaker system. They all plugged into a large transformer in the living room. We left behind our lamps which could have easily fit into the same transformer by adding an extension cord. I brought our baby's video monitor and that is plugged into a small transformer in our bedroom and, again, I wish I had brought our lamps because they would have fit into it as well. My biggest regret is all the small kitchen appliances that we left behind. My husband would not part with his burr mill coffee grinder so we have another small transformer set up in the kitchen for it. It has two plugs, so I'm able to plug in our crock pot as well. That was what I didn't know: you can plug 2 items into a small transformer and, I think, 4-6 into a large one. You can definitely bring your items over. I wish we had brought it all, but I'm sure there are people that would rather buy the proper electricity and not mess with transformers and converters. This is us too except we've been here four years. Everyone said don't bring your stuff and buy new here. Well A)it adds up really fast when you have to re-buy everything, and B) the stuff I bought here is A LOT more expensive than in the US and I like the look of my things in the US better. Plus when we move back to the states, I have all these electronic items that won't work in the US that I have to deal with selling here. So after all of that, we are doing another shipment this summer out of our storage in the states and I'm shipping over all of my lamps, our BOSE system and our plasma tv. I did initially ship my heavy duty Kitchen Aide over and my big Cuisinart over and use a big transformer for them and they work just fine. I also shipped over my boys' sound machine/night lights and those run on a tiny transformer that I plug into the wall. It's about 2" by 3" and goes right into the socket and then the plug goes in that. Barely noticeable. And I'll do the same when I ship over my lamps. I did leave my Dyson in the states as it would be the big transformer and that thing is too heavy to drag room to room to keep vacuuming. Also, we listened to people that said to leave all your stuff behind in storage and just buy new and I regret that b/c I want my stuff. I like how my stuff looked in my home in the states and I miss the look I had there. I'm so sick of shopping at Ikea and having the same stuff as everyone else, so when we do our container this summer, all my decor is coming over, all my kitchen stuff (Pampered Chef, Calphalon cookware), artwork, mirrors, outdoor stuff like tents and sun covers, it's all coming over. I should have done that originally.

346

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 09:48

I brought all my kitchen appliances back from the US. They work fine with a transformer :)

180

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 09:40

Agree about the lamps, I am so upset I sold them all before coming. Bring them!

3

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 07:10

We moved from the USA to Dubai almost 3 years ago. The advice we got from fellow Americans who had been living here for several years already was to leave everything behind and buy new electrical items here. We mostly followed that advice and have regretted it ever since. We brought our receiver, PS3, TiVo (not in use right now), and speaker system. They all plugged into a large transformer in the living room. We left behind our lamps which could have easily fit into the same transformer by adding an extension cord. I brought our baby's video monitor and that is plugged into a small transformer in our bedroom and, again, I wish I had brought our lamps because they would have fit into it as well. My biggest regret is all the small kitchen appliances that we left behind. My husband would not part with his burr mill coffee grinder so we have another small transformer set up in the kitchen for it. It has two plugs, so I'm able to plug in our crock pot as well. That was what I didn't know: you can plug 2 items into a small transformer and, I think, 4-6 into a large one. You can definitely bring your items over. I wish we had brought it all, but I'm sure there are people that would rather buy the proper electricity and not mess with transformers and converters.

180

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 May 2012 - 04:41

We brought our tv and use a transformer and an hdmi converter and it works great. My hubby wasn't giving up his tv either! We also brought some small appliances, and have a transformer in the kitchen for those.

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