the United States runs a lower voltage at a different frequency from Britain, so most large British appliances are not worth shipping. Modern electronics with dual voltage supplies usually are.
The plug is the least of it. A transformer solves the voltage and does nothing about the frequency, which is why a British washing machine plugged in through one still does not work properly.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network. What goes in the container is your decision, and this page is about making it before the survey rather than after.
Anything with a motor or a timer is designed around the mains frequency as well as the voltage. That is why large appliances travel badly and why laptops, phone chargers and modern televisions usually travel fine.
Check the label on the power supply before deciding. If it states a range covering both British and American voltage, the item needs only a plug adapter. If it states a single voltage, it needs more than that.
A transformer changes the voltage arriving at the appliance. It does not change the frequency of the supply, and anything with a motor or a mains driven timer depends on that frequency to run at the right speed.
That is why a British washing machine or a mains clock behaves oddly in America even when the voltage is corrected. It is not faulty, it is running against a different rhythm than it was designed for.
Modern electronics avoid the problem entirely, because their power supplies accept a wide range of voltages and frequencies. Those items need a plug adapter and nothing more.
A dual voltage supply means the item travels. A single voltage one means a decision.
They are two different questions and the answers usually point in opposite directions.
Large appliances are widely available and often cheaper in the United States than shipping the British equivalent.
Small modern electronics usually will, because their power supplies accept a wide voltage range. Large appliances usually will not.
It fixes the voltage and not the frequency. Anything with a motor or a mains driven timer still runs incorrectly.
Read the label on the power supply. A stated range covering both British and American voltage means it travels. A single voltage means it does not.
Almost never. It is bulky, it will not run properly, and replacements are widely available and often cheaper in the United States.
Most modern sets handle the voltage. Broadcast standards differ but streaming and HDMI sources are unaffected, so it usually travels fine.
Only in the sense that you need adapters. The plug is the simplest part of this and the least important.
For a few sentimental or specialist items, perhaps. For general household appliances it is usually cheaper to replace them.
They generally work with a bulb change, though fittings and shades are the sort of thing worth shipping only if you like them.
For dual voltage equipment, yes. For anything single voltage, an adapter changes the plug shape and nothing else.
Send your collection address, your US destination, the move date and a list of the larger electrical items. A moving company from our network advises on what is worth shipping.
A Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are an enquiry service rather than an electrical adviser. Compatibility should be confirmed against each appliance's own specification.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.