# UK Appliances



## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

I know I am hogging the board  but I have so many questions and you lot are a fountain of knowledge.

I am worried that my UK appliances wont work in Spain and I have loads of them all industrial sized! My washing machine and dryer take an 11kg load and they are nearly new I will be gutted if I cant take them, even at that size they are on twice a day with my lot! 

I know that I will probably have to buy new things like kettles and toasters, but I cook from scratch most of the time and I have all sorts of labour saving gadgets that I kind of rely on now, will I be looking at replacing them all?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

nina874 said:


> I know I am hogging the board  but I have so many questions and you lot are a fountain of knowledge.
> 
> I am worried that my UK appliances wont work in Spain and I have loads of them all industrial sized! My washing machine and dryer take an 11kg load and they are nearly new I will be gutted if I cant take them, even at that size they are on twice a day with my lot!
> 
> I know that I will probably have to buy new things like kettles and toasters, but I cook from scratch most of the time and I have all sorts of labour saving gadgets that I kind of rely on now, will I be looking at replacing them all?


yes all your kitchen stuff will work here - kettles are ridiculously expensive to buy here, so definitely bring that!

and the tumble dryer - we left ours behind (stupidly didn't think we'd need it) & ended up buying a new one within 2 weeks of arriving!


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## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

nina874 said:


> I know I am hogging the board  but I have so many questions and you lot are a fountain of knowledge.
> 
> I am worried that my UK appliances wont work in Spain and I have loads of them all industrial sized! My washing machine and dryer take an 11kg load and they are nearly new I will be gutted if I cant take them, even at that size they are on twice a day with my lot!
> 
> I know that I will probably have to buy new things like kettles and toasters, but I cook from scratch most of the time and I have all sorts of labour saving gadgets that I kind of rely on now, will I be looking at replacing them all?


Nope, they'll all work over here. You'll have to change plugs or use adaptors of course.
Now how long the leccy actually stays on for is another matter



Doggy


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

you ask as many questions as you like, its important to get it right! Doggy is right, it all works over here once you change the plugs, altho if you're renting you may find that domestic appliances are already in the house?! Kettles, irons and hairdryers are very expensive to buy here tho - so definately bring those

Jo xxx


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

That is such a relief!! I nearly wept at the thought of leaving my washer and dryer behind!!

I dont know whether the norm here is to rent furnished or unfurnished, I am easy either way I think, though I will have to check with the rental agents who are coming out to me whether I need to empty the house.

I remember the power cuts from when I was kid! I also remember my dad - who was quite ingenious - driving us down to the sea in a little van with 3 plastic dustbins that we filled with sea water, then driving back to the house to use it to flush the toilet when the water was off!


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## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

nina874 said:


> I remember the power cuts from when I was kid! I also remember my dad - who was quite ingenious - driving us down to the sea in a little van with 3 plastic dustbins that we filled with sea water, then driving back to the house to use it to flush the toilet when the water was off!


You should do very well over here then


Doggy


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Your main problem is making sure that your power supply has sufficient capacity. Typically the basic is only 3.3 kw which at 220v means that over 15 Amps at a time you will trip off the power which is damned annoying if you have the DVD recorder programmed to record your favourite programme or the alarm is set because you absolutely have to be up at 4.30am. You can get higher ratings but it will mean that you have a higher standing charge, assuming your supply cables can handle it.


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

owdoggy said:


> You should do very well over here then
> 
> 
> Doggy


That was in Spain up in Mojacar! I remember being in the back of the van hanging onto the bins for grim death as we came over the hill near our house and the van went on a 45 degree angle.......... ahhh happy days


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> Your main problem is making sure that your power supply has sufficient capacity. Typically the basic is only 3.3 kw which at 220v means that over 15 Amps at a time you will trip off the power which is damned annoying if you have the DVD recorder programmed to record your favourite programme or the alarm is set because you absolutely have to be up at 4.30am. You can get higher ratings but it will mean that you have a higher standing charge, assuming your supply cables can handle it.


Hmmm my dryer has to be wired in the mains over here as it is so powerful it has to go into the same direct power supply that an electric cooker does, will that get around the problem of it tripping?

I can imagine that will get more than a little tedious if things keep on tripping!


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## sparkplug (Nov 23, 2009)

nina874 said:


> Hmmm my dryer has to be wired in the mains over here as it is so powerful it has to go into the same direct power supply that an electric cooker does, will that get around the problem of it tripping?
> 
> I can imagine that will get more than a little tedious if things keep on tripping!


best off selling it then.. if it needs a 32a supply it will cost LOADS to run here as leccy is quite expensive...


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## zilly (Mar 9, 2010)

You will soon find out what trips the electrics!!!!I brought over a heavy duty electric fan oven-trips the system immediately-so I never use it except at Xmas-with everything else switched off!I use a halogen oven now!I've never needed a drier here-for the majority of the year things dry fine outside or in the porch-and electricity is not cheap here! Lx


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

How much more expensive is it?? Thats a worry as we are quite heavy on the electric usage here.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

nina874 said:


> How much more expensive is it?? Thats a worry as we are quite heavy on the electric usage here.


I cannot remember the UK cost as it was not really an issue when you are working full time and earning well.
You will need though to be mindful of the items consumption, for instance a fast boil kettle in the UK can be up to 3kw when you switch it on, so have a look at your appliances and see what the ratings are on the attached sticker/owners book.
Our Bosch oven unit is rated for 6kw, the ceramic hob about 3kw & can put them all on with the kettle making a brew while the washing machine does its thing & the tumble dries the first load & the cat Hoover's up 

We had our place totally re-wired when we arrived here & have never had anything "trip" the supply, so it is possible to run the normal things if the electricians are aware of your needs before having work carried out.
A normal place in Spain will though be wired to trip if a few things are running at once (as has been said)

Now in hindsight we would have bought AAA rated items & indeed will when replacement time arrives


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

nina874 said:


> How much more expensive is it?? Thats a worry as we are quite heavy on the electric usage here.


This link will give you the tariffs for Endessa:
Endesa On-Line - Hogares - Tarifas Elctricas BOE - Tarifas

You may need to be on the >10kW or even >15kW

For comparison 
<10kw ratings: = 1.7194 €/kW/mes and €0.1177 per unit (kWh) used
>10kw ratings: = 2.2929 €/kW/mes and €0.146903 per unit (kWh) used

That is 33% more on the standing charge and 25% more for each unit

As you can see, the lower you can keep your estimated and actual demand the better.

Water heating you may be better off installing a gas fired multipoint water heater and a gas fired stove (but get one with a thermostat - the average Spanish one will just have 'on' and 'off'). For many meals think Microwave it is fairly quick and will not add excessive heat to the kitchen in seasons when you would prefer it to be cooler. You will have to start thinking like the Spanish - in the hotter weather you live in a cave: windows closed, persianas closed to keep the heat out as much as possible. In winter, it is windows closed, shutters closed to keep the cold out; many use a brasero (either electric or hot coals under the inevitable round table.


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## zilly (Mar 9, 2010)

I agree with Baldilocks--you really won't be running an oven when the temperature is 40 degs. outside!I guess if you look at what the average Spanish family use. and work round that-no oven and hob-top kettle and air-conditioning that you will need for several months of the year is a priority for lots of people.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

zilly said:


> I agree with Baldilocks--you really won't be running an oven when the temperature is 40 degs. outside!I guess if you look at what the average Spanish family use. and work round that-no oven and hob-top kettle and air-conditioning that you will need for several months of the year is a priority for lots of people.


Hi Zilly, hope you had a safe journey from there to here. Seems there are so many dubious pitfalls en-route that it is almost like an assault course.


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## zilly (Mar 9, 2010)

Hi Baldilocks--Yes-Thanks-made it finally--jumped the hurdles and got here!Going off-thread for a second has anyone seen Val?


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## chris (Jul 5, 2007)

Hi moved out 6 months ago and brought all my electricals with me. Tumble dryer cant live without it in the winter, just plug in and go does trip out if the kettle is on, turn one or the other off no problems.

The only thing that did not work is the portable tv's they can get a picture but no sound as they are used to run the kids games consels and dvd players it does not matter as they work fine with these.

We found a house that was fully furnished but we wanted unfurnished so asked the agent to offer 50 euros less a month without the furniture. The landlord was more than happy with this arangment as the house was stitting empty for at least 6 months that we know of.

There seams to be far more furnished than unfurnished property avaliable, we really felt it was important to have unfurnished so we could relax in our home without worrying that the children dogs and cats where damaging someone elses furniture and losing us 2 months deposit money!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

To use UK TVs in Spain, get a cheap Spanish VCR and use that for channel selection and connect via a Scart lead


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> This link will give you the tariffs for Endessa:
> Endesa On-Line - Hogares - Tarifas Elctricas BOE - Tarifas
> 
> You may need to be on the >10kW or even >15kW
> ...


Seems remarkable that they should charge you a higher rate for using more, how thoroughly unreasonable! I think that I will try to find somewhere to rent that has wood burners fitted and lots of trees nearby!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

nina874 said:


> Seems remarkable that they should charge you a higher rate for using more, how thoroughly unreasonable! I think that I will try to find somewhere to rent that has wood burners fitted and lots of trees nearby!


I think there are two principles applying here:
1. to encourage you to be more economical with energy usage
2. it needs a stronger meter and heavier cables to cope with the additional load

We (three of us plus a dog) manage very well on a 3kW supply without tripping.


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## chrisnation (Mar 2, 2009)

Baldilocks, can you still get 'cheap VCRs'? Carrefour lists just one at Euros 99 and I expect that's because someone at LG has forgotten to send the assembly plant the bits to make something else. 

As for 2nd hand, if people do what I did, take vid and tapes down the dump, there might be precious few around.

Anybody know of internal tweaks that do the biz? Of all my plug-in gizmos, my lcd Tosh is the one I'd least like to part with.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

chrisnation said:


> Baldilocks, can you still get 'cheap VCRs'? Carrefour lists just one at Euros 99 and I expect that's because someone at LG has forgotten to send the assembly plant the bits to make something else.
> 
> As for 2nd hand, if people do what I did, take vid and tapes down the dump, there might be precious few around.
> 
> Anybody know of internal tweaks that do the biz? Of all my plug-in gizmos, my lcd Tosh is the one I'd least like to part with.


I think we paid €39 for ours but for only €34 you can get a digi-box which will gve you the Spanish digi channels


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> I think there are two principles applying here:
> 1. to encourage you to be more economical with energy usage
> 2. it needs a stronger meter and heavier cables to cope with the additional load
> 
> We (three of us plus a dog) manage very well on a 3kW supply without tripping.


There will be 6 of us all the time and 8 of us some of the time, with 5 dogs!! I am thinking that they will actually create a new tariff just for me!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

nina874 said:


> There will be 6 of us all the time and 8 of us some of the time, with 5 dogs!! I am thinking that they will actually create a new tariff just for me!


For heating the house and for water heating, you should look to use gas, thats cheaper than the UK, but unfortunately, they dont have mains gas here - yet, altho I believe they're working on it in some regions. Its the good old bottle stuff!!!! We get thru a bottle a fortnight for our water and a bottle a fortnight for our little gas heater. The small bottles are 11€ so not bad!????


Jo xxx


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## nina874 (Mar 13, 2010)

jojo said:


> For heating the house and for water heating, you should look to use gas, thats cheaper than the UK, but unfortunately, they dont have mains gas here - yet, altho I believe they're working on it in some regions. Its the good old bottle stuff!!!! We get thru a bottle a fortnight for our water and a bottle a fortnight for our little gas heater. The small bottles are 11€ so not bad!????
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


We are on bottled gas here in Cornwall - it has cost us a fortune this winter!! I am glad to hear that it is cheaper in Spain! Please tell me it is warmer over there I have frozen this year!

Thats a thought, do they have mains drains? I hate our septic tank I really do! It would be such luxury to be back on mains drains........

Thanks for the heads up on Roger and Hayley, they are lovely and Hayley has already emailed me back.

Nina x


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

nina874 said:


> We are on bottled gas here in Cornwall - it has cost us a fortune this winter!! I am glad to hear that it is cheaper in Spain! Please tell me it is warmer over there I have frozen this year!
> 
> Thats a thought, do they have mains drains? I hate our septic tank I really do! It would be such luxury to be back on mains drains........
> 
> ...


The drains are some and some. We have a septic tank here in the campo/country, but in the towns and villages they have normal drains etc. But you do have to pay for water, altho its not expensive

Jo xxx


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

jojo said:


> The drains are some and some. We have a septic tank here in the campo/country, but in the towns and villages they have normal drains etc. But you do have to pay for water, altho its not expensive
> 
> Jo xxx


Our modest usage of water in UK used to come out to £50 per *month* and about the same for sewage. In Spain it is about that for the *year*!

We have about four houses linked together then into the village sewers.


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