Using electric appliances from the US in Japan

[emily]

Hi ! everybody !
Do any of you use electric appliances (VCR, DVD player, cooking appliances) from the US in Japan ? Is it without problem ?
I'm having a baby in february and I REALLY want an electic bottle warmer and sterilizer (that doesn't exist here, everybody uses the microwave) .
I'm french so I first thought of buying it in France with a converter because our stuff work in 220V but for apparels of more than 300W, the converter in a huge thing (20 ou 30 kg...) so I gave up and thought of buying one from the US but will it work ??

The plug doesn't seem to have the same shape so I guess I will need an adapter plug but do I need also a converter... :? :?

Thanks for your help !!

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I'm french so I first thought of buying it in France with a converter because our stuff work in 220V but for apparels of more than 300W, the converter in a huge thing (20 ou 30 kg...) so I gave up and thought of buying one from the US but will it work ??

The plug doesn't seem to have the same shape so I guess I will need an adapter plug but do I need also a converter... :? :?

The only thing I ever used from my native country (USA) in Japan was an MD player. It basically worked fine, but for some reason, it would "skip" quite often after using it for a certain amount of time. Sorry, I forget how long.

Based purely on that and on the fact that my MD player uses far less than 300W, I think it would be best to get the converter. It certainly wouldn't hurt, and I know if it was MY baby, I wouldn't want to take chances!

BTW, hello and welcome!

 

[GaijinPunch]

There's only 10 watts difference between the electrical currents in Japan and the US. Even without any type of converter, it will not "blow up" anything. You might get some extra wear on Japanese products used in the US (I have a houseful of them that have been running fine for over a year) but nothing immediate. I've used plenty of things from both countries for very long periods of time.

The only thing different you'll notice is that US products ground the current with a third prong. Japanese don't have this. They have a much more cumbersome solution in the form of a wire you put under a screw.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Hey, gaijinpunch!
The thread name is confusing, but in her actual post, she says that she's thinking about buying a milkwarmer in France.

However, I too have used Japanese electronics in America with no problems, but she was asking about the opposite case, only insert France for America.

I still stand by my assertion that it's best to be safe, especially when the health of your new-born infant is on the line!

 

[Silverpoint]

There's only 10 watts difference between the electrical currents in Japan and the US.

Forgive my pedantry, but it's 10 volts.

 

[mr.sumo.snr]

Do you just want a method to have a constant supply of warmer water at around 55-60 degrees? Buy a hot water pot!

I don't think my bottle-fed son's bottles ever found their way into a microwave. As for sterilisation: a thorough washing and then into the large container filled with diluted Milton.

I have seen warming machines in Japan - in fact here's one at Toys R Us Japan
http://tinyurl.com/9pxos

 

[emily]

Mikawa Ossan, you got me wrong ...

Hey, gaijinpunch!
The thread name is confusing, but in her actual post, she says that she's thinking about buying a milkwarmer in France.

However, I too have used Japanese electronics in America with no problems, but she was asking about the opposite case, only insert France for America.

I still stand by my assertion that it's best to be safe, especially when the health of your new-born infant is on the line!

Look better, I actually said : "I first thought of buying it in France with a converter because our stuff work in 220V but for apparels of more than 300W, the converter in a huge thing (20 ou 30 kg...) so I gave up and thought of buying one from the US but will it work ?? "

And, thanks for your concern but even if it doesn't work, my baby's life will not be in danger, I will just have to warm the bottles differently. (use the hot waterpot for ex)
Don't tell me my english is so crapy ?

Thanks for your answers everybody, it helped.

There's only 10 watts difference between the electrical currents in Japan and the US. Even without any type of converter, it will not "blow up" anything. You might get some extra wear on Japanese products used in the US (I have a houseful of them that have been running fine for over a year) but nothing immediate. I've used plenty of things from both countries for very long periods of time.

The only thing different you'll notice is that US products ground the current with a third prong. Japanese don't have this. They have a much more cumbersome solution in the form of a wire you put under a screw.

That's exactly what I wanted to know.

Do you just want a method to have a constant supply of warmer water at around 55-60 degrees? Buy a hot water pot!

I don't think my bottle-fed son's bottles ever found their way into a microwave. As for sterilisation: a thorough washing and then into the large container filled with diluted Milton.

I have seen warming machines in Japan - in fact here's one at Toys R Us Japan
http://tinyurl.com/9pxos

Thanks, I have a waterpot but I was thinking of preparing 2 or 3 bottle at a time and keep them in the fridge or refrigerating breast milk so the warmer is the best solution for me. Thanks for the link, I looked for something like that for a long time!
I'm gonna have a look at it right now because the sterilizer has to be electrical.... I know, I'm a pain in the *** but I don't like the chemical solution either...

Forgive my pedantry, but it's 10 volts.

Yes, I've read that too, but is it really 110V and 120V?
I've read a lot of things like 110V in both countries but 50 or 60 Ghz...
I don't care actually about the electric consumption because this is stuff I'm going to use for a short time, I just wanted to check I will not blow the all house's electric system

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Sorry, Emily! Your English is not bad at all. I usually write these posts after work or sometimes before work, so I'm usually still tired or sleepy. It's my fault. I'm very happy you got the info you wanted, though!

 

[DoctorP]

To answer the original post...A US bottle warmer will work fine. It is nothing more than a coil. The only difference may be that it doesn't get quite as hot as it would in the states! The voltage isn't really a concern. You need to consider more the frequency or Hz where you are living. Japan operates on two different systems. One is 50Hz and the other is 60Hz. If it is 60Hz you will not experience difficulty at all. If it is 50Hz, you could have some problems later down the road, but the baby will already be off of the bottle by then! I used to have a map showing what the frequency rates were around Japan...I'll have to look around and see if I still have it.

 

[Silverpoint]

Can I just sound a note of caution here and remind people that the reason for this thread is that Emily is having a baby. This forum is a great community and people are often well-intentioned, but giving advice on using foreign electrical appliances in Japan when clearly many people are speculating and don't have specific knowledge is extremely ill-advised.

According to recent statistics, a fire breaks out in Japan every 8.3 minutes. Or in other words 173 times every day. A significant number of these are electrical fires. If you call your local electricity supplier and ask them about plugging foreign appliances into the your mains supply, they will politely tell you that this is not advisable. Unless you have specific knowledge about this subject (which from a number of fundamental mistakes in this thread, several people do not) I would suggest that you would be best to keep quiet. Sorry if this sounds overly abrupt, but there are few more polite ways to put it.

 

[DoctorP]

Can I just sound a note of caution here and remind people that the reason for this thread is that Emily is having a baby. This forum is a great community and people are often well-intentioned, but giving advice on using foreign electrical appliances in Japan when clearly many people are speculating and don't have specific knowledge is extremely ill-advised.

According to recent statistics, a fire breaks out in Japan every 8.3 minutes. Or in other words 173 times every day. A significant number of these are electrical fires. If you call your local electricity supplier and ask them about plugging foreign appliances into the your mains supply, they will politely tell you that this is not advisable. Unless you have specific knowledge about this subject (which from a number of fundamental mistakes in this thread, several people do not) I would suggest that you would be best to keep quiet. Sorry if this sounds overly abrupt, but there are few more polite ways to put it.

Silverpoint...good advise, but I am an expert in the field, and plugging in US appliances into Japanese circuits should not cause fires to break out...I will strees the word should! **** obviously happens!

 

[GaijinPunch]

Forgive my pedantry, but it's 10 volts.

Oops. At least I didn't say amps.

Anyways, a lot of these appliances are made with both markets in mind. AFAIK, export models of anything have the exact same power supply for both models (pretty sure anyway). Believe me, if anything breaks out in an electrical fire, it's not b/c it's a foreign object. Of course they'll tell you it's not avisable b/c they wouldn't want to be liable.

I would be way more worried about dodgy appliances (bought in any region).

 

[emily]

Thanks again everybody!