British electrical appliances - Page 2

Hi Gary, and welcome to the Forum.

Your query  over the suitability for use in Spain ,of Electrical equipment purchased within the UK is an important question to be raised.

Historically the answers given would have varied from 'Yes' to 'Maybe' through to a definate 'No' .

In recent decades Eoropean countries have succesfully harmonized their Electrical Generation  and Distribution systems to Residential, Commercial and Industrial customers ,which has enabled safe Electrical product 'interchangabilty ' of use by users within those countries, this in turn, lessening restrictions of trade by allowing Manufacturers  to produce  Electrical Equipment to the one agreed Standard that can be sold, without technical restriction, in many countries.

Alongside this, a general Conformity and Testing Standard was agreed and put in place . 

This Standard mark is based on a French phrase of  "Conformite Europeene", which literally  means " European Conformity". All products tested as being of a Safe standard for use within European countries ,including E.U and Non E.U Members states, will carry the "CE" mark.

It cannot be stressed any more strongly to say if you do not see this "CE" mark on Electrical Equipment then Do Not purchase it and definately Do Not use it.

As an additional Consumer safeguard  it has, within The UK,  in recent years  become Mandatory for all Portable Electrical equipment used within the workplace and places used by the general Public to be regularly Inspected and Tested to ensure it's safety in continued use. Some may recognise this in practice by the more common term of  " PAT Testing .

It wouldn't be a bad idea for Householders to have their Electrical Appliances periodically  Tested for continued safety, however, at present , in The UK, it is only Landord owned properties who are, by Law, required to abide by it.

On the issue subsequently  raised and discussed here ,concerning UK to Spanish converter " Travel Adapters" , Its recommended useage is clearly defined within the first part of its name   I.e. "Travel " .

These items are allowed to be produced for short term use ,as described by their Manufacturers, they are also only reliably safe for Electrical equipment of "low power useage", typically taken as part of holiday luggage ,although some hair dryers and similar heat producing items may not be suitable for use via these "adaptors".

Travel Adaptor overheating, Fires and, or Electic shocks can and have been, the result of "Travel Adaptors" of poor design and construction as  as a direct result of  being used outside the Manufacturers recommendations. 

To aid the consumer through this confusing ,and potentially unsafe situation, a British Standard  for "Travel Adaptors" has ,within the past few years, been introduced . B.S. 8546.

This new Standard, c/w its familiar and trusted "Kitemark" sign, goes far beyond the "CE" testing requirements relating to "Travel Adaptors" . Included within its markings are the products' capabilities in terms of mode of use, plus its maximum recommend Power Loading capabilities ,I.e   Voltage, Current and Wattage.

Indication is also given  as to whether it is suitable for earthed or non earthed appliances which is a major, often overlooked, safety  issue with some types of Travel Adaptors used outside the UK .

I would certainly recommend any appliances with UK 13amp plugs used 'Long term", outside the UK  and within Spain and its Territories, to be converted by retrofitting with a 'good quality' Spanish "F" type "3 pin" 'Schuko' plug.

Hope that advice helps others. Gary, best wishes to you on your eventually move.

LeckyLes 

Cheap China-shop adaptors are problematic. We have had them overheat/fail.

Another issue is power capacity. Many Spanish homes have very low power supply capacities. It is not unusual to have as little as 3.3kw, and 5.4 kw might be considered to be quite luxurious. These capacities are far lower than typically found in the UK. 

So minor appliances like kettles, toasters, hair driers etc. from the UK can trip out supplies if you switch them on concurrently with a major appliance (e.g. a water heater, a pool pump, oven, washing machine), or even with a vacuum cleaner. Sometimes these trips can be re-set on the consumer unit, but sometimes it is necessary to walk out into the street, unlock the meter box and press the reset button on the meter. Our meter resets immediately, but we have friends who have a meter that makes them wait for a random period before it decides to give them electricity again. 

We brought minor appliances with us from the UK, but we abandoned them over time. Spanish equivalents draw much less power. So kettles take longer to boil etc.   

Hi Kim, thanks for your reply. As your hubby did I was going to go down the same path as in buying quality plugs and change them over.

Regards,

G&T.

Check the cubic metre age before deciding, you might find selling and buying large items in Spain the cheaper option.

Great advice.

Been in the office to long now......so I call myself ex-electrician.

Hi Gary, all UK appliances will work here as the voltage and frequency should be the same, however where things differ is when the power stations do change overs in their networks they don't always synchronize their switching, this means that sometimes the power goes off for just milliseconds, this can affect simple things like tv sky boxes or perhaps sophisticated electronic components. My answer to this would be to run valuable items using a USP which is a device that when the power goes off this power supply will continue giving you time to shut down your computer etc. Personally in the last year the the way the spanish power operators have ruined just 2 of my sky boxes! Other than that, its a lot better than years ago a lot of rain used to put us all in darkness for hours! cheers, Barry

Hello all,

As a former electrical engineer (offshore) I concur with most of the advice given here but would add a couple of riders. I do not recommend the use of any sort of adaptor here or in the UK.  The number of fires caused by their usage runs into tens of thousands.

Be aware that a lot of the UK to Spanish adaptors do not have earth continuity meaning your appliance will not be earthed when plugged in.  Please avoid any adaptors of Chinese origin. They might have a CE mark or the BS mark, but I can more or less guarantee that they will be fakes and there will be no current ratings on them either.

Also be aware the Spanish electrics are in no way up to the same Standards used in the UK. They often show little or no respect for the polarity and you can never guarantee which pin in your ghastly Shucko socket will be live. In the UK the live pin in a socket is always on the right.

Similarly the switch could just as easily be in the neutral wire meaning that your light fitting or whatever will be live when you think it's switched off. So this can mean that the screw part of your light bulb can be live when you think it's off, so take care you don't touch it when changing a bulb.  It is supposed to be wired so  that the centre contact at the bottom of the lamp holder is the live connection. That is why we have the bayonet connection in the UK because both connections are at the bottom where you can't touch them (unless you are daft).

There is also a major problem with anything that has a two pin plug as there is no earth. I appreciate that not everything needs to be earthed if it's double insulated.  That is the reason we don't use two pin plugs any more in the UK.

Finally one last point although not a drastic one, please remember that many appliances in the UK were made for when we had a 240 volt supply.   Now that the supplies are harmonised with Europe we have 230 volts.  Using these appliances here means that they will pull a bit more current and there is a slight possibility that when used with other appliances your supply could trip.

There are no problems using your electrical devices in spain i have many devices including british LED energy saving bulbs to a Combination Microwave, all working perfectly. remember, that the current drawn is slightly lower rating than that back in UK at 13 amp, Spain is rated at 10 amp, which maybe why incidentally, it is difficult to buy a combination microwave in spain, (my observation). it is a shame to remove british plugs and fit their very inferior plugs, but hey ho ,that's Spain,where electrical regulations don't really seem to exist

P.S. electrical equipment in Spain is more expensive, so bring as much as you can.

Absoltely correct

Classic man . That was an excellent comprehensive post clearly outlining many of the potential hazards that should be more widely known by users of the Spanish Electrical system. 👍

LeckyLes