Converting a Smart TV from UK to Aus

[Quoll 6,203]

10 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I've lived in Queensland for over 20 years so I'm au fait with the law on this matter - and yes, it is draconian. If the job involves repairs to the electrical infrastructure in my house then I always use a qualified electrician even though I'm quite capable of doing it myself. I'll admit that I still do a few small jobs, like changing a plug on the particle accelerator in the shed - the one that powers the DeLorean - and I've not ended up black, crinkly, and dangling from the ceiling like a Tasmanian electrician would do. What's life without a few risks??

Hey, I'm with you - I just asked my husband to put a plug on a kettle - it's certainly a risk that one takes and hopefully the insurance won't catch up with you should the worst happen - I'm just pointing out that the powers that be, once they take it into their noggins, dont care if you learned how to put on a plug in the scouts or you lecture in electrical engineering - if you ain't a registered electrician you shouldn't be doing it. Just one of those weird Australian things that newbies need to be wary of - like not using.UK wireless handphone sets, not using UK child seats and not parking on the wrong side of the road. It's a land of peculiar regulations. 

[Parley 7,801]

The reality is hardly anyone ever needs to change a plug. I haven't in nearly 40 years in Australia.

Only recent migrants who brought some electrical appliance from overseas would need to.

But it is better to get a professional to do it when it comes to electricity. Many people have been killed thinking they would save a few dollars by doing it themselves.

Just buy a new kettle for goodness sake. They are cheap as chips.

[Ken 1,702]

22 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I've a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering so I can probably manage a plug.

University courses are notoriously bad about teaching anything practical. I wouldn't be surprised if you could finish your course knowing all the theory and history of electrical & electronic engineering without a clue as to how to wire anything.

[Ken 1,702]

9 hours ago, Parley said:

The reality is hardly anyone ever needs to change a plug. I haven't in nearly 40 years in Australia.

Only recent migrants who brought some electrical appliance from overseas would need to.

But it is better to get a professional to do it when it comes to electricity. Many people have been killed thinking they would save a few dollars by doing it themselves.

Just buy a new kettle for goodness sake. They are cheap as chips.

No need to replace the whole kettle. Most kettles use an IEC plug. You can buy leads with an IEC plug at one end and an AU 3 pin plug at the other almost anywhere. A quick google tells me they're $5.92 in Bunnings.

Jackson 1.2m Replacement IEC Lead - Bunnings Australia

[Jon the Hat 1,129]

45 minutes ago, Ken said:

No need to replace the whole kettle. Most kettles use an IEC plug. You can buy leads with an IEC plug at one end and an AU 3 pin plug at the other almost anywhere. A quick google tells me they're $5.92 in Bunnings.

Jackson 1.2m Replacement IEC Lead - Bunnings Australia

Not your modern cordless kettle!  As you note though, a lot of things you can and should buy replacements for, but there are one or two annoying things like Amazon echo devised which you cannot buy the power cable for.  Various TVs, hifi's sonos etc we chucked some dollars at new Au cables for.

[InnerVoice 1,027]

1 hour ago, Ken said:

University courses are notoriously bad about teaching anything practical. I wouldn't be surprised if you could finish your course knowing all the theory and history of electrical & electronic engineering without a clue as to how to wire anything.

That might be the case nowadays but I completed my degree 30 years ago, before the nanny state kicked and stopped students doing anything remotely risky/interesting/fun without someone signing off on a risk assessment. We did tonnes of practical work including wiring a ring circuit from scratch, making PCBs, programming PLCs, soldering etc, not to mention we all did an industrial placement. It was really enjoyable - wish I'd stuck with rather than going into teaching!