Hello,
Does anybody know if it is possible to buy in the U.S. power tools with 230V (or maybe 240V). I live in Germany and the power tools’ prices here are incredibly high, they are double or sometimes three times more expensive then in the U.S. . For example: for a 1/2″ router of a renown company like Dewalt or Makita one would pay about 500 Euro, that means about 600$!!! in the U.S. I saw exactly the same machines for half the price, so I thought to buy them in the U.S., of course the problem is the voltage. So if anybody know of a possibility to buy power tools in european voltage I will be very happy to know.
Thanks
Gal
Replies
You need to 'google' for a power converter..fix ya right up.
Gal
A couple of options - why not buy from elsewhere in Europe and get a 230volt tool? One of the trade suppliers I deal with, Lawson HIS is currently selling the DW625e at £234 including VAT (BTW), maybe not US prices but a lot nearer. That works out at 336 Euros and you won't have the hassle of paying import duty, clearance fees, etc. Take a look at the Lawson HIS page for details.
If you ever want to run US power tools on European electrical supplies you need to check if the device will function on 50Hz power supply as opposed to 60Hz. If it will then the simple solution is to buy what is referred to a 110volt site transformer in the UK. This converts 230volts to 110volts centre tapped earth and is used on almost every building site in the UK. I brought Porter-Cable stuff back from the USA when I came back to the UK a few years back and this is how I run mine. Unfortunately if what you are buying has an induction motor (such as a table saw) you'll either need a transformer/frequency inverter or you'll need to specify a 50Hz motor (people like Delta will supply their machinery at a small extra charge).
Scrit
Thanks for the ideas. I thought about buying a transformation (sorry I don't know the right term) 110V-230V but they are very expensive.
About the UK - I never thought about it, since the UK is at all other things more expensive than Germany I did not think that especially in power tools they would be cheaper, especially as I tried Austria and Switzerland and they were all as expensive as Germany. But it seems that I was wrong because after reading your advice I checked up different power tools shops in England and they were all much cheaper than Germany.
So thanks again.
Gal
It's nice to know that we are cheaper in one area - darned expensive on just about everything else, though!
Scrit
Edited 1/7/2004 7:54:33 PM ET by Scrit
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