Rewiring Japanese appliance with Australian plug

[Wenty]

Hi guys, hoping to get some help here.

I bought a 100V hair dryer in Japan for guests to use in my Airbnb in Australia. The appliance has two pins for a Japanese socket. I want to fit an Australian plug on it, which I've already bought. I have already cut the plug off the hairdryer but can see both wires are not colour coded. Both are just black with the copper wiring. Nothing to identify one from the other, no insulation or ribbing.

I know I will need a voltage converter to use it in the end due to 240V in Australia, but need to know how to properly fit it to an Australian plug. Had I known about voltage converters prior to cutting the plug off, I wouldn't have been so quick with my pliers. Too late now.

Any help much appreciated!

 

[blup]

Its a problem that hasn't come up that frequently on this English site. The dual black wiring probably indicates it can be connnected either way i.e. reversible polarity. Not sure an line inverter is appropriate either. Bin it.

Blup

 

[robinbanks]

Is this a wind-up? Australian shops sell hairdryers, and not for princely sums either. Throw that 110v one away and buy one in Australia instead of spending more time and money messing around, trying to make safe a product not designed for the network voltage, than just straight out buying one that is fit for purpose.

It's an AirBnB that needs a low end hairdryer for emergency use (girls prefer to take their own than use other people's anyway), not a top notch Dyson.

You have a duty of care to the people who stay in your let; encouraging them to use a hand held electrical appliance you've bodged with a bit of advice off a forum is failing that duty in a major way.

 

[SFK]

I would normally say, open device and chech which wire goes to the switch as this wire is the one best designated as the LIVE.

But in this case, as you are providing this as a business, it should not be provided to your clients in any form (including with original plug) as it puts them at risk and danger.

Get a new locally sourced hair dryer gir your clients. And remember to inspect it annually (if not more often,).

 

[Rodders53]

Not sure that you can fit your own plugs in Australia under their wiring regs/laws.

changing UK plugs to Australian

:? Hi there.. I am new to this website..can anyone tell me how to change my plugs from UK to Australian..we are hoping to move there to live soon...although I'm not entirely stupid I know little about subjects such as wiring! My hubby would be doing this job but is there anything important we...

www.diynot.com

 

[robinbanks]

Not sure that you can fit your own plugs in Australia under their wiring regs/laws

Note that the OP didn't explicitly state that they were in Australia at the moment, but you're not wrong; fitting a new plug to an appliance is work for a licensed electrical contractor in Oz

 

[FrodoOne]

I bought a 100V hair dryer in Japan for guests to use in my Airbnb in Australia.

Why?

I want to fit an Australian plug on it, which I've already bought.

Why?

I know I will need a voltage converter to use it in the end due to 240V in Australia, but need to know how to properly fit it to an Australian plug. Had I known about voltage converters prior to cutting the plug off, I wouldn't have been so quick with my pliers. Too late now.

Any "Voltage Converter" will need to provide
a high Current to power the Hair Dryer.

This is likely to be in the region of 7.5 A (1800 W) - or higher.
The Transformer will be "bulky",
cost far more than the Hair Dryer
and
should have a plug and socket connection suitable for only 100 (120) V,
so that the Hair Dryer cannot be plugged into a 240 V Socket-Outlet

 

[EFLImpudence]

The appliance has two pins for a Japanese socket.

...and would that plug fit into the socket either way round?

but can see both wires are not colour coded. Both are just black with the copper wiring. Nothing to identify one from the other,

So ...

 

[plugwash]

Both are just black with the copper wiring. Nothing to identify one from the other, no insulation or ribbing.

IIRC Japan doesn't really do polarised plugs, so polarify doesn't matter but that doesn't mean your course of action is sensible..

Any help much appreciated!

Your proposed course of action is a bad idea for several reasons.

1. A voltage converter beefy enough to run a hairdrier will be bulky, heavy and expensive.
2. Fitting a 240V plug to a 100V hairdrier is asking for someone to plug it in without a voltage conveter.
3. It would be bad enough if this was for your own use, but you have to assume that guests are ignorant and/or stupid. Even if you obtained and fitted a Jananese type plug there is no gaurantee that your guests would realise that a voltage converter rather than a simple travel adapter was needed.
4. A hairdrier is probably one of the most dangerous appliances to operate on a higher than intended voltage. 2.4 times the voltage translates to nearly 6 times the heat and a hairdrier is designed to deliver the heat it produces to someone's head!

There are times when using foreign equipment makes sense. This is not one of them. If you want to provide a hairdrier an an australian holiday property then you should buy an australian one.

 

[opps]

Hi guys, hoping to get some help here.

I bought a 100V hair dryer in Japan for guests to use in my Airbnb in Australia. The appliance has two pins for a Japanese socket. I want to fit an Australian plug on it, which I've already bought. I have already cut the plug off the hairdryer but can see both wires are not colour coded. Both are just black with the copper wiring. Nothing to identify one from the other, no insulation or ribbing.

I know I will need a voltage converter to use it in the end due to 240V in Australia, but need to know how to properly fit it to an Australian plug. Had I known about voltage converters prior to cutting the plug off, I wouldn't have been so quick with my pliers. Too late now.

Any help much appreciated!

Why?

As per pretty much everyone replying, why would you purchase a very cheap item and then buy a more expensive item to potentially make it feasible.

I would be willing to hedge that you are a crap AI bot, if not, you should not be allowed to rent out any properties.

 

[Mottie]

This is a wind up, surely?

 

[securespark]

The frequency differs too. Parts of Japan are 50Hz, others are 60Hz.

 

[securespark]

TBF, we don't.

Until we see the "ratings plate" (if there is one) which will tell us exactly what voltage and frequency the appliance is designed for.

 

[FrodoOne]

need to know how to properly fit it to an Australian plug.

That is a ridiculous question, since all "after-market" Electrical Plugs sold in Australian come in packages with instructions as to how to connect them - including an exact "Scale" diagram of the length of the free conductors and the length to be "stripped" -
plus the injunction
"MUST BE WIRED BY A LICENCED ELECTRICIAN",
which is almost universally ignored.

(e. g. https://hpm.com.au/app/uploads/2018/05/90-20-and-90-25-hpm-3-pin-plug-instructions-593f733174dd8.pdf )