European Televison Set ?

[eddiebun]

I recently won an LCD TV.

However, when I got it, it had a European two prong plug, and instructions in German, French, Italian, Spanish etc but no English instructions.

When I found a two prong to three prong converter plug and plugged it in, the set was dead.

Does this suggest that the set is not meant for UK use, or should it work with a three pronged plug, and the set is simple broken.

It is going back to the suppliers - but just in case I get another two pronged version back - I just wanted to know my options.

Forgive my electrical ignorance !

[zinnie]

Hi 'eddiebun'...........it is unusual not to have any english instructions...virtually alltv's are now made in asia where ever they are sold in Europe and normally are multi-language including English.
A 2pin to 3pin iis not an issue ,it is the voltage to the power supply is set. Now days they normally all cover thr continental and UK voltages i.e. 110v to 240v. so it's strange that it was 'just dead'
What is the make of the tv.?..if that can be identified it might be possible to find out something searching 'on the net' with google

[eddiebun]

Hi Zinnie - it's a Sony. I've just taken it back to my Hospital Resturant where I won it from. Here's hoping they can get it replaced !

[zinnie]

Hi...me again...taking it back was the 'smart move'....hope it works out OK for you.

[theprof]

Hmm, tell me, eddiebun, when you said you found a "two prong to three prong converter plug", I take it you're not referring to a common or garden UK shaver adaptor plug?

If you did use one of these, they usually fused with self-contained one amp fuse on the pin side of the adaptor body. A one amp fuse will only allow up to 230-240 watts to be drawn from the mains before the fuse blows. The LCD TV's power consumption might be greater than this figure, so the fuse would blow as soon as you switched it on. Even if it's rated at less than 240 watts, the initial power drawn by the TV for a few seconds after switch on, may well exceed this figure, again leading to the fuse blowing.

Find out the power consumption of the TV first before you connect it to the mains and never do it via a shaver adapter. You'll probably need to cut off the two pin plug and wire the two core flex into a UK standard three pin plug, obviously with no earth connection. A 3amp or 5amp fuse should be fitted in the plug but never a 13amp fuse.

[theprof]

Incidentally, have a good look for the manual if you get a replacement. They usually give details of the amperage of the fuse that needs to be fitted if the two pin plug is replaced by a three pin one.

[eddiebun]

Thanks theprof - that's the kind of answer I needed ! I did just use a " shaver adapter " plug.

Hopefully the Cola-Cola rep will provide a suitable UK TV this time ! If not I'll re-wire the plug

Thanks again.

[theprof]

I'm glad to have helped and I hope it works out for you eddiebun. I've known a few people who have tried connecting foreign made appliances up to shaver adaptors and have been left scratching their heads when they don't work! Thanks to the one amp fuse, there's usually no harm done.

[adamhornsby]

Urrmm Zinnie, not all tvs are made in Asia, suprisingly there is a few that are not. Our panasonic is UK made (yes it is, no porkies) then there are the very high class Danish tellys from bang & olufsen, and even some of the cheep s**t in the highstreet are made in Europe, like the UMC and swisstec from currys, the sony bravias are made in spain/portugal and of course Philips probably still make their tvs in holland.

Even the UK suprisingly has a large amount of electronics industry going on.