Uk appliances use in Spain - Page 2

Blimey wish I knew that a week ago, but hey lesson learned,doh !

You probably know this already but just in case you don't, British cookers won't work here either.  This is because amount of electricity contracted by the average flat or house is a lot less than in the UK.  I particularly miss having a good grill as I really like Welsh rarebit or cheese on toast from time to time.  You just can't do the same in Spanish ovens!  An alternative is  to buy a small worktop oven/grill or an electric sandwich  toaster if you have the space for gadgets.

Another point is you may find that over here, a 3000 watt kettle trips the electricity here when the oven is in use or other high wattage item is being used.  Over here, Amazon sells 2500 watt kettles which in the UK are not easy to find nowadays.   Another good idea is to bring electric blankets if you use them as believe me, in the winter they can be very necessary here! 

Thanks for the information 

That is good advice Matthew,  we did ours before we came to Spain. We were told to come to the embassy and someone would see us. It was a brilliant service. We went to London via train, taxi to embassy, 1 hour later having lunch and back on train home. And the cost of the NIE was under £8. 

If u really want to bring them , bear in mind a tall fridge freezer would cost in excess of £130 to transport , it’s pretty expensive .we sold all ours and started again , good job we did cos it’s very likely that the space that u will have for an undercounter fridge for example , won’t be 610mm as it should be , the resin is they do not sell 600 under counter fridge or freezers , it will be either 560 space or 510 space other than that most stuff is the same , I supply kitchens and bathrooms , that’s how I know . 

Off the original subject but just my last halfpenny's worth. Clive won't be the first or last person to come to Spain. On this forum there is much good advice from people who did it and thinking of doing it. 

If I were to give two pieces of advice only (Jazus! Matt, you couldn't stop at two; if you stopped at only forty-two we'd all be happy!) these would be they:-

1. Don't sell your home in your mother country. Consider renting it out for income. If this means not buying but renting in Spain so be it. But, if you have your home in the UK as a place for a dignified retreat, then you can't do too much wrong. 

2. You're going to buy a property in Spain so No. 1 doesn't apply. Employ a solicitor to act solely for you in the deal. Don't skimp by using the solicitor of the vendor or estate agent. 

The following is just add-ons:-

1. Read through this forum and any others you can. You'll soon learn to seperate the chaff from the wheat. Ensure you don't keep the chaff. Take notes and keep them safely. Use a good size notebook and keep a pen handy. Your first page should be a SWOT analysis of your intentions. Write down Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Review these every day (yes, every day). You will add and subtract and re-add etc. But, keep these notes, they are yours and nobody else's. Scour the internet for places for sale in Spain. Remember just because they are on some real estate agent's books doesn't mean they are for sale. (You heard this here first and you'll save much time).

2. Take advice from your brother and his spouse/partner. They live in the Canaries - first mistake (my opinion only), but don't take my word as the true gospel. Don't give anybody exclusive rights to advise you. If you were Who-Wants-to-be-a-Millionaire, would you trust Jeremy Clarkson on the question for the million. I wouldn't trust him at the £100 stage.

3. Write down charges for moving furniture/electricals etc. Would you be better off selling them for anything you can get in the UK?

4. Try and rent off season wherever you intend to buy - not less than 5 weeks.

Good advice although everyone is different , I wouldn’t dream of keeping property in uk , we sold up lock stock barrel , got rid of storage unit (a bloody big one ) and I was paying £20 a week for it and it was the size 8 garages . Bargain . Also never charged me a penny in electric . Lol 

We rented first , but regret that as we bought a dog with us we actually ended up about 60min away from where we wanted as it’s profoundly difficult when you have pets . And as you say , people’s opinions are based on their experience only and can easily take u down the wrong path . Good advice though, I like the idea of threats and opportunity etc . 

Hi again Clive,

Just to get back on subject and to put some clarity to your queries.

Your UK electric cooker and as I said in my earlier reply all your other UK appliances will work in Spain because in simple terms  both countries operate on the same electrical supply voltage give or take 5%-8%

However the reference to 'potencia' in an earlier reply can be (not an unsolvable) problem.

Potencia is the level of electrical current (measured in Kilowatts) that a property is supplied with. In other words its the number of kilowatts that can be drawn from the supply simultaneously. 

There are a number of levels of potentia available to suit your requirements ranging from low to high which is reflected in the standing charges on the bill,the higher your potencia the higher your standing charge. As in the UK there are plenty of electricity suppliers to choose from so that you can find the one that best suits your needs.

Some properties are supplied with a very low level of potencia and hence this is where you can experience tripping problems when using a number of high powered appliances at once.

For example if your contracted potencia is low say at the 3.3Kw level and you switch on your kettle at say 2.5Kw and your oven at say 2.8Kw  you will be pulling 5.3Kw thus exceeding the contracted potencia and after a few minutes your 'trip' will operate and disconnect the electricity.

If this is a problem the solution is to speak to your electricity supplier and see if they can provide you with a higher level of potencia. This will depend on the wiring within the property and the wiring between your fusebox and your meter being able of taking the higher potencia. If it is then it shouldn't be a problem.

Hope that helps.

CC

Not true If you contract for the right supply. 

Oh my word , erm I’m not quite sure what to say about that other than , that’s totally incorrect , 

I would be interested to know where you got that information , there’s absolutely nothing wrong in using uk appliances in spain , as previously stated , it is not worth the hassle of bringing over , especially if your paying for it , I regularly use a local supplier near cuevas along with one in MOJACAR or vera , all depending on what the customer wants , I also use a supplier in Almeria , and use Ikea on a regular basis as some of the Electrical’s are 5 year warranty , not 2. you just have to watch that if the kitchen is already been fitted then u will most likely have a space of 51 or 56 cm for an undercounter fridge or freezer , therefore if you bring over a 60cm it won’t fit . 
plus you will find that most tall F/F are placed against a wall , and have not got another unit to its side making the shelves difficult to open due to the door hitting the wall , it’s very very common , and very bad practice .