Hi guys,

Recently moved from down under and have quite a large number of electronic appliances being shipped over...We have plenty of Aus-EU adaptors, which work on some of the plugs but not on others (flat ones yes, sunk diamond shaped ones no)...

Anyone know of where I can find some adaptors? I'm in Luzern but will travel of course if I have to!

Interdiscount, media markt and most other shops that sell electronic stuff...
I've moved around a lot of times and lived with adaptors for what seems all my life
I always whish there was a standsrd but no...
At least for some things one can buy new cables and not need adaptors that take space..
Welcome to CH

We have also adapted by using a swiss power-board (multi-point) - and then the adapter onto the individual appliance.

My husband also took an Australian power-board and changed the plug on it - the bits were available at Migros in the 'home' section (near the lightglobes)...

For our laptop, it cost about $150 for a new adapter/cable from the Apple store (mac reseller near Zurich main train station)...and we needed one anyway because the old cable was not in good shape...

It's generally not advised to use the adapters for appliances that are going to be on for long periods of time (if they heat up, could be a fire hazard) - I wouldn't be comfortable having one on my refrigerator, for example...

hope that helps...

I moved from Sydney and had the same issue. Bought 4 adaptors and realised it was not the most cost efficient solution, esp since the ave price of an international adaptor here is about CHF30-40. So, what i did was change all my plugs. Its relatively simple and the swiss plug costs only CHF1.50. Hope that helps, cheers.

Did you bring a metric truckload of those flat board double-adapter things?

If so, just change the plug on the end of those to a Swiss one. You can get the plugs for 1 frank in Coop. Failing that, just replace the plugs on everything ... although this isn't an option for wall-mounted transformer bricks that simply have the prongs sticking out.

If you don't have any flat-packs, The easiest solution is to get someone to send you a bunch over. Changing plugs over bores me senseless.

cheers,
(Mr)Wibble

Guys thanks for the info -- am slightly confused though.

If I get an Australian power board I can simply change the chord to a swiss one and plug into the wall? My partner is still in Australia (leaving in 2 weeks) so if this is simple it's definitely an option!

Can somebody please clarify?

yes, this is right. you can just change the plug. the voltage of both countries are similar. hope that helps and good luck.

Do any power adaptors have this possibility...I feel like a massive idiot, I had no idea you could just change a plug yourself like that!

yeah i had no idea either. I've just moved from aus and brought powerboards with me so that one adapter can be used for 5 aussie plugs, ive only got the need for laptop, phone/camera charger etc so its quite simple. Replacing the cord with a swiss one is a good idea but dont know how you'd do it. maybe u can just pull the cord out and replace it, bit dodge if its that easy tho!

Yes some clarity on this would be great!

Rod did you find your adaptor here or in Oz?

Coop sells plugs which comes with (very) basic instructions (in German, French or Italian) on how to change your plugs. They are pretty cheap. My boyfriend changed the plugs on most of my appliances from Australia, such as my hairdryer, lamps, etc. Though, we didn't change the plugs for some items like my laptop power adaptor. You have to check that there isn't a fuse in the power plug, or something like that ... (sorry, technical area for me!). You might also need a special cutting tool for the wires. Otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward exercise.

I do like the idea of just changing the plug on the power board. This would be handy if you happen to use all of these electrical appliances in the same area.

If you are going to buy some Swiss adaptors, just make sure that the Aussie power plug actually fits. I initially made the error of buying a few Swiss adaptors which don't fit the shape of most Aussie power plugs.

yeah bought mine at sydney airport of 8 bucks. It converts grounded aussie plugs (3 prongs) to swiss plugs ungrounded plugs (2 prongs) so there are few sparks flying! You can get universal ones here but they are pretty expensive 20-30 francs and dont accept 3 pronged inputs, the one i found anyway.

I bought some of the same but issue is they are designed to fit in a non-indented swiss socket if that makes sense???

ah ****, i now exactly what you mean! Get your wire cutters out and have crack at replacing the cord/plug, i doubt you'd find any adapters that fit in the indented type of plug, not that ive seen anyway!

When we first came here I found at Interdiscount at Zurich HB little two pin adpaters. They weren't designed for Australian plugs but you could squeeze them in there anyway. The guy actually told me they were designed for American appliances and didn't want to sell them to me. But it made no sense to me as there was no transformer.

They were a lot cheaper than the full blown all countries adapters.

Getting Australian power boards and changing the plug will work for a while but after some time you will find that half your electricals are Swiss and you need an adapter to change back from Australian to Swiss