Can a Dewalt table saw bought from the US be used here?

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sdf15

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#177294 29-Jul-2015 00:11

Hi, I'm looking for a table saw and am leaning towards the Dewalt DW745-XE and thought I'd check Amazon - the price difference is quite a bit:

http://www.bunnings.co.nz/dewalt-1850w-254mm-table-saw-_p00291062

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW745-10-Inch-Job-Site-Capacity/dp/B000HXT2N6/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1438078419&sr=1-1&keywords=dewalt+table+saw

Have you bought corded Dewalt power tools from the US before? Were there any issues?

DarthKermit

5346 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1353991 29-Jul-2015 03:26

Looking at that model, probably not. North America uses 110 volts at 60 hertz. That saw says it uses 15 amps. That tells me it's designed for 110 volt applications, as they have to increase the amperage to compensate for the lower voltage. Amps * volts = watts. 1650 watts of power.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1354005 29-Jul-2015 05:42

Do the numbers, by the time you calculate exchange rate, add freight and customs charges the one on Amazon is going to cost you more. It also wont have any warranty in NZ. This is all apart from the voltage issue.

gzt

17127 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1354019 29-Jul-2015 06:30

You could look at Amazon uk has same power as Nz. Same Aust deals sometimes. + freight so yeah.

sdf15

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1354271 29-Jul-2015 11:32

Thanks guys for indulging my lack of knowledge on voltages - hours of googling was getting me nowhere. I believe with the current exchange rate it would have been about a third more than the US$ price, but I hadn't got to investigating customs charges.

Thanks again!

Jase2985

13461 posts

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#1354273 29-Jul-2015 11:33

http://www.whatsmyduty.org.nz/

Jase2985

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#1354282 29-Jul-2015 11:38

+ its $783NZD including shipping through Amazon before customs
then customs will be about $166

kiwigander

231 posts

Master Geek

#1354909 29-Jul-2015 21:49

Original Poster, it's not just the voltage that's going to be a problem.

You can easily get a stepdown transformer to convert NZ's 230 V mains supply to 115 V to run a smaller appliance, but with the saw you'd struggle to get a transformer rated at 1500 W and then you're going to run into a power factor problem.

That is to say, the saw's motor presents an inductive load, not a strictly resistive load (like an incandescent lamp). I suggest that the saw may have a power factor of 0.5 or worse (1.0 is best, lower is worse).

What that means in practice is that your stepdown transformer needs to be twice as big as the raw power rating of the saw would suggest. So a saw rated to draw 1500 watts needs a transformer capable of supplying 3000 watts. Good luck finding one.

Even a 1000 watt stepdown transformer is an expensive beast.

If you're set on buying a large power tool from North America you should look for a 220 volt model. Because of the limitations of 110-120 V circuits (no appliance there that's plugged into a 110-120 V circuit is allowed to draw more than 12.5 amperes), many larger North American shop machines are built with 220 V motors and supplied by 220 V circuits.

Another alternative, if the North American-sourced saw is such a screaming bargain, is to get a local firm to fit a 230 V motor to it. That may run more happily than a North American motor. Even if the latter is designed for 220 V operation it will be designed for 60 Hz mains and may not be so happy running on our 50 Hz power.

Wise

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sdf15

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1356072 31-Jul-2015 14:35

Thank you again for all the replies - after much deliberation I ended up phoning Bunnings, but they only had the next version up in stock for $1355. Between my disappointed tone and needing it for this weekend the girl asked her supervisor and I got it for $1250 which was good enough for me.

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1356084 31-Jul-2015 14:37

Nice work!