Electronics and Electrical Goods

The following was posted by Israel Pinkas [Ipinkas@ndsisrael.com] on the Tachlis Aliyah Discussion group on Oct 1, 2002.

Also a posting of a price comparison for transformers US+ Israel by Boaz & Danielle Berkowitz NBN2006

Also thanks to Neil Kumner of Kef International Shipping and Shopping Services for important corrections. www.kefintl.com

Topics:

• Customs
• Cordless phones
• Items to bring in quantity
• Radio tuners
• Transformers etc.
• Plug adapters (phone and electric)
• 220V stores
• List of 220V Appliance Vendors

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- Customs

The answers in this section apply to "Western" (US, Canada, Western Europe) olim only. These people have "rights" as opposed to the "absorbtion basket". This also describes the normal case; some olim have reduced rights. Last, this is not a legal opinion, and I cannot be held responsible for mistakes. You should check everything with your shaliach, shipper, experts, etc.

Western olim have "rights" which allow them to bring the contents of their household (furniture, appliances, clothing, linens, books, etc.) into Israel customs-free. A total of three shipments is allowed. The items must arrive during the first three years of aliyah. The items can stay in storage at the port for an extended period (someone reported keeping them in port for two years!), and then can be released without penalty (except for storage costs).

The only delay that customs allows for is a port strike in Israel. Customs will also freeze the rights period due to army service, or extended overseas travel, but check with them directly.

(You will still wind up paying port storage fees for the strike period, BTAS.) You may use your rights for items that arrive on the aliyah flight with you without using up one of the three shipments.

The quantity allowed is loosely defined (and very open to interpretation) as "appropriate for the family". In other words, a young couple with no children can bring in 4 beds (two for them, and two for a guest room), while a family with 4 children would be allowed 8-10 beds (more guests). In the case of everything except electrical appliances (small and large) and consumer electronics, it is just a guideline. Another measure used by the customs authority is the size of apartment represented in a purchase/rental agreement. (e.g. An elderly widow imported a 40ft container for her 240sq meter home.)

Items excempted from customs are written down in your Teudat Oleh (TO). Last time I checked, customs was only writing down electrical appliances (small and large), consumer electronics, computer equipment, and carpeting. (There might be some other items, but they no longer write down things like small tape players, small radios, bikes, furniture, etc.) Items that area excempted may not be sold within 5 years of the item clearing customs without paying a pro-rated percentage of the customs.

In the case of electrical appliances, consumer electronics, and computers, there is a limit of one per family. (They used to allow religious families two dishwashers, but that was eliminated years ago.) That is one each of fridge, freezer (separate), oven & stove or range, dishwasher, blender, mixer, food processor, computer (including printer and scanner), tape deck, CD player, tuner, amp, phonograph, juicer, toaster. (There may be more, but I can't think of anything else.) Please note that not all items are excempted, but that the clearing agents are flexible, which can help. For example, I know of a case where someone had a bread machine excempted as their toaster. (It heats bread.)

When packing a shipment, I recommend making two inventory lists. The first should be as detailed as possible, and should be used as the basis for insurance. It should list every box with its contents, and detail expensive items. The second list should be less detailed, and just show general details of what is in the shipment, such as "Pentium4 1.5GHz computer - $500". The second list is for customs. Back to top ^

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- Cordless phones

Cordless phones from many countries are problematic. The 900MHz band is reserved in Israel for military use, and most cordless phones sold in the USA use this band. Even the higher frequency phones use 900MHz for control. In some locations, the army has made sweeps and confiscated phones.
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- Items to bring in quantity

This question comes up from time to time on Tachlis. There is no list of items that you should bring with you from the old country in quantity. However, I can make some recommendations:

1. Just bring enough to last a few months, until you find local equivalents. No matter how much you bring, you will run out one day, so you may as well bite the bullet. OTOH, if you bring some, you buy the time you need to find something available here that works for you.

2. Remember that you will have to store whatever you bring, and that Israeli apartments are small compared to what most of use are used to. One Tachliser made aliyah with two children in diapers (an newborn and a toddler), and included in their first lift enough diapers to guarantee that they would not have to buy any here for either child. While they saved money, it meant that they had a 12 square foot (12 balatot) stack of diapers floor to ceiling, that they slowly worked through. (They moved into a large apartment owned by one of their parents, so they had the space.)

3. Your lifestyle will be different here, so you may find yourself using certain things less. My wife gave up on aromatic bath salts, because neither of our apartments had a large deep bath.

4. The items that should be brought in larger quantity should be items that are small, very expensive here, and non-spoilable. Back to top ^

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- Radio tuners

The radio frequencies here use the European standards. In FM, the allocatable bands are on all multiples of 50KHz (e.g., 88MHz, 88.05, 88.1,
etc.) In North America, the standard is odd multiples of 100KHz (e.g., 88.1, 88.3, etc.) Many tuners sold in the US and Canada can handle the European standard, but not all. There is a similar difference in AM, but I never remember the difference. However, in my experience, if the FM tuner is suitable, the AM tuner will also work. Back to top ^

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- Transformers etc.

First, a bit of terminology. There are three types of voltage adaption
devices: transformers, converters, and "power cubes".

Transformers reduce the voltage cleanly, losing about 10% of the power (to
heat) in the process. They do not convert the frequency. Due to mislabeling on both transformers and appliance electrical rating plates (the difference between a watt and a volt-amp in AC), it is recommended to only use about 70% of the transformer's rating.

Small ungrounded (2-prong) transformers (50-60W) are very cheap in Israel, and are available in any hardware store. They are small cubes that plug into the wall, and you plug your 110V device in. Some models can handle a US polarized plug, although there is no guarantee that the output is properly polarized, since the input is not polarized. It is not safe to use these for something that needs grounding.

Larger transformers (100-2500W) are available at better hardware stores at reasonable prices, comparable with US prices. The better models, which are not that much more expensive, have grounding (3-prong plug), fuse protection, and a power switch. Avoid the ones that have a reversible cord. Larger wattage transformers are very large and heavy.

Converters are small devices that cut the voltage down. The output voltage is not very "clean" electrically. Converters are usually high-wattage (1500W or so), and run very hot. As per the instructions, they should not be used for more than 15-20 minutes, are should not be used on electronics or anything with a motor. They are mainly useful for hair driers, portable irons, etc.

Power cubes are smaller transformers with some extra circuits to produce DC voltages. They are used on smaller items like tape recorders in place of batteries. Other devices, such as injet printers, some with custom voltage power cubes. Some power cubes are just transformers, and output low voltage AC.

It is generally better to replace a power cube than to run one off a transformer. However, some power cubes are weird voltage, and it is hard or impossible to find a replacement.

Posted to the NBN List- price comparison of Israeli and US made transformers

Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:14 am

Re: 1200 Watt transformer - Buy in the US before you leave

I spoke to Machlev "the transformer guy" in Givat Shaul as well. He comes
highly recommended on the Nefesh B'Nefesh listserv. He was very nice and when I
told him I didn't have a car even offered to drive the transformers to Beit
Shemesh or some other nearby area. Since I'm in Raanana, that didn't help so
much. His prices seemed to be pretty standard for Israel from what I've been
able to find out. But what is uncommon is that he seems very willing to stand
by his products and is very nice customer oriented.

HOWEVER if you have NOT made aliyah yet, I would highly recommend purchasing
them in the US. We purchased one in the US before we left and it was almost
HALF the price of what I cold find in Israel. I mentioned this to Machlev and
he said maybe it was a cheap Chinese transformer and I said no, it was a Todd
brand, made in the USA. And he said, oh, "I know that brand, it's good. I
can't explain it then, I guess it is more expensive here."

Transformers are very heavy but quite small so you could fit several in your
lift. We purchased ours from Bondy Export (the 220 volt store on the lower east
side of Manhattan). He didn't charge us tax (because it was for export) and had
some arrangement with our shipper (Strand) so it was delivered to them at no
extra charge. I just checked yesterday with Avi at Bondy export for a price
list and his prices had not changed:

Todd Transformers. Made in USA:
350 $48
500 $55
750 $65
1000 $75
1500 $85

(I had not asked him about 1200 watts) As a comparison, the cheapest price I
was quoted in Israel for a 1500 watt transformer was 600 shekel, close to
double!

I can't find the phone # off hand but his email is bondyexport@aol.com and he
is on canal street. You can tell him we referred you. I'm actually going to
try to hold off until next month and get some more there. The one we have
already so far has worked great.

Boaz & Danielle Berkowitz
NY - > Raanana July 06

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- Plug adapters (phone and electric)

Some electrical items sold in the US are multi- (or dual-) voltage, and can handle the 220V used in Israel. Examples are small travel appliances (e.g. hair driers), computers, some chargers, etc. Many of these items have built-in plugs, which means that you cannot replace the plug with an Israeli plug. In this case, you need to use a plug adapter, available in hardware stores.

If the item has a plug at the end of a cord, it is far safer to replace the plug with an Israeli plug. Make sure that this is done by someone who understands home wiring. If the item will be travelling back and forth, you might want to use a plug adapter. It the power cord detaches, such as those on a laptop, you might want to invest in a second cord, and have one for each electrical system.

In general, I prefer not to use plug adapters for a number of reasons. The two main reasons are that they can be a safety hazard, as they tend to have looser connections which means that the plug prongs can become exposed, and second, I have had too many people tell me about the time that they accidentally used a plug adapter on a 110V item, and fried it. In my house, I replace plugs when possible, and try to attach the plug adapter to the item in a semi-permanent way when I must use it. For example, on our travel hair drier, I used an electrical tie to strap on the adapter. On a batter charger, hung it off a short string that I glued on.

The main point is that all items with 110V plugs should be plugged into a transformer, and all 220V items are have Israeli plugs.

The phone system in Israel is 100% compatible with the US system with two
exceptions: a different phone jack and only one line per jack. Phone equipment all has the common RJ22 phone jack - it is just the wall jacks that are different.

Phone jack adapters are available in every hardware store, and even some of the larger supermarkets. You can get jacks that provide dual sockets, even one Israeli and one US-compatible. I use one of these on the jack with the answering machine and phone. Replacement phone cords sold here are available with one end as Israeli or as US, with the other end always being US.
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- 220V stores
For a list of 220V Appliance Vendors- click here

Some larger cities in the US and Canada have stores that specialize in appliances for people moving to Europe, Israel, and the Far East. Your shaliach's office can probably give you the names of stores in your area. Many of these stores target their clientelle, and carry items that are more useful in some areas than others.

Some of these stores are less honest than others, knowning that if you have problems you won't be back to hassle them. In other words, get recommendations. Not all stores carry every item (they can't!), but many will order items for you, even if they don't have it on their show floor.

It does not always pay to buy small kitchen appliances in the US or Canada. For example, I paid less for a stick blender here in Israel than I paid in the 220V store in LA.

Beware of pressure sales. You don't want to let the sales people pressure you into a certain model or feature. Also, make sure that you do your homework on what features you want or need. You also want to make sure that whatever you buy will be appropriate for Israeli apartments. For example, if you plan to live in the Old City, you probably don't want a 25cft fridge and a 30" range, as they just won't fit into the apartment. (They might not even go through the front door.) Back to top