Insurance companies will use anything as an excuse, I should think.
1 Like
One aspect of French vs English culture which is perfectly aligned 
Paul - I’ve stood there, in the snow, while the Experts fired question after question… I can assure you, if there is anything “suspect” concerning a burned-out property - it will be pounced upon. 
That just stands for Chinese Export 
7 Likes
Much better to just change the plugs. The adaptors can (and will) fail, probably just when you don’t want them to.
When we moved here we bought our UK appliances and a bulk pack of adaptors.
The idea was that the adaptors would be for Day-0 usage, and I would go around the house replacing all the plugs with the correct French ones. I bought a bulk pack of those and set to it…
Best laid plans of mice and men…I forgot one, the adaptor on the dishwasher. 2 months later it stopped working, we assumed it had not survived the 6 months of storage and the voyage here. When trying to remove it for repairs I found the adaptor had melted. It was lucky that it had broken the circuit before it caught fire. By the look of it that was a close call. The adaptor claimed to be rated to 16amps, but was cheap…
IMHO, replace the plugs BEFORE you use the equipment, don’t be tempted to put it off. It is very worthwhile, your 2nd hand equipment won’t get a good price in the UK; the pounds you sell for won’t go very far when exchanged for EUR; finally, you will find that new equipment is expensive here and 2nd hand asking prices high.
2 Likes
Very easy to buy plugs and hardly rocket-science changing them. The flat 2 pin ones particularly, since you can get the sort that open like a book.
Glad you found out in time… the alternative could have been disastrous.
Me too 
I did post my experience on here at the time, as a cautionary tale to others. Lost now in the shrouds of time…
1 Like
Good information is worth posting more than once.
I mention my true-life cautionary tales more than once , if it seems appropriate.
Yes, glad disaster was averted.
I realise that Martin intended the adapter as a stop-gap measure only but his tale does underline my point - they get put on appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and dryers and forgotten - until it is too late.
3 Likes
You can obviously wire an English item to a French plug, although heavy load items are more liable to trip the French supply especially if its a low output 3 phase supply. Equally a good adaptor will also suffice.
I’ve found that quality French plugs and UK Adaptors are great, average French Plugs and UK Adaptors do work well, but cheap and nasty French Plugs and UK Adaptors are liable to break/fuse/melt/overheat/crack/split etc etc.
You pays yer money, and takes yer choice.