220 Appliances

The On-Line Appliance Catalog, Information and Kef Recommendations

Which appliances are still worth importing?

Because of the new lower taxes, the list of appliances worth bringing is more limited than it was. Here are items still worth importing.

Big American appliances, if you want them and will make space to fit them in your new living place—oven—built-in or freestanding, stovetop, fridge, freezer, washer, dryer.

Fancy appliances-- even if they are not large. High end brands—Miele, Dacor, Subzero, Viking. All built-in or bottom-freezer fridges. Free-standing self-cleaning ovens.

Electronics—VCR, LCD/plasma TV , stereo.

Small appliances—see below.

Which appliances are not worth bringing, if you’re not already making a shipment?

Basic, not high-end European appliances—washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher, stovetop. TV’s except LCD and plasma.

CAN YOU BRING YOUR OLD US APPLIANCES?

American electric current is 110 volts; Israel and Europe are on a 220-volt system. If you plug a 110-volt machine into an Israeli socket, it will burn out. A step-down transformer converts 220 volts to 115 and is appropriate for use with certain appliances—choose one 20% above the maximum wattage of your machine.

Motors in American appliances operate at 60 hertz (cycles per second), and in Israeli appliances at 50. Even with a transformer, without an adjustment for 50 herz, large American domestic appliances and all clocks will work 18% slower, will heat up more and will have a shorter than normal life span. A transformer supplying 100 volts instead of the usual 115 or 120 is recommended in Israel when using an American appliance on Israeli 50 cycle current. Don’t worry about bringing a transformer for the following items, since you can buy the transformers to direct current cheaply and easily in Israel: Telephones, answering machines, calculators, and anything else that has a little black box that plugs into the wall instead of a plug.

Don’t even think of using a transformer with:

*Air conditioners: better to get a split unit in Israel.

*Heating devices: toasters, toaster ovens, heaters, and irons. The transformer will weigh and cost more than the appliances. (For something that is going to stay on for less than 90 seconds, you could use a converter, which is a small, usually light colored box, that says ‘up to 1500 watts.”) Some people have used one big transformer for all their small appliances including heating devices. In that case, it’s important to install a switch so that the transformer does not stay on all the time. This saves electricity and makes it less likely that turning the transformer on will ‘flop your fuses’.

*Vacuum cleaners, dishwashers.

*Washers and dryers though from time to time we have sold domestic US washers, dryers, and US washer/dryer combinations such as the stacked Maytag washer/gas dryer and installed them with transformers. They seem to work fine.

*TV, VCR, DVD— A US VCR will work on transformer, but only if it is  50/60 hertz and only for US tapes played on a US or multi-system tv. Same for  a US DVD.  There are many US DVD system dvd recordings available in the video/dvd libraries in Israel.   Also some of the US DVD players can be reprogrammed to accept any non-US dvd recordings.

What about furniture?

It is no longer possible to buy Israeli made furniture tax free.

Some general advice: Shop for furniture where you are most comfortable shopping. If you can haggle on Herzl Street in Tel Aviv, go there. If you can shop the sales in New York, buy there, but only if you are already making a shipment for either appliances or other household goods.

1. If you can afford it, buy quality. Your tax privileges are usually a one-time event, so buy things that will last and that you will enjoy.

2. Don’t ship junk—unless you love it. When you ship, insure, clear, and deliver goods from abroad, you are adding considerable value. It is a pity to add that much value to things that are not worth much to begin with, unless they mean a lot to you.

SMALL APPLIANCES and transformers

Late model small appliances may work with no problem on a transformer. For a kitchen full of new American small 110 appliances, you can install one transformer into a cabinet with a multi-socket connected just below it. Timers or clocks may not be accurate, since they use the frequency (hertz, cycles) of the current to keep time. Many small appliances still sell for twice as much in Israel as in the USA, so it is worthwhile including them in your shipment. Compare prices at www.zap.co.il

Likely not worth importing-- hand drills, battery chargers, fans, small fan-heaters, small radiator-heaters, and toaster- ovens. For small items, you could ask friends and relatives to bring them when they come—every person over age two is permitted to bring in $200 of “gifts” tax-free---but it is more convenient to include them in a shipment.

Likely worth importing: Walkman, shaver, hair dryer, iron, toaster oven, coffee maker, toaster, espresso maker, coffee urn, tea kettle, can opener/knife sharpener, blender, slow cooker, hand mixer, hand power tools (jigsaw, circular saw), sewing machine, garbage disposal—Insinkerator is best—dehumidifier, blender, citrus juicer, radiator heater, deep fryer, dust buster, ion maker/air purifier, keyboard. If you have recently purchased some of these in America, you might consider using them in Israel on a transformer.

Remember: Transformers should never be kept on the counter level or near water. (See section on Transformers.)

Following chart is transformer wattage, size, and cost per year if plugged in all the time.

	NS /year if plugged in all the time
watts		size
300	$ 24.80	2"x2"x 2"
500	$ 41.34	3"x3"x 3"
1000	$ 82.68	6"x6"xx6"

Timing your appliance shipment

How long before shipment should you order? Appliances, unless you’re informed otherwise, are generally deliverable to the forwarder within one week. Dacor and Viking can take 2-5 weeks to get to the forwarder. And specific models of even the most popular and reasonably priced brands and models can suddenly and inexplicably become unavailable. So order early. If the appliances arrive with 10 days to spare before a boat sails, chances are the shipper will find room and time to pack them and get them aboard. On the other hand, the Kef consolidator may not have room in one of his containers for a shipment your size, or he may not have enough consolidations to make it worthwhile to ship a container yet. That can be a particular problem for shipments from Chicago—especially in winter. Most steamship companies have ships leaving every two weeks for Israel. Direct shipments take 15-22 days from the East Coast, 30-40 days from the West

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