My South African (230V, 50Hz) bench drill and grinder run 20% faster - induction motors. The grinder sounds sweeter at 3450 rpm rather than 2850 rpm (I suspect this is its original 60 Hz design spec) and I have a conversion table posted above the drill for the speed increase.
B&D hammer drill, sander etc. (brush motors)
run no different, likewise heaters and lights. TV's, HiFi's and other electronics that step down their supply internally appear unaffected electrically - they generate low V DC (there are other isues regarding PAL/NTSC and the preset bandwidths on FM, MW and SW that differ between 60 Hz land and 50 Hz land!).
There are problems with timers and oscillators that use the line frequency as internal clocks. Household white-goods (dishwashers/washing machines etc.) are a no go.
There are, I believe, induction/capacitance issues with transformers - but I'll let the pro's tackle that.
[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 12-01-2002).]
