One-Time Use Cellphone Charger?
 

Is there such a thing? I thought I'd seen one somewhere a long time ago when I didn't need it, but now it would come in handy if there is such an item. Thinking of this for a ten day trip later this year to the UK, where my older quadband GSM cellphone's NA style charger won't be useful as it won't convert the current differences. I've got the UK plug adapter that would allow me to plug in my regular charger plug but it doesn't convert for the different volts/amps in the UK. My phone has about a ten day standby time, but the daily calls while abroad would shorten the battery charge to about half that.

If there is a "one-time" disposeable charger that comes with a plug that is adaptable to an LG or other cellphone, does anyone know of such an animal?

Failing that, any (inexpensive) charger or converter suggestions?

Thanks,

bj-21.

Disposable charger? How wasteful.

Which phone are you trying to charge?

Are you sure your current charger doesn't support other voltages? Virtually every charger made in the last 10 years does.

Nooo, not wasteful for us at all. Now retired and all our usual travels are in NA, where our phone's regular charger works just fine. Therefore buying an expensive converter or charger for us is the only real waste from my point of view as at our advanced age I don't envision much more TATL or other foreign travel in the future (NZ is out of the question according to my wife), other then this year's trip to the UK. Hence my looking for a one-time use or at least inexpensive converter for the UK trip.

Phone is an LG CU 400 unlocked quadband.

bj-21.

OP, you are unlikely going to find a generic plug that's compatible with your LG even if a one-time use celluar charger. You might be thinking of one of those emergency charger that used 3 or 4 AA batteries - sometimes available for popular make like Motorola, Nokia & Blackberry - typically with a mini-usb or micro-usb plug, or maybe with the 30-pin iPhone style plug.

More practical, shop eBay & pickup a 220 to 110 volt converter as it should take care of your charger (as others said, most OEM chargers made in the last 10 years are dual voltage & auto-sense/convert 110 and 220/240 - look at your oem charger's small label/stickers closely, as you shouldn't need one) - only a converter plug from Euro to NA 2 or 3 plug style is then needed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/50W-220-TO-1...ab9f97cc7#shId

Checkout Walmart Canada as they might have a closeout special for these products - or, being in YYZ - if you go to Toronto's Chinatown and/or Scarborough area, check with one of those Asian cellphone shops/counters as they might just have one to sell to you for $10 or so - test it on the spot, no wait for shipping.

Many online accessory retailers still stock the LG charger - a generic one for as little as $2.99 (shipping $4.99 from oversea - delivered in 10 to 15 business days) with this link - http://www.cellphoneshop.net/eltrchforlgc3.html

Disclaimer - not endorsing these vendors or sellers nor affiliated/connected with them - Google is your pal

Thanks, Letitride3c,

As I mentioned, no problems with the original charger for my cellphone here in NA, it works fine. I think the model I have first came out in 2006/7, so I'll have a look at the user's manual to see if it's able to change to the UK's current automatically without any damage to the phone when charging it.

We already have a three pronged adapter plug for the UK from prior trips years ago before we got this cellphone, so we're okay on that score. Also, I think some hotels in the UK may offer adaptable sockets and current for NA devices, so possibly that will be an answer while we're over there.

We have friends and family in the UK, Scotland and N.Ireland, and being able to use our cellphone to reach them and them call us while we're traveling over there is a definate convenience.

bj-21.

the converters are generally able to handle the range of volts and wattage in most major cities and countries. So you really just need the plug adaptor and the charger for the device you're going to use. The same holds true for the majority of electronics that use a "power brick" of sorts.

Have you even looked at the label of your charger? Chances are very high it will work just fine.

Travel Adapter
This adapter allows you to
charge the battery. It supports
standard U.S. 120 Volt 60Hz
outlets.
It takes under 4 hours to charge
a completely discharged battery.

This is from the manual for our cellphone, and has a picture of the same standard wall charger that came with the phone we have and the one that Letitride3c linked to from the Cellphoneshop. Will check the wallplug with wire to the phone that came with it later tonight to see if the info on it is any different.

bj-21.

A 110 - 220 charger for the LG CU320, CU400, CU500 for under three bucks

http://www.cellphoneshop.net/eltrchforlgc3.html

While not disposable, at three bucks it may as well be.

$3.09 on amazon for a car charger - http://www.amazon.com/CU400-Cell-Pho.../dp/B000Q2P59I

$0.99 on amazon for a 110 - 220 wall charger - http://www.amazon.com/CU400-Travel-C...words=LG+CU400

In 2008 I got a help email from a friend with a similar problem -- only he was already on the ground in a 230v country. As I was struggling with a fix, it occurred to me that the shaver outlets in most 230v bathrooms can handle low amperage 110v (making sure that the switch is in the correct position). My friend did that and it worked like a charm.

I wouldn't worry about a one time use charger. If you want a charger for your your phone hit Amazon or Ebay and you can probably find a permanent one for $10.

Alternatively go to front desk at 11:30pm telling them that you lost your charger. Most hotels have a box of chargers that customers have left behind and half the time they will let you pick through it without any excuse at all.

OP: look at the label on your charger and verify its input voltage.

Okay, here's what I've copied verbatum from the wall plug of my standard LG charger that came with the cellphone, and which still works fine here in Canada and the U.S. :

INPUT: 100 - 240 V
50/60 Hz 150-100 mA

OUTPUT: 4.6V____800mA
(note that there are 3 dashes under the solid line above, don't know if that means anything).

So reading that, I'd guess that maybe the wall charger I now have might work in the UK with the 3 pin plug for the UK we already have. BUT....also on the same wall plug is a CAUTION sticker that reads that for foreign use outside of the U.S. I should check for more info in my phone's manual. So back to the drawing board to read through the manual again to see if I can find the information on foreign useage. Found the manual online, so I'll start checking the many pages again there, as it's easier and faster to thumb through that way.

bj-21.

Your phone will be fine in the UK. Your wall wart handles the power conversion, not the phone. the only cause for concern would be in places where wall power is not reliable (think third world countries with really poor infrastructure) or if your building gets struck by lightning and you have to deal with a surge.

Just get a travel adapter. Or something like this (what I have used across four continents and in third-world countries without issue).

Thanks sparkchaser,

I've already got a small 3 pronged adapter for the UK like the one shown in the pictures from the Amazon site you've linked to, so that should work for us on our trip.

Thanks for all the replies. Just wasn't sure that my cellphone's wall charger would work in the UK without frying the phone, and that's why I might have needed a different converter or charger if it wouldn't work overseas. Who do I bill for a new phone if my phone starts smoking when I charge it in the UK? Just joking, thanks for all the help and tips.

bj-21.

You'll be fine. Just don't forget to turn the outlet on. ;)