I was at Target today and looking at power adapters for an upcoming trip to the UK and Germany. I need to charge a laptop (Dell Insprion 1525) and digital camera battery (Canon Rebel XSI), both of which can take 100-240 volts/50-60 Hz according to the stickers on the adapters, so it is my understanding that I just need the plug adapter, not a voltage converter. The set I saw at Target said something along the lines of "Not for use with Class I electronics including laptops, MP3 players, cameras, etc" and since I need to charge a laptop and camera, I didn't buy them. But these were just adapters, all they do is convert the plug shape from the North American plug to the correct foreign plug, why would it matter what's plugged in to it? It's not converting any voltage, correct? Would I be safe using these adapters, or are there some sold elsewhere that I can use with my stuff without risking blowing something up? Thanks

I don't know those specific ones, but anything that converts the flat plugs to round pins should be just fine. I've used some of the cheapest, crappiest looking $1.99 each adapters I could find and had nothing but success with them.

Cool, thanks. Where can I buy these cheap plugs at anyways? The ones at Target seemed kinda pricey, especially since I didn't even need half of them in the set.

Walmart sells a generic version of this one for $10. In my nearby store it's in the luggage area, not electronics. I bought my last two at Kohls and the Samsonite store, though I don't think Kohls stocks them any longer. I've been all over the place with it, including the UK just this month and Germany.

At Deal Extreme of course (assuming you can wait a week or two for them)

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13525

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2709

-David

Good cheap sources are Fry's (if you're in an area that has them) or sometimes Radio Shack. Basically, look for stores that carry electronic components.

On the other hand, how much effort is it worth to you to save probably $5 or so?

Bob

So everyone here with experience says that, when traveling to UK all I need to do is convert my plugs, right?
My mom loaned me her set of plug converters a few years ago. Not power converters, just switching the plugs over. She said she used them throughout Europe. I was visiting my sis in London, and she said, no, I needed the power converter or my curling iron would do Baaaaad things.

While I was able to borrow her hairdryer, I went for a month and a half without using a curling iron. Not a pleasant site unless I want to live in a ponytail.

Was I had by my sister? I didn't want to question her then as she gets very testy about things, but now she is back in the states and I am headed to UK and Russia. Will need to plug in travel hairdryer, curling iron, as well as recharge laptop and digital camera. When I look online I get conflicting information.

Voices of the wise and experienced- plug converters or power converters? (and will these be ok for laptops?)
Thank you.

Princess - If your electronics say "100-240V 50-60 Hz" then all you need to do is convert the plug shape. Note that some electronics might be rated 100-220V or 230 instead of 240 - these should also be fine.

Note that most electronics - computers, phone chargers, etc - sold in the last few years are 100-240 V. Things like hair dryers and curling irons tend to have a switch you need to set to the correct voltage level, but this feature isn't present on all hair dryers/curling irons. If your hairdryer/iron has a 120/240V switch then all you need to do is convert the plug shape. Else you need a transformer that works with these items. These sorts of transformers tend to be heavy and large because they need to pull 10-15 amps at 120 volts. The pocket size transformers for electronics will not work for high power devices like hair dryers. If your hair dryer/iron don't have the switch, it's probably better to just go get a "travel" one that does and is small. It will probably cost no more than the appropriate transformer, and weigh a lot less.

If you're staying in a halfway decent hotel in the UK, it will most likely have a hair dryer in the room. Don't know about Russia.

There are two parts to these devices. 1) The plug adapter, which is just that. It will convert a two-prong US-looking outlet to a 2-pole outlet that you would find in Europe. 2) A power converter, looks like a small brick and can be used to convert power down from 220 (EU) to 110 (US).

Most high-end electronics devices can support world-wide power sources (110-240) assuming you have the correct plugs. For these types of devices, you can't use a power converter, JUST a plug adapter.

Lower-end electronics; hair-dryers, clock radios, etc. usually cannot support non-US power sources. Things like hair-dryers tend to have too much of a draw for power converters and can run really hot.

You're digital laptop/camera will most likely be fine. If you give me the devices, I can help check the specs. Your travel hair-dryer/curling iron may not do so well, and cannot use the power converters; too much of a draw. That said, many of the big name hotels abroad, have a 110V US-style outlet in the bathrooms.

Well, actually, you can use the converter (aka transformer). You just don't have to, since the device's power supply adjusts itself automatically.

Wirelessly posted (dell axim: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

It depends whether the electrical item has variable voltage, and that in turn generally depends on how portable the item is.

So laptops, iPods, camera chargers etc. all tend to be variable voltage and only require a plug converter. Some larger items can also have variable voltage power supply, eg an Apple Time Capsule.

There's no short way other than checking each item.

Brookstone do a good, small combo converter adapter for smaller items if you only realize at the airport that you need it.

You guys rock. I tried to ask MrP1, who knows electronics. But all he said was "what in the h*** are you doing going to Russia?"

I was at Brookstone a few days ago, and saw the travel pack. Also saw a convertable travel dryer, will probably invest in that.

For UK, I'll be staying in dorms at Cambridge, then renting a room near London from an educator's b and b site. (unless I luck out on the Travelodge deal) For Russia, looks like HOFA in Moscow, maybe St. Petersberg. No nice hotels on my miniscule teacher budget.

I will make a list and check everything. I did grab a few usb power supplies for cheapo at Fry's this am. Should take care of cell phone, camera, and gps.

Once I've done my homework with all the info you gave me, I'll let you know if I have more q's. Thank you a million!!!!!

Perhaps I've just bought cheap ones in the past; but I've had issues running higher-end equipment (primarily laptops) through converters. Always manage to blow/burn out to the transformer.

One catch with Russia -- officially, the prongs on Russian outlets are 4.0mm diameter vs. the 4.8mm standard in western Europe. The spacing (19mm) is the same.

This means that it's possible a western Europe plug won't fit because the prongs are too big. I had this problem in a friend's old Soviet-era apartment.

This is mitigated by the fact that some adapters do have the 4.0mm prongs, which work fine in western Europe outlets too, and newer outlets in Russia seem to be more forgiving of larger prongs. If all else fails, you can pick up an adapter in Russia fairly cheaply.

For hair dryers, curling irons, etc, you should consider dual voltage appliances. Even the typical voltage converters may not be sufficient for these devices since they tend to draw a lot of current. I'm sure you can buy a voltage converter that might work with them, but I don't think it's worth it when you can buy a dual voltage curling iron for travel purposes for $13 and just leave it in your travel bag. Yes, you still need the plug adapters.

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...0070926x00003a

If that's not what you want, just do a google search for "dual voltage curling irons".


-David