traveling with electrical items in US

pavlovs_dog

im off to florida in a few months and am going through a bit of a dilema - should i take my hair straighteners or not?

i've been told that on travel hairdryers etc, there is a switch where you can select the correct (wattage/ampage - some power level?! ) for the country you are in.

straighteners however, do not have this facility, and i dont want to plug them in (albeit through a plug converter thingy) only to fuse out the whole hotel, electrute myself in the process, AND still have frizzy hair!

does anyone have any advice on where i come off with such electrical items whilst im in the states?

squeaky

We work on a voltage of 240v over here and Americans use 110v

So if you plugged your straightener in, even with an adaptor, it wouldn't work properly, if at all.

If it hasn't got the switch to allow you to work with different power supplies then I'm afraid you're fresh out of luck.

Sorry.

fifeken

I bought a voltage convertor last year in USA. This is basically a transformer which changes between American and European voltages. It is a similar size to most adapters but weighs considerably more. It will supply less power, but should work for most things. It worked OK for charging a mobile phone, but a friend did recently have problems with hair straighteners. Cost approx 20 US dollars. You still need your adapter from UK 3 pin plug to European 2 pin type.

squeaky

It might well be true that the one you bought would not be good enough to power the heater in hair straighteners. if it's just meant for charging phones it definitely won't be.

For the OP:
By the time you spend out on a more powerful transformer you might find that buying some cheap and cheerful tongs while you're over there would be the better option.

jnd

I agree with Squeaky on buying some over there.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/productlist.jhtml?CATID=100318&navAction=jump&navCount=0

There's a Walgreens everywhere.

pavlovs_dog

squeaky wrote:

We work on a voltage of 240v over here and Americans use 110v

So if you plugged your straightener in, even with an adaptor, it wouldn't work properly, if at all.

If it hasn't got the switch to allow you to work with different power supplies then I'm afraid you're fresh out of luck.

Sorry.

i was worried you'd tell me that least i know now, and can brace myself for the thought of a fortnight of unruly hair :rotfl:



ok, question2.... if i was to buy tongs in the states, would they work over here when i got home (with the appropriate plug cconverter do-dah?)


thanking you all for sharing your wisdom :beer: :j
p_d

pavlovs_dog

lol, scary thought.... this

---

> :eek: could be quite an accurate depiction of what i may well look like without them

squeaky

pavlovs_dog wrote:

i was worried you'd tell me that least i know now, and can brace myself for the thought of a fortnight of unruly hair :rotfl:



ok, question2.... if i was to buy tongs in the states, would they work over here when i got home (with the appropriate plug cconverter do-dah?)


thanking you all for sharing your wisdom :beer: :j
p_d

Quick answer NO

There is a way to do it but it's not just with a simple plug adapter. If you try that you'll blow the tongs up or start a fire or melt them.

You would need a proper power transformer that would change our 240v to their 110v - and again, that's likely to cost you more than the tongs.

alanrowell

ok, question2.... if i was to buy tongs in the states, would they work over here when i got home (with the appropriate plug cconverter do-dah?)

1) they'd have to be capable of running on 240v
2) you'd have to change the plug
3) if they aren't capable of running on 240v and you plug them in you are in grave danger of killing yourself or at least giving yourself a nasty shock as they melted.

In short, keep the US ones for the US, Canada & Japan and the UK ones for the rest of the world

pavlovs_dog

thank you all for your help!

surfcat

To OP: look at the electrical items you want to take, whether mobile charger, hair tongs, whatever. There should be a sticker/plate/or just raised plastic on there telling you how it can be used.

eg my motorola phone charger says on it (amongsT other stuff):
INPUT: 100-240V, 50/60Hz AC, 0.3A.

The important bits are the voltage, (V) and frequency (Hz).
In Britain voltage=230V (NOT 240, has not been 240 for several years), frequency 50Hz
In America volateg=110V, frequecny=60Hz.

So if your appliance has a range that covers both locations, such as my phone charger, then it will work in both locations (of course you will need an adaptor to make the plug fit in the holes!)

PS: THE ABOVE ASSUMES YOU CAN READ AND UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, THAT YOU ARE USING THE APPLIANCE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURERS INSTRUCTIONS, AND THAT ANY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM YOU ARE CONNECTING IT TO IS PROPERLY MAINTAINED.