Patty

I just returned from a two week trip to Paris and Southern France. I could not get my blower dryer to work in the bathroom of any hotel (including two of the top hotels). I could not use the one they supplied. I had an adaptor and converter. My curling iron was dual voltage and it also would not work in the bathroom. I purchased in Dijon a blow dryer hoping it would work but it didn't. When I finally got them to work in another room I could barely reach to a mirrow which I needed to style my hair. The do is very important to me because I have terrible hair without it so I can not go natural after washing it. The adaptor and converter I bought in the US was by Travel Essentials. The converter was so top heavy for the adaptor that the connection was very loose but even when I held it in the socket they still didn't work. (Any help would be greatly appreciated since I will be going to Italy next year. Thanks Patty

martha python

Were you by any chance plugging your blowdrier into the low-voltage outlet for shavers? <BR>I can't explain why the hotel's blow dryer didn't work--bad styling karma?

elaine

Patty, I don't understand why the hotel's blow dryer didn't work--did you report it? Perhaps their dryer or socket was not working properly, although that doesn't address why you had such bad luck everywhere, including with the dryer you purchased. <BR>Martha asks a good question, if you were trying to get a hair dryer to work from a low-voltage shaver outlet...It is just difficult to find a European hotel bathroom that has an outlet for a hair dryer or other such appliance. I have been known to move furniture around in the bedroom trying to get to a wall outlet, which is of course usually nowhere near a mirror. <BR>I understand about the converter being top-heavy for the adapter, which is why dual voltage <BR>or locally-purchased appliances should have been a better idea. <BR>

Mary Ann

Yes I too have moved furniture, in the future I will either use a cordless curling iron or bring an extension cord. Another alternative is to get a small travel mirror from sharper image that can stand by itself. I just got one and it may alleviate the need for the extension cord. My sister in law had problems with the hair dryers in that they ran but were not powerful enough to dry her hair. She may be sharing my extension cord on the next trip. <BR>Also, to ease the converter weight problem, as you mentioned, the dual voltage with only a converter plug does work better. <BR>Good luck next trip!!

Lee

Patty: This is just an assumption, but it sounds like either the "GFI" or ground interrupt was tripped, limiting the outlet current. Power is expressed in watts and this is voltage x current, so if your blow dryer was rated at 1500 watts, and the voltage is 220VAC (Europe), then the current draw was 7.0 amps (approx.) and the outlet will not supply that. It senses a high current situation, usually installed in bathrooms to prevent people from coming in contact with lethal voltages (electrocution). It should have at least come on initially, but I don't know it's sensitivity. <BR> <BR>The bonus is the hotel can keep their power usage down while preventing accidents. It's also a savings for them.

Brian in Atlanta

I've always found the outlets in European bathrooms to be too-low current for hairdryers. Like Lee says, it's probably a safty issue (all that shower water on the floor, you know).

kam

From another furniture mover........I have a dual voltage dryer that I flip to 240 and use with an adaptor. That said, my dryer will only operate on the lower wattage (350 watts, I recall) setting anywhere in Europe. My British friend got so tired of me blowing fuses in her house on my last visit that for a "welcome present" she gave me a nice shiney UK hairdryer! We went on to western UK and Wales and all was great. Heaven! In Italy for your next trip, I have never seen anything but the low voltage (shavers only) plugs in a bathroom. Go with the purchased mirror and move the furniture. Somewhere I bought a mirror with a suction cup that I can stick on a window for light. Always wonder what people think if they see me! Just one of the joys of travel!