ddlovestravel

Going to be in Kenya and Tanzania end of June/beginning of July and have a question about charging our camera batteries. I’ve checked our battery chargers and they are “dual voltage” devices (will work on 110V/60 Hz and 220V/50 Hz). I have purchased a package of “adapters” to allow me to plug my charger into whatever type of outlet I might encounter. I understand that AC power might be a luxury and therefore not always available and if so, I might be limited to using one outlet. What do you suggest if you have two or more chargers? I was curious if you could take a regular 110VAC power strip and change the power cord to a two wire cord with a non-polarized plug and use it to connect more than one charger since they’re fairly low wattage devices. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

dssxxxx

Use a car/vehicle charger. They are universal and available to you all day.

ddlovestravel

Since we won't be on a private safari - wouldn't that be a problem if everyone in the vehicle was counting on doing the same? At this point, I don't have a car charger for any of the cameras and I assume that would be more expensive to buy one for each of our cameras.

GrannyJoan

My husband always takes one plug, a transformer and an extension cord that has multiple plugs. This configuration allows him to plug in multiple things at a time. It is easier to pack the extension cord with multiple plugs than a power strip. He is an electrical engineer and seems to know about these things, so I rely on his judgement.

We even find that when in the US sometimes the plugs in some of the old lodges in the National parks are limited and in awkward places, so this extension cord comes in handy there as well. Nothing is worse than trying to plug in something to a plug that is situated in the middle of the bed or behind some stationary TV.

Since your chargers are marked "dual voltage" it might not be necessary to have the transformer, but we always take one anyway just to be safe.

Hope this helps.
- Granny Joan

TravelLover2

My husband and I are going to Tanzania and Kenya in July, and have been avidly reading the boards for info from all the experts. We've been wondering the same thing about camera charges. Thank you GrannyJoan for your suggestion on the extension cord. Is a transformer the same as a converter? Has anyone had trouble with power surges at the camps - we were thinking of taking a small surge protector with 2-3 outlets.

Bill_H

We have up to 8 gizmos to charge on safari so we bought a UK power strip with multiple sockets, which solved the problem.

I think it cost $25 or so from a mail-order place we found on the internet. If this is a one-time trip you can donate it when you leave.

Bill

patlanta

We recently took a regular 4-AA battery charger, a Duracell 15 minute charger, a dinky universal charger, a surge protector, and a transformer. The regular charger worked with the adapters (two different ones for Kenya), surge protector and the transformer, unitl I forgot to use the transformer in the configuration. Then the Duracell, which says 90W on the back, killed the transformer which was good to 60W, my mistake. Last ditch was the universal 4-AA battery charger which takes forever to charge batteries, but it does work in the long run.

Now I've contacted Duracell and even though it doesn't say "universal" they're saying that the unit is such internally and all I need is a converter and the correct plug adapters. Any electrical engineering opinions on this?

I can't go off and rely on their Email opinion without a back up and I don't want to carry two of these heavy things and a transformer or a converter. Is there some way I could test it? Is there a way to access 240V at home?

Thanks for bringing up the subject.

GrannyJoan

We are traveling to South Africa. I may have misstated above when I said transformer. It is a Watt Voltage Converter.

Looking at the items that my husband has set aside to take with us, I see:

(1) 50/1600 Watt Voltage Converter - which allows 110/120 volt appliance built for use in North American to operate safely while traveling in countries with 220/240 volt electricity. (Select 50 watt setting for small & motorized appliances (e.g. battery chargers, curling irons, tape or CD players, razors) or the 1600 watt setting for high wattage NON-Electronic heating appliances (e.g. hairdryers, electric blankets, bottle warmers, irons, coffee makers).

(2) Two adapter plugs: One is a two prong round and the other has three round prongs. Both adapt to the US square prongs. The one with three round prongs adapts for the US square prongs with grounded third round prong.

(3) Extension cord.

Hope this is not too confusing. I believe we got these at Magellan's or Travel Smith.

Here is a good article to read about transformers and converters. This article might be clearer than my explanations.

http://www.laptoptravel.com/Article.aspx?ID=339

Hope this helps.

- Granny Joan

atravelynn

Does this item exist or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

A regular battery-operated device (AA's Cs or Ds, or something similar) that recharges the Lithium Ion batteries used by so many of the digital cameras.

Then no electricity is needed. One kind of battery would be recharging the other.

I have a philosophical aversion to going to remote and wild places and expecting electricity. I also have a fear that through a glitch there will be none when I need it for recharging something. And there are some destinations that just don't have electricity period.

If it does exist, what is it called and where can I buy it?

Thank you.

bevor

Lynn -- Not sure there's such a thing, but even if there were, it would get pretty cumbersome (and comical) to carry extra batteries to charge the charger for the charger..... What does exist, though, is a solar charger. I don't own one, but I've been thinking about buying one for our upcoming trip to Botswana. I share your aversion to expecting and using electricity in the bush. Try searching solar battery charger on amazon.

atravelynn

Bevor,
Yes, ha ha. A charger to charge the charger of my charger's charger. Can you say baggage weight limits?

Solar may be the key. Thank you.

sandi

ddloves -

If staying in lodges while in Kenya and Tanzania, there should be outlets in your room. If in tents, some may have outlets, more though that run on solar will not. In the case of the latter, you can charge batteries in the camp office, where they usually have power strips to accommodate their guests.

If you only have camera batteries to charge, it's a good idea to have at least 2, preferably 3 batteries (or sets of batteries, i.e., if needing 3 or 4 batteries for your camera).

This way you have 1/battery/ies in the camera, another with you as back-up; the 3rd back at lodge/camp recharging. Most battery chargers are dual voltage so you don't need a converter, only the adapter plug.

For Kenya, you need the 3-flat prong adapter plug (used in the UK). Same for Tanzania, though I've come upon a few places in Tanzania that use the 2-round plug adapter as used in France or Italy.

Though my charger takes forever to recharge, it's done overnight or when I'm out on game drive, so doesn't impact picture taking. Camera is always ready!

cybor

My 2 cents,
We brought 3 batteries - one to have in the charger, 1 charged in camera and an extra charged battery on us, just in case.
Also, as stated, some camps have time limits on electric which may not suit your needs.

If possible, bring 2 modes to charge with. We had a lighter charger that didn't stay put properly in the outlet due to bumps and possibly not a perfect fit.
The thing would spit out our charger everytime we went over a big bump. We had no prob. finding outlets in every camp - sometimes in the mess tent or cooking areas in the most rustic camps.

going_2_africa

This is a good thread and it sounds like some good info has been presented. Being the completely non-electrically savvy individual that I am, though, I want to clarify something.

The plug adapters alone are not enough, correct? You have to have some kind of voltage converter. All the adapters do is allow the prongs to fit into the outlet. Am I correct in my thinking?

Of course, now that I'm thinking about it, the only thing I'll need is to recharge camera batteries and my charger is dual voltage, and has a car charger as well.

Still curious about the converter/adapter sitch though.

fbirder

Most chargers these days are dual voltage. It saves the manufacturers money as they only have to make one type of charger for use in any of their global markets. It's just lucky that it's useful for us consumers as well.

sandi

The converter is needed only if the device needing to be used is single voltage only, i.e., 110-120v (US) to European, African, Asian which are 220, 240, 250v.

Cnverters come in different sizes (voltages) <1500 and >1500. With many new products out there, please be sure not to use a converter for <1500 device, for say a hairblower needing 1850. Many newer converters are available in dual and can handle both kinds of devices.

However, as many of today's electrical devices are dual voltage (except, it seems to be curling irons, ceramic straighteners.... ok, gal things ... what else would I know?) converters aren't required. But, be certain the device is set on the correct voltage. If not it will simply melt away, ugh!

Only then do you need the adapter plug for the outlet. Individual adapters are available, or you can find complete sets - converter/adapters - at reasonable prices ($25-$50); they'll last for many visits to Africa and elsewhere. A good investment for years of use.

Momliz

good thread - what kind of plugs in Bots/SA?
And, as we are out in the bush, I would think solar would be the way to go depending on the time of year and so cloud cover. Also, isn't some electricity limited since it's turned off? (haven't been on safari yet so don't know how all this works)
It must be awful (physically since they are noisy, and philosophically since we are in the wilderness) to have those generators running during the day and I would not want to put anymore of a burden on that system than I need to. What does the noise and fumes from the generators do to the neighboring flora and fauna? I will be the first to admit that I am a hypocrite somewhat since I do like a little ice in my drink.
Now, please excuse my ignorance in matters electrical, but do the generators even put out enough juice for all the guests to plug in their power strips?

Momliz

googling solar battery chargers brought up a ton of sites, including this one: http://store.sundancesolar.com/5wahisprosob.html

going_2_africa

Momliz,

Here's a link that has virtually every country listed and their respective electricity "stats" Click on the letters in the fourth column and it will show pics of the plug.

Shane

going_2_africa

http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm

Helps if I post the link. DUH!!!