merrin

Hi all, I just returned from a glorious month long trip to London. The only problem I had was that my curling iron and blow dryer didn't work, even though I had an adapter. I had to buy a curling iron, fine, I can use it when I go back to London. I also went to Paris, the adapter didn't work there either and I wasn't going to buy another curling iron.

I would really some tips on how you handle these electrical devices abroad. It's obvously not feasible to buy them in every city you visit, but if the adapter doesn't work, what do you do then? I had bad hair for days!

Merrin

Budman

The plug adapters for London and Paris are completely different. If you had the London adapter (huge 3-prong), you could plug in your curling iron or blow dryer. Did you consider your appliances needed to be 220/240v? Were yours able to convert automatically, or did you have to move a switch? That could be the problem. If they were 110v only, did you have a transformer?

Since you bought your curling iron in the UK, the 3-prong plug would not work in France. I don't recall ever seeing an adapter going from the 3-prong to the 2 round prongs, but I'm sure one must exist.

My wife has the 110/220 convertable, and we only need the plug adapter. I'm not sure from your post what type of appliances you had and why they didn't work.

ira

Hi M,

You need either
a. A dual voltage device that works on both 110 and 220V power

b. A voltage **converter** that changes the European 220V to your US device's 110V system.

No matter which device you have, you need a plug **adapter** to connect your flat-blade US plug to the European round-holed outlets.

The outlets in the UK are different from the outlets on the Continent, so that if you have a dual voltage appliance you need two adapters.

Italyforme

just a quickie they do do adapters from the 3 prong to the european or US prong, but I suppose being as the UK are the only country that I know of that do the 3 prong they would only be available here.

logos999

A complete set of adapters can be bought at many stores for €2.99 in Germany. This includes a UK->continental Europe which has a fuse in the plug itself. I have got 2 pairs of these. Look at Saturn, Kaufhof, Karstadt etc. I still don't konw why the UK always has to be different from everybody else...

cocofromdijon

>I still don't konw why the UK always has to be different from everybody else...<
this is why I find it so charming... ;-)

lcc1_

I just came back from Paris and Rome and I bought one of those european universal adpaters and it worked. However, there was hardly ANY power! Had I used my blowdryer with the adapter...my hair would've take hours to dry. SO I tried the hotels blowdryer...it was just as bad. I brought my curling iron too and that worked pretty well with the adapter.

logos999

Buy a babyliss (conair) product in Europe. It will do the job.

nytraveler

I have always had the same problem with hair dryers in europe - whether my own turned to 220 or the ones in the hotel. They have a setting called high - but it's the equivalent of low in the US.

It was explaind to me by the concierge in one hotel that US type hairdriers on high pull about 800 watts - and that in europe most hotels (unless very new) simply don't have that much power available. I was able to get a real high setting only in an almost new hotel in London.

(I don;t understand electricity - nor care to - but was told the same thing in several hotels - so I guess it's true - a function of old-fashioned wiring.)

djkbooks

I've traveled to Europe with the same Conair curling brush and blow dryer I use at home every day for some years. All you need is an adapter plug specific to the country you're visiting.

I've never had a problem with either. When switched, the blow dryer only turns on the "low" setting, but this is just like "high" at home. The curling brush switches automatically and works just fine.

Patrick

I really don't get what the problem was. If the appliance is a dual voltage one you have to switch it to the higher voltage for Europe. Then all you need is a plug adaptor for the outlet in the country you're in. If you don't have one, usually the hotel will lend you one. If the appliance is set to the right voltage and the adaptor fits into the outlet, what is there not to work? Perhaps your appliances were not dual voltage and you didn't have a voltage converter (something I consider unnecessary as anyone traveling to Europe with any appliance whould have that appliance in a dual voltage format).

Christina

Some people use the word adapter to mean a voltage converter, whereas it just changes the shape of the prongs, so I'm not real sure which Merrin had, either. It sounds like she is using adapter correctly to mean the prong thing, so of course the one for UK wouldn't work in France as they are different plugs. Wherever you bought the plug adapter in the US should have had a display showing the various kinds and the package would have indicated whether it was UK or continental Europe.

My experience is like djkbooks, I've never had any problem at all using my dual voltage hair dryer anywhere in Europe, with the appropriate plug adapter for the country. It has a switch for the voltage. I also have a dual voltage curling iron without a switch as it adjusts automatically (I think because it has no motor), but of course, you still need the plug adapters.

Dual voltage appliances should have directions telling you how to use them and those directions probably say they should only be used on low at 220-240 volts. This operates the same as high in the US. I have always gotten my dual voltage hair dryer to work as high in Europe when set at low, it puts out the same power which is really strong. In fact, the only problem is there is no way to get it to operate as low in Europe.

It sounds like Merrin just didn't have a dual voltage blow dryer.

nytraveler

Well- perhaps I've beenstaying n the wrong hotels - but I've given up even trying to dry my hair in europe.

My ConAir - which dried my hair in 5 minutes at home was still whining away and not doing much after 20 minutes in europe (hardly any air - and what there was tepid - not HOT). And I found the same with the on-wall units at all except one new hotel.

I've given up even trying to dry it - and just let it dry by itself now.

logos999

>when set at low, it puts out the same power which is really strong.

Set it on high, blow the fuse, complain to management about the crappy wiring in your room and demand a refund or a least a free night. You will make friends everywhere in Europe doing it that way

suze

i'm fortunate to have drip dry hair myself(!) but was guessing merrin might not be using dual voltage iron & dryer? so would require a convertor in addition to the plug adaptor?

kswl

Oh, for the pre-911 days when you could take your butane curling iron/brush.

Daisy54

"I would really some tips on how you handle these electrical devices abroad."

I handle them by leaving them at home! Saves space and hassle. It's a lesson I learned on my first trip to the UK with family. My sister decided she could not live without her hairdryer so she bought a converter/adapter for it. The first time she used it, it blew up and got chucked into the trash. Our brother (who learned to shave with a blade for this trip after always using an electric razor) took pity on her and bought her a hairdryer in a shop in London for £10 - at that time, about $16. I'm the only one of my siblings who has returned to the UK so I now have posession of the English hairdryer & I've brought it back on my other trips. But even I didn't have it I would not bring my American hairdryer or other electric appliances. It helps that I have short hair which I can just let air dry fairly quickly, and I always get a fresh cut before traveling.

If you have high-maintenance hair and depend upon your styling appliances, why not try an electronic-free test run before your next trip and see if you can survive with air-drying, ponytails, braids, etc., depending of course on your hair length & texture. Even if currency and plug conversion were not a factor, those appliances take up lots of room in your luggage and lots of time that could be otherwise spent enjoying your destination.

tcreath

I have the same problem that lcc1_ does, and I'm assuming that's what merrin is referring to. I've brought curling irons and hair dryers from home and used them in Europe with converters and adaptors but they never work properly. The curling iron doesn't get hot enough to even curl my hair, and I've blown a fuse twice in a hotel in Florence trying to use my hair dryer.

Unfortunately I don't think there is much that can be done. Either buy the appliances in Europe and bring them along on future trips (which I do), or deal with the risk of having a possible bad hair day. Unfortunately I do not have wear-and-go hair so purchasing a curling iron in Europe was a worthwhile investment to me. Hair dryers aren't usually an issue for me because if the room doesn't have one the front desk usually does and will gladly let me borrow it.

Tracy

Worktowander

I have fought this battle for years (no curling iron, but I can't stand to have wet, clammy long hair sticking to my neck, so a hairdryer is almost a must). Most hotel hairdryers (in the US and Europe) pretty much blow - too hard in US, too soft in Europe.

I sympathize.

You can buy a converter/adapter kit online or at a lot of chains such as Target. The kit includes the converter (to use if your appliance is not dual voltage) and six plugs for use all over the world. I store the kit in my luggage between trips and leave the plugs I don't need for that trip at home.

I've often been called on to loan the converter and adapter to a traveling companion or acquaintance who forgot theirs and needs to charge a camera or some such, so they're handy to have and not just for "high-maintenance hair" types.

Caution: Check the wattage limit on your converter. Many are about 1200 watts. And many hairdryers are 1800 watts. Pair that converter up with that appliance and something (probably the appliance) will blow up (or so I've heard, <grin&gt.

All that said, I fall back on a ponytail a lot. And since my new high-power travel hairdryer had an "accident" with a low-power converter on this spring's trip to Italy (see above), I'm planning to buy a dryer in Europe next spring and be done with it.

Now a question: Are small, folding, travel-style hairdryers readily available in Europe? I don't want to fill my luggage up with a big one.

ncgrrl

For my first trip to Europe, I brought my USA hairdryer and an adapter. No go, wet hair most of the time (well, I'm wearing a ponytail in every photo).

Next trip to London, bought a hairdryer at Boots and it came with an adapter for the rest of Europe and maybe even Australia and the US. Cheaper than a t-shirt and ready for my next trip.

I don't use a curling iron or flat iron.