My sister is traveling from the US with a 110-240V and 50/60hz hair straightener which is dual voltage - does she need a converter?
Apparently the voltage in Spain is 230v and 50hz so a lot of sites say it should work but wondering if anyone can confidently advise?

NO, just an adapter for the type of plug (US flat blade to EU round pegs). If the US appliance has a three prong plug be sure to get an adapter that will accommodate that, such as .

Just remind your sister to flip the switch to 240V before using it in Spain. That’s easy to forget, and it might even be better to switch it over when packing the suitcases at home.

Most people who travel these days bring phones and cameras as well. The chargers for these devices are usually multi-voltage, and have 100-240V 50/60hz printed on them somewhere. If they are multi-voltage they won’t have a switch, but are designed to be used with European electricity. The electronics in these devices will be harmed if used with a travel voltage converter. For an easy to read explanation by an expert read this website:
Electric Converters for Europe. Should I use an electric converter in Europe?

I personally wouldn't take a hair straightener/flat iron. And yes, I do know your sister's is dual voltage. There is probably a 75-ish % chance the flat iron will work just fine (of course with the correct plug adapter). But when one fails it can be spectacular. If it was me, I'd buy a European spec flat iron when I got to Spain (not dual voltage). They aren't expensive and are made for the higher European voltage.

If she does take the dual voltage one, if is is 'adjustable' most models will only work on the low setting when plugged in to 240/250 . . .

Meant to include -- Chargers for phones, iPads etc work perfectly but I see Heimdall mentioned that while I was posting.

It's 220V in Europe just like these days it's 110V in North America.

I'd worry if it'll heat up enough. The higher the voltage the less the wire heats up (lower resistance). That's why 220V cables are so thin.

The other thing I'd worry about is many of the cheap plug adapters aren't rated for very high current. You'd likely want a shuko adapter .

How many watts do these things use?

There is also a good explanation of adapter plugs in the link in my #4 post. There is another website devoted specifically to sockets and plugs around the world. The link for Spain is below. Note that Type F is for appliances that need to be grounded, with three pins on US plugs. The Type C can be used with standard two pin plugs.
https://www.worldstandards.eu/electr...country/spain/

Janisj has a good suggestion: leave the hair straightener at home and buy what you need in Spain. Then you won’t need a plug adapter because it will already have a plug that fits Spanish sockets. When I first moved from the US to England I had several dual voltage appliances, but have gotten rid of them now.

Two pin plugs are rated for a max of 1000 watts (1kw if the device is labeled that way). That assumes a plug made exactly to code. I wouldn't want to bet on a cheap adapter being made that well.

The extra money for a larger adapter isn't huge.

We took our hair drier (switched to 220), and also brought along a US extension cord in case the plug was too far away. When using the extension cord, it tripped the circuit breaker every time.

Stu Dudley

To extend Nick's point, North American hair dryers will work but only on low. Don't expect the familiar hurricane blast of hot air.

"To extend Nick's point, North American hair dryers will work but only on low. Don't expect the familiar hurricane blast of hot air."

uhhh.. that's not the way electricity works... high setting when plugged in at home in the US (110V) is roughly equivalent in power/heat to the low setting when plugged in in Spain (240V)...
Toggling the dual voltage switch to 240V is nothing more than a mechanical stop preventing the hair dryer from going into melt plastic and burn hair mode if it were switched into high setting..

The problem is the heating element.

Thank you for all the great replies, much appreciated!

A hair straightener with an adapter will work fine in Spain. A hairdryer is different and I would recommend buying one there. I never found a US hairdryer to work correctly.

I only had a problem with my hair straightener in Switzerland. It wasn’t dual voltage and got way too hot so couldn’t keep it plugged in for long. A curling iron actually got so hot that it bent so stopped using it there. Both were fine at the next destination in Germany. I also had issues in Switzerland with the adapters fitting the electric socket.

So far the only issue with my UK hairdryer was in Czech Republic. The adapter wouldn’t fit the electric socket. I am not sure if all the sockets were the same there so if moving around to different places be mindful of the electric socket.

Sassy27 wrote:

”I only had a problem with my hair straightener in Switzerland. It wasn’t dual voltage and got way too hot so couldn’t keep it plugged in for long. A curling iron actually got so hot that it bent so stopped using it there. Both were fine at the next destination in Germany. I also had issues in Switzerland with the adapters fitting the electric socket.”

That’s scary! It sounds like you were trying to use a 110V hair straightener and curling iron with 230V electricity. You could have caused a fire! Now you know why we recommend leaving your US 110V appliances at home.

Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany all have 230V 50Hz electricity, so I don’t understand why those same devices that overheated in Switzerland were fine in Germany. Were you at a US military installation or some other facility that had 110V electricity for Americans? Some do, but it requires a special step down transformer or a separate electrical generator.

No I have never stayed at a US base overseas or property for US citizens. I have no idea why I had that problem only in Switzerland at the place I stayed. It had been used many times in other countries and at another Swiss location with no issues until I left it behind somewhere.

This was just something I noticed so thought it might be helpful to others.

Was it a normal outlet? Or a shaver outlet? I think some hotel shaver outlets are really 110V

" . . . I have no idea why I had that problem only in Switzerland at the place I stayed. It had been used many times in other countries and at another Swiss location with no issues . . ."

That is why I suggested buying a European spec flat iron and/or hair dryer in country. 'Most' of the time a dual voltage one will work just fine but the time(s) it fails can de disastrous.

Many hotels in Europe do have 110V shaver outlets in bathrooms, but they are supposed to be only for shavers and other low wattage devices. The transformers these sockets are connected to won’t handle high wattage devices like hair straighteners and dryers. Unlike the US, local safety laws prohibit ordinary electrical outlets in bathrooms.

I’m surprised the overheated hair straightener didn’t trip the Swiss hotel’s circuit breakers.