Electic Adapter and Convertor
 

We will be spending two weeks in Prague and Budapest in October. I know we need to get an adapter and/ or converter for our electical items (i.e. hair dryer, flat iron, battery charger for camera, etc.) Does anyone have any advice on what and where to purchase these items in Southern California. Any caveats?

I vaguely remember traveling to Germany 30 years ago and purchasing something that never did work. Don't want a repeat of that!

I bought mine from Radioshack. Lots of places carry them, I think other posters have reported Target and stores like that.

Some electronics DO NOT need a convertor. If your camera charger comes with the writings: 100-240V, all you'll need is just the adapter for the plug.

Hardware store, AAA, travel store, Walmart.

Check your electrical devices first. If using a travel hairdryers, they usually are 110/240; are are battery chargers. Curling and flat irons rarely are.

As above, check each item. Only if not dual voltage, do you need a converter. All items will require the appropriate adapter plug.

Individual adapter plugs or a kit containing various plugs along with a converter can be purchased at many local Health/Beauty shops; luggage store; sporting goods store. Try Travel Smith or Magellan's catelogs.

I just bought mine from STA Travel in Westwood, Ca. A converter plus 5 adaptors for $20 plus tax. I haven't used it yet, but one of those adaptors must work!

Watch out for hair dryers and irons, they use a lot of power. Many converters cannot handle this amount of amperage.

Walmart actually has a really cheap (<$10) dual voltage hair dryer that is also very small. You can find it in the shampoo area of the store.

Your various chargers may well be dual voltage, it'll say so on the charger. If so, you'll just need the adapter.

Fry's has adapters for about $1-2 each.

Walmart has a package of adaptors for each country in Europe. It's fairly cheap. Can't remember if less than $10.

My hairdryer did not work with the converter - didn't give enough power.

Most of the more modern, Americanized, hi-rise type hotels have a 110 plug in the bathroom. That's real nice. So depends on your hotel; you could call/email & check ahead of time.

HI K,

Forget the converter.

Your small devices should say "110-220 V", which means that they will work on 220.

The hair dryer either won't work well or will blow out the converter.

Get a dual-voltage travel model. They are not expensive.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

We purchased one of the $20 converters at Wal-Mart and it would not work with our battery charger for our camera. Most of the cheaper converters will say right on the package that they will not work with battery chargers. You need to purchase one of the higher end converters if you want to use a battery charger. Also, we took a travel hair dryer with us to Europe and never used it once - every place we stayed had a hair dryer.

Cathy, I'm surprised you needed a converter at all for your battery charger. Most chargers (the ones that come with the camera) are dual voltage so no converter needed (just like cell phone, Ipod, etc. chargers). Some standalone battery chargers are not dual voltage.

Sorry, but I disagree Cathy.

All the battery chargers I've seen are rated for 100-240V input, which means you should NOT use any converter at all. You just use a plug adapter.

Using a voltage converter with a device that is rated for both US and European voltages is not the thing to do.

I should have clarified - My camera takes AA batteries, not lithium-ion, so the charger we have is for Energizer rechargeable batteries. It doesn't say anything about being dual voltage. I tried using the converter to charge the batteries, but they didn't charge.

That's why I mentioned stand-alone battery chargers. I have two, and only one of them is dual voltage. I would recommend getting a travel charger (with fold-up prongs), dual voltage, for your next trip. I have this one.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/lightning4000.html

me too, cathy61. I have to use an adapter & a converter for charging my camera batteries. However, the Walmart converter works for me.

My son plugged it in one time with only the adapter & without the converter & it blew the battery charger!

As said, my hair dryer did not work in Europe, with & without the converter. Didn't take my curling iron.

If an appliance says it's dual voltage but doesn't have a switch to toggle between them, can one assume it's safe to just plug it in (with adaptor) to the outlet in Europe? Or is there a top-secret little dinky switch somewhere that I just can't find?

Most appliances that are dual voltage automatically shift. Notice I said "most" not "all", like desktop computers.

Hi len,

If the label says INPUT: 110 - 220V (or 110-250) it will work with just the plug adapter.

No secret switch.

If you have a device that says "dual voltage", it usually has a switch.

((I))

Thanks guys.

I agree with others that your best approach is to buy small dual voltage travel models of your heating equipment. And that you'll probably find a hair dryer already hard wired in your hotel room. If your camera has a battery charger it might be dual voltage. If not you'll need a transformer, not a converter. You will need plug adapters for everything. For more info on electricity I recommend a look at http://tinyurl.com/2y9zvv.

I've found that on a lot of hair dryers you have to manually change them from 110 to 220. There's a flat round switch that has a slot in it and you can generally move it with a coin. You might, however, try it a couple of times at home before you leave on your trip. We've sometimes had to use a screwdriver to move the switch and since we don't usually carry screwdrivers with us when we travel we've had to make the change before leaving home. Most other dual voltage appliances change automatically but that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case for hair dryers. My dual voltage flat iron doesn't have a switch and changes automatically.

>>>If you have a device that says "dual voltage", it usually has a switch.<<<<

That may be true for hairdryers, but usually not for things such as curling irons, hot rollers, etc. I have several and they are auto-switch. Usually the appliance says somewhere in the booklet that came with it. When using appliances with heat, try the low setting first as it will operate much differently than in the US.

when all else fails, rtfm.

If the fm had answered the question, i_pod robbie, I wouldn't have asked it here.

lenny, I'm not sure if your concern is electrical items like hair dryers, or like camera chargers, but I've never had any problem with any kind of charger -- phone, ipod, camera, AA battery charger, they're all dual voltage, none of them have switches, and they all work fine. Again, not sure about the ones that have to produce heat.