I attended a meeting with the group I am going with on a 14 day trip to Switzerland, France, Italy & Spain. A question was asked about the best electric converter to buy. Nobody in the group seemed to know, except one person who said she wouldn't advise wasting our money. She said on her previous trip she at first couldn't get the converter to work and then when it did it burned up her hairdryer.

I can't imagine running around for 2 weeks with wet hair. Plus we have a charger to recharge the batteries for our digital camera. I would like to know if there is a specific brand of converter that works well in the countries we will be visiting? Thanks!

It's a crapshoot. Some converters work with some appliances, other combinations are lethal. The best advice I can offer is this:

If you don't have a dual-voltage hair appliance, buy one when you get where you're going.

Your battery charger is probably good for 120-240V (if it's fairly new), in which case you will only need a plug adapter. If it isn't, get one that is.

Why not just buy a hair dryer when you get there? That's what I did after toasting a hair dryer with a bad convertor, and it's one of the best things I ever bought. I haven't taken a convertor box to Europe since then. As for charging your batteries, it's possible they are dual voltage so all you need is an adapter, but check your manual first.

Great minds...

Many hotels provide hairdryers.

I wouldn't bother with a converter, either. You can easily buy a dual voltage travel hair dryer in the US, if you are American, for about $10-15. I've always used one ever since I began traveling abroad (about 25 years) and have never had any problem. It's those converters that can be problems. A dual voltage appliance is built and meant to operate under both.

I don't know about charging batteries because I don't do that. I think there have been some posts on here about that issue and types people have bought.

I've used converters in the past with no problems. Mine had a high/low switch for appliances with different wattage(50-1800). I have since purchased US dual voltage hair dryer and curling iron so I only need a plug adaptor. Some dual voltage appliances have a switch or screw that you have to turn to the 240 setting. Many of the newer ones (not all) do this automatically. Check you current hairdyer (the voltage range is listed on it) - you may find that it is already dual voltage. Check your battery charger also. I just sent my daughter to Spain for 5 months and we were suprised that one charger was dual and one wasn't even though both were fairly new.

European hair dryers will probably work better than a US one but you will still need plug adaptors for some countries. It's usually best to operate the US dryers on low setting not high.

Given the simple function a converter performs, isn't this like asking the best brand of...nails? ...salt?

There are two types of "Converters"

One is the adapter that will allow you to plug into a European wall outlet. With some devices, that is all you need. Some phone chargers, most laptops and other electronic devices (my Palm Pilot charger, for example) will work on US voltage (120 volts) as well as European voltage (220 volts). These "smart devices" sense what the voltage is and automatically adjust. Look on the power supply to see if it says something like "Input 120v-240v, 50-60Hz". If does you can use it in Europe with only the plug adapter.

Another group of devices (hair dryer are in this group) have switches that let you change from 120 volts to 220 volts. You can use this with only the plug adapter AFTER you have switched to the proper voltage.

If your appliance is not automatic dual voltage or "switched" dual voltage, then you will need a
voltage converter (a small transformer) and an adapter for the plug. You plug this transformer into the wall and your appliance into it. This transformer generally weighs about 1.5.2 pounds and may have some little light on it to show it's working. Some voltage converters have the plug adapters built in.

I suspect the people who replied that they burned up their appliances used only a plug/socket adapter and didn't have the voltage converter (transformer).

YOu can find Travel Kits that contain both the Voltage Converter and an array of plug/socket adapters just about any where. Walmart, Radio Shack, luggage stores....

They are not real sophisticated devices so I wouldn't worry much about brand.

Correction to my earlier post...
"The transformer probably weights about 1.5 - 2 pounds."

My daughter burned up a very expensive hair straightener using a voltage converter that was not powerful enough. We found that the size voltage converter needed for a hair dryer or hair straightener (these things have a lot of watts) was so large that it was very expensive and very heavy. That was after running all over town even finding one that would work. We went to a local drugstore/discount store in the city we were visiting and purchased our hair appliances there for much less money. They have the correct plug as well as will work with the voltage. We now keep those with our travel things.

Radio Shack has a good selection of universal plug adapters. Most digital cameras and laptop chargers work with all voltages.

Only thing I've used a converter for is electric toothbrush. But for a week trip, maybe it's not worth lugging the thing.

Definitely take the shaver though, as well as computer, iPod, camera. Fortunately, all those just require a plug adapter.

But on a recent trip to Hong Kong, my adapters didn't work. I'm hoping it was just bad outlets at the hotel. How could they screw up a plug adapter?

wco81 - Hong Kong uses the same outlet as the UK. And proper plugs for the UK outlet (also called "Type G" with three big square pegs) all have a fuse in it. So, if your adapter has a fuse in it, check to see if it's blown.

Wow, you're here too! Just registered here today. Only thing bad is no email notifications.

I don't see a way to put in fuses in these plugs but will double check.

Buy hand appliances that work on multiple voltages, or just buy something locally. Hairdryers are not expensive.

Hairdryers and curling irons consume a great deal of electrical power; the great majority of converters cannot handle this amount of power. That's why things burn out. You can get a 2400-watt converter at BHV that will handle just about any hairdryer made (most of which are around 1200 watts), but it's as big as a breadbox and weighs more than your luggage. It's also more expensive than a tiny folding hairdryer at the same store, which costs about 15 euro.

Thanks so much to all of you have replied. I will check into buying appliances in this country that can be used in Europe. I saw the plugs in a luggage store, but a friend told me she bought plugs that didn't work. Now I understand why. I will have my daughter check the battery charger and hope it will work. If not, we will try to find one that will.

Plug adaptors are not converters as someone said earlier. Plug adaptors are just that - they fit on the end of the plug to change it from US flat rectangular ends to European round ones.

I have 2 converters, both Travel Smart brand. The older one is only rated for 50-1600 watt appliances and weighs a few ounces. It wouldn't operate my curling iron years ago because of the wattage but it was ok for my hairdryer. In later years I found one with a high-low switch that works on low (0 - 25 watts)for appliances such as curling irons, shavers, radios. The high setting (26 - 1875 watts) is for hair dryers, irons, steamers, etc. It weighs about 14 ounces. There are newer ones that auto adjust now that handle up to 2000 watts and weigh about 1 1/4 pounds.

Not to spoil everbodys fun with those new converters, but:
- They are only legal for use in the EU, if they carry the "CE" mark.
- You're respnible for any damage to people or property if you use illegal appliances (converters)
- In this case, your insurance won't accept to pay for the damage you might cause.

logos999 - Just wondering -are you from the US? Have you ever used one of these? Many of us have used them for years with absolutely no problems. As litigious as we are in the US, if there had been any problems they would have been recalled and multiple lawsuits would have been filed.

There was a problem a few years ago with a plug adaptor made in Taiwan and sold at Target but they were recalled.

US laws and regulations don't apply in a foreign country! You're free to use illegal appliances and do illegal things as long as you're not cought ;-).