European power strip for use in Italy
 

Hi all,
In the early planning stages for our 7th trip to Rome and new ventures into the Maremma region of Tuscany (along with perennial favorite Venice). We have borrowed and occasionally used a power strip on previous trips to aid in charging multiple things at once (nothing that is a big power draw like a hair dryer or iron). We noticed that the plug fit Into some of the outlets but has never fit in Rome and Tuscany was spotty. The prongs seemed too large. Can anyone recommend a purchaseable-from-the-US power strip that has the correct prong size for Rome? I would never want to overload the circuit, but even in apartments, we have often only had one outlet and it would be nice to be able to plug in and charge the baby monitor and have the white noise machine (a small travel alarm clock) plugged in for our special needs toddler.
Thanks,
TA

I have a European power strip -- something like this one: http://www.amazon.com/VCT-Universal-...an+power+strip

I'd just add an adapter for Italy http://www.amazon.com/Plug-Adapter-I...y+adapter+plug

There are some 250 volt power strips available in the US which come with the European "Schuko plug" attached. The prongs on this plug are too big for many outlets in Italy as you noted. Most of Italy has outlets for the "Euro plug" which has prongs slightly smaller than the "Schuko plug." Finding a power strip with the "Euro plug" is not an easy task. I suggest getting a 250 volt power strip with an American plug and also buying a "Euro plug" adapter so you can use it in Italy. Get a power strip with "Universal outlets" into which you can plug nearly anything. Then you can plug in your power strip in any plug and if it happens to have been used for a lamp or something you can plug the lamp into the power strip. You are already familiar with the subject but this site http://tinyurl.com/2y9zvv can give you more insight into using electricity in Europe.

I have an Italian adpater and then plug my power bar into that.

Thanks for the info, all. Until I tried plugging in the strip with what I now know had a Schuko plug, I'd never noticed the difference between the Euro plug and Schuko plug.

Spaarne, do you have a favorite reliable brand of universal power strip with 250V?

We were recently in Turkey, the Netherlands and Belgium. We used this power strip with an adapter. It works perfectly although its a little awkward because of the short cord and the direction of the plug end vis-a-vis the cord.

http://www.magellans.com/dualvoltage-power-strip

<i>TexasAggie on Jul 11, 13 at 4:15pm
Spaarne, do you have a favorite reliable brand of universal power strip with 250V?</i>

I have a few of them, including a no-name item I bought in Germany. My favorite is the Wonpro because it has an American plug and Universal outlets. With the American plug I use it here in Michigan. I have it plugged in and operating all the time I'm here. For using it in Europe I bring adapter plugs depending on the countries I plan to visit. Besides Schuko and Euro plugs the Swiss and UK/Ireland have their own styles.

Also, I'm sure there are other units besides Wonpro which have those features. They are all made in China anyway. Local stores don't seem to stock this kind of stuff so you'll probably have to buy it over the internet.

Thanks. Amazon seems to offer several universal strips once I knew the proper search term. We've got 3 universal converter/adaptor sets but that didn't do us much good when there was just one outlet that only had one opening. This will be much easier!