Hair dryer issues?
 

Wondering if an 1800 watt hair dryer will present problems in Tuscany hotels/Rome apt. Last time I used it in Austria, I blew out the power in the hotel.Has anyone had a problem??

Why not just buy one when you get there?
They're not very expensive.

every hotel room I've stayed in in Italy has a hairdryer in the bathroom. You don't need to bring one.

My experience is that sandi is correct. I never take a hair dryer on any trip to anyplace in Europe.

And yes, you are going to blow the electricty with that hairdryer.

Yes but she is also staying in an apartment, which I wouldn't have thought would have a hairdyer. I'd buy a travel hairdyer & an adaptor at home - you can then use it on trips elsewhere.

We have an 1875 watt hairdryer and have never blown a circuit breaker. We stay in Gites mostly, and a few hotels too. We spend 2-3 months in Europe each year (mainly France & Italy). Once, we purchased a hair dryer in France when our US one died - and it was kinda "whimpy" & we tossed it before we returned home.

Stu Dudley

Sorry I missed the apt part of your query. They sell small but powerful dual voltage dryers in all travel and various "superstores".

I bought one there. It was better than having to worry about it whether the adaptor would blow.

I bought a Vidal Sassoon dual voltage hairdryer a few years ago at Walgreen's. I think it was about $20.

When in Europe, you need to switch it to the proper power and only use the Low setting (the Low setting actually works very much like using the High setting when I'm in the US). I've used mine with no problems on several trips to Europe. It works much better than any of the ones that the hotels supply, in my experience.

I blew out my brand-new 1875-watt travel hair dryer in Italy recently. 'Cause I didn't check the maximum wattage on my power converter - 1600 watts.

Not a big deal because it was only about 20 bucks, but if you *need* a hairdryer on your trip, you should check that out.

I certainly wouldn't recommend a 110 hairdryer with a converter -- the converter probably costs more than the hairdryer itself.

Get yourself a 220 hairdryer. ((b))

Yes, I agree about checking your converter, many have maximum wattages.
I have not blown circuits or fuses, but I have had two hair appliances (dryer, and a curling iron) be destroyed by my using them in Europe, and yes, I did have a large wattage converter and the correct plug adapter. Since then I've used whatever hair dryer my hotel would provide. If it isn't optimal, I just cope. If I were staying in an apt, I'd buy one locally and then just have it.

A hair dryer that powerful will blow out the dryer or the electricty or both in many places in europe. The wiring is old and simply not up to appliances drawing that much.

Suggest you buy a small one in europe - so you have no fear of blowng anything. And no - they don;t dry as well and it will take longer to dry your hair. (And yes - the hair dryers provided in most european hotels - unlike the US - are wimpy - just for this reason.)

Just to make sure... I dont know of any inexpensive (30 USD, really cheap!) converter that can legally be used in Europe having more than 300-500 Watts/max. It you use these things anyway and hurt somebody no insurance on the planet will cover you.
have fun

It has nothing to do with the wiring in the place you stay, its ONLY the hair dryer which doesnt meet specifications.

I believe that Magellan's carries a high-wattage converter
at least, I think that's where I got mine

I think it does have to do with the wiring, not just the appliance. Any applicance manufactured and labeled to be dual voltage and the proper requirements I think is generally proper. Old wiring does indeed have lights etc get "blown out" more often when overloaded, even when that wouldn't be an overload in a place with more modern wiring that is up-to-code.

This is empirical, my parents blew out fuses all the time in their house when they would plug in one appliance too many just because they had very old wiring that hadn't been updated.

I also know that I have always traveled with dual voltage hair dryers and have never blown out anything in any hotel anywhere, and I"ve never heard of anyone blowing out wiring from foreign hair dryers in 4* hotels.

Dont get things wrong, US power is decades behind international standards. In western Europe 380 Volts 3 phase current is available virtually everywhere and has been the standard for a long time. (1960ties)(And its generally working well :-) Is some places the wiring may actually be not too good, but its an extremely rare occasion compared to northern America. It you want to do some welding you will shurly prefer being in Europe :-)

What wattage converter and adapter should I buy to use in Italy for my curling iron, or new curling iron that I may buy or my husbands' Braun electric razor?
The hotels have blow dryers so that's no problem.
I plan on buying one here to take with me.
Thanks,

I never trust hotel hair dryers. Some deliver little more than breeze. Others make you hold down a button the entire time you're using it, which is tiring (and I only spend about 10 minutes drying my hair; for my friend who spends twice that amount of time, it's really annoying).
Compact hair dryers in Europe are quite inexpensive. Buy one, use it during your trip, and make it available for friends and family to use when THEY go to Europe. I bought a Baby Bliss hair dryer in Paris for about $15 almost 10 years ago, used it regularly during the 5 years we lived in Brussels, and it's still going strong.

Braun razors are usually dual voltage. I have got 3 and have been using them for years everywhere with just a plug adaptor.
Buy your curling iron in Europe. I found babyliss are making good products.

Most European hotel bathrooms have low-voltage outlets in the bathrooms specifically for shavers. Shavers don't need or generate a lot of power as they don't make heat. A standard current converter and a plug adapter will be fine.
For your curling iron, you will need to know how many watts it puts out.

Call Magellan's, they have a toll-free number. They are wonderful about advising which electrical thingies you can buy (from them) to solve your appliance issues.

I always carry a hair dryer. Not all rooms have a hair dryer, and some rooms have a hair dryer that does not work. So it is less of a hassle to carry a dual voltage hair dryer and the appropriate plug for that country.

Last year in Vienna, the hotel's hair dryer shorted out and hot sparks flew out of the plug. One spark landed on the toilet seat and burned a hole in the seat! The people at the front desk were not concerned.

I got my converter at Walmart for about $20 and it has a high/low switch. The low is 0-25 watts and the high is 26-1875 watts. It is Travel Smart brand and came with all the different plug adaptors.

Or you can buy a 1600 watt hair dryer here and then you can use the converter that comes with inexpensive sets. We were in Italy for the first two weeks of April. All of our hotels had dryers but they were VERY weak.