Will I burn out my 1600 watt dual votlage (125/250v) hair dryer in Europe?

Is there is special converter I should use?

(Please - no reply's suggesting I use the hairdryers in hotels - although this may work for many, its not an option for me!)

If it is dual voltage, then it will be fine.

I have blown up one from the US B4 not using a converter so

Always use and adaptor surge protector to be safe

www.magellans.com/store/Adaptors___Converters

There are two issues provided you have a plug adapter.

The one discussed here is with respect to the hair dryer. Assuming you know how to set the hair dryer to operate at 220-240v, the appliance is design to work that way.

The second issue, not discussed here, is with respect to the site wiring. This totally depends on how your room is wired and no converter will overcome the current limit imposed by the circuit breaker. It would be worse if you have to share a breaker with someone else trying to do the same.

You need a plug adapter for the country you are visiting. There are at least four types used in various countries of Europe. See http://tinyurl.com/2y9zvv.

BTW, what is wrong with the hair blowers in European hotels. Hot air is hot air, isn't it?

Site wiring should not be an issue, unless the property does not meet standards. Unless your hair dryer shows the "CE" logo, it may not be used (legally) in Europe.

Each hotel room should have (at least) one circuit breaker which will take 16 Amperes in modern buildings (appr 3,600 watts) or 10 Amperes (2,300 watts) if the installations are a bit outdated.
Which means that in total all appliances running on one circuit breaker should not exceed 2.3/3.6KW.
In apartments which have just one circuit breaker you may notice the effect that you can blow the fuse when you switch on the hair dryer while someone else uses the vacuum cleaner at the same time.
So, if your 1.8KW hair dryer knocks out the circuit breaker while no other high power appliance is running, the wiring has to be considered sub-standard and potentially unsafe. A good indicator to change hotels.

JenJason, if for whatever reason you do blow up the hair dryer, they're fairly straightforward to purchase in Europe.

spaarne, lots of those hair dryers are WIMPY - even at our nice hotel in Milan in May, the hair dryer was awful. I don't know if that's the OP's issue, but if you're used to a decent hair dryer being able to straighten wavy hair, many of them won't cut it. Some people live with it, some people pack a better hair dryer. Me, it's not worth the extra space in my luggage.

(and I should add that that's true for US hotels, too)

<i>
jent103 on Jul 25, 11 at 5:44pm
spaarne, lots of those hair dryers are WIMPY - even at our nice hotel in Milan in May, the hair dryer was awful. I don't know if that's the OP's issue, but if you're used to a decent hair dryer being able to straighten wavy hair, many of them won't cut it. Some people live with it, some people pack a better hair dryer. Me, it's not worth the extra space in my luggage.</i>

Hot air is hot air. Even if you only have 50 watts it will still dry your hair. I did blow the fuses in a French hotel room years ago with my 600 watt hair blower. If you are bringing a SUPER MAX 1,875 watt hair blower you are likely to do the same.

BTW, what is wrong with curly hair? My last girlfriend loved mine. I can't see it back there behind me without a mirror but I do love it on a woman.

Jen - Since your dryer is dual voltage, you will not burn it out. Often there is a switch to flip (don't forget!)or a what looks like a plastic screwhead to turn from 120 setting to 240 (you can use a coin to turn it). For some reason, dual voltage hair dryers work better if you use the low setting in Europe, not the medium or high settings.

It is dual voltage, but the cycles are different -- so while it <i>may</i> work there is also a good chance it won't. Or not for your whole trip.

If it is at all expensive --leave it home and buy an inexpensive one in Europe.

I've used dual voltage appliances for years --and out of MANY trips-- only twice did they cause problems. But one of those failures was <u>spectacular</u>! I no longer risk using dual voltage things involving heat -- hairdryer, flat iron,etc . . .