recommend a converter/adapter for Greece
 

My husband, daughter, and I will be going to Greece for two weeks in June. We've found our converter/adapter doesn't always work well internationally. We need it for man's razor, woman's hairblower (1600 watts) and curling iron. May also be used for charging digital camera. Do you have a suggestion on a good one to use?

Just MO, but I'd buy a hairdryer there, or a dual voltage one in the US. Most camera chargers work on both 110v and 240v; all you need is a plug adaptor. There are many razors (esp. the battery powered ones like Norelco) that are also dual voltage.

There are two kinds of converter.

The <b>switching</b> type is for appliances that draw a lot of power, such as your dryer and iron.

The <b>transformer</b> type is for low-power electronics such as the camera charger (if it needs one: see above).

DO NOT plug electronics into a switching converter. It could fry the electronics.

DO NOT plug high-power devices into a transformer converter. It could fry the converter (if it can't provide enough power).

I'll try not to duplicate what Robespierre wrote, but clearly you will need a switching converter for the hairdryer and curling iron, and a transformer for the other devices. There are some on the market that claim to do both, but you would have to remember to change the setting from converter to transformer each time you use it for a different device.

Check the specs on the camera battery charger - many are multi-voltage these days. If it says something like: 100-240V 50/60Hz, then it can and should be plugged directly into the mains in Greece. You will need a simple and inexpensive two-pin adapter plug for this.

I have to say, I really appreciate this post. I was planning on buying a converter for my electronics (digital camera battery charger, video camera, cell phone), but after reading this post, I've checked and they all say 100-240v on them. So I'm safe with just the plug adapter? That would be one less expense (even though small).

Actually, one further question - One of the electronics mentioned in my above post, while it says 100-240v, does not say 50/60 Hz. Does this matter?

Shellee, about the only time cycles (50/60) make a difference is when the device has a clock or timer - a 60 cycle clock will run 10 minutes slow every hour on 50 cycle electricity. A fan or hair dryer would run slower as well, but usually that's not a big problem. None of the devices you list should be affected by the cycle difference, and as long as they say 100-240V they are designed to be used worldwide.

I run a number of US electrical appliances here in Europe on 230V 50Hz current. Some are multi-volt as above, some dual voltage with a switch, and some must be run through a transformer. My US fridge needs a special 100V transformer (to prevent overheating the motor) when run on 50Hz, but apart from that the cycle difference is of no significance.