Ani

OK I asked this question last year when we travelled to the UK regarding a voltage adapter. I actually went to Radio Shack and asked an &quot;electrical expert&quot; for what I needed and got one of the universal ones, where the correct prong pops out depending on what area you are in. <BR>All I need it for is a curling iron, and after the first use, it broke the iron. It didn't blow up or anything, just stopped heating up. Can anyone please tell me if they have been successful with a certain adapter for a curling iron from the US to the UK?? Thanks!<BR>PS-I bought a cordless iron to take with me overseas, thinking I was so smart. Then realized that it uses butane cartridges. I'm assuming this is NOT something most people would want traveling in the cargo section of their airplane.

Patrick

The first thing you did wrong was go to Radio Shack. About seven years ago I went there and bought a little travel calculator for $99 (the ones you can buy now for about $10). It was a currency converter, clock, etc. The very first day we arrived in Europe it wouldn't work -- new batteries wouldn't help. I carried it and returned it to Radio Shack with my receipt the day we returned -- but that was after the five month trip!!! The guy took one look at what it was doing and admitted it was a faulty one. They wouldn't give me a penny for it as it was past the 6 week time frame. How could I have ever returned it while I was in Europe? Never darkened their door again.

Rich

<BR><BR>What you got was an adaptor . . it just allowed you to plug a US style plug into a UK socket . . it did not convert the voltage. This is why you broke the iron.<BR><BR>You can buy a 240 volt curling iron for not so much and save yourself a lot of hassles (and broken irons)<BR><BR>My guess is that the butane cartridges are not going to pass the new rules for checked luggage, but I'd ask the airlines if I were you. Nothing like having your luggage end up in a water tank . . <BR><BR>Rich<BR><BR>

Ani

Thanks Rich...In fact, I ended up buying a new iron at Boots last year...and then leaving it with my friend in London thinking we wouldn't be returning...WTF???<BR>So, luckily there is at boots down the street from where we are staying our first night...but I didn't really like the one I got there last year. Stupid to say I know-but i'm picky!

smalls

Ani, I too bought a Radio Shack Voltage converter (1600 watt) with all the differnt plugs on it. Sounds like I should take it back. Dual voltage appliances appears to be the way to go.

maxie

Last trip to London my friend was using a Radio Shack converter and blew a fuse in our hotel. Not a good thing! I have a dual-voltage hair dryer and I plan on purchasing a dual-voltage curling iron before leaving home. All you will need is an adapter not a converter.

drsawyers

Easy solution: Straight hair.

TravelerGina

I bought the converter and adapter from Radio Shack before going to Ireland and never had a problem using them. The only thing I found was that, in using my hair dryer, the power was lower. When set on high, it was like being on low (hope this makes sense).

elaine

I've had experiences like travelergina, my hair dryer from home, whether dual-voltage or used with a current converter, only operates on low.<BR>I've gotten to the point where I just hope that I find a hotel that provides its own hairdryers. They may not be what I'm used to, but it's one less thing to pack and worry about. And as I've said before here, even with a non-Radio Shack converter, I had a curling iron melt one time in England.<BR><BR>Also, even with the right current and plug adapter, most bathrooms in Europe have an outlet that only allows one to plug in a (low voltage) shaver. Must be something in the building code.<BR>So if you bring your own hairdryer you may have to move the furniture around in the bedroom to get to an outlet, and hope it's near a mirror. An extension cord would not come amiss.

MichelleY

Dear Ani:<BR><BR>In October in Italy, I used my dual voltage dryer with a plug adaptor. It worked great. I also got a converter for the curling iron, not the 1600 converter, but one for lower wattage appliances (50 watts???) It worked great.<BR><BR>

cinquanta

&quot;Electrical experts&quot; do not work at Radio Shack.<BR>Most of the hairdryers and curling irons are not made in the USA and usually have a small slide switch to change from 120 to 240 since they are sold in many different countries. The instructions are usually in at least 2 languages.<BR>The converters are small transformers rates by wattage. They also have the male plug configuration for european plugs which vary by country. This info should be included with the converter. If you don't have a switch that changes to 220 on your appliance you need a converter.<BR>If you have this switch you can chage it to 220 before you leave the US and all you need is an Adaptor to plug your Straight blade American plug in to.<BR>One other thing to look for is some of the newer appliances come with the 3-prong plugs with ground-fault protection and many adapters and converters ar only set up for 2 prongs.

Ani

Thanks for all of the great info!

baker

In Toronto there's a House of 220 which sells appliances large and small with 220 voltage. I believe they have a web site and they ship. Also try www.darty.com for French appliance stores; they're in several locations in Paris and in other parts of France. I do have a Radio Shack converter and have used it successfully with a Hot Tools curling iron. For a blow dryer I have an inexpensive Philips Allure 1600 which is dual voltage and does NOT only gove me low heat when I switch to 220. (Iknow exactly what you others are saying) I have long wavy hair so I need a dryer with blow power.

Elizabeth_S

As the proud owner of the world's largest collection of useless adaptors, converters and &quot;dual voltage&quot; small appliances - I offer the following.<BR><BR>(BTW - I'm not an expert and may get the terminology wrong - but this is my rudimentary understanding)<BR><BR>Converters are big and 'convert' the voltage. Adaptors are small (just the plug part) and work with &quot;dual voltage&quot; appliances. &quot;Dual voltage&quot; appliances indeed work on both voltages.<BR><BR>But.....the other big issue is the &quot;cycle&quot;. Following is a description I found: <BR><BR>&quot;Virtually all of Europe is served with 220-volt, 50-cycle alternating current, compared to the U.S. 110-volt, 60-cycle AC&quot;<BR><BR>My problem (I think) has never been the voltage, but the cycle. In my experience dual voltage hair dryers - when used in Europe, properly set to 220/240 - are incredibly weak.<BR><BR>Using North American voltage appliances with a converter is equally frustrating - my husband's Braun toothbrush became an instant antique - even though it was properly plugged into the &quot;converter&quot; - again, my understanding is that the voltage wasn't the problem it was the &quot;cycle&quot;. <BR><BR>Net, net - I never bother taking any North American appliances - bought a cheap hair in Italy a few years ago and just use an adaptor for it elsewhere. <BR><BR>If the above is incorrect, in whole or part - please provide more info! Thanks!

margievill

I'm going to try to avoid the whole situation entirely. I have a natural blonde fro, and I'm going to get it permed to tame it (I've done this once before, and it worked great). Then I just get up in the morning, take a shower, shave my legs with a crummy bic stick razor, comb my hair and walk out the door. I'm also really big on 'packing light' so I wouldn't want to carry converters and adapters in my bag.

cinquanta

Elizabeth, that is correct except for a little terminology. The frequency is the cycles per second or &quot;Hertz&quot;. This does affect anything that has a motor such as a hairdryer since the speed of the motor is dependent on the frequency. <BR>Europe uses 50 cycles per second at 220 volts and the US is 60 cycles per second and 120 volts. There is a tolerance for this in most motors but they do tend to run slower at 50 cycles.<BR>Buying a hairdryer in your country of destination would solve the problem and shouldn't cost that much. This also is one less thing to have screened at the airport.

Ani

Well, after all of this confusion I have finally contacted Air Canada and AS FAR AS THEY KNOW I can take my $20.00 cordless curling iron on the flight...but I need to ask at the desk if it goes into checked or carry on luggage. I have a feeling that it will be confiscated at that point, regardless of what the tele. op. told me...in which case I will gladly stroll down to the nearest Boots and take what I can freakin get!!