Electronics Question - Please help!

Vainglory

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question...

I'm going to Cuba in August and as there's only 110v electricity there (apart from in the really touristy areas, where I won't be), what is the best way, if any, to get my appliances with higher voltage (220v-250v) to work?

Is there some sort of a fancy plug thing I can buy? A converter thingy? (I'm very techy as you can see)

Or would I be best buying travel versions of the appliances with a lower voltage?

Has anyone else come across this problem? I think it's 100v in the US as well so how did J1'ers solve it, etc?

Many thanks for answers to another incredibly dumb question (probably).

andy1249

So are you moving to Cuba , if so are you planning on bringing the TV , Vacuum cleaner , etc over ?
If so I wouldn't bother , its not just the voltage you have to worry about its the frequency of the mains also, and the units wont work without an expensive transformer.
Better off selling your old stuff and buying new when you get there.

OR are you just travelling there for a while , and the stuff you want to work is just portable like a laptop , or a PSP or games console etc . If this is the case then nearly all that stuff is designed to work on a universal voltage of 100- 240V 50 or 60 hz and all you will need is a socket adaptor which should cost no more than 10 euro

Vainglory

andy1249 wrote:

So are you moving to Cuba , if so are you planning on bringing the TV , Vacuum cleaner , etc over ?
If so I wouldn't bother , its not just the voltage you have to worry about its the frequency of the mains also, and the units wont work without an expensive transformer.
Better off selling your old stuff and buying new when you get there.

OR are you just travelling there for a while , and the stuff you want to work is just portable like a laptop , or a PSP or games console etc . If this is the case then nearly all that stuff is designed to work on a universal voltage of 100- 240V 50 or 60 hz and all you will need is a socket adaptor which should cost no more than 10 euro

I'm only going for three weeks

It's just stuff like a hairdryer etc..

I'm looking at the label on it now and it says 220-240v. Would an socket adaptor like that work on it?

I mean, should I be looking for something specific on the label that might tell me if it would work with a socket adaptor.

Thanks btw

bbbbb

A socket adaptor won't change the voltage, so no.

Sometimes hotel rooms have sockets in the bathroom for 110 & 220 (for hair dryers & shavers), but you probably need a 2 pin plug (in which case the socket adaptor is useful again).

Have a look for "travel hair dryer" on kelkoo.co.uk for dual voltage models.

Vainglory

Hrm. Would prefer not to have to buy new stuff if I can avoid it at all..

Now I'm looking at sites that are saying I can convert the voltage with a "step-up" converter, anyone know anything about them?

Lump

Yea, it's a step up transformer, rather heavy and probably more expensive then a travel hair dryer!

John

Vainglory

Lump wrote:

Yea, it's a step up transformer, rather heavy and probably more expensive then a travel hair dryer!

John

Ok I've been looking at a few..Does the wattage have to be the same as it is on my hairdryer for it to work? It's 1500w on the hairdryer.

I might just buy a travel hairdryer but if the converter wasn't too expensive I'd get that as I have a couple other appliances I'd like to bring but not essential..

andy1249

The hair dryer will work , just at a lower speed and at less power than usual , you should be fine ,just use a socket adaptor , most hotels have hair dryers already installed in the rooms these days so it may not even be a problem at all.

Lump

Yea, in theory the motor will just spin at half speed. The Wattage has nothing to do with the voltage, well it does, but the voltage's need to match for tv's etc, you should be alright with a hair dryer.

John