O T---Overseas Voltage Question?

Jiles · Mar 11, 2018

I am in US and my wife and daughter are going to London England for a week or so.
Correct me if I am wrong----
Small electrical things she plans to take, like a hair dryer, need to operate on 50/60 Hurtz. She will only need a plug adapter.
If item states 60 Hz, she will need a voltage converter and plug adapter.
Am I correct?

JMOR · Mar 11, 2018

(quoted from post at 18:09:03 03/11/18) I am in US and my wife and daughter are going to London England for a week or so.
Correct me if I am wrong----
Small electrical things she plans to take, like a hair dryer, need to operate on 50/60 Hurtz. She will only need a plug adapter.
If item states 60 Hz, she will need a voltage converter and plug adapter.
Am I correct?

side from frequency difference (the man's name is/was Hertz), UK outlet voltage is 200-240, so need dual range voltage appliances or a voltage converter.

Mike(NEOhio) · Mar 11, 2018

I think you're confusing voltage with cycles (hz). They will need to use a converter with your appliances from home. 50 or 60 hz makes no difference, it's the voltage. We went to NZ and the wife and daughters used the hair dryer with only the plug adapter. It ran for about five seconds. Some appliances are equipped for dual voltage and some these days can use 100 to 250 volts. They would be OK in Europe.

kcm.MN · Mar 11, 2018

She can get a hair dryer that is specifically for traveling that will have a 120/240v switch. They use 50Hz over there, so not much of a problem going from 60Hz down to 50Hz. They use different plugs as well, so will need a European plug adapter kit.

Here's one option for "travel hair dryer":
https://www.amazon.com/Conair-Compa...963&sr=1-4&keywords=travel+hair+dryer

Here's a plug adapter set:
https://www.amazon.com/Travel-Smart...sr=8-4&keywords=european+plug+adapter+set

kcm.MN · Mar 11, 2018

Forgot to mention that you can likely find these at your local Wally World.

Stephen Newell · Mar 11, 2018

You are correct, all you will need is the voltage converter with the European plug.

ss55 · Mar 11, 2018

The hotel/host might provide common appliances.

Appliances are heavy to lug around in luggage, especially on airlines. Your family might be ahead to buy USB chargers and other inexpensive electrical items at their destination and maybe not bring them back home on the return trip.

Billy Shafer · Mar 11, 2018

Different voltage and Hertz. I would just buy a travel kit. It will have the converters and plug adapters you need. Warn them not to
forget and plug anything American in.

Russ from MN · Mar 11, 2018

Voltage will be 220, hz is 50. Some hair dryers will work on either, but most hotels furnish them. Cell phone
chargers may or may not work. If you take anything with our flat prong plugs you will need and adapter, google will tell you everything you want to know.

Mark - IN. · Mar 11, 2018

As stated below, Europe is 220AC 50Hz. American equipment will work 50Hz, not like the 220AC and our plugs are not at all the same. When I was stationed in Germany, I simply purchased a step-down transformer for electrical appliances that couldn't vary between 100AC and 22AC that had the correct wall outlet plug design, and of course stepped the voltage down from 220AC to 110AC. If they are staying in a hotel, the hotel may have some that they can rent to guests. When I was stationed there, it was not uncommon to see them in stores for purchase. The thing to be concerned about when selecting a step-down transformer was power consumption (300 watt versus 600 watt versus 1,200 watt, etc).

Mark
Here are some examples

Mark - IN. · Mar 11, 2018

Somehow 110AC came out as 100AC and 220AC came out as 22AC. Go figure.

Good luck though.

Mark

J. Schwiebert · Mar 11, 2018

I read this about an hour ago and then in that hour my boy calls and said that his wife's hair dryer now trips the GFCI They were in Argentina which is also 220. You think a new GFCI would save the hair dryer?

MarkB_MI · Mar 11, 2018

Forget about running a hair dryer off a typical voltage converter. Most hair dryers are at least 800 watts, far too much for most small voltage converters.

Any major hotel will have hair dryers in the room. Or they can buy one locally, probably for less money than a voltage converter.

Most cell phone chargers and similar electronic devices will run on anything between 100 and 250 volts, 50-60 Hz. You just need a plug adapter. Note that the UK plugs are totally different from the rest of Europe, so make sure they have the UK adapter. Also, it's a good idea to bring a cube tap or short US extension cord with multiple outlets; that way they can share a single adapter.

It is the voltage more than the frequency, BTW, that is the issue. European power is 220 volts, 50 Hz.

guido · Mar 11, 2018

Hello jiles,

UK voltage is 240v 50 cycle. Look at the air dryer requirements. It may operate
on 240v, cycles do not matter. She will need a plug adapter. Phone chargers
are marked 100-240 volts, so it will need just a wall plug adapter as well. A
step down 240v - 120v transformer will provide standard 120 v plug ins, and the
cycles will be what ever the input cycles are. They are important for motor
R.P.M.S not resistance heating or charging phones,

Guido.

Russ from MN · Mar 11, 2018

Do they have another GFCI circuit in the house? If so try it in that one, if it trips it too it's probably bad. It hasn't gotten wet has it? /that will do it, my drill press will trip a GFCI in hot humid weather in the summer sometimes.

jamstra · Mar 12, 2018

Unusual to find any UK accommodation that does NOT supply a hairdryer these days.
As correctly stated, nominal voltage here in UK is 240/250, and the plugs/sockets are completely different from US. Voltage compatibility is the
key thing to look out for on your equipment. Jim (from UK)

O T---Overseas Voltage Question?

Jiles

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JMOR

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Mike(NEOhio)

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kcm.MN

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kcm.MN

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Stephen Newell

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ss55

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Billy Shafer

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Russ from MN

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Mark - IN.

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Mark - IN.

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J. Schwiebert

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MarkB_MI

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guido

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Russ from MN

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jamstra

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