Power Voltage question for US and MENA

[Henia 11]

I am just asking out of curiousity , but has anyone taken their 110v small appliances like hair dryer to MENA and had it work normally with a power converter...

I know this sounds werid, but while I was in Algerie I really wished I had my hair dryer with me. To buy one would have costed more then I would have wanted to spent... but I am just curious...as I took my laptop, digial camera and other electronics there...which worked fine with the $3 converter I bought from Travel 2000.

Also I know a few people in Algerie that could use baby monitors, etc... that I am curious would they even work there with the converter?!

Does anyone have any experience with this..and what types of electrical items have you all taken and been to use...

[melly 0]

I read a few posts here recently where people said they had their items melt because they got too hot, and to make sure not to buy a cheap converter, but I'm not sure how one would know whether they had a cheap converter or not. I don't have much I'd need a converter for but i have the same question. I'd hate to have things die or melt because of the converter.

Good question.

[sophyie 0]

I think some hairdryers come with a little switch that lets you set the voltage they are on- 220V or 110V, so you don't acutally need a voltage converter just the little plug thing.

[dollface41601 0]

Here....Ill go ahead and give all you ladies a taste of what my 3$ converter did to me....

A nice sunny afternoon in Jordan, I was informed we were going to Khalee Noors for dinner...Wanting to look good of course, I started to 3 barrell curl my hair.....midway thru getting my hair done, I noticed brown, burn marks allll throughout my hair....I rubbed the spots to see if they would go away, and my hair started fallign out in clumps....handfuls, enough to make wig upon wig.....for months my hair would fall out in piles, to the point where my thick, long blonde hair, was sooooo thin, fine, and damaged....thank god, 9 months later, i have got it back to normal, but, oh how it could have been avoided had i spent a little extra on a converter...

[bombay 0]

my wife tried her hair drier and it just burnt from inside and smoke came out of it .

so i had to get her a new one haha.

hope that doesnt happen to my laptop when i use it in the us.

[YuAndDan 153]

A hair dryer is a high-watage device and requites more than a simple $3 plug adapter, most modern electronic devices like laptops, and digital cameras have power adapters that can work on voltages from 100-220 volts and work anywhere, just a simple plug adapter.

Devices that are marked 110 volts only need voltage transformer that convert 220 volts down to the 110 folt level or you will destroy the lower voltage device, simple electronics like baby monitors are the type of device that need a transformer.

High wattage devices like hair driers need more than a simple transformer, they need a high wattage converter they sell for $40. If you try to use a low wattage converter with a hair drier you will damage the converter and/or the air drier.

Places like Brookstone and Radio Shack sell Low and High wattage converters.

http://www.brookstone.com/store/product.as...amp;prodtemp=t1

[melly 0]

I had to read that twice but it makes sense, thanks.

I think the only thing I actually need it for is my battery charger (for the digi cam batteries) and my toothbrush, though I can always use a manual toothbrush on the trip.

Thankfully I don't use hair dryers or curlers.

dollface41601, I'm glad to hear that your hair is finally back to normal. That must have been such a nightmare for you!!!

[Henia 11]

Thanks everyone for the info...I think I will invest in a better convertor...also I was wondering b chance does anyone know if I bought like a baby monitor, mini food processor as gift for my family would it work there with the convertor...or should i just get them something else.

[YuAndDan 153]

Thanks everyone for the info...I think I will invest in a better convertor...also I was wondering b chance does anyone know if I bought like a baby monitor, mini food processor as gift for my family would it work there with the convertor...or should i just get them something else.

The baby room monitor may violate local laws for use of unauthorized radio frequencies. Not all countries allow the same frequencies in the same way that the United States dose, the FCC set aside specific frequencies for things like cordless phones, and room monitors, but those same frequencies may be used in the other country for government departments like police, and emergency uses, and devises like that can cause interference.

Electronic appliances tend not to be good items as gifts when voltages are different, as well as other standards like broadcast frequencies, and transmission standards.

Edited November 13, 2006 by YuAndDan

[Henia 11]

Thanks everyone for the info...I think I will invest in a better convertor...also I was wondering b chance does anyone know if I bought like a baby monitor, mini food processor as gift for my family would it work there with the convertor...or should i just get them something else.

The baby room monitor may violate local laws for use of unauthorized radio frequencies. Not all countries allow the same frequencies in the same way that the United States dose, the FCC set aside specific frequencies for things like cordless phones, and room monitors, but those same frequencies may be used in the other country for government departments like police, and emergency uses, and devises like that can cause interference.

Electronic appliances tend not to be good items as gifts when voltages are different, as well as other standards like broadcast frequencies, and transmission standards.

Thanks YuandDan for the FYI...ok then back to the drawing boards for more gofts ideas!

[Mrs. Beasley 7]

Just a quick note of what NOT to do when you don't have a power converter for your hair dryer. My fiance was very sweet to try to get my hair dryer to work for me while I was in Algeria. He constructed an adapter from a mosquito repealent plug in. Well, it got power but it turned into a blow torch.

I do know Radio Shack has some very good power converters, but they are expensive.

[john_and_marlene 162]

A full range of stepdown voltage transformers: http://www.voltage-converter-transformers....ransformer.html

range from 100 watts - $8.99 to 15,000 watts - $339.99

if your hairdryer is 1500 watts - the transformer is $49.99

but ... a 1500 watt transformer weighs 22 pounds

[cbd2cai 0]

A full range of stepdown voltage transformers: http://www.voltage-converter-transformers....ransformer.html

range from 100 watts - $8.99 to 15,000 watts - $339.99

if your hairdryer is 1500 watts - the transformer is $49.99

but ... a 1500 watt transformer weighs 22 pounds

Yep, I am thinking it is not worth buying one . . . think of all the stuff you can't pack and the possibility of being way overload on the way home . . . after buying all the great stuff/gifts to bring to friends/family when you return home . . . over weight baggage charges are going up now and last year I paid $25 for that heavy bag (darn coins and beads on those hip scarves, hehe).

Not sure you want to leave the transformer behind . . . but if you do buy one and you plan to go many times ( leave with relatives till you return), then maybe buying one will be worth it. OR you can buy the hairdryer made for that system after you arrive and leave it with the relatives.

I have learned to live with the frizz while traveling . . . .

Edited November 13, 2006 by cbd2cai

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

a general rule of thumb, if the item does not list the watts it uses, is take the voltage times the amps = approximate wattage

example: 110 volts x 2.1 amps = 231 watts.

[Mrs. Forgetful 2]

Thank goodness I don't have to worry about drying my hair when I go. The house will be full of women! Yay!