Bonjour!
I went to radio shack today and picked up my adapters and converter. I was wondering if someone would take a look at the links and tell me if I have the right ones.
The last post/conversation had me a bit confused, so I tried to do it on my own...
I%26#39;d appreciate any help!
Merci!
This is my %26quot;Foreigh Travel Outlet Adapter...%26quot;
www.radioshack.com/product.asp…
and this is the %26quot;Dual Power Foreign Travel Voltage Converter...%26quot;
www.radioshack.com/product.asp…
I got this one since I can switch between 50W (for our digital camera battery, cell phone, etc.) and 1600W (for my curling iron, blow dryer, etc.)
How did I do?
Merci... again!
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Tigerlillie,
Thanks for going to Radio Shack and this post. I am also totally confused regarding converters and adapters.
I think you may have helped me figure out what I did wrong last year. Radio Shack sold me a converter which is exactly what you bought and is what I asked for. I was unable to use it as I did not have the adapter.
If I am reading all these posts correctly if the voltage on the appliance is between 120 and 240 only an adapter is needed.
I know I need to purchase an adapter but may not need the converter.
Merci
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Tigerlilie,
YOU GOT IT RIGHT !
There are 4 adapters. Looking at Radio Shack%26#39;s
photo, the one for France is the one on the bottom.
The converter is also correct. You will plug it
into the above adapter, plug your appliance
into the converter, set the converter and plug
it into the wall.
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Does the one(s) you have look like Type %26#39;..E..%26#39; and/or %26#39;..C..%26#39;. If so, then it%26#39;s the right one--
http://www.kropla.com/electric.htm#plugs
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Thank you guys for responding! Vanity takes over when vacationing in Paris, and a girl just simply can%26#39;t go without her curling iron! LOL =)
Merci beaucoup!
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Wait a tick.... The converter in the picture won%26#39;t fit in modern recessed french receptacles. They stopped making the flat (flush recepticles a long time ago. Does it come with an adaptor?
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Tigerlilie,
Have you checked the voltage of your hairdryer? Most hairdryers anymore seem to run on 1875w, which is too much for the converter to handle. You might want to check your curling iron, also, but it will probably be ok.
Debra
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Metromole: The first link I put on my post was for the adapter... Like Randy said, it%26#39;s the one on the bottom of the 4 adapters. This will work, right?
idtrvlr1975: Yes, my hairdryer is 1875W... but I plan on using the one in the hotel we are at... I checked, they have hairdryers in the room... BUT! My hairdryer has a switch down at the bottom of the handle that you can switch from 125V to 250V, so my question is... If I were to take my hairdryer with me, I would ONLY need the adapter, not the converter, since I can switch it over, non? Maybe I should go buy a curling iron that switches also...
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Do be careful with this stuff...I totally roasted my curling iron on my first tip to Paris in 1987 and spent the better part of my day in Giverny looking for a replacemnent (not what Monet had in mind when he settled there...ease of finding hair implements...).
You will most likely need an adaptor along with your converter...this makes it fit in the new recessed outlets anyway and won%26#39;t hurt even if not necessary. If your appliance says up to 240 watts you can use just the adaptor (the smaller of the two items, just two prongs), but it does not hurt to use the converter also. We did this at first with our video camera then realized we didn%26#39;t need the converter and no harm done. Since the converters are much more expensive than the adaptors, we just bought two converters and about 8 adaptors (for our daughters ipods, etc). We always seemed to have enough to keep everything charged (this was for a family of six, so smaller groups would need less).
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Tigerlilie,
Yes, you should only need the adaptor plug with your hairdryer switched to the higher voltage. I checked my curling irons and they were 170-200w, so should work fine with the converter switched to the higher voltage, plus an adaptor plug. My curling iron worked fine that way when I was last in Europe. You may want to consider purchasing an extra adaptor plug to use with the hairdryer, so that your curling iron can heat up while your drying your hair. One adaptor plug was a PITA, I found, lol.
Also, just to let you know, it is not advisable to %26quot;leave%26quot; appliances plugged in for extended periods, while using the converter/adapters. I%26#39;m not sure why. It was a tip I came across while researching this stuff. Basically, when your battery is charged, or your cell is charged, you should unplug it as soon as possible.
Debra
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I believe the reason you should not leave them plugged in is that the converters can get very hot, which can cause a fire hazard. Our rule was to let things charge overnight or during the day when we were around, but not to leave them plugged in when we were gone.
Another option if you are renting a car is something called a 12-volt converter for the car. It is a box that plugs into your cigarette lighter and has a reguluar US single outlet on it. You can then plug anything into it and it will charge while you drive (but not while the car is just parked). We used this a lot for the girls%26#39; gameboys and ipods during our long driving days and it worked wonders. I think we got ours at Radio Shack for about $50 several years ago and use it on all our driving trips, not just in Europe.
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