Travel Electrics:
What you need to know before you travel.
Plugs are easy. Voltage
& wattage are hard.
Summary
- Get adapter plugs for the countries in
which you will be traveling.
- Check whether your device accepts 110 to
240 volts. If yes, then adapter plugs are all you need.
If your device does not accept up to 240 volts you need
a converter.
- Check the wattage to see whether you need
a low or high wattage converter.
Adapter plugs – Here
in the USA, Canada and Mexico we have either two pronged regular
plugs or three pronged grounded plugs. The rest of the world
has different wall outlets (sometimes two kinds in the same
country). We carry plugs for the whole world in both regular
and grounded formats.
Often times a single country will have plugs
of two, three, or even four different styles!
1) What input does your device accept?
Voltage – In the USA, most of our electricity
is delivered at 110 to 120 volts. In most of the rest of the
world electricity is delivered at 220 to 240 volts. Travelers
need to check every device to find out what the voltage it
accepts as input.
If it accepts up to 240 volts you DO NOT need
a converter just the appropriate adapter plug.
If it only accepts 110 – 120 then you
DO need a converter or transformer. And then you also need
to know what the wattage is for each device.
2) What is the wattage of each device?
To get the correct converter for your electric
devices you need to know the wattage. Generally, for camera
battery chargers, curling irons, and water heaters the wattage
is LO 0 – 26 watts. Then a low wattage converter is
what you need.
For hair dryers or anything with a motor then
it can be HI wattage 50 – 1600 watts and there are converters
for those devices. Hair dryers can go up to 2000 watts and
there are converters for those as well.
3) What if you need both low &
high wattage converters?
You have a couple of options.
You can buy one of each, or a combination HI– LO converter
with a toggle switch for each, or a converter that changes
automatically. The price goes up a bit with each option.
If you still have questions (which
would certainly be understandable), please don't hesitate
to call us toll-free at (888)534-3453, or visit Eagle Creek's
very cool new Global
Electricty Navigator®!
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