Guide to moving electric devices abroad
Oct. 7th, 2007 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmvalinSlightly less technical than usual, here are a couple tips for friends moving electric devices from a North America to a country that has 220-240V (i.e. most countries). Not every 120V device can work easily on 240V, but some will. To figure it out, the key is to look for a label on the device (present almost all the time) that describes the input voltage. For example, the label on my laptop's AC adapter says 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 65W. The key here is the voltage (in this case 100-240V) and the power (65W). It's very rare that the frequency (50 vs 60 Hz) will cause problem. For my laptop adapter, 100-240V means it will work pretty much anywhere with no problem. All I need is an adapter to plug it into the wall socket where I'm going.
Almost all laptops and many electronic devices (e.g. MP3 players, cell phones) have AC adapters that work at all voltages. However, there are some that do not. For instance, some may have "110-120V, 10W". This means that simply plugging the device on a 240V outlet is very likely to fry it in a very short amount of time. For these devices, it may be possible to use a step-down transformer. Those can be purchased from places such as: here and there (note, I'm not endorsing any of those places). Transformers are rated in terms of power and are generally practical only for appliances that take under 1000W. In general, the higher the power, the more expensive and the noisier the transformer is. The last one is important. We have a 500W transformer that is on all the time and if it were noisier it would start becoming annoying. Indeed, the 750W transformer is annoying and we only uses it for short periods of time. Most electronic devices that don't work directly on 240V are in this category. When it comes to blenders, vacuum cleaners and a few others, it'll depend on the actual power it requires and what you intend to buy in terms of transformer.
Now, what about devices that are rated above 1000W or so? Some of them can actually work using another kind of voltage converters that are sometimes rated for up to around 2000W. These converters are generally quite small (unlike the transformers above) and cheap. So what's the catch? These will only work for "resistive" (i.e.) heating devices, such as an iron or hair dryer. Still, if you're planning on going abroad for a long period of time and all you have is an iron and a hair dryer, I would actually suggest buying these in 240V version. Over 2 years, we've actually blown a hair dryer using such converter and using it with the iron, we then ended up blowing the converter (we we had to buy both devices again).
So, what's left? Devices that just shouldn't be moved. I definitely don't recomment moving the stove, fridge, washer/dryer, microwave oven or any appliance like that. Things like (most) steros can be moved. You may be able to move the TV/DVD/VCR as well, but be aware that most countries outside North America don't use NTSC, so they may be of limited use (e.g. Australia and most of Europe use PAL, so an NTSC TV just does not work there).
One last tip. Buy several adapters to plug your devices into the outlets wherever you're going. Make sure you get some adapters with and without the ground pin. One way to reduce the number of adaptors is to use power boards. Those can be used either on the 120V you get from a transformer (so you don't need one transformer per device) or directly on 240V to distribute power to your devices that work "natively" on 240V. In the latter case, make sure you get power boards without surge protection, otherwise the protection is likely to blow very quickly. Also make sure never to plug 120V-only devices into these 240V power boards.
Almost all laptops and many electronic devices (e.g. MP3 players, cell phones) have AC adapters that work at all voltages. However, there are some that do not. For instance, some may have "110-120V, 10W". This means that simply plugging the device on a 240V outlet is very likely to fry it in a very short amount of time. For these devices, it may be possible to use a step-down transformer. Those can be purchased from places such as: here and there (note, I'm not endorsing any of those places). Transformers are rated in terms of power and are generally practical only for appliances that take under 1000W. In general, the higher the power, the more expensive and the noisier the transformer is. The last one is important. We have a 500W transformer that is on all the time and if it were noisier it would start becoming annoying. Indeed, the 750W transformer is annoying and we only uses it for short periods of time. Most electronic devices that don't work directly on 240V are in this category. When it comes to blenders, vacuum cleaners and a few others, it'll depend on the actual power it requires and what you intend to buy in terms of transformer.
Now, what about devices that are rated above 1000W or so? Some of them can actually work using another kind of voltage converters that are sometimes rated for up to around 2000W. These converters are generally quite small (unlike the transformers above) and cheap. So what's the catch? These will only work for "resistive" (i.e.) heating devices, such as an iron or hair dryer. Still, if you're planning on going abroad for a long period of time and all you have is an iron and a hair dryer, I would actually suggest buying these in 240V version. Over 2 years, we've actually blown a hair dryer using such converter and using it with the iron, we then ended up blowing the converter (we we had to buy both devices again).
So, what's left? Devices that just shouldn't be moved. I definitely don't recomment moving the stove, fridge, washer/dryer, microwave oven or any appliance like that. Things like (most) steros can be moved. You may be able to move the TV/DVD/VCR as well, but be aware that most countries outside North America don't use NTSC, so they may be of limited use (e.g. Australia and most of Europe use PAL, so an NTSC TV just does not work there).
One last tip. Buy several adapters to plug your devices into the outlets wherever you're going. Make sure you get some adapters with and without the ground pin. One way to reduce the number of adaptors is to use power boards. Those can be used either on the 120V you get from a transformer (so you don't need one transformer per device) or directly on 240V to distribute power to your devices that work "natively" on 240V. In the latter case, make sure you get power boards without surge protection, otherwise the protection is likely to blow very quickly. Also make sure never to plug 120V-only devices into these 240V power boards.