Which Adapter for Paris?

You want to purchase these or something of identical appearance:

http://www.amazon.com/6PKSCHUKO-Grounded-American-European-Adapter/dp/B0038L54ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450029053&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=schuko+plug+adapter&psc=1

They will fit any modern electrical outlet in Continental Europe, they are well constructed, will not fall out of the receptacle when weighted down with a charger transformer and are properly grounded.

...and it's helpful if the adapter is has a bit more depth than most and with a lip and aids when disconnecting the adapter from the outlet. One of the regular posters offered this advice some time ago...name escapes me at the moment.

Edit: These are the ones I bought. They work properly and are easy to remove from the outlet, unlike some that lack depth and the ridge along the outer edge. http://www.amazon.com/CKITZE-Grounded-European-Adapter-Adaptor/dp/B0098B5GN8

Karen,

You could also have a look at these Adaptors.....

http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA251D

The product shown is for ungrounded appliances. If any of the appliances you'll be travelling with have a ground pin, then this style is required.....

http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA33MDG

You may also find it helpful to have a look at this.....

http://www.francetravelplanner.com/details/electric.html

I bought 2 adapters like this at REI and they have worked all over Europe for me. Hope there is an REI in your area (or go to SFO?) They are not expensive, I didn't pay more than a couple dollars for each. ( should have said all over Europe (but not in the UK)

I bought a couple of the continental Europe adaptors from the Rick Steves store here online. $1 each. They have worked perfectly EVERYWHERE in Europe.

Edit: Do have to mention the only things I plug in are my cell phone and camera battery charger. Both are very low power usage so I don't worry too much about the load on the circuit. And neither require ground in the plug. If I were to plug something with a larger current drain, I would look into the fused etc plugs others have mentioned.

I own a couple of properties in Europe and I spend a lot of time in various countries and after having tried a lot of solutions I am pretty sold on the one I listed; or at least something similar that fits the round recessed hole in the European outlets snuggly and is grounded. Not that the small rectangular adapeter wont work and since they are smaller and lighter you might prefer them if you don't need a grounded connection.

Karen,

You could also have a look at these Adaptors.....

http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA251D

These can be more difficult if you put any weight on them as they are not well supported in the outlet. It’s not unusual for them to come out of the wall under the weight of the cord or small transformer. But they are smaller and lighter than the one I recommended and that may be important. Also as noted, they are not grounded but that isn't necessary for cell phone chargers, generally only for larger lap top chargers.

The product shown is for ungrounded appliances. If any of the
appliances you'll be travelling with have a ground pin, then this
style is required.....

http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA33MDG

This is a grounded version designed to receive US and UK plugs. Unless you have electronics purchased in the UK it’s a lot of extra bulk for no benefit. At least it is grounded. Devices that do not require a grounded connection can still be plugged into a grounded outlet so by purchasing a grounded adapter you cover all of your bases.

You may also find it helpful to have a look at this.....

http://www.francetravelplanner.com/details/electric.html

This discusses the differences between the French and the German Schuko plugs. The French outlet uses a male prong in the outlet for the ground while the German (and the rest of Europe) plug has a grove on the side for the ground. The adapter I listed fits both equally well and performs the necessary grounding function in both styles of outlets.

As Mark mentioned earlier, if you go to "Shop Online > Accessories > Handy Extras > Continental Europe Electrical Adapter" you will find a picture of the one that RS sells (currently on sale for $1) to see it that helps. If not, you might want to buy a couple at that price. I say several as I have accidentally left an adapter or two in the outlet when disconnecting whatever I had plugged into it. Always better to have a back-up or two. I now put a piece of tape around the adapter and the plug that I am plugging into it so they both come out together.

I offer this as an aside, as I don't think its possible with the French electrical outlets as they use a male ground pin:

The one odd thing I ran into once was a room in Austria with what looked like typical Schuko outlets but the holes had shutters over them which would only open if the ground tab was depressed. At the time I had the cheap, lightweight little square adapters with no ground. To over ride the feature on the outlets I took a painting off the wall and pulled the nail out. Then I used the nail to depress the ground tab while I inserted the adapter. The shutters actually held the plug in pretty tightly, but I had to use the nail to remove the plug. I later found out that this is a child safety feature required in Portugal, Finland, Norway and Sweden but is apparently an option elsewhere.

Here is a photo of the outlet with the shutters. http://www.idesign24.pl/sklep/img/p/41-83-large.jpg The two green holes are where you want to insert the pins, but the green shutters are blocking the way. If you are using an ungrounded plug simply find something to depress the metallic tab at the top or the bottom of the hole before you insert the plug. Someday i would like to change out the outlets in my kitchens and bathrooms with these to help ensure people use grounded connections in those locations. This sort of thing makes me nervous: http://www.germantravel-info.com/graphics/Eplug_w_grnd.jpg

James E.,

" Unless you have electronics purchased in the UK it’s a lot of extra bulk for no benefit."

The Toshiba Netbook that I purchased here in Canada uses a grounded pin on the charger / power supply, so I prefer to use that with a grounded plug adaptor. While the charger may operate without a ground connection, I figure it was put there for a reason so I prefer to use the proper Adaptor.

Ken, you are correct which is WY my recommendation is always that one I linked to at Amazon . My comment pertained to the fact that the adapter in your link https://m.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA33MDG was one of those universal models that would also accept the large bulky UK plugs, or so it seemed to me in the photo. No reason to carry the extra bulk unless you have gear purchased in the UK. But it would be easier to pull out of the socket than the one I use.

When you look at the illustration from Ken ( http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA33MDG ), you will note that the current adapter for France uses a different grounding system than North America. A well as the two round prongs on the adapter, there is a hole. The French power outlet accepts the two prongs but also has a prong of its own that inserts into the adapter hole to provide the ground. Older, simpler two-prong adapters have to squeeze past that outlet prong.

Southam, true, which is one of the reasons why I keep coming back to:

http://www.amazon.com/6PKSCHUKO-Grounded-American-European-Adapter/dp/B0038L54ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450029053&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=schuko+plug+adapter&psc=1 or something similar. It has the hole for the French Male Ground Pin and the edge slot ground for the German (and rest of Europe) standard. Other things can work, or can be made to work, but nothing really serves the overall purpose better; for a trip to France or anywhere else in Continental Europe (with a few remote exceptions).

The only difference between the Magellan grounded plug http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=118,3681&T1=MEA33MDG and the lone I listed is that the Magellan adapter will be more useful if you have electrical equipment purchased in the UK or some countries in Asia. But that requires a lot more bulk to the adapter. All my equipment has US / Canadian Plugs and I would suspect that is true for most folks here so all the flexibility isn't necessary.

And if you care about money, and that really isn't the issue here, the Magellan one is $8 each, while the Amazon one is Six for a little less than $8.

But its been a good conversation because there are some Asian and UK members here as well.

Good points!

The easiest solution might be to simply travel with one grounding type Plug Adaptor, as that covers all the bases. Of course, if visiting multiple countries that means packing at least four grounding Adaptors to cover UK, France/Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Ken, just two will be needed. This one http://www.amazon.com/6PKSCHUKO-Grounded-American-European-Adapter/dp/B0038L54ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450029053&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=schuko+plug+adapter&psc=1

for everything but the UK and a second for the UK. This for instance http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0080R95XI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1450184840&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=uk+adapter+plug&dpPl=1&dpID=41bDKhihWCL&ref=plSrch&dpPl=1&dpID=41bDKhihWCL&ref=plSrch

I also read some place that Denmark uses some nonstandard plugs.

The adaptor sold on Amazon linked to above would be totally unsuitable for the UK on a number of safety grounds:

Unfused
Socket is unshuttered
Live and neutral pins may be too close to the casing

On the UK adapter I will defer to Marco. Could you look on Amazon or some other site available to US for something you think more suitable.

This one is fused, but it's going to be tough to find a shuttered one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003TOS786/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1450234580&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=great+britain+adapter+fused

James E.,

Actually, it's not too hard to find both a shuttered and fused Plug Adaptor for the U.K. I picked one up at the airport on my way to London this year for about $12. I believe the brand name was SwissGear.

I'm in Paris and the adaptor with the two skinny prongs with the flat/oval shape (not round) works fine

Ken, thanks. I'll look for it before the next lay over in the UK. I found this one. It is shuttered, but I don't see description of a fuse. http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Grounded-Adaptor-Ireland-Singapore/dp/B004MKMH5K But I like the size and shape and I like the shutters. I have some properties in a European country that uses the German Schuko design and I think I am going to change the wall outlets to the shuttered version. I just feel safer with the option as it will preclude guests from plugging in ungrounded plugs. I actually had a guest get hurt with a cheap little adapter which is one of the reasons I am beating this thread to death.

James E.,

That looks like the same one that I bought recently. The fuse is on the bottom, so not visible in the photos. It appears to be replaceable, although I've never tried to pry open the fuse compartment. The second photo on that website shows a clear view of the two bottom ("hot") pins, which are shrouded.