I was planning to use an outlets to go (made by Monster Cables) in Europe to charge camera batteries and an Ipod. With this setup I only needed to use one plug adapter and could simultaneously charge all my devices which are rated for European voltage. I've used it for this purpose in the USA and it works great.
Please advise if you have actually had experience using this.
Thanks,
Tom
Look in the "West" forum, at the post entitled "Which Adapter? France". There is some info regarding the charging of electronic devices while in France/Europe. Of particular interest is Ken-Canada's point about U.S. power strips - they might not work, since much of Western Europe uses twice the U.S. voltage. You would need to investigate the level at which your power strip "trips", and compare to the electrical system used in the countries you are visiting.
Most US extension cords I have seen are rated 250V. If the power strip is, also, you shouldn't have a problem with it.
HOWEVER, I would never get one to use in Europe - too big and bulky. I have a 3 in 1 adapter (very small; looks like the end of an extension cord) and it allows me to use 3 US flat blade plugs, and I put it in a Europlug (2 pin) adapter. That allows me to charge my camera while using my computer.
Warning: the European receptacles grip the two pins rather agressively, and if you are not careful, you can pull the 2 blade plug out of the Europlug adapter and leave it in the wall. I did that ONCE. Now I tape them together.
Tom,
The Outlets To Go Power Bars are apparently designed to operate on 220VAC electrical systems, but I had a bit of trouble verifying that as the technical information on the Monster Cables web site was a difficult to find. I did find one reference in the FAQ's section which states:
"Can I use my Outlets To Go in a 220 / 240 volt country?
Yes your Outlets To Go will function with the appropriate plug adapter. Make sure that any devices you will be using can also work in multi voltage applications. If not, a converter will be necessary."
If the product you're using is just a "basic" Power Bar with no Surge Suppression or other features, it should be fine. However, I'd probably still check the "nameplate ratings" for maximum allowable voltage. These should be listed on the unit somewhere, probably the bottom.
I'm not sure that the built-in circuit breaker in a Power Bar designed for 115 VAC would operate properly, given the fact that devices will only be drawing about half the current at 220 VAC. However the outlet should be fused appropriately, so this should take care of any overloads.
If you want a definitive answer, you could send an E-mail to Monster Cables.
Good luck!
Hooray!! Monster Cable's Customer Service confirms that my "4 outlets to go" will work with European Voltage. I only need to find one empty outlet to plug into and one european adapter for the "outlets to go" and I'm in business, charging batteries for two cameras, and Ipod and a cell phone.
