I have a BROOKSTONE CONVERTER KIT and it says that it does/has: This is a 7-piece converter kit for appliances 50-1800 watts. 1 dual-watt converter with 6 adapter plugs Lets you use U.S. 110/120-volt appliances in 220/240-volt outlets worldwide Low setting up to 50 watts for most electric shavers, battery chargers, etc. High setting up to 1800 watts for most hair dryers, travel steamers, etc. I read somewhere that it would not be good to use with laptops or dvd players. Do you know why this might be? It was a gift and I thought I would be able to charge my portable dvd player. Any suggestions on what I should get instead?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
For examples of the spec plates on appliances accepting dual voltage and those accepting only single voltage, you can read my webpage on adapters. Since it has two setting, one for above 50 watts and one for below, your converter undoubtedly uses a transformer for the low. It's output will not harm a computer, cell phone, etc. But don't make the mistake of using the wrong setting. Since those appliances will work off of 230 volt, anyway, why bother with the converter. In the last 10 years, I've used four different dual voltage computers and a dual voltage camera in Europe without problems.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Your portable DVD player is probably already designed for world operation, and won't need a converter, just a plug adapter. Using a converter with a device already designed to work on 220v can damage the device. Check the input label on your DVD player and see if it is already able to accept 220v. If it is, you can use your regular charger with the addition of a plug adapter that allows the plug to fit into the European socket (or the UK socket, whichever you are dealing with).
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
142 posts
Nancy, Thank You as that clears a lot up!!