european power strip + grounded us adapter + dual voltage electronics

Here is the url for the adapters I bought: http://www.amazon.com/American-European-Schuko-Outlet-Adapter/dp/B0038MO3GE/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1347012529&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=American+to+European+Schuko+Outlet+Plug+Adapter+-+12+Pack Here is the url for the european surge protectors: http://www.amazon.de/Brennenstuhl-Line-Steckdosenleiste-3-fach-wei%C3%9F/dp/B002MQGGMQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=ce-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1347010664&sr=1-1

Lamps with european bulbs and no surge device should be OK. I have that all around my house. The electronics with a US surge adapter would be OK only after putting a proper transformer between the wall and the US surge device or the US surge device (unless 120/240) will be a smoking lump of junk. Using a european surge device and dual voltage items as you suggest should be no issue. I haven't looked at your links yet.

Its not clear to me that the second strip is a surge protector. It appears to me to be a switched extension lead. Note the comments that the Shuko is only 45 degrees rotated. If it were me, I'd find the nearest Media Markt and get their cheapest ...

Eric, Your question has a number of different parts, and it will take me a bit of time to wade through it. However, I'll try to provide a bit of information. The comments posted by Nigel are spot-on (as usual). Rather than buying 24 Plug Adapters, I probably would have used a slightly different method. For the small devices such as the MacBook, iPad and iPhone, I would have used a dual-voltage Power Bar without Surge Suppression such as the small five-outlet unit sold by Magellans. With that, you wouldn't need Plug Adapters. Most of the time, those devices are only connected for short periods of time while charging, so I'm not sure if surge-protected power supplies will be really needed in a modern country like Austria. I charge devices of that type in Europe whenever I'm travelling, and never use Surge Suppression. With the other devices that are connected on continuous basis, I'd probably use Surge Suppression. One point that occurred to me regarding your "dual voltage TV" is whether it's able to receive more than one video standard (ie: NTSC, PAL, SECAM, whatever). I'm assuming your iPhone is an unlocked GSM model? Sorry about the delay in replying. I'm on my annual European trip at the moment, and just arrived in Palermo from Rome a few hours ago. I've had Wi-Fi everywhere I've stayed, but don't always have the time to sit down at the computer. I'll try and offer further suggestions soon. Cheers!

Thanks for the advice! I was hoping you'd reply, as you've given really good electrical guidance in other threads. Another question: Do I have to worry about the cords on my dual voltage devices? For example, the cord for my tv has a sticker on it saying its rated for "10a, 125v". Is 1250 watts enough for european outlets and my tv(3.3a, 100-240v)? I am going to head to MediaMarkt today and grab some surge protectors. I bought a little converter before we left(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W9DJ1Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01), but will that be good to run anything at all? I'm using it to run a secondary wireless router for a VPN and it seems to be doing fine. It looks like a transformer was what I should have purchased. Can those be purchased here in Europe? Thanks again

Eric, google Ohms Law. It is the basic electric calculation. Wattage is the multiplied product of amps times volts. Wattage will remain the same in the device. As the supply voltage goes up, the demanded amperage goes down. If the cables are in good shape they should be OK. I'm not sure about Wien but in the UK the normal amperage rating for consumer power points is 13A. Lots more capacity than you outline. Remember if plugging in multiple devices into a power strip to add up the sum of wattages, and remember that most electric motors (and old style fluorescent lamps) have a momentary starting surge much higher than their rating. Don't know if Media Markt have transformers but they just might. Be careful of electronic "transformers" which do not output a proper sine wave shape of power. Square waves are not good for motors. Is that right, Ken?

YOu don't say if the xbox is dual voltage. I assume (don't know) that all your computers are. I don't know how much power the fifty inch plasma takes. Yes, add 'em up, then leave a buffer.

You don't have a coffee maker in there that you could swap with Ansbach James, do you? lol

Thanks for all the info guys. It really is awesome to talk to people with practical experience in these matters. Luckily, all my wife and I want to do with our TV is stream content through both our laptops and xbox 360, so the video standard is not an issue. I do have a factory unlocked GSM iPhone 3GS that I bought for $140 before I left the US. I wish I would have bought a dual voltage power strip before leaving the US. Is this the one that you were talking about on Magellan's Ken?(http://www.magellans.com/store/Adaptors___Converters___Plug_AdaptorsEA104) Nigel, I went to Saturn(like MediaMarkt but closer to our apt) on Saturday and picked up two surge protector power strips. Just to clarify so I don't blow up anything... when plugging my devices into the surge protector(TV, xbox 360, wireless router), I need to make sure the combined wattage of the devices doesn't exceed the output wattage of the surge protector? If that is correct then I think I may be good to go. Thanks, Eric