I am travelling to London England soon don't think I will have a problem with my Apple iPad or phone, however I need to bring a heating pad and plan to bring a dual voltage one, can I use an extension cord made in the US or Canada, as from experience the cords are never long enough to reach the outlets even in Canada....I also will have dual voltage hair dryer, curling iron....I don't want to burn down anything, also will be travelling to Paris for a few days. I realize I will need an adapter and they are different for for England and France....anyone that can help with this I would very much appreciate it.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1209 posts
You can pick up 5m (17ft),13Amp extension cords in UK for about £8.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
But do I need to do that if I have dual voltage appliances, my understanding was our extension cords would be OK
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11179 posts
A bit off point, but check with where you are staying. Seems rare that a place would not have a hair dryer. Save a bit of packing.
The issue with some adapter plugs is that they are not rated for high draw appliances like hair dryer. Not sure what your heating pad may draw, so a locally purchased extension cord may be the better solution, than your cord with an adapter that cannot handle the load
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Extension cords can be a fire hazard but that's usually cheap ones. I've never tried using one in Europe. I've never read the UL listing label on an extension cord, does it say whether it can handle the different voltage? You will need a plug adapter.
Posted by
TX, USA
528 posts
I do not like those appliances that have a switch to change voltage, they don't work well, in my opinion. I have a straight iron which automatically switches voltage, like your IPad and phone. Maybe if you searched online you could find a curling iron that is similar. I don't a hair dryer. If the provided hair dryer isn't the most wonderful, I will let my hair air dry. If you don't like that option, then a simple solution would be to buy a small one while in England or France. Here is how I solved the extension cord problem, I purchased this travel extension cord from Amazon. Since you are going to England and France, you will need two different adapters. This type for Europe and this type for England.