Wattage....Converters

I have Cingular and bought a travel charger. (Make sure your phone is "unlocked" for Europe). Differance being a regular charger can't handle European wattage. Was on a Rick Steve's tour of Greece in May and had no problems charging my phone. You must have a plug adapter for both the UK and Greece. Cheap and you can buy them at any travel store or web-site.

Janis, I believe that you're actually referring to the voltage used in Europe. All of Europe uses a nominal voltage of 220 VAC (in other words, it will be in the range of 220-240 AC Volts).

For charging your Cell phone and Camera, the first thing you'll need to do is to check the input voltage rating on EACH of the Chargers you'll be taking along. If this is listed as "100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz", then the product is designed to work on both North American and European electrical systems (in other words, "world" operation). Based on the ratings of your Chargers, you may or may not also require a Voltage Converter. There are a few things to be aware of with respect to Voltage Converters, but these can be addressed if it turns out that you need one.

You WILL need Plug Adaptors though. The UK style has three large rectangular pins, while the Euro style has two smaller round pins. Check www.magellans.com or www.kropla.com for pictures of these and further information.

One important question regarding your Cell Phone though. Only phones which use GSM technology and have the two Euro frequency bands will work in Europe. Verizon and Sprint (and others) use CDMA technology, which won't work there. Which cell network are you with?

Hope this helps. Cheers!!!

Having a phone "unlocked" is NOT related to how the charger works. If your charger says something close to -- input 100-240V. You are OK. Just need a plug adaptor.

Technically, continental Europe has traditional used 220V, while the UK has used 240V. Recently, the EU has standardized on 230V. Right now the tolerance is such that both 240V and 220V systems comply, but in the next years the toerance will be adjusted so that all European voltages will be about 230V.

If your charges say 100-240VAC, you will have no problem using them on European power, although you will still need plug adapters.

Thanks everyone for the info. I actually have a European cell phone so don't expect problems there. I think I'll just need some UK adapter plugs, but I will certainly check the voltage on everything before we leave.

While now it is rare, if you have older electronics and are checking the voltage input, you may see a small sliding switch. This changes the input voltage of the device between 110V and 220V. Newer electronics switch the input electronically. If for whatever reason you have a device that is not dual voltage, you will need a converter. At that time you will need to know the Watts a device consumes, that determines the size of the converter.

Janis, I found a little converter that was purchased through Travel Smith ....it had the adapters for every country ........and was light weight...cost about $60. Worth it! This way you can will have what you need in one box....

You don't need a converter for a device that draws more than about 5500-6000W. Those devices will cause the converter to draw more than 25 amps, which you cannot legally do in Europe without a grounded plug, or (self-)certification as CE double insulated. So, unless you have a converter with CE certification or a three prong grounded input AND a grounded plug adapter (they vary between countries), leave your high wattage appliances at home.

Lee, I'd be very surprised to find a Converter designed for travel that "draws more than about 5500-6000W". At 230 VAC the current drawn would be about 25 amps as you noted, which is not possible with any of the power points I've ever encountered in Hotels or B&B's in the UK, Ireland or mainland Europe; most of these have been fused at about 7 amps or so, and the wiring has been somewhat "light" compared to the 14/2 used in North American electrical systems for duplex receptacles (there's no way that the Euro wiring would support 25 amps!).

The most common "Voltage Converters" for travel which use Transformer-based conversion ("step down") have a rating of 50 watts. There are larger units available of course, but Transformers are inherently HEAVY so these would be very difficult to travel with. Thesse type of Converters are best for charging electronic devices, as they produce a "clean" sine wave (the 50 Hz frequency used in Europe is not usually a concern, unless it's a clock or similar device that uses line frequency for reference).

In the case of "Voltage Converters" which are capable of powering high wattage appliances such as Hair Dryers, etc., solid state conversion is the most common. The sine wave is somewhat "rough", but for simple electrical devices which consist of just a heating element and a small fan, this is not usually a problem. The use of electronic products with this type of Converter is not a good idea, as "problems" can result.

One note for those that are travelling with Voltage Converters - these are generally NOT designed for continuous duty operation. Therefore it's a good idea to disconnect these from the mains when not being used.

Cheers!

Sorry, Ken, you are right, That is 2.5 amps, 550-600 watts. I guess that little "dot" does count.