My husband has COPD. It is very important that we are able to take his nebulizer on our 16 day Italian vacation. We have the plug adapter and need a converter. We contacted the manufacture of the nebulizer. They said the machine is 96 watts. All we can find are 50 watt or 1600 watt. The company said the 50 watt is not strong enough & the 1600 watt is too strong & will blow the fuse or the equipment. Any ideas?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Double check the power converters. One is usually good for appliances UP TO 50 watts....the other FROM 50 watts TO 1600 watts. There are also some all-in-one units that are supposed to be able to handle all wattages up to 1600-2000 watts.
Posted by
OP
COLUMBUS, OHIO, USA
6 posts
The converter we have has a toggle switch. One way is for 50 watt. The other was is 1600 watt. The cust svc rep at the nebulizer manufacturer said the 1600 would blow a fuse & burn out the nebulizer. That it was too much power.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Louise....instead of checking with the manufacturer of the nebulizer (who may not know all that much about power converters), check the specs with the manufacturer of the converter. The converter won't run your machine at 1600 watts...it's capable of running machines that may DRAW up to 1600 watts.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Louise,
Based on your comments, I suspect the "customer service" representative at the Nebulizer firm is not well informed on electrical matters.
The 1600 watt rating refers to the maximum power that can be supplied by the Converter. If the Nebulizer draws 96-watts, then that's all the Converter will have to supply. A Voltage Converter with that rating is almost certainly one that uses a solid-state conversion method. The 50-watt side of the unit will probably use a Transformer. Solid State Converters are not the best option for electronic products, as problems can result.
As I'm not thoroughly familiar with Nebulizers, could you provide a bit of a description of the unit (Brand, model no., etc.). Also, the Input Voltage specifications from the Charger on the device would be helpful.
If that's the only device you need the Voltage Converter for, you might have a look at This Product. This is advertised as a "Transformer" which is preferable as it will provide the "cleanest" sine wave (albeit 50 Hz rather than the 60 Hz. we use here in North America).
Good luck!
Posted by
OP
COLUMBUS, OHIO, USA
6 posts
Thank you everyone. I have made several more calls & I believe you are right about being able to use the 1600 with the breathing machines we have to take with us. I feel much more at ease now. Thanks again
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon, USA
927 posts
A nebulizer is just a small compressor and a breather that atomizes medicine from an ampul. It creates measured pulses of air. They are really very much like a small air brush system used in painting.
95 watts is a typical power draw for a portable plug-in, compresser unit. The 1,600 watt
converter can easily supply this one unit and 15 more of them. The converter is taking the 220 Volt, 50 Hz, AC, Italian Standard and conditioning the current to the US, 120 Volts and 60 Hz Standard. The wattage value stays the same and depends on the amperage of the supply lines.
The nebulizer Representative is entirely wrong about a 1,600 watt converter over powering the device. For instance, typical 20 Amp, 60 Hz, 120 Volt, USA, house current, ie plugging it into the wall, means it is being connected to a 2,400 watt power supply. But the device is only going to draw 95 Watts. I'm kinda surprised that some one representing a medical device would not know this.