Flat Irons

Hi power setting up to 1875w? Look at your flat iron and see if its rating is less than 1875w. Then you should be OK.

sylvia,

I believe that CHI specifically prohibits use of their products with Voltage Converters (I know that because I asked them). Therefore it would not be advisable to use that particular product in Europe. I'd suggest either trying to find a dual-voltage model at Wal-Mart, Target, Magellans or other stores OR simply buy a 220 volt model when you arrive in Europe.

The "w" following the 1875 is probably "watts", a unit of power, not "voltage". General guidance on voltage converter/transforms is use a device rated at three time your appliance. If your converter is rated at 1875 watts, don't use it for a electrical iron with more than 625 watts of output. That said, the best advice is to not bring 110-120 volt thermal electric devices to a 220-240 volt country.

Look at your flat iron and see if its rating is less than 1875w. Then
you should be OK.

OK? How. You mean will it literally work? Maybe. Is it legal? Definitely not.

You probably won't go through customs anyway, and if you did, they probably wouldn't confiscate it, but the converter you bought definitely is not in compliance with European electrical codes. See how it connects to the power sources with two round pins. That kind of a plug is known as a "Europlug" because it fits in receptacles all over continental Europe.. Technically, it is a CEE 7/16 or type C plug. This plug is limited by code to 2½ amps, or 575W at 230V.

Also, the 125V plug on the CHI device is probably "Polarized" (one blade wider than the other). This polarized plug is demanded by UL to meet certain safety standards, and is only effective on polarized power system. Italian power is not polarized, so these safety considerations would be defeated. (Even if Italian power were polarized, the fact the the Europlug can be plugged in either way would defeat the polarization 50% of the time.) If you have to take it with you, and I'm not recommending you do, never leave it plugged in unattended.

CHI might prohibit use of it's appliances with a converter because they know the safety standard won't be effective if used with a converter. They just want to cover their rear ends if something happens, and they get sued. (We told you not to do it.)

Its not just a question of "will it work", it can be a fire hazard. I have witnessed someone blowing an outlet in Germany, due to ignoring warnings about compatibility.

I recently bought a dual voltage flat iron from Amazon for my trip to Italy in April. It's no longer available on Amazon but here's a link where you may be able to get it. I love it!

https://www.xarahair.com/products/2-infrared-flat-iron

Here is the dual-voltage flat iron i just bought for my trip to Italy in two weeks:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N0U37A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

I also bought both 2-prong and 3-prong/grounding adapters, and I will take both with me just in case.

I figured I would rather buy a small size travel flat iron that's dual-voltage to work with adapters — opposed to taking my larger single-voltage iron and having to take a converter.

I spent roughly the same amount of money as you did for your converter; my new iron was $30 and I spent about $10 on the adapters total.

Have fun!

Lauren, what does the plug look like? This is a polarized plug (one blade wider so it only fits in a US receptacle one way). This is an non-polarized plug.

Or does it have a 3-prong, grounding plug.

The problem with high wattage appliances such as a flat iron is that it probably will work somewhat with a proper voltage converter. It will not get as hot and sometimes even with the best converter it will fail. I would not take anything that requires a high wattage converter.

10 yrs ago I found out the hard way that my Chi flatiron wouldn't work in Europe with a converter. I had to buy one at a local store but now I pack that one for all my travels to Europe.

I bought an inexpensive dual voltage flat iron at Walmart. It works just fine. I take it on all my trips to Europe and beyond. Just remember to switch the voltage depending on the electrical current of the locale.

Lee, it's a polarized plug: 2 prongs with 1 slightly longer.

Both types of adapters I purchased (some 2 pin, some 3 pin) all have the polarized receptacles for an American polarized plug.

(This is all okay, right?!)

I am struggling to understand why would you want to bring an iron. They add extra weight and if you pack correctly, wrinkles shouldn't be a problem (I roll after laying everything flat and smoothing out any wrinkles prior to rolling). I've never pulled anything out of my suitcase that was too wrinkled to wear. I am also careful about taking fabrics that either won't wrinkle or won't look bad if they are slightly wrinkled (like linen). If too wrinkled for your taste, hang the item up in the bathroom while you shower. The steam should help remove wrinkles. I never have tried the clothing under the mattress thing ut it seemed to work in the old movies.

@cbrochu30: Oops. I already fell into that trap before. We are talking about devices that make hair beautiful, and need I tell you the importance of such devices. I remember well the look of astonishment, panic, and horror and fell over her face when I told her it was a very good thing that she could not fit the American plug into the British socket.

Don't take any kind of clothes iron or hair-curling iron. Re-read Rick's advice about packing light and making due with a lot less than you "need" or use or own at home. I say, just pack whatever you want, more than a day before you leave. The minute you zip your travel bag, un-zip it and take out half to 2/3 or 3/4 or what younpacked and leave it at home. Take just a trvel bag with mo wheeles. If it is too heavy for you, you over-packed.

Spoken like a man!

Sylvia, I'm sorry to see one of the responses to your question was a dud.

If I'm not mistaken, real men don't have to boast about their physical strength. LOL!

If you want to iron clothes, borrow an electric iron from the hotel. With a board.
If you want to curl your hair, buy a cheap iron in Europe (or get an easier hair-do.)
Hair blow-dryers from North America usually can be switched to the appropriate power source although they only will operate on low. Power-thirsty appliances, as this thread indicates, are a nuisance in several ways and run the risk of malfunctions better left to a fireworks display.

Thanks everyone! I'm going to purchase the $30 one dual voltage, online and will get an adaptor to plug it in. That should all be good, right. I'm talking about an iron for my hair , not clothes. I wish i didn't have to take it but my hair is a horrible frizz head.

I do get a kick out of how the "Jump to the bottom" button caused this thread to morph from a question about hair straightening devices into tools to get wrinkles out of clothes.

almost as interesting as how "flat iron", a device hundreds if not thousands of years old used to remove creases from clothes and sheets has morphed in a few years into an electric hair care device.

Yes, sylvia, as long as the one you buy on the internet is built well and you remember to change the voltage switch every time you cross the ocean.

I'd have thought that as long as you own a nice CHI one at home you wouldn't need the new one to be dual voltage and would get one after you land. They will be easy to find in Italy, maybe cheaper, won't need an adapter, and part of the fun would be the adventure treasure hunt. And you would have a functional souvenir you can use on your next trip and lend out to traveling friends.....

OK....I had a good chuckle finding out the iron is for hair! Wish I had the problem of frizzy hair...mine is straight as a board no matter what I do and baby fine.

Lauren, sorry, I forgot where this thread was.

Manufacturers don't put polarized plugs on their appliance for decoration. If a device has one, you can assume UL requires that the device should only be used on polarized power. I think the only polarized power source in continental Europe is in Switzerland. Because of the asymmetry of French Schuko receptacles, they could be polarized, but I've heard that the design of some receptacles in France makes that impossible.

The primary reason for devices having to have polarized plugs is that the manufacturer chooses to use a single pole on-off switch on the hot leg. Consequently, if the power is reverse-polarized, an internal short could cause it to turn on spontaneously. Although your flat iron has an automatic turnoff if the device is not in use, it's probably on the "hot" leg along with the switch. Reverse polarized power could render it ineffective.

So my rule stands. If a device has a polarized plug, don't use it on the European continent. It looks like power in the UK is polarized and the UK adapter preserves the polarization, so it might be OK to use a device with a polarized plug in the UK. (I say this with some reservation. UK plugs have the hot side fused. This might be per codes, and I doubt the adapters conform to this.)