Power Cord Confusion

Kelly,

"I understand that this means it will work with a plug in Italy"

To be more specific, the label on the Charger indicates that it's designed to operate at the voltage ranges specified, which includes both North America and Europe.

Is the power cord separate from the Charger, or is it permanently attached? I suspect that the Charger is designed for "world use", so the manufacturer simply supplies it with the appropriate cord and plug for whatever market it's being sold in (hence the label which states "US 125V").

You indicated that you have the Plug Adapter for Italy (two round pins?). I'd suggest taking a second Adapter, as it's always good to have a backup (sometimes travellers forget them in Hotel rooms or whatever).

Happy travels!

Ken: Yes the cord is separate from the charger. And the Adapter plug that I have is 3 round pins instead of 2, is that correct?? It says that it is a grounded plug specifically for Italy.

Kelly,

The Plug Adapter you described with three pins sounds like the correct model for Italy. I'm assuming the three pins are "in-line"? You may want to pack along a two-pin model as well (always good to have a spare). If you're going to be in any of the other countries in continental Europe, you'll likely require another style of grounded Plug Adapter.

Ed,

"A conductor (the cord) can take any voltage-- maybe not efficiently, but it can take it."

Just to clarify, one of the ratings for power cords (and other electrical wires) concerns the insulation surrounding the conductors. As higher voltages are applied, at some point the insulation will fail and a "short circuit" will occur causing a rapid increase in the current flow and the melting of conductors that you described.

There's usually a bit of a "safety factor" built into these ratings, so a cord designed for use at 120 VAC shouldn't have any issues at 220 VAC. However, my practice is to leave them connected only as long as necessary for charging, and NEVER while I'm away from the Hotel room.

The current flow of products that are designed for use in North America will decrease to roughly half when these are used in Europe (this relates to something called Ohm's Law but the specifics of that aren't really germane to this post). Therefore, the potential of overheating the cords shouldn't be a concern.

Cheers!

Three round pins in a straight row? That sounds ok.

A conductor (the cord) can take any voltage -- maybe not efficiently, but it can take it.

The only thing that can fry a cord is amperage, which is a function of what's at the using end of a cord. Picture running a clothes dryer on doorbell wire -- the wire is melted in a split second.

The wall end of a cord might need an adapter.

What happens at the product end of the cord has been covered in regard to voltage. Charging something with such a low current draw could not possiblly present an amperage issue and damage the cord.

Thank you all for your very informative replies. This puts my mind at ease as I would not like to fry a battery for my camera.

4 days til Rome!!

We usually stay in the older retrofitted buildings. These almost never have grounds. So we bring the two pin and the three pin adapter and a standard American Ground Adapter. I also bring a very short extension cord with three outlets. So first I plug in the Pin Adapter, then the Voltage Converter, then the Extension Cord. Not in the bathroom if I can help it. My Converter is rated to 1600 Watts which is over kill for just charging batteries. We charge eight AA NiMHs a night for the cameras and MP3 players. Pure Resistance Heaters WITH OUT FANS, like hair curlers, don't need any voltage conversion. Apple Laptops don't need the Voltage Converter either. I seem to remember that every place we've stayed had a built-in hair dryer. By the way, TSA doesn't like to see wires in carry on luggage.

Ken's exactly correct.

My thought was of the battery charger which has miniscule draw.

Since, if you half the voltage for a give wattage, the amperage doubles, it could get real interesting real fast if you tried to use a high draw gizmo on an under-rated cord.

The juxtaposition of 'efficiently' in the sentence was really stupid and essentially the opposite of the premise. It refered to voltage drop over distance (picture hooking a nine volt battery to a major transmission line and trying to measure what comes out five miles down the road).