Hello, my family will be traveling for our first to Switzerland in July. We have been to Europe several times, but our US and other European electrical adapters will not work. With this said, what type of US to Swiss electrical adapter should I buy for my wife's hair dryer and hair straightener as these things use up more voltage? My wife also has a Spanish hair straightener, but this will not work in Switzerland.
Thanks
Adapter adapts plug. Convert converts voltage.
Hair dryer and hair straightener dual voltage? Then you only need adapter.
Switzerland uses type C (2-pin) and Type J (3-pin) plugs. (Type C 2-pin plugs also fit J sockets.) Most power sockets are designed for three pin round plugs. The standard continental type plug with two round pins, applied for many electrical travel products, may be used without problem.
"Adapters" don't work for appliances like these that rely on resistance heating, unless those appliances have dual-voltage capability. You would need an actual voltage converter.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPL6MB4L?tag=track-ect-usa-783628-20&linkCode=osi&th=1
Thank you all!
Why does a Spanish hair straightener not work in Switzerland? Is it 240 Volt 50 Hz? Then it should work in Switzerland with the right socket adaptor.
If the spanish straightener plug base has pointy ends like the one here:
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/european-power-adapter ,
it will work just fine in Switzerland. I have a heated brush I bought in Madrid and used in Switzerland last year.
I had no trouble using my regular european adapters in Switzerland, as long as the base has the pointy ends shown above. Some older adapters, including previous versions sold in the RS store, had rounded ends and will not fit Swiss outlets.
The Spanish Straightener does have the 2 silver ends.
So I would need a Spanish to Swiss adpater?
as previously advised, there's no need, the plug will work. multiple countries in europe use the same plug.
I'm not referring to the prongs.
The shape of the base comes to a point at each end.
You don't need an adapter for the spanish appliance.
See the photos here:
https://www.myswissalps.com/planning/practical/power-outlet/
I am a little confused as I have read the Swiss Plugs are different than other European Countries (Ireland, Spain, etc....).
British and Irish plugs are different (3 rectangular prongs), but the plugs in mainland Europe are mostly compatible with each other. There may be minor variations between countries but for the most part a Spanish plug should work in a Swiss outlet.
The shape of the outlets in Switzerland are usually that odd little shape like in the link I posted above, which is different from the larger round shape most of continental Europe uses, but the adapter that RS sells fits in both kinds.
On the RS Switzerland tour, the regular euro adapter worked in all the tour hotels, plus the 2 other hotels I stayed in, and my spanish hair appliance worked great and did not need an adapter.
Does the Spanish straightener have a round plug (type F) like this:
https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/f/
If so, you will need an adapter for Switzerland because the round Schuko plug won’t fit in the smaller recessed outlet.
Skip the hair dryer; just about every hotel has one.
Yes, my Spanish Straightener has those two Type F Plugs. If this is the case, do I need a special adapter to convert the voltage?
Yes, my Spanish Straightener has those two Type F Plugs. If this is the case, do I need a special adapter to convert the voltage?
Is it round with two pins or is it rectangular with two pins?
You don’t need to convert the voltage for the Spanish appliance. If you have a Schuko plug, you just need an adapter so that the Schuko plug fits into the smaller recessed Swiss outlet.
An adapter like this should work:
https://www.amazon.com/Ceptics-Switzerland-Travel-Plug-Adapter/dp/B0080SG1SY
It has a universal socket that will take both European and U.S. plugs.
Thank you so much! I will buy the adapter.
This will be a lot cheaper than buying a Swiss Hair Straightener, especially with our weak dollar right now.
OP, please re-read the comments. The answers are there. Adapters make the plugs fit. Converters make the voltage compatible. Your Spanish-bought appliance should be voltage compatible with the outlet in Switzerland. OTOH, it probably has a Type F plug that will not fit into the Type C outlet in Switzerland, not because of the two prongs but because of the size and shape of the plug itself. Therefore, you need a Type F to Type C adapter, which another commenter has said the RS Universal can do (I can't verify that, but you should).
I had no trouble using my regular european adapters in Switzerland, as
long as the base has the pointy ends shown above. Some older adapters,
including previous versions sold in the RS store, had rounded ends and
will not fit Swiss outlets.
Basically a type C plug is a squashed hexagon. I can still remember them being introduced during my childhood. The idea was to make it impossible to plug grounded plugs in ungrounded power strips. So power strips with ungrounded sockets have the same squashed hexagon shape.
Ground sockets in Switzerland also have a squashed hexagon shape, but it is slightly fatter, and it was at one time intended that that would become a world standard.
There are a lot of adaptors around that claim to be type C, but are not. It is not sufficient to have just the two prongs at the correct spacing. It must be the squashed hexagon shape. All appliances in continental Europe that do not require a ground now have that plug.
Grounded appliances in Europe usually come with a plug that fits in the type E or F sockets. But Switzerland has type J sockets, so they won't fit.
Hello all again. I am unable to find a Type J Voltage Converter that I can use for my American Hair Straightener. Do you see one on Amazon?
As mentioned before, I also do plan to bring my Spanish (2 prongs) Hair Straightener to Switzerland too.
I am just trying to avoid paying for a brand new Swiss Hair Straightener.
Thanks for all your help and suggestions.
If you bring a Spanish hair straightener, why would you also need the American hair straightener? The Spanish hair straightener will work without a converter. You might need an adapter.
The American appliance will need a converter unless it is dual voltage. Searching for Type J converter found this on amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Universal-witrOverload-Protection-Appllances/dp/B0DRJR2QLX/
Thanks for your quick replies. It looks like my Spanish Straightener will work.
Thanks for your quick replies. It looks like my Spanish Straightener
will work.
You won't be the first person to bring an Spanish appliance in to Switzerland.
Basically any appliance bought in continental Europe that has an type C plug will fit in a Swiss socket. They are designed for that, so you are not even breaking any regulations.
The normal typ C plug has two prongs, and has a flattened hexagonal shape.
If you have a round plug, with two prongs, and both a whole and clips on the side for the safety earth you have a type E/F plug.
Most countries in Europe have either type F or type E sockets, and for convenience most appliances that need an earth connection come with a plug that fits in both.
There is a nice overview here:
https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/
Type C fits in Swiss sockets, type E/F not, so then you would need an adaptor. You will find them in most supermarkets and electronics stores.
We Swiss have the same problem. When I order an appliance over the internet it will often come with a E/F plug, not a J plug, so I often need adaptors as well.
This seems to be sorted for the OP, but FWIW. one should not use a converter on a heating implement. I personally once took out the entire wing of a hotel's electricity doing that. Use a devise designed for European voltage or a dual voltage device.
