Converter for 600w hot rollers

A converter doesn’t work with hot hair appliances unfortunately; you run the risk of various electrical issues with the plug and the curlers. I have a set of travel hot rollers that are dual voltage and thus I only need the plug adapter.

There are metal, Velcro rollers on Amazon. You heat them up with a blow drier and leave in until cool. I have not used mine much. I think they would be best for slightly damp hair.

Got back from Italy 2 weeks ago and purchased these hot rollers specifically for the trip: Remington Compact Ceramic Dual Voltage Hair Setter & Rollers, 1-1 ¼" Purple/Black, 10 Piece Set. Got them on Amazon for like $15, since they’re dual voltage I plugged them into the power adapters and they worked great. No blowing a fuse or burning them out. They’re small & light also. Same with my conair flat iron, just check them to confirm that they’re dual voltage. BTW, I bought these adapters : Italy Power Adapter, VINTAR Italy Travel Plug Adapter with 2 USB and 2 American Outlets. Good luck.

Consider for your next trip to shop amazon.it or amazon.fr or amazon.uk. I have had good service from all for what I needed, ordered ahead for delivery in time to my first destination. In one case it was the first hotel. In another case where we had only a rental house I used a local amazon drop off point. It was a small shop in a small town. I have found you can search in English or you can use google translate to convert to whatever language you need. Or as I see your next trip is UK you might order on line for delivery or pick from John Lewis (a department store similar to Macys in USA) something like this https://www.johnlewis.com/babyliss-3035u-thermo-ceramic-rollers-black/p5704044 or from Argos something like this https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2199294?clickSR=slp:term:hot%20rollers:10:505:2

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/220-volt-to-110-volt-converter-2000-watt

If you insist on using your existing 115V/600W hair curlers, you will need an over 600W converter to convert the 230V power over there to 115V for your curlers. Solid state converters do this at a lighter weight, but if there are any electronics in your curlers, they will not work well with a solid state converter. Then you will need a transformer, and they are heavy.

I see some converters (I have no reason to believe that they are actually transformers) on Amazon, but they are all 250W to 350W, not enough for your application.

And a lot of converters I see accept a US grounding plug (third prong), but their input is a type C ungrounded plug, so the grounding is bogus. If your appliance has a grounding prong, it there for a reason. It's required by UL for safety. Never use a US grounding plug with a converter/adapter that has a non-grounding (type C) European plug.

MY advice, find a curler that works on 230V to start with.

Thanks for all the quick replies! I saw those dual voltage Remington curlers on Amazon that was suggested. I guess I could get 2 sets since they are only 10 curlers each. Thanks for the information about the converter. You've convinced me to forget that idea. I never thought about searching international Amazon sites. Thanks for sharing the name of the store in UK. That would be a good backup to shop at if my dual voltage rollers fail. My current Conair rollers is only a 2 prong plug, not 3, but no since in trying to get them to work with a converter.

I haven't traveled overseas in 10 years. That month long trip to Italy gave me a lot of ideas on how to pack better next time. What I learned...take what you love the most, don't try to substitute or skimp on your favorite items. While over there I kept wishing I had packed items I left behind, and left behind items I never used. My hot rollers was one. I don't know what I was thinking...that I could fix my hair with just a curling iron. Thanks everyone for your input.

It's good that you've decided not to use a voltage converter as that's not a good solution, as a model that uses a transformer can weigh in the vicinity of 12 pounds! No converters (that I know of) will change the 50 Hz. European frequency, so that could cause problems with appliances that have electronic controls. It's important to check the manufacturer's recommendations when using hair appliances with voltage converters, as some specifically prohibit use of their products with voltage converters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLYFNU0?th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=3sm220to110adapters-20&linkId=f13262ac3baf4761b46472cc2b4ad527&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This has the specs to handle your 600W curlers, assuming the curler manufacturer does not have a warning against using converters.

The item weighs 20 lbs.

It does include a European plug adapter but for UK you will need a different one that is designed for heavy loads.

No personal experience with the converter.

Thanks Joe! I looked at it on Amazon. The sheer size of it was daunting.

If you are starting your England trip in London, Sally Beauty supply has shops and they sell these hot rollers.
https://www.sallybeauty.co.uk/hair/hair-electricals/hair-curlers-and-wavers/babyliss-pro-heated-ceramic-roller-set-%2820-piece%29/144630.html#q=heated%20roller&lang=en_GB&start=1

They’ve got shops in other cities in the UK too. I’m one of the people who suggests buying there (over the years I’ve bought a hairdryer, curling iron, and straightener in various countries). Obviously, that didn’t work for you in rural Italy. It does typically work in major cities, although hot rollers might be harder to fine than a curling iron.

If a device needs 115 vac (and does not have a 230/115 switch) (and does not say "100-250 vac"), there are two ways to convert 230 to 115:
1. A big transformer. It would transform a 230 volt sinewave to a 115 volt sinewave. It has to be rated for enough watts, so it will be too heavy if it can power heating devices like have been discussed. Safe, but too heavy and bulky. Technically speaking, if it is made for 60 hz. power, it would heat up just a little with 50 hz. power.
2. A diode converter. I have a couple of them, but have never used them. This is just a small box with one rectifier diode inside. It weighs a few ounces. It converts a 230 volt sinewave (which swings from positive to negative 50 or 60 times per second), into a clipped waveform with all the negative swing missing. So the peak to peak voltage is 1/2 of the input. This would work fine if your device is ONLY a heating element. If there is a fan motor it would burn it up or blow a fuse. If there is a cute little digital display, it will burn up the electronics. If you buy one and it works with your simple curling iron, in 2 years (or maybe 10 days), you will forget all the stuff in this excessively long post. And you might then plug in a 115 vac electronic device and burn it up.

SUMMARY:
Option 1 and option 2 are both crummy options. Just buy a device that's switchable, or one just for 230 vac. Oh yeah, if you accidentally plug the 230 vac appliance into a U.S. 115 vac outlet if won't get very hot, and any electronics won't work, but it probably won't make smoke.