Help! need voltage converter in France!

Molly, it's probably going to be VERY difficult to find a Voltage Converter in France! You're probably correct that you won't be able to find one in a smaller town like Bayeux, but you may not even be able to find one in Caen. ¶ You might start with appliance or electrical supply stores, but I highly doubt they would even stock them (little demand, therefore they sit "in stock" for a LONG time). You might ask the staff at your Hotel if they know of any shops selling items like that. ¶ The only other suggestion I can think of, would be to contact Magellans and see if they can ship one by Courier (FEDEX or UPS - the shipping charges WON'T be cheap!). However, you'd need to stay at a particular location for several days until the item is received, so that may not be possible. Good luck!

Priceminister.com is one of many sites that came up on google.fr with the search words Convertisseur Electrique. Priceminister also has a uk site which popped up on my screen. Here's the converter http://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy/49628834/Convertisseur-Electrique-Chnageur-Tension-220-110Vca-150W-Transformateur-Alimentation-110V-220V-Electricite.html They have a 110/220 converter. In fact, google.fr brought us many sites selling converters but you have to be sure they convert both in the direction you need and not just 220->110. A local hardware store may be able to order one for you, and there are large Home Depot type stores (M. Bricolage for example), even in smaller cities which may stock a two-way converter.

Here is another one, but on this site you have the option of dealing in English if you click on the British flag. Also, when you scroll down, you can click to deal directly with a sales rep. You'll have to copy and paste the links. http://www.i-source-global.com/epages/170990.sf/fr_FR/?ObjectPath=/Shops/170990/Products/PC100

I would have thought that Carrefour (there's one on the northeast side of Bayeux) or Darty (pretty sure there's one in the town centre) might be able to help. Have you tried the TI in the centre? They're pretty nice and helpful - the one near the bridge...

Thanks everyone! Our converter has inexplicably come back to life! We don't know what happened (we did pay our respects at the Bayeux cathedral yesterday, coincidence?)- but we're keeping our fingers crossed! Thanks again for all the help!

That's great it started working... If it stops working again, I would go around to all the hotels and see if they have one... we've left converters and adapters many times in the room, forgetting to pack them... there's always a chance a hotel might have one... I'd also suggest, for future trips, for something as important as medical equipment, to bring at least two converters with you... just in case.

Molly, some products these days (like Converters) are designed with automatic-reset circuit protection (like a circuit breaker). The model that I use states "Automatic overload protection, no Fuses to change". Possibly the Converter was overloaded, "tripping" the protection circuit? ¶ It would help to know the capacity of the Voltage Converter you're using, and the ratings on the CPAP Machine? It might be a good idea to upgrade the Voltage Converter when you get home. Cheers!

Would it be too much trouble, since you asked us to go to the trouble of helping you, to help us by reporting some parameters of your devices? . . . . . ¶ There are two kinds of voltage converters, the small transformers that convert 230V to 115V (or so) without changing the wave form. These are ideal for electronic devices but are often limited to 50W. Using them for more than 50W would cause them to overheat, and stop working permanently or trip an internal thermal overload. The other type are made with electronic components and can handle up to 1600W, but change the waveform and could damage electronic devices, such as a CPAP machine. . . . . . ¶ Which kind do you have. It should say something. . . . . . ¶ Secondly, I did a quick Internet search on CPAP machines this morning. One type has it's own dual voltage (230/115 VAC 50/60Hz) power supply, which would work in France without a converter. However, it draws over 100W, which would overload a transformer converter. . . . . . ¶ So, what do you have?

Lee, re your "Is it possible she's been using a voltage converter to change 230V to 115V when the machine accepts 230V?" Yep, that's what occurred to me. She probably didn't need a converter in the first place.

And since a low wattage, transformer converter, the type suitable for electronics, only handles ~50W and CPAP machines use twice that, she's overheating the unneeded transformer, and it's tripping out on thermal overload.

What Lee said. Look on the converter and see if it says 230/120. If you are lucky enough for it to say that, then all you need is a plug adaptor. Also, as the above person said, I would buy another one asap. Train stations, airports come to mind, as well as electric shops, Darty, etc.

I just looked at CPAP.com, and every unit they showed there had a 100-240V AC rating. Is it possible she's been using a voltage converter to change 230V to 115V when the machine accepts 230V? Second, the few machines that had a power spec where 70W to 110W. The largest converter I found on RadioShack's website was rated for 85W; most were 40-50W. . . . . . ¶ Looks like a case of an overheated converter.

\i went to LeClerc in Bayeux and bought a "Universal Travel Adapter that works in 150 countries" - so the box said. \it was the only one there and there was no mention of any kind of voltage on the back, but it works just fine with the cpap and our battery chargers. thanks again everyone. So now we know, they are fairly easy to find.

"no mention of any kind of voltage on the back" . . . . . ¶ That's because it's a PLUG ADAPTER, a simple mechanical device that plugs into foreign receptacles and accepts American flat-bladed plugs, not a voltage converter. It does not change the voltage, just the plug configuration. So, apparently your CPAP machine is dual voltage. Unless you plan on being in all of those 150 countries, all you really needed was a two-pin Europlug.

Our GPS when we were in Bayeux quit working. We tried the reset and still nothing. We were panicked because we felt we really needed it. In the middle of trying to find our way to a location, it suddenly came on. What luck!