God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! -Ephesians 3:20
The people that got us through
Still WaitingAdopting from Russia
Brown's Journey to Russia
Our Russian Adoption Story
The Next Step
SCMountaingirl
Tricia & Michael
Precious Gifts from God
Russian Adoption DVA
A Dad's Journey
Pisarik Adoption
The Road Home
from Russia, with love
Road to our 2nd
Happy Beginnings
Russian Adoption Journey
Come Undone
On Our Way to Russia
Confessions of a Russian Adoption
Journey to Abbey Anne
The Open Window
Fertility Gone Awry
Do They Have Salsa in China?
In Spring
Waiting for Chloe
Searching Katja
Michelle Smiles
Adopting Ahren
Bring Me Mia
Mrs. Broccoli Guy
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds *NEW*
My Sweet Noelle
Hell & High Water
Rothesay to Rajasthan
Taiwan Treasure
Building a Family
Baby Todd's Adoption
Leggy P *Password
Seeking Sprout
Leap of Faith
The Longest Journey
Gaye & Andrew
Jim & Alison
In Our Own Backyard
Kirsten & Josh
Slava Update
Where in the World
Jason & Melissa
Four Feet More
Rhyne & Jake
Crystal the Wise
Russian Adoption Diary
Our Kazakh Cutie & Russian Beauty
Jamie & Suzanne
Belanich's Great Journey
Kleins in Germany
Inside Elle's Mind
Listen & Hear
The Wuttke Clan
Protesting Stupidity
Miss Zoot
If It Wasn't This
Life Has Changed Baerbelz Blog
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Unraveling the converter mystery
In keeping with the whole travel theme as of late I thought I would shed some light on the whole converter/adapter mystery. For those of you who have traveled abroad you can stop reading now. For those who were like me, never been out of N. America prior to trip #1, this is important stuff.
When plugging in an electrical device in a foreign country you will need one of two things (or both.) A power converter and/or a plug adapter.
To determine which to use you must study the device you want to plug in. Look at the cord of your device. Is there a big black box somewhere on the cord? No? Then you will need the power converter(PC). Yes? You will only need the plug adapter (PA) in most cases. This is the tricky part. Look at the black box. See the writing on it? Find where it says "Input." If it reads "100-240v" then you only need the PA. The PA makes it so your US plug fits into the Russian wall socket. There are of course cases where you are unsure of what to use. You could experiment, but be willing to sacrifice your electronic device. Let's just say I needed to go buy a new set of researchable batteries for my digital camera. Good thing I brought extra batteries.
There is one little exception you will find when you arrive. The wall sockets in Russia are recessed into the walls. The Power Converter does not fit into them. So you have to take your Plug Adapter and put it on the end of the PC, then plug it into the socket.
I hope this has shed some light on the Power Converter v. Plug Adapter mystery. As to where to buy them, that is up to you. We bought our original set at Target, but somehow misplaced it in between trip #1 and #2. Fortunately, CS's parents had one and let us have theirs.
When plugging in an electrical device in a foreign country you will need one of two things (or both.) A power converter and/or a plug adapter.With both of these devices you plug the US end into the converter or adapter and then plug the European (heretofore known as the "Russian end") into the outlet.
To determine which to use you must study the device you want to plug in. Look at the cord of your device. Is there a big black box somewhere on the cord? No? Then you will need the power converter(PC). Yes? You will only need the plug adapter (PA) in most cases. This is the tricky part. Look at the black box. See the writing on it? Find where it says "Input." If it reads "100-240v" then you only need the PA. The PA makes it so your US plug fits into the Russian wall socket. There are of course cases where you are unsure of what to use. You could experiment, but be willing to sacrifice your electronic device. Let's just say I needed to go buy a new set of researchable batteries for my digital camera. Good thing I brought extra batteries.
Now if your cord does not say this or is lacking the black box you will need the PC. The exception is for travel hairdryers. A travel hairdryer has a switch that says 240v or 100V. When you use it in the US switch it to 100v. In Russia switch it to 240v (or 250v like mine) and plug the cord
into the plug adapter then that into the wall socket. It is important to make sure the switch is set correctly. On our first trip there was an incident with a travel hairdryer that caused a minor power outage in the hotel.
into the plug adapter then that into the wall socket. It is important to make sure the switch is set correctly. On our first trip there was an incident with a travel hairdryer that caused a minor power outage in the hotel.
There is one little exception you will find when you arrive. The wall sockets in Russia are recessed into the walls. The Power Converter does not fit into them. So you have to take your Plug Adapter and put it on the end of the PC, then plug it into the socket.I hope this has shed some light on the Power Converter v. Plug Adapter mystery. As to where to buy them, that is up to you. We bought our original set at Target, but somehow misplaced it in between trip #1 and #2. Fortunately, CS's parents had one and let us have theirs.
10 Comments:
Site Design By:
Established March 19, 2006
"Pray to God, but continue to row toward shore." -Russian Proverb
Great educational post. Glad you thought to inform everyone. Now they can dry their hair and not have bed head the whole time. :-)
Love the tips Elle!
SoFlaMom
Melissa