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Moving to germany from US - lost on electronic conversions.
Wassermelone
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am a little lost as to what we will need? All the information I seem to be finding is about coverting for charging one's dinky cellphone for a trip and not good solutions for using american electronics long term in europe.
I know that Europe is 220v and the US is 120v, but once it gets into watts or amps it gets more than a bit squiffy for me. I am no where near an electrical engineer and work far away from a STEM field, so any explanations should be as if to a 5 year old, please
I know that Europe is 220v and the US is 120v, but once it gets into watts or amps it gets more than a bit squiffy for me. I am no where near an electrical engineer and work far away from a STEM field, so any explanations should be as if to a 5 year old, please
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Long term, you'll either need to get new electronics or constantly carry a voltage transformer - not just a plug conversion!!!! - so that you don't blow up your electronics by plugging them into a 220v socket.
http://www.amazon.com/Goldsource®-Voltage-Converter-Transformer-ST500/dp/B0022QOSDK/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425409799&sr=1-6&keywords=220+to+110+voltage+converter
And then I would plug in a power strip/surge protector into that? I also notice that one has a 500 watt rating vs others that are available that are up to 3000 watts. Is this something I need to consider?
Basically the 3000 one can have more devices plugged into it, or more power hungry ones, and running at the same time.
The 500 watt one, as an example, might be able to handle a desktop computer plugged into it, but it's not likely to support much aside from that depend on the computer (as many PC's have a 500 watt or greater powersupply).
Essentially if you overdraw, you're likely to blow a fuse or some such on the converter, or worse, cause a short or damage to the devices plugged into it.
This is likely a 2-3 year move.
Also that product I linked seemed to indicate that you want a 30% higher wattage rating on the converter than on the item that is plugged into it. So if I had a 750 watt power supply on my computer, I would want something over the 1000w rated transformer? And if I plugged other things into that same transformer, is the wattage needed additive (ie, 750w computer + 200w whatever = 900w needed) or do you simply need to account for the highest watt item you are plugging in?
I apologize if these questions seem rudimentary. Im an artist and while not all artists are idiots, I certainly am :snap:
Additive.
They say 30% more because the wattage rating for items is their normal steady draw. Lots of things when you turn them on draw more to get started. Think like a fan draws more while spinning up then it does at a steady speed.
It's also common for items like this to support their max wattage only in spikes as well.
Meaning a 500 watt transformer may run fine with a computer that has a 500 watt PSU which constantly draws 300 watts average, but if you had a computer with a 500 watt PSU that constantly drew close to 500 watts, it would likely burn the transformer out really fast.
He may not even need. it. Many PSU's have a 120/240 switch on the back, all he would need is a new plug to plug into it.
Unless it's a laptop, then he'd just need a new charger.
Though before that even, check your power supply. Many are dual-rated for 110/220v, so you could get away with just swapping out the cord and flipping the little toggle switch on it. Here's an example:
http://www.jdresearch.com/icon/shark180w_2.jpg
The little red switch is switchable between 110 and 220, so you'd just need a 220v power cord and to make sure the switch is set to 220.
And more generally, check all your devices. There should be a sticker on them near the power that will show what they're rated for. Some may be dual-voltage in which case you'd just need an adapter, not a converter.
http://www.voltagesuperstore.com/2guidetobuyingavoltageconverter.shtml
Yeah, we have a blendtec blender that apparently absolutely should not be used outside of the US for this very reason according to the blendtec website.
Beyond your computer/work gear, I'd try and keep electrical goods down to a minimum, just because they're a hassle to transport and the whole electrical conversion thing is a pain. For max 3 years, I'd consider just getting some second-hand goods when you get to germany and either putting your old stuff into storage or selling it, depending how precious it is.
But generally Daenris and mightjongo et al have it right.
Yeah I agree with this. It's easy to get second-hand stuff in most of Europe. For Germany try http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de or try a local second-hand good store or market.
The power supply in my PC was rated for both, which was great since it's pretty hard to find a 1KW+ converter.
I did end up using a 500 W for some speakers and computer monitor that weren't rated for the 220.
Random things that were screwed up by the 60 to 50Hz difference was a standmixer (slow setting was, not so slow), and my alarm clock (ran slower, either was using 60Hz to keep time or the voltage screwed up the internal clock).
Don't plug in surge protectors to a converter. In fact, don't bring surge protectors; buy them at your new country. You are probably safer plugging your converter into a local surge protector. How ground, line, and neutral are handled may be different. I probably should have realized that before I fried mine.