subject: Exploring Travel Voltage Converters [print this page] Different countries have different power supply ratings; for example, the USA has its supply at 110 volts while most countries in Africa have it at 220 or 240 volts. Now, suppose you need to travel to Africa from the USA for a day or two, or even longer, there are some of your electronic gadgets that you certainly cannot do without such as your laptop, shaver, IPod and so forth. To power these gadgets in a country with voltage ratings greater or smaller than yours you will need a travel voltage converter. This gadget is absolutely necessary unless you have the time and money to buy other electronics that have the same rating as in the country you have travelled to.
There are a few bits of information you must arm yourself with before buying a travel voltage converter. The first piece of information is to know the voltage rating of the particular country you want to travel to. You do not want to waste money on a travel converter that will not work in your destination country and therefore you should insist on assurances or a guarantee that it will work. To cater for persons travelling to more than one country, the universal travel voltage converter was developed. A good example is the LiteFuze WP-102U Universal worldwide plug adapter kit.
The second point in choosing a travel voltage converter is to ensure that you do not go for the cheapest converter in the market. A travel voltage converter is not just a transformer, it contains some discrete electronics that make the converter intelligent enough to detect power fluctuations and thus protect your gadgets. If you are carrying along a sensitive device such as a laptop which has important information or even a voice recorder, you surely cannot just hook it up to any cheap travel voltage converter you find in your local electronics store.
The third point deals with wattage rating of your electronic devices. Before buying the travel voltage converter, look at the rear of your gadget to see its wattage rating. Most of the travel voltage converter kits we have in the market are rated at 50W for small devices and 1600W for heat generating devices. Just ensure you get the right one before getting disappointed or risk blowing up your precious possessions.
A point to note is that you should not continuously keep your travel voltage converter on; it should be unplugged when not in use. Also, a travel voltage converter should not be used for power tools, coffee makers, or similarly large electronics devices.
