Plugs look like this in Europe.
Outlets here provide a 220V current, whereas in the US they provide a 120V current. Maggie and I came with 8 adapters - some we'd accumulated over the years, some we bought just to have for this trip. Out of all the gadgets we brought with us, only one used a charger that couldn't accept a 220V current - my Phillips SoniCare toothbrush. (Maggie's newer model was fine.)
So I bought a converter. Not to be confused with an adapter, which merely changes the shape of a plug - but does nothing to the current - a converter actually changes the size of the current. My toothbrush charger could only handle a 120V current, so the converter took the outlet's 220V and magically turned it into the needed 120V. Until tonight.
Converters are much bigger than adapters, and often have LEDs.
I set up my toothbrush in its charger, plugged in the charger using an adapter, and came back later to find that it wasn't charging. Well, yeah, of course - because I didn't plug it into the converter. And because I didn't plug it into the converter, the 220V current fried my 120V-loving charger. And now I can't ever use it to charge my toothbrush again.
Moral of the story: never confuse an adapter with a converter. Try not to bring electronics whose chargers won't accept a 220V. And don't look too closely at my teeth while I wait for my new charger to arrive.
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no worries, lou. i did the exact same thing to my electric toothbrush in hong kong.
ReplyDeletethis incident puts a silver lining on the otherwise sad fact that i won't be having any face-to-face conversations with you in the near future. but i think, for maggie, it's pretty much all bad.
Don't worry, Jing - you too will get to experience the glory of my poor dental hygiene through the modern marvel that is Skype.
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