Converter / Adapter

njc (Dev team) says on Apr 27, 2009, 21:38:

The most useful is a 3-prong American plug to 2-prong American plug adapter.

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Buongone says on Apr 28, 2009, 00:52:

Just make sure you turn it off when not in use. Some of the Blackouts they have will burn it up, even with a surge protecter. Most people use a Big Black box as the 1st line of defense. Then a surge protector behind that. Better to be safe than sorry.

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ddluzdelsol says on Apr 28, 2009, 12:19:

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the outlets in Colombia have 2 of the same sized holes. Many of the States' appliances have a polarized (or one prong bigger than the other) plugs OR 3 prongs.

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solarwind says on Apr 28, 2009, 13:56:

thanks guys

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kenblanquito says on Apr 29, 2009, 11:09:

johnny
Good idea for the Brits and we did that on our first visit here.
Even better if you install 220 Volts throughout the house like we have. It is also said by electricians here, although I do not know whether to believe it, that any appliances powered by 220V work more efficiently than those using 110V, thereby burning less Kilowatts. Therefore we could say that we are making our contribution towards reducing greenhouse gases.

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njc (Dev team) says on Apr 29, 2009, 14:36:

But, johnny, V = IR so resistance would have to double :).

The appliances that it matters for are those which are not that efficient to start with--electric stoves, electric water heaters, etc. That is, the heating coil in those appliances needs to have about 4 times less resistance to produce the same amount of heat (less coil).

Other than that, I don't think any other major appliances or fluorescent light bulbs really use significantly less energy with 220V.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 29, 2009, 15:49:

in my office and my apt i have only had to use the plug njc posted....and yes, things fry here real quick if not protected......power surges here are a real bitch...

"So Many PBH Potatoheads.......So Little Time"......El Titiritero (The Puppeteer).....www.slapdoll.com

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aztec says on Apr 30, 2009, 05:42:

Two plug three plug often incompatible and as already stated the two holes are sometimes round and different sizes.

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solarwind says on Apr 30, 2009, 09:32:

i was thinking i could get a 3 prong to 2 prong converter then plug the 2 prongs into an international adapter which would go into the wall. my 3 prong surge protector -> 2 prong converter -> int adapter -> col wall socket hopefully this will work. any thoughts?

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njc (Dev team) says on Apr 30, 2009, 13:38:

This is a highly technical process, I think you should hire a professional to do this.

I've only seen double/triple round plugs a few times--much more common is 2 flat prongs or 2 flat prongs with a third round one.

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sloopskipper says on Apr 30, 2009, 17:40:

I have seen receptacles in South America that will accept both the round, European type, and the flat U.S. type plugs (probably in hotels). Not sure if they have the third U.S. type grounded plug, but think they did..

Seems that some people think "everybody's outa step but me".

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Vadoom says on Jul 3, 2009, 22:07:

I bought my laptop being in UK and went to Tesco for set of adapters just before I fly over to Kazakstan to take my family to Colombia. These adapters work fine here, just plug in laptop to adapter and adapter to the wall socket. All sophisticated appliances are adapted to work in 110-220 v and 50-60 hz except maybe some irons, hairdryers etc

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thepieman says on Jul 4, 2009, 05:04:

are the wires colour coded johnny??im assuming its a simple job to put a colombian plug onto tescos finest

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