Simran SMF-200 Deluxe 200 Watts Step Down Voltage Converter for International Travel to 220V / 240V Countries ~ Ideal for Blackberry, Laptops, iPods & Phones etc
by SIMRAN
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List Price: Our Price: $11.40 You Save: $7.00 (35%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Simran SMF-200 Deluxe 200 Watts Step Down Voltage Converter for International Travel to 220V / 240V Countries ~ Ideal for Blackberry, Laptops, iPods & Phones etc
Customer Review: Be careful! This is only a 2 amp device!
Summary: 3 Stars
I received this device today and am quite disappointed in it, as it's only rated for 2 amps, is heavy, and the advertisement on the website doesn't state the amperage. So, buyers beware!
To explain my extreme disappointment, you should understand what the traveling and power conversion requirement is and how it works. US/Canadian power is 110/120 volts, and Europe/The Rest of the Universe is 220/240 volts. That's approximately twice what our US/Canadian devices can handle; so you have to get a power converter to step the voltage down to something your devices can handle without getting fried into expensive doorstops or paperweights...or burning your lodgings down with you in them!
The simple solution to the problem is to buy a power converter. But various converters are rated for different outputs. The one I'm reviewing is rated for 200 WATTS maximum, or 1.6 AMPS. This is barely sufficient for my laptop, which has an input power requirement of 1.5 amps. (See your device's power supply for the INPUT AMP REQUIREMENT.) And you can forget a hair dryer - not enough power available!
And because I did not know how the conversion of numbers (from watts to amps) worked, I got caught with my proverbial shorts down when I bought this item.
LET ME EXPLAIN HOW POWER CONVERSION MATH WORKS SO YOU CAN DO THE MATH YOURSELVES:
Watts are a measurement of consumption. The wattage of a device tells you how much power it requires. But you likely have amperage requirements on your device power supply...so how much wattage or voltage do you need in the converter?
It's simple math, thank goodness. Here are the formulae, which I wish I had earlier:
WATTS / VOLTS = AMPS. So, if you have a 200watt converter, you divide by the volatge (120) and get the result of 1.6 amps.
VOLTS x AMPS = WATTS
WATTS x AMPS = VOLTS (not particularly useful, as voltage should be constant)
And, now that I know what to look for, I have found far better options than this item for approximately the same price.
(A big thank you to my electrician friend who explained this to me.)
Customer Review: Burned out with a flat iron
Summary: 2 Stars
There has been some discussion here about using this converter to power a flat iron. My wife has a relatively expensive Paul Mitchell model. The label is clearly marked 40 Watts (and 110V only). We took it and this converter on a trip to the Netherlands and Belgium. It worked for two or three uses then, on the next day with the flat iron, it worked for a while then quit. We let it cool down overnight and tried it in the morning but it was kaput. Would not work at all for any device. My wife really wanted her flat iron so on the outside chance that this particular converter was a lemon we purchased another converter that was rated 75 watts (the only one I could find in Brugges) and it burned out on the first try.
Turns out, the other items we brought with us were dual voltage. The battery charger that came with the digital camera, our phones, the iPad, even my wife's curling iron (yes, guys, she had a flat iron and a curling iron and I didn't dare ask why). I was surprised about the dual voltage but, I suppose, they are internationally sold products so maybe it makes sense. Anyhow, definitely check to see if you even need this. Knowing what we know now, we would have sprung for a dual voltage flat iron before leaving and not have bothered packing this brick of an item. A more expensive option but her current flat iron will wear out eventually and we would get the value out of the second one then.
Customer Review: Some comments for buyers
Summary: 3 Stars
As I was looking at step down transformers I read the reviews for this item. They were helpful in that they supplied key information that the product description does not. From the reviews I have determined this is a light duty transformer. The light duty transformers will typically have a time limitation on operation that is directly related to the wattage of the device plugged in. For a 200 Watt device that would likely be 15 - 30 minutes. Light duty devices are not intended for continuous operation. Also it may be helpful if the product description mentions the correlation between Watts and Amps. In one review I read the complaint was that ... I plugged in a device rated at only 6 Amps and the converter rapidly burned out. Well if it was a 6 Amp device that would translate to around 660 Watts on a 110 device and there should be no surprise that the transformer failed. This is because transformers have to dissipate heat in order to remain operational. So if you are looking for continuous operation at the rated Wattage of the transformer the more it weighs the more likely it is to be heavy duty which is what you want. If you merely need to recharge a cell phone or some such low power device this should work just fine.Customer Review: ONLY works in "shaver" outlets in the UK
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this for a trip to England/Wales in May 2010 based on info that it worked in the UK. When I got to my first hotel in England, I found that the adaptor did NOT work in most UK outlets -- it works ONLY in the "shaver" outlets that you will often find in hotel bathrooms. (All the "shaver" outlets that I saw in 4 different hotels/B&Bs had 2 voltage settings -- 115 and 230 -- and I kept them on the 230 setting.) This worked OK for recharging my iPhone, but I had also brought along a white noise machine that I normally put on a nightstand to drown out hotel noises, and the adaptor could not work for that purpose since of course its cord could not "stretch" from the shaver outlet in the bathroom way into the bedroom. Luckily the white noise machine also worked on batteries, but I would have been very annoyed if I hadn't brought batteries along "just in case." So just be forewarned, this will ONLY work with "shaver" outlets in the UK. I assume that most if not all hotels/B&Bs have such outlets, but I don't know if private homes would, if you are staying with friends or family instead of in hotels.Customer Review: Don't leave home without it
Summary: 5 Stars
Works like a charm for recharging elec. gadgets (iPhone, iPod, laptop, etc.), as well as running lower wattage devices like elec. toothbrushes and razors. At 200 watts, it isn't suitable for most hair dryers -- hair dryers need about 600 watts, and some hotels prohibit their use because they'll trip the circuits. (Many hotels provide a built-in dryer anyway, and it's one less thing to pack.) An absolute must if you're taking anything designed for 110v 60 Hz -- current in U.K. and EU is 220v 50 Hz, and it'll zap your goodies if you don't have a converter.
I'd recommend using this with an All-in-One Travel Power Plug Adapter, especially if traveling to the U.K., where a different outlet from the rest of Europe requires a plug with different prongs than this converter comes with. We also used the Monster MP OTG400 Power Strip with this, so we could recharge phones and camera all at once.
The converter, adapter and power strip all fit in one little zippered bag -- we left them all connected and ready to pull out and plug in, wherever we went.