I dont know how to title this. 230v to 120v ?

[George_Bud]

I will go to USA soon. I am from Europe. Do I need an adapter from 230V to 120V, or can I just plug it in ?

[79wjd]

The plugs are physically different, so you will need an adapter. 

[NumLock21]

What do you have a laptop? Most laptop adapters supports both 230v and 120v, should say it on the label. The plug is different, so you'll need to buy a plug converter. Don't know how much it cost over there. Right here the plug converter cost like $3 to $5 dollars.

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

You will need an adaptor because of physical pin differences, but whether you need a transformer depends on the appliance you're using. If it says something like 100-240v, you're fine without one. If it only says 230-240v, you'll need a transformer for 120v mains to 230-240v appliance. 

 

EDIT: Luckily, using 230-240v appliances incorrectly on 120v typically won't damage things. If you were going the other way, you could destroy a 120v appliance in a 230-240v socket. 

[grimreeper132]

you will want a step up 120V to 230V adapter, they will sell them at the airport or order one from amazon.... you could also make one but I don't think anyone here, including myself would recommend that

[Motifator]

4 minutes ago, grimreeper132 said:

you will want a step up 120V to 230V adapter, they will sell them at the airport or order one from amazon.... you could also make one but I don't think anyone here, including myself would recommend that

Only if he's going to power a portable guitar amp or some stuff like that... power supplies like phone chargers and notebook power bricks are switching PSUs, you don't need a transformer with them. They can and will work at both 120v and 240v as long as you have the right plug provided.

[Christophe Corazza]

You will definitely need a EU-US adapter to make the european plug physically fin in a US socket. But they can be readily bought online quite cheaply.

In terms of the different voltage (120 V instead of 320 V)... that depends on what you want to plug in to the EU-US adapter. However, you can find these travel transformers online too: for example https://www.amazon.com/Travel-Smart-50-Watt-Reverse-Transformer/dp/B006NRXXCG?th=1

[Christophe Corazza]

5 minutes ago, Motifator said:

Only if he's going to power a portable guitar amp or some stuff like that...

 

Or a hair dryer, or a water cooker, or an electric razer... Basically anything that has no "built in" power transformer.

@George_Bud should check the electric devices that he will take with him: the required input voltage should be mentioned on the devide (or otherwise the manual).

[Motifator]

Except that carrying that kind of cheap stuff that take place with you to overseas is pointless. You could buy them again in the place you go to. Expensive gear on the other hand is another story.

[George_Bud]

3 hours ago, grimreeper132 said:

you will want a step up 120V to 230V adapter, they will sell them at the airport or order one from amazon.... you could also make one but I don't think anyone here, including myself would recommend that

So, they sell them at the airport ? Does Boston Airport has them also ?

My local electronics store doesnt have one. At least not at the moment.

[George_Bud]

3 hours ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

Or a hair dryer, or a water cooker, or an electric razer... Basically anything that has no "built in" power transformer.

@George_Bud should check the electric devices that he will take with him: the required input voltage should be mentioned on the devide (or otherwise the manual).

Most of my electronics have a switch from 100v to 230v. But I had a bad experience with switches like that so I am not sure.

It was my first computer. A Pentium 2.  Good times. 

[Motifator]

You still haven't told us what you want to move and how long you will stay there. Buy transformers according to those. Also, if you have a PSU with a 120 to 230V switch, ditch it ASAP. Those are ancient, POS PSUs. Any halfway decent modern PSU has active PFC.

[Christophe Corazza]

2 minutes ago, George_Bud said:

Most of my electronics have a switch from 100v to 230v.

 

Then you're fine for those devices. But pay attention when you use devices that don't have this wide input voltage range.

 

3 minutes ago, George_Bud said:

But I had a bad experience with switches like that so I am not sure.

 

If you buy a reputable brand, then you shouldn't worry at all.

However, you might have bought some fishy ones that gave you those bad experiences 

[George_Bud]

1 minute ago, Motifator said:

You still haven't told us what you want to move and how long you will stay there. Buy transformers according to those. Also, if you have a PSU with a 120 to 230V switch, ditch it ASAP. Those are ancient, POS PSUs. Any halfway decent modern PSU has active PFC.

I will got to USA to work for the summer. I will take with me my laptop, phone, hair dryer, and a iron to iron my stuff. Yea... I think that is it. Nothing really big. 

[Christophe Corazza]

3 minutes ago, Motifator said:

how long you will stay there

 

I don't think that knowing this information will be helpful though.

[George_Bud]

1 minute ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

Then you're fine for those devices. But pay attention when you use devices that don't have this wide input voltage range.

 

 

If you buy a reputable brand, then you shouldn't worry at all.

However, you might have bought some fishy ones that gave you those bad experiences 

My mom changed the switch from 230v to 120v on my old Pentium 2, because we were getting internet and my pc didnt have a port to plug it in. She thought that the port was hidden or something and she switch it, and the pc was pluged in. :)) Nobody got hurt but it was smoke and a boom. 

[George_Bud]

2 minutes ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

I don't think that knowing this information will be helpful though.

People are curious. Or maybe want to steal my stuff. :))) 

[Motifator]

1 minute ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

I don't think that knowing this information will be helpful though.

How exactly is that? If he's just going for a short vacation, he would only take a notebook and a phone with him. Hotels carry irons and hair driers. Entirely moving and leaving your country behind will make you need to sell stuff.

I wouldn't take an iron to a plane, no point. Heavy and pulls a significant amount of power. Then you'll need to connect that to a transformer... zero point. Two of those facts also apply to the hair drier.

Just take your notebook and phone. You don't want to mess with large, expensive and bulky transformers that output heat only to make a simple iron work. Heck I've stopped considering amps that require transformers to work, and those are far more sophisticated things.

[George_Bud]

2 minutes ago, Motifator said:

How exactly is that? If he's just going for a short vacation, he would only take a notebook and a phone with him. Hotels carry irons and hair driers. Entirely moving and leaving your country behind will make you need to sell stuff.

I wouldn't take an iron to a plane, no point. Heavy and pulls a significant amount of power. Then you'll need to connect that to a transformer... zero point. Two of those facts also apply to the hair drier.

Just take your notebook and phone. You don't want to mess with large, expensive and bulky transformers that output heat only to make a simple iron work. Heck I've stopped considering amps that require transformers to work, and those are far more sophisticated things.

I dont know if my boss will give me a iron in my new summer location. Anyway... How much is an iron in usa ? 

[Motifator]

Depends on the quality. There are the cheaper models, then the higher end Philips that attach to their own table. $100 will get you a decent one in most places of the world.

[George_Bud]

1 minute ago, Motifator said:

Depends on the quality. There are the cheaper models, then the higher end Philips that attach to their own table. $100 will get you a decent one in most places of the world.

uff.... i will see what I can get from here then. I wish to come back with as much money as I can, Need it for a new apartment. I will move from my parents home after I come from USA.

[Christophe Corazza]

34 minutes ago, George_Bud said:

My mom changed the switch from 230v to 120v on my old Pentium 2, because we were getting internet and my pc didnt have a port to plug it in. She thought that the port was hidden or something and she switch it, and the pc was pluged in. :)) Nobody got hurt but it was smoke and a boom. 

 

Accidents happen. The result of this one was only a fried PC, so no big deal 

[Christophe Corazza]

@George_Bud Have fun in the US 

Good luck!

[Stefan Payne]

6 hours ago, George_Bud said:

I will go to USA soon. I am from Europe. Do I need an adapter from 230V to 120V, or can I just plug it in ?

What are you talking about?
What PSU?
What components?

Look at the Label of the Components, it always states the Input voltage.

 

[Christophe Corazza]

5 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

What PSU?
What components?

 

OP is not talking about computers/PC components per se.