Powering a 120-Volt Hair Dryer in Europe
Dual voltage appliances are great for travel…
Hi Mike,
Hope all is going well as spring approaches.
I have a non-RV electrical question and am not sure who else to ask about this so I am asking you. If this is out of your purview perhaps you can refer me to another source.
This year, instead of RVing in the Americas, my wife and I are planning an extended visit to the UK and possibly Europe, for about 5 months total. With the exception of a hair dryer and a trimmer everything else we have to charge is usb. My wife is concerned about the hair dryer getting damaged using converters from standard 110v. The clipper / trimmer has a "wall wart" and states 110/220v, so I am assuming it is DC and can be used in the US, Europe or the UK with just a plug adapter (not a transformer). The dryer states 115v / 1875w so am I correct in assuming it would require a transformer, in which case the regular travel transformer would be under sized. If we buy a European hair dryer will it operate on UK house current with just a plug adapter?
Hope you can help with this. Cheers - Loel
Hey Loel,
Actually my wife and I go to Europe every year, so I know a few tricks. Yes, your trimmer should work just fine on 230/240 volts.
You don’t need a heavy transformer
There’s a simple solution for your hair dryer. I have this dual voltage (120/240-volt) hair dryer in my shop for quick load testing. It’s also a great travel dryer for my wife. It has a selector switch for 120 or 240 Volts, so you can use it in the states or anywhere in Europe with the proper plug adapter. Find it on Amazon HERE.
UK Plug Adapter UPDATE
Here’s what you need for your UK trip. I accidentally posted the adapter from my trip to Italy.
As you noted they don’t reduce voltage, they only change the outlet style and pass 230 volts on through. And most modern low-power devices like laptop computer power supplies are universal voltage, so they’ll automatically adjust for anything from 100 to 240 volts. I like this adapter shown above because it also charges USB devices. Find it on Amazon HERE.
Some of the products above have affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Safe travels…. Mike
I've travelled to many different countries. The issue in Europe is frequency whcih is 50 Hz, NOT 60 Hz. This mean a hair dryer, even if shows 220v with a switch, does change to 50 Hz and using it means the motor turns more slowly. If run on high heat, it will very quickly overheat and trip a temperature switch because the fan is not turning enough to move the correct amount (CFM) of air. Same thing applies to anything that has a motor - dvd player, plug in electric razor without a battery. A record player will turn at less than 33 1/3 RPM and will sound very slow. ANY appliance used there must list both 220-240V AND 50-60 hz. The same applies to heater coils in an iron or hair dryer.
If you try to use an electric iron designed for 120V 60Hz on a 220V 50Hz power source, it will likely be damaged due to the significantly higher voltage; even with a voltage converter, the frequency difference could cause issues like the iron heating unevenly or the motor (if it has one) running too slowly, potentially leading to overheating and malfunction.
The “European” adapter that you show will not work in the UK which is where he said he is going. It does not have a UK plug adapter.