Power Converter Question

June 9, 2008 10:02 AM

Help me buy a good power converter for a one-month stay in China.

I'll be going to China for a month coming up soon, and I'm interested in finding a power converter from 110/120 V, since I'm from the states. The ones at Radio Shack did not inspire confidence.

The converter must have a plug that supports a ground, as it will primarily be used for charging my iBook, rechargable AA batteries for my camera, rechargable power supplies, etc., all of which have the ground.

I'll be all over the place, so relatively light-weight and portable is also a major plus.

posted by absalom to technology (6 comments total)

Your iBook charger accepts 220 V. Just by a power cable for it (easily available in China and elsewhere) for the local plug layout. Or you can buy a plug-tip kit from Apple.
AA-battery chargers are very cheap; just buy one in China, they're made over there. Probably the same is applicable for your other chargers.
posted by maremare at 11:08 AM on June 9

Yep, most US electronics these days support 110-220V, although you should make absolutely sure that all of your electronics do (my Palm charger, for example, did not). You can buy a power strip in China that will be able to accommodate various types of plug; however, make sure you get one that is labeled "ISO 9000" - I've actually had bad luck with some Chinese power strips that were not ISO 9000 compliant (the plug just wouldn't fit in).

You can usually find power strips at the grocery store. A small two-plug power strip shouldn't cost very much, maybe around 30RMB.

If you end up frying one of your chargers (as I did with my Palm charger) you can often find lighter, smaller generic chargers that will work just as well at the local electronics market. Make sure you test them out before you buy, though.
posted by pravit at 11:15 AM on June 9

I got sucked into buying a semi-expenive $30 thing to do all this stuff before I went to live there.. Within a few weeks I was exclusively using the $1-5 converters that are ubiquitous in shops all around. This was for my laptop, battery recharger, ipod, cell phone, etc.
posted by bluejayk at 11:21 AM on June 9

Many power supplies these days are multi-voltage switch mode jobs that'll work anywhere. For the units that aren't multi-voltage, I'd buy new one over there - it'll be much cheaper.
posted by dantodd at 2:58 PM on June 9

Just to note on pravit's recommendation for ISO 9000-compliant devices: ISO 9000 has nothing to do with electrical standards, or plug compatibility, or whatever - it's a collection of standards which basically say "we have a procedure for monitoring and auditing our procedures".

Doesn't say anything about the procedures being correct, the output compliant to any other standards, or in fact useful in any way. A device or process can be genuinely ISO 9000 compliant, yet totally broken and useless, as long as they have documentation to say "yes, we have documented procedures, and this is how they are followed". I could manufacture a block of plastic with a bunch of random holes in it but absolutely no functionality of any sort (apart from maybe being an object d'art), and there's nothing to stop me advertising it as "Complies with ISO 9000", as long as I document my manufacturing, QC, and auditing processes.

The cynical view is that it a method for apportioning blame...
posted by Pinback at 6:34 PM on June 9

Indeed - I mentioned ISO 9000 because there were several brands of power strip being and I didn't quite remember the brand name (it was two characters and ended in 牛 I think). But I do remember they put an "ISO 9000" seal on it, so that's how I've identified that particular brand every time I need to buy it. I suppose if the other brands start advertising ISO 9000 then it won't be of much use.
posted by pravit at 9:55 PM on June 9