Staying charged in USA and Canada?

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kiwifidget

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#204894 21-Oct-2016 16:45

I know there is a voltage difference and I'll have to work that out for things like shavers, and other 3-pin plug necessities.

But what about all the doo-dads that charge via USB? The important things like phones, tablets, cameras and the like?

I have a power-strip that has 2 USB ports on it which I've found very useful when travelling locally, and another 4-port USB charger which I can plug into the power strip if necessary.

Can I just use an adaptor to connect the power strip to the North American sockets or will USB devices need something specific to North America?

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#1655881 21-Oct-2016 16:51

Just check the multiport charger is good on 100-240v and you are good to go. The one in the powerstrip may not say since the rest of it is made for 230v, but chances are it would fine, so a single US to NZ adapter, then put the powerstrip on that and anything you need into the powerstrip. It's really only things like hairdryers that you may take with you that would not be ok on 110v.

Richard rich.ms

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#1655889 21-Oct-2016 17:07

I have a couple of things.

One of these which has a double USB charger and also adapts to pretty much all countries. The blue LED on it is really bright and on the NZ/AU adapter side it can interfere slightly with the wall switch, otherwise OK.

Aliexpress adapter

I also have a power cube like this from PB Tech. The problem with this is that the main lead is long and bulky. I use the Aliexpress above to plug this into a US socket.

Power Cube

I also have an Anker 5 port USB charger:

ANKER charger

With the Anker I just take a US cable and a few USB cables. The Anker has worldwide voltage and takes a figure 8 plug.

The Anker is my preferred option although the Aliexpress does get thrown in most times to charge the laptop as I can't be bothered taking an extra figure 8 to US cable for the laptop.

Cheers, Matt.

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richms

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#1655892 21-Oct-2016 17:10

hairy1:

I have a couple of things.

One of these which has a double USB charger and also adapts to pretty much all countries. The blue LED on it is really bright and on the NZ/AU adapter side it can interfere slightly with the wall switch, otherwise OK.

Aliexpress adapter

Check if you can do this with your one. If you can, then get rid of it before someone hurts themselves.

Richard rich.ms

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#1655895 21-Oct-2016 17:13

Nope. It has locking on it so that it only allows one plug out at a time.

That is a cool trick though!

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kiwifidget

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#1655899 21-Oct-2016 17:24

Can you buy those Anker units in the shops over there?

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hairy1

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#1655900 21-Oct-2016 17:27

You could Amazon it to your first hotel.

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kiwifidget

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#1655901 21-Oct-2016 17:29

hairy1: You could Amazon it to your first hotel.

Or have it sent here by Nov 9? Is it too late?

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hairy1

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#1655916 21-Oct-2016 17:55

Hard to ship it here by then. I have one here you can borrow.

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kiwifidget

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#1655922 21-Oct-2016 18:03

hairy1: Hard to ship it here by then. I have one here you can borrow.

Thanks, but I'd hate to lose it. Will see if I can pick one up over there.

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shk292

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#1655924 21-Oct-2016 18:29

I had a whole bunch of Amazon.com stuff shipped to a hotel in the US recently, a great way to save on postage and hassle if you're visting there

Big recommend for the Anker charger, we have one sitting on our breakfast bar with everything charging on it, much better than individual chargers

richms

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#1655942 21-Oct-2016 19:01

Amazon to hotels is great except the sales tax in some states. Bloody rip off some places. Can see why reshippers are used domestically over there too.

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#1655953 21-Oct-2016 19:36

Just be aware of hotel charges for receiving packages. In my experience it's a 50/50 split between charging and not charging.

I only take two devices with me to the US - my laptop charger and Anker USB charger. As both have US leads I have no need for adapters.

Anker don't sell in stores, they're online only. You won't really find any decent USB chargers in stores since everybody buys online now.

Elpie

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#1656325 22-Oct-2016 19:14

Depending on where you are staying you may find there's an Amazon pick-up point nearby, or a USPS depot you can get parcels sent to.

Just a FYI about power in North America - you cannot rely on the outlets being grounded. If that's important to you then make sure you check before plugging in.

kiwifidget

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#1656786 24-Oct-2016 08:08

@Elpie How do you know if you are grounded or not? Mentally or otherwise :)

Now, voltages, if my 3-pin says 100-240V on it, I can just plug it in using an adaptor (in reality, to the power strip that would have an adaptor on it), but if it says 220-240V then I would need a converter/transformer, in which case just leave that device behind unless I feel like lugging one of those along as well?

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kiwigander

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#1656919 24-Oct-2016 13:41

@kiwifidget 24/10/2016 08hxx

How do you know if you are grounded or not? Mentally or otherwise :)

If the power point admits two blades only, it is not grounded. Standard in pre-WW2 "knob-and-tube" wiring.

If the power point is in a modern (say 1960s or later) home, it should admit two blades and a round pin, and it's grounded.

If the power point admits two blades and a round pin, but it's a one-off in an old house with mostly ungrounded power points, you can't be sure. (Personal experience: discovered that the only "grounded" power point in one old house, which the landlady advised me was for the electric lawnmower, had been installed illegally on a knob-and-tube circuit and was not grounded.)

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