Italian electricity

[Plantman]

I will be taking my first trip to Italy and am confused about the whole situation with the electricity there! Does the Euro 'C' adapter work there or do I need to get the Italian 'L'? Also will I need to bring a converter to get it to 110 v? Cameras, laptop and tablets are all I am charging. Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[brett]

We have been going to Italy for years. We use the same two pronged (round) plug that we use in other parts of Europe. Never used a converter. Never had an issue. Most appliances, computers, phones are smart enough to accomodate dual voltages.

 

[euro]

We have been going to Italy for years. We use the same two pronged (round) plug that we use in other parts of Europe. Never used a converter. Never had an issue. Most appliances, computers, phones are smart enough to accomodate dual voltages.

Agreed - most of Europe is quite consistent as far as outlets (except UK with those big clunkers... )

 

[Marita40]

Just make sure anything you use has dual voltage. For example, inexpensive American hair appliances (dryers, hot irons) often don't have dual voltage and can get fried. I travel frequently to Italy and have bought European hair appliances to take with me on trips. I would assume today's cameras, laptops, etc have built in adapters, but I'd still check. As mentioned above, the two round prong plugs work just fine. I usually travel with a couple of them, but hotels always have them to give out and at least in the larger cities there are plenty of shops that sell such things to tourists.

 

[Meadbh]

Agreed - most of Europe is quite consistent as far as outlets (except UK with those big clunkers... )

Ireland also uses "big clunkers".

 

[NW-Bound]

I cannot recall encountering a type L in Italy. There might have been, but there were other type-C wall outlets for me to use.

Most modern electronic power supplies and AC adapters (chargers for cell phones, cameras, laptops, etc...) can run on 220V/50Hz as well as 110V/60Hz in USA. So as long as it can plug in via an adapter, it will work.

That said, I was careful and read the fine print on all adapters I have, and found out that the one for my electric toothbrush runs on 110V only. Uh Oh! A disaster averted.

So, in looking for a mini transformer to use with the toothbrush (it was cheaper than buying another toothbrush set), I found out that there were 220V/110V transformers that would not plug into the C outlet. They have the same round pins and with the right spacing, but cannot go into the recess of the C outlet. Perhaps they were for use in Asia.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

The fine print on your power supplies for your electronics will list the voltages each is rated for. As others said, just be sure to check. I've never needed a voltage converter for my electronics (iPhone, laptop, tablet, camera) although I had a coworker on a trip who plugged his 120V fan into a 230V socket and let the smoke out of it.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here's one transformer that will not plug into a Europe recess outlet.

So, I looked carefully and bought one like this.

 

[OldShooter]

Be very careful if planning to use transformers and check the wattage ratings. The wattage of the transformer must be at least as much as the wattage of the appliance. For example, that little transformer will probably not run a hair dryer.

FWIW I can't remember the if I ever used or carried the transformer that came in a plug kit we once bought. As an EE, just looking at the thing I can see that it won't handle much. If I ran across a device that I needed on a trip and it was 110vac only I would look at replacing it.

Re big plugs, the English burdened all of their colonies with them AFIK. India, South Africa, etc., though most tourist facilities now feature dual-plug fixtures that also accept the round-pin Euro plugs. I don't carry the English ones any more and that has not caused much difficulty.

 

[Chuckanut]

Ireland also uses "big clunkers".

Thanks to decades of rule by the British they have the big clunkers and they drive on the wrong side of the road!! Those Brits have a lot to answer for.

 

[Chuckanut]

Italy uses the same two prong plug that most of Southern Europe uses - Spain, Italy, Portugal, France etc.

Be warned there is a very similar plug used by a few countries that looks almost the same except that the prongs are just a big bigger in diameter and they don't fit the Southern European outlets. I know because I have one in a kit I purchased and accidentally took it with me on a trip. Learned the hard way.

No transformer is needed for most things these days as they are made to operate on both 110-120 and 220-240 volts. But, you might check the tiny mice type of various devices to make sure that is true. My convertor just takes up space in my travel gear drawer these day.

Do bring more than one plug adapter. They don't take up much space, and the convenience is worth it. I take three. One for my 4 port USB charger, one for my shaver, and one for my camera battery charger.

 

[Totoro]

Also will I need to bring a converter to get it to 110 v? Cameras, laptop and tablets are all I am charging. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Normally, no. Check the charger, what it accepts as input should be listed. Note that Italy is at 230V, not 220V. Relevant if you have old equipment (10+ years).

Hair dryers and toothbrushes typically don't handle 230V, beware. They'll catch fire!

 

[Fedup]

I bought my plugs at Target, IIRC, all under $20.

 

[Plantman]

Thanks to all of you for your help. As for reading the fine print on my gadgets,well you know I have tried but geesh I'm going to have to find my magnifying glass to read what I'm seeing!

 

[braumeister]

You're probably kidding, but if you have an iPhone (or probably many other smartphones), you can use it to magnify and photograph the tiny print.

There are also apps that work along with the built in flashlight, designed for reading menus in dimly lit restaurants. That's one of the most useful apps I know of. The one I use is called Mag Light Pro.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Thanks to all of you for your help. As for reading the fine print on my gadgets,well you know I have tried but geesh I'm going to have to find my magnifying glass to read what I'm seeing!

Add to that the fact that Apple likes to use tiny white letters on an only slightly whiter background.

 

[Bamaman]

I always carry a 220-110 electrical converter. The pictures in #8 show the recessed plugs commonly in use in Italy, Austria and Germany. A hotelier gave me an adapter once that fits all the plugs of the world.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

We got as a gift from some place a 5 or 6 piece travel adapter set. They look really cheap and junky, but since we dont go anywhere they just sit in the unused luggage.

 

[FUEGO]

Just finished the Portugal-Spain-Italy portion of our big euro trip. The Italian plugs looked just like the US ones, except I saw some that had an extra little slot on them that must take that "other" plug I read about as well. But all the Italian plugs took our standard "euro" adapter just fine. I bought a set of 5 off of ebay for under a buck and they've worked perfectly though they won't last forever as the built quality isn't great (but pretty good for $0.15 each ).

Re: voltage - it's 220 or 240V here but everything we have works fine. Except one plug in cell charger (LG or Samsung maybe??) that doesn't work. Might be because it's broken but I'm not sure. Computer chargers, electric toothbrush charger (though it seems to get hotter than normal), cell chargers, camera battery charger, all work fine. Leave your hairdryer at home as it probably won't work here (and most hotels and decent to high end Airbnbs have them anyway).

 

[Scuba]

Thanks to decades of rule by the British they have the big clunkers and they drive on the wrong side of the road!! Those Brits have a lot to answer for.

[emoji23]

 

[NW-Bound]

Be very careful if planning to use transformers and check the wattage ratings. The wattage of the transformer must be at least as much as the wattage of the appliance. For example, that little transformer will probably not run a hair dryer.

FWIW I can't remember the if I ever used or carried the transformer that came in a plug kit we once bought. As an EE, just looking at the thing I can see that it won't handle much. If I ran across a device that I needed on a trip and it was 110vac only I would look at replacing it...

The travel transformers typically claim a 50W rating, and even that may be overrated. I used it for my toothbrush charger, and that took a few watts.

There are so-called voltage converters that claim ratings of kW range, yet are small and light. They work by cutting the duty cycle of output, and work only for loads of resistance type. They will blow up electronic devices that cannot tolerate 220-230V. Electronic devices' input first stage is a rectifier to first convert the AC to DC, and it still see the peak voltage that the above converter passes through.

 

[OldShooter]

... There are so-called voltage converters that claim ratings of kW range, yet are small and light. They work by cutting the duty cycle of output, and work only for loads of resistance type. They will blow up electronic devices that cannot tolerate 220-230V. Electronic devices' input first stage is a rectifier to first convert the AC to DC, and it still see the peak voltage that the above converter passes through.

Ack! I'd instantly add those to the "I'm not interested." list that already has step-down transformers listed. It's just too easy to get dual voltage versions of anything I could possible need when traveling. And 99% of the time the dual voltage comes at no price premium.

 

[kcowan]

We had two problems: hair dryer/curling iron and electric tooth brush. We decided to borrow the suitable ones from landlord/hotel. The toothbrush worked for 8 days on a charge. We travel light. BTW Malaysia has clunky too as a former commonwealth member.

 

[Fedup]

Bring this thread up to ask about Canada. I assume they use the same thing as USA, I don't need to bring anything but what I use in USA right? Last time we were in Canada, we didn't depend on electronic gadgets so much.

 

[Meadbh]

Bring this thread up to ask about Canada. I assume they use the same thing as USA, I don't need to bring anything but what I use in USA right? Last time we were in Canada, we didn't depend on electronic gadgets so much.

That's right.