ARE YOU GOING TO RUSSIA, GEORGIA, OR KAZAKHSTAN?

If you are going on a trip to a country, such as Russia, Georgia, or Kazakhstan, do not forget to take everything you need. You may want to bring electric appliances such as hairdryers, curling irons, or electric razors. However, you may not have realized that these electronics will not work properly. Why is this? Well, these countries use higher voltages than the United States. Typically, the United States, as well as most of Central and South Americas, uses 110V. But other places like Europe use 220V. Because of this, your American appliances will not work when you plug them into the wall in a Russian house or hotel. But you don’t need to buy new, Russian electronics to remedy this. In fact, you can take your American appliances with you to Russia. All you need in order to do this is a volt converter or transformer.

In order to find out what kind of converter you need, you must first locate your appliance’s wattage rating. If you cannot find it, simply find the wattage rating by multiplying the appliance’s voltage by amps. Now that you have the wattage rating, pick a voltage converter. In order to avoid burn-outs, it is suggested that you select a voltage converter that has a wattage rating 25% higher than your appliance.

However, there are some appliances that are dual-voltage, which means you don’t need a converter for them. To find out which of your appliances are dual-voltage, look for the voltage rating. If the rating says something like 110V or 120V, then it is not dual-volt appliance, it is single-volt and you need a converter. On the other hand, if it reads 110V-220V or something similar, then you are in luck and you can use those appliances in Europe without the aid of a converter.

However, you will need a plug adapter for all electronics, because sockets are shaped differently.