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i won’t make this a long post mainly because i’m at an internet cafe on Praed street in London right now. its basically about plugging your american electronics into the plugs of your countrymen across the pond. also read this for other travel tips.

it’s actually a lot simpler than you would think. the main thing is to look for the rating on each appliance. if you’re little black box plug or big giant plug says ‘100 – 240 volts’ and ‘50/60Hz’ then you’re good to go in London. London runs a 240 v system while us Americans run on a 120 v system. the ‘100 – 240 volt’ system takes care of that. the phase change, however, is what can really mess electronics up. the U.S. runs on 60 Hertz while the U.K. runs on 50 Hertz. this is why seeing ‘50/60 Hz’ will allow your device to work.

now, don’t be like me and plug your surge protector or any device (like my fiance’s curling iron, hair dryer, etc.) that does NOT say ‘50/60 Hz’ and ‘100 – 240 v’ on the appliance. as soon as you plug it in, it will immediately fry the device.

so, if it says so, you’re good. if it doesn’t, you’re not. you’ll need a voltage regulator to change it back to 120v and 60 Hz if it does not say it on your appliance. most regulators will have a power requirement though. look at the device and figure out the power by looking at the voltage and current (in amps). power = voltage * current. if you’re regulator, for example, has a 50 Watt and 1600 Watt setting, those are maximum. if you’re device says 120 v and .5 Amps. 120 * .5 amps = 60 watts. you’ll need to set it to the 1600 watt setting.

if you’re device does have both ranges (100 – 240v and 50/60 Hz), then you’ll need the 3 prong adapter. make sure to get one for each device!