Customer Reviews

Sharper Image Dual Watt Converter - Power converter - AC 220 V - 2 kW - 1 output connector(s)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We used this product on our 3-week trip to Italy. It was used with a hair dryer, portable DVD player, cell phone, and digital camera. Functionality was superior, without any problems. I highly recommend it to anyone.

We took this unit all over Europe. It worked fine in every country. We charged phones, Ipods, and digital cameras, as well as used it to power a portable DVD player and a hair dryer. Nothing broke, and the unit even took some physical abuse after dropping it a few times and cramming it into tight suitcases. Maybe other reviewers received faulty units? It worked great for us!

This item offered here (Sharper Image Dual Watt Converter) is actually two different converters built into one package. At LOW setting (up to 25W), it uses a small AC transformer to convert 220V sinusoidal waveform into a 110V sinusoidal waveform. This is the preferred approach which works well for any low power appliance.

To handle higher power, however, the AC transformer must be made bulkier and heavier (around 20 pounds just for 1000W). This makes it impractical as a travel voltage converter for large-wattage appliance. Therefore another method is used by this converter...

At HIGH setting (26-2000W), this convert simply uses a solid-state switch inside to chop off part of the 220V sinusoidal waveform. The resulted waveform, as seen by the appliance, is highly distorted and is far from an 110V sinusoidal AC voltage.

For a purely resistive appliance (such as travel iron or water heater) it works just fine irregardless of different voltage waveform. But if you ever try to power an electronic appliance (such as TV, computer or battery charger) with this distorted 220V waveform, it will probably be fried in an instant!

The product manual did warn against using the HIGH setting for any electronic appliance exceeding 25W. So legally the company is covered. My advise is to stay away from this potentially destructive product - unless you are really, REALLY careful about what to plug in. Chances are, sooner or later somebody will forget about this warning and plug a Xbox into this "converter" - only to get a big BOOM!

If you must bring electronic appliances with your oversea trips, make sure they are rated for universal voltage of 100-240V AC. That way, you can safely use them in other countries without the need for a volatge converter. Power supplies for most portable electronics (laptop, camcorder, cell-phone, electric shavers, etc.) are already designed for universal voltage, although some may require you to physically flip a switch.

But don't forget, even if you don't need a voltage converter, you still must bring a set of plug adapters for foreign countries.

I used this in EU to charge batteries for my camera and my Ipod (which I am very protective of). It worked great, I didn't have the problem of it falling out of the wall like I did with the last converter I owned. Very happy with this purchase.

Traveled to Ireland and England and used both adapter and converters for different products: hairdryers, flat irons, cell phone charger, and video camera charger. This product worked with everything without problem. The carrying case is nice and keeps everything together. I am glad I made the investment as I plan to do more traveling outside the US and it is nice to have everything in one place.

I bought this product to charge a cell phone and operate a hair flat iron in India. The cell phone did not need the converter because like most cell phones now it is dual voltage. I read the instructions two days before leaving and discovered that the converter cannot be used on curling irons over 25 watts. I called the manufacturer and was told it could also not be used on flat irons over 25 watts. Mine was 75 watts. I doubt there are any under 25 watts. I also was told that it should not be used on any device with electronic circuitry, which includes PDAs, and a number of other things. The result of using it on a device for which it should not be used is that you will fry the device. It is not just that it won't operate. I ended up not taking it and bought a flat iron in India, which I left behind as it would be useless here. But had I known fully the limitations of this product I would have bought a dual volt flat iron in the United States before leaving. I am grateful for some of the negative comments in this list because they made me read the instructions carefully and then call the company for more details.

We purchased this item for our move to England, and as soon as we got there, I tried the power converter with the vacuum. After a few minutes of use, the vacuum began smoking and will no longer work. A few months later, my son tried to use his xbox with the power converter, set it to the high setting (which is the right one for the 250 watt xbox) and as soon as he plugged it in, the fuse in the xbox blew. We had to buy a new vacuum, and we do not know what we are going to do with the Xbox.

I bought this product for a trip to India. It seemed to work well for those items needing the low setting but when I tried to use the converter with my hair dryer on the high setting the hair dryer got red hot and blew up within a few seconds. I really hope I can find a travel converter that can work better than this.

this product worked great for me when I traveled to Europe. I visited England, france, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. I figured out later that I probably could have just bought an adapter kit instead of a converter because I was mainly using small electronics (iPod, cell phone, camera) all of which were rated to handle 220 volts or higher. Nevertheless a great product. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it is a little pricy.

I bought this product because of one of the posted reviews which stated that the purchaser had been able to use their curling iron with it. I took it with me to Scotland and although it worked great for my cell phone charger and my camera battery charger, it was a "no go" for the curling iron. I ended up having to purchase a curling iron in Edinburgh. Hopefully, I will have a lot of friends who will need to borrow it on their trips to the UK to make up for the $50 it cost me to buy it. This is a good product, but don't expect miracles.