Using hairdryer in USA

B

bondigirl

Guest
Hi all,

Am going to New York tomorrow for the weekend and someone told me that you can't use your hairdryers etc. over there (even with an adapter plug) cause they use a different voltage. Does anyone know what the story is with this? Any help would be much appreciated as I don't want to go around scaring half of New York!

Thanks a million.
 
Your someone is correct. Will there not be a hairdryer in your hotel room?
 
Hi bondigirl,

I can confirm that neither my hairdryer nor GHD worked in the USA, even with the adaptor. It was to do with the voltage / power of the appliance as far as i know.

I went on a search to find a transformer to convert the power of the appliance but couldn't find one(I tried Best Buy, Radio Shack, Travel shops etc). In the end I used the hotel hairdryers (they were all of good standard and powerful enough) and went to CVS pharmacy and bought a straightener for $27 and that did the trick.

The lengths we go to........!

Themetunegal
 
Thanks very much. Will save me on packing. Just hope the hotel one is ok. How sad am I?
 
with regard to the ghd if you have an adaptor and leave it almost hanging out and lean something on the cord, it will work. It takes a bit of patience but at least its better than no ghd!
 
pc7 said:
with regard to the ghd if you have an adaptor and leave it almost hanging out and lean something on the cord, it will work.
Click to expand...
Eh? Are you sure about that? If the thing does not support 120V/60Hz then it will simply not work in the US without a step up transformer.
 
So where would I get the transformer to allow use of GHD in US? I am heading next week and would be lost without my straighteners.
 
honestly clubman used 2 weeks ago in new york, it took some effort, wasn't as hot as it is here but straigtened my hair with it twice.
 
If it's marked 100V/60Hz and 240V/50HZ (or something similar) then it will work but you may need a plug adaptor. If it's only 240V/50Hz then you need a step-up transformer. You should be able to get one in some hardware and most electrical parts/wholesaler stores. [broken link removed] also have them but some (all?) of them may be a bit bulky!
 
I tried it all - living in New York for six months. Ended up buying a straightener here. Hair dryer didnt work at all. I bought a voltage converter and tried it with the GHD but it didn't get hot enough to use. Don't waste your luggage allowance! Also the voltage converter cost $50 the most expensive straightener was $75 - also you could risk damaging the GHD!
 
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