Unsure about Canada to UK voltage converter

Hi folks,

Mom and dad are visiting us here in the UK from Canada. Mom brought
her favourite (and most expensive) hair straightener along with a
voltage transformer and adapter. We attempted to use it this morning,
but her hair straightener began to smoke, smell and get warm in the
handle where there is not usually heat. Of course, we unplugged very
quickly.

Upon close examination the only thing that doesn't seem to jive is
that the hair straightener states it uses 40 watts, yet the
transformer will only go as low as 50 (up to 1600). If we assume the
voltage has been properly downgraded, 50 watts compared to 40 would
mean that the current is 25% too high for the hair straightener.

Is this extra 10 watts sufficient enough to have caused the
overheating? Or is it something more basic, ie the transformer
doesn't transform as it says it does?

Evan

"Evan" <ejoanett@m> wrote in message
news:1172742819.952743.7090@j27g2000cwj. ps.com...
> Hi folks,
>
> Mom and dad are visiting us here in the UK from Canada. Mom brought
> her favourite (and most expensive) hair straightener along with a
> voltage transformer and adapter. We attempted to use it this morning,
> but her hair straightener began to smoke, smell and get warm in the
> handle where there is not usually heat. Of course, we unplugged very
> quickly.
>
> Upon close examination the only thing that doesn't seem to jive is
> that the hair straightener states it uses 40 watts, yet the
> transformer will only go as low as 50 (up to 1600). If we assume the
> voltage has been properly downgraded, 50 watts compared to 40 would
> mean that the current is 25% too high for the hair straightener.
>
> Is this extra 10 watts sufficient enough to have caused the
> overheating? Or is it something more basic, ie the transformer
> doesn't transform as it says it does?
>
> Evan
>

Evan,

The transformer will only supply the power that the appliance takes so
there's no extra 10 watts being supplied.

The lower limit just means that the transformer does not guarantee good
voltage regulation below this level.

For a purely resistive load (which is what I would expect from a hair
straightener), the variations in voltage shouldn't be a major issue.

For an inductive load, the frequency can be a problem. Does this thing have
any motors or fans? Or does it have an internal transformer. These are all
inductive loads and can be upset by the lower frequency (50 Hz in UK v. 60
Hz in Canada).

I wouldn't know but I imagine you could buy a cheap hair straightener in
your local supermarket that would do her for the visit.

Terry.

On 1 Mar, 10:10, "Terry Richards" <terryr...@removethis.orange.fr>
wrote:
> For an inductive load, the frequency can be a problem. Does this thing have
> any motors or fans? Or does it have an internal transformer. These are all
> inductive loads and can be upset by the lower frequency (50 Hz in UK v. 60
> Hz in Canada).
>
> I wouldn't know but I imagine you could buy a cheap hair straightener in
> your local supermarket that would do her for the visit.

No fans or motors.. Just two ceramic plates that get hot. Thanks for
the explanation about the lower wattage limit. Whether bad voltage
regulation is causing the overheating or not, I wish I knew.

We've not plugged in again since this happened. My folks had bad luck
with an electric razor last time they were over, and not a hair
straightener. I wish they would take my advice and stop bringing
electric gizmos on vacation.

Mom DID buy a cheap hair straightener last time she was in the UK.
Left it in Canada unfortunately!