Voltage converter for desktop fan? Continuous use?

I am traveling to the Czech Republic with a group of people, and one
of them wants to take along a desktop fan for nighttime use, since
there will be no air conditioning in the place we are staying.

The problem is, all of the voltage converters you can get in the
stores say "Not for continuous use" and the fan might be running all
night. What is the reason they are not for continuous use? Is it that
the converter itself can't stand up to the usage, or that the power it
provides isn't clean enough, and the device may not survive well?

Thanks!

Following up to usenet@thephillipsfam.com :

>I am traveling to the Czech Republic with a group of people, and one
>of them wants to take along a desktop fan for nighttime use, since
>there will be no air conditioning in the place we are staying.

Firstly you might not actually /need/ air conditioning.
Secondly how much are you expecting to pay for a converter?
Thirdly why not buy a fan when you get here?

>The problem is, all of the voltage converters you can get in the
>stores say "Not for continuous use" and the fan might be running all
>night. What is the reason they are not for continuous use? Is it that
>the converter itself can't stand up to the usage, or that the power it
>provides isn't clean enough, and the device may not survive well?

If a converter can't provide "clean" enough power for a cheap electric fan,
then I'd throw it away.
--
Tim C.

Richard wrote:
>
> As other people pointed out, the 50Hz/60Hz difference could cause problems.
>
> I wondering though, if a good voltage transformer bought in the US might not
> cost more than a fan bought in the Czech Rep that would handle 50Hz?
>
>
A good one would also be quite heavy to carry. Much better to buy a fan
there.

Wow, okay, let me clarify a little bit.

There is no medical condition. The fan is definitely a "luxury" item.
However, this is not a tourist trip. We are going to be working all
day long and could potentially be coming back very tired and hot. It
is also important that we are well rested for the next day, and a
sweaty night of half-sleep will not help matters. If this person feels
that a small fan will help keep them fresh and going for the duration
of our trip (and they can fit it in their suitcase without being
oversized or overweight), I don't have a problem with that.

I appreciate all of the comments about the 50/60hz difference, and
also the suggestion to buy a fan over there (which might be the way to
go). I will take all that into consideration. That said, no one has
answered my original question. What does "not for continuous use" mean
on these voltage converters?

Thanks.

On Jun 6, 4:53 pm, Jack Campin - bogus address <b...@purr.>
wrote:
> The bit that really ticked me off in the original message was the
> assumption that Prague electricity supplies might be "dirty". When
> you're posting from the country that leads the world in domestic
> surge filters and UPSs for a reason, that's pretty rich.

I didn't mean to imply that the source electricity was dirty, but
rather that I have heard that some voltage converters don't produce
nice round sine waves, but rather harsh square waves. That's what I
meant by "dirty" power. By the way, we're not going to be in Prague,
but rather a small city in Moravia.

usenet@thephillipsfam.com wrote:
> Wow, okay, let me clarify a little bit.
>
> There is no medical condition. The fan is definitely a "luxury" item.
> However, this is not a tourist trip. We are going to be working all
> day long and could potentially be coming back very tired and hot. It
> is also important that we are well rested for the next day, and a
> sweaty night of half-sleep will not help matters. If this person feels
> that a small fan will help keep them fresh and going for the duration
> of our trip (and they can fit it in their suitcase without being
> oversized or overweight), I don't have a problem with that.
>
> I appreciate all of the comments about the 50/60hz difference, and
> also the suggestion to buy a fan over there (which might be the way to
> go). I will take all that into consideration. That said, no one has
> answered my original question. What does "not for continuous use" mean
> on these voltage converters?
>
> Thanks.
>
It's probably one of those product liability caveats thought up by a
lawyer like "do not spill this hot coffee over your pants" or "don't use
this microwave oven to dry your chiuaua". That way, if it does catch
fire then they can blame you for using it continuously.

T.

On Jun 8, 12:58 pm, d4g....uk (David Horne, _the_ chancellor
(*)) wrote:
> B Vaughan <m...@> wrote:
[snip]
> > Very few hotel rooms, and especially ones that I can afford, have good
> > cross-ventilation, which is necessary to deal with heat.
>
> True, but in the UK it's rarely that hot that it matters much. I've
> stayed in some cheap hotels in the past in London (mostly
> Victorian/Edwardian buildings) that had big enough windows so that you
> could cool the room off at night at least. Temperatures usually cool off
> at night in the UK- even in warm summer weather.

The problem for "usually" is that is in the context of someone
living there for multiple years. For a tourist, 2 weeks in
July will be the "whole time" they were there. I was in a
very nice B&B on the second floor of a pub in London. It had
an outdoor landing and VERY large windows. It was really nice.
And it was so hot that at 3:00 am I awoke to tell the wife I was sick
and had a fever. She informed me that no, it was just damn hot.
It was probably in the mid '80s F. The next day we requested a
fan, which was delivered (after it was purchase if my detective
nature is correct) and it helped immensely.

But in essence that is the lesson I took from this. If the
situation arises, the fans can be bought, quickly, and really
relatively cheaply, and they can make all the difference in the
world. (And they'll work on the local voltage, and have the
right plug style).

[snip]
>Meanwhile, I
> know someone who lives in the upper west side lucky enough to have a
> flat with cross-ventilation, and he doesn't have a/c!

And the beautiful thing about A/C is that you can easily have it
and not use it. And here in Florida, we use A/C AND (ceiling)
fans. "Cool" it to 78F and then turn on the fans.