First, be aware that when this transformer steps up the voaglte, it simply doubles it and that is all it does. Since in the USA voaglte is 120 Volts (it has not been 110 volts for a very long time) it outputs 240 volts not 220. It does not change the Hz so the output is 240V 60Hz. You should check whatever you are plugging into the 220V outlet to make sure that it can operate at 240V 60Hz. The second problem is that the Universal outlet does not ground the widely used Schuko plug, so saying it is Universal is highly misleading. Also, be sure to get a much larger wattage than the nominal wattage of whatever you are plugging into it. I tried a 500 watt version with my 165 watt gelato machine but it kept blowing the fuse when the compressor cycled on. Which brings me to the third weakness which is the fuse sure they give you two spare ones, but a circuit breaker would be much better.That said, this unit is inexpensive compared to what you would have to pay for one with a circuit breaker and a Schuko plug in addition to the Universal plug. So it might serve your purposes, just make sure whatever you are going to plug into it will work on 240V 60hz, doesn’t use a Schuko plug and doesn’t have wattage spikes that are many times their nominal wattage.
May 22nd, 2013 - 10:46 am
First, be aware that when this transformer steps up the voaglte, it simply doubles it and that is all it does. Since in the USA voaglte is 120 Volts (it has not been 110 volts for a very long time) it outputs 240 volts not 220. It does not change the Hz so the output is 240V 60Hz. You should check whatever you are plugging into the 220V outlet to make sure that it can operate at 240V 60Hz. The second problem is that the Universal outlet does not ground the widely used Schuko plug, so saying it is Universal is highly misleading. Also, be sure to get a much larger wattage than the nominal wattage of whatever you are plugging into it. I tried a 500 watt version with my 165 watt gelato machine but it kept blowing the fuse when the compressor cycled on. Which brings me to the third weakness which is the fuse sure they give you two spare ones, but a circuit breaker would be much better.That said, this unit is inexpensive compared to what you would have to pay for one with a circuit breaker and a Schuko plug in addition to the Universal plug. So it might serve your purposes, just make sure whatever you are going to plug into it will work on 240V 60hz, doesn’t use a Schuko plug and doesn’t have wattage spikes that are many times their nominal wattage.