Electricity and Plugs

[mikevwilliams]

Hello all,

Since I'll be moving to China next week, and bringing a fair few pieces of electronics equipment, I'll obviously be needing an appropriate amount of sockets to plug them into. I'm wondering if anyone knows if it's safe to bring a 4-socket extension block with me, plug it into the mains with an adapter, and safely use my things with their regular plugs to save having to buy multiple plug adapters. I'm from the UK if that makes any difference.

Thanks,

Mike

[roddy]

Perfectly safe. However you might want to wait till you get here - any decent sized supermarket will have similar items, but with a Chinese plug and sockets which take virtually any kind of plug, including UK ones. That'll keep your UK devices happy and also let you plug in anything you buy here. Something like this should do the job. Or this monster.

Course, if you've got one already and know you're just going to want to leave four UK plugs in there all the time you might save a bit of time bringing it.

Edited September 2, 2008 at 12:38 PM by roddy

[mikevwilliams]

Thanks for the quick reply! I think I'll just wait then if you can buy a 'super-mega-awesome' plug extension in China.

[liuzhou]

Any adaptor you buy in the UK is probably going to have been made in China anyway.

Don't waste your baggage allowance. Buy it here.

[Senzhi]

And it could well be you won't need that many, e.g. in my appartment (and anywhere else in Shantou for that matter) there doesn't seem to be a standard: I find all kinds of different sockets. It so happens that I didn't need a plug for some electronics I brought in from Euope, but then needed a plug for some equipment bought here.

In any case, wait until you're here. You'll see what you need, and then you can buy them cheap here.

[Wahed]

I don't know if it's ok to ressurect an old thread but I was wondering if this advice still applies now for June 2015?

 

I will be in Beijing and my schools lists under their "Suggested Items to Bring":

 

'Voltage converter/adapter'

 

I don't know if that slash marker means bring both or only one. I haven't used one in years so I am not sure if I should buy a high-quality one here and bring it there or just simply buy it there... If you have any suggestions please list the USA Amazon link. Thank you!

[889]

Nearly all electronic gear and chargers now automatically convert voltage, but of course you should check the fine print on the label before plugging anything in.

 

Irons and the like are a different matter; best to buy one locally.

 

As to sockets, most places these days have at least one socket that will accept the US-Japan flat-pronged plug.

 

In any event, if you find you need to buy a converter or adaptor, you can easily find one in local markets. Make sure it's solid and the plastic isn't dodgy.

[Takeshi]

It's a different issue for people from the UK and people from the US. The UK and China use the same voltage (I think) but a different plug, so if you have any UK plug you can always just plug them in either through an adaptor or a commonly seen super-magical-power-board, and there is little reason why they would not work.

 

However, if you are from the US, you have the same plug type, but a different voltage, so you don't need an adaptor or super-magical-power-board (unless your plugs have a third pin), but your appliances may or may not work at the Chinese voltage.

 

Check your individual devices. In general, computers, cell-phones, and Sony consoles will work fine, while I've had trouble with Nintendo consoles' official adaptors and an electric shaver (mind you, mine was an umm... very "patriotic" shaver with packaging emphasizing how it was made in America; another Phillips shaver that I have now is fine.). I haven't really tried to bring anything else to China so I can't help you otherwise. If you do have an appliance that doesn't work, your only option is to get a transformer, which is a relatively larger and more complicated device than a simple plug shape adaptor. (If you do use Nintendo consoles, since China doesn't sell them, better options are either to somehow obtain an official charger from a high-volt country and use an adaptor, or buy one of the many unofficial chargers for Nintendo consoles that will accept any voltage.)