Korean Job Discussion Forums

[OnTheOtherSide]

Has anyone else had this problem?

I have this cube shaped voltage converter with various plug ins that flip out. It's a Samsonite G244.

I used it to charge my cell phone and suddenly my cell phone died. I didn't really care though becuase it's an old cheap Nokia phone I got for free.

Then yesterday it overheated my head shaver. Which REALLY sucked because I was in the middle of cutting my hair and it left me with a mohawk on the side of my head. So I had to put on a beanie to hide my hideous looking hair and go out and buy a new one.

Both of those things were cheap and I don't care about them. But I do care about my laptop and my digital camera. I'd like to solve this problem before one these these becomes the next victim.

What do I need to buy so that this won't happen? And why would Samsonite even design a converter that runs too much voltage and fries devices? At this point, i'm choosing to plug things in for a few minutes and then unplug them, like playing hot potatoe to slowly charge them up.

For the laptop, I heard that I can buy a new plug for the Korean style plugin, where can I get one of these? What can I can about things like battery chargers, irons, etc. Yes, I brought quite a few gadgets from back home.

Any suggestions?

[peppermint]

Could be the current in your specific building. I know my computer was randomly shutting down every 12 hours or so, at my last apartment, and as soon as I moved it was fine. That's a worst case scenario though.

Does the gadget you're using now just allow you to plug North American stuff into Korean sockets, or does it convert the current?

[Young FRANKenstein]

[spliff]

Toss the old converter and buy a new one.

[Kimchi Cowboy]

Yeah, I'd toss out that Mickey-Mouse gadget and buy a real voltage converter, as Young Frank suggests. I think they're about 20~30K won each.

Check your electronics carefully; some modern gadgets can handle 110 or 220v automatically, some can't. For instance, your laptop's power cable "brick" should have a sticker on it that'll tell you the info you need, likewise your camera charger, phone charger, etc. Your iron will almost certainly need a proper converter.

You can also buy plug adapters (NOT voltage converters; they only allow you to fit a western-style plug into a Korean socket) at your local hardware store, for 500 won.

[OnTheOtherSide]

Cool, thanks so much. Off to the store I go.

I should sue Samsonite for this...... Why would they sell products like this, that ruin electronics, and potentially cause fires? Bastards.

So, for the brick on my laptop's power supply it says : Input 100-240 Volts, Output 18.5 Volts.

So, since the input is 100-240 then that means my computer should be safe with this adaptor?

And I just realized that this thing is just an "adaptor" and NOT a "converter". There's the problem.

This is why i'm a teacher an not and electrical engineer.

[spliff]

[OnTheOtherSide]

Groovy. Thanks a lot people. If I ever meet any of you then the drink's on me.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[blackjack]

might also pay to invest in a surge protector, not sure where you get them

http://www.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_protector