Watts. Is the box wrong or do I not understand?

[Joy]

Hi everyone.

I asked this question of several smart people I thought should know, but,
for all their talk, they never answered the question.

Is this box wrong or am I misunderstanding something?

My daughter bought this converter up to run her hair dryer in Israel.
I looked at it and felt it was not going to work for a high wattage
appliance like a hair dryer which I figure is at LEAST 1000 watts.

The package says "powers small appliances rated 500-1600 watts". It ALSO
says "maximum AC power 50 w". This seems contradictory to me.

It ALSO has examples and pictures of low wattage appliances such as razors
and mp3 players which made me suspicious.

I know they use 220V over there but I still don't understand why this box
seems to be contradicting itself.

I called the company and they said NOT to use it for hairdryers.

So what does "powers small appliances rated 500-1600 watts" mean?

Here is a photo of the front of the box.
http://mysite.verizon.net/bjkass123/jen50.jpg

Is the box wrong or does "Maximum AC power 50 w" mean something other than
"don't use with appliances that use more than 50 watts"?

Thanks for explaining this to me!

Joy

 

[PeterD]

Hi everyone.

I asked this question of several smart people I thought should know, but,
for all their talk, they never answered the question.

Is this box wrong or am I misunderstanding something?

My daughter bought this converter up to run her hair dryer in Israel.
I looked at it and felt it was not going to work for a high wattage
appliance like a hair dryer which I figure is at LEAST 1000 watts.

The package says "powers small appliances rated 500-1600 watts". It ALSO
says "maximum AC power 50 w". This seems contradictory to me.

It ALSO has examples and pictures of low wattage appliances such as razors
and mp3 players which made me suspicious.

I know they use 220V over there but I still don't understand why this box
seems to be contradicting itself.

I called the company and they said NOT to use it for hairdryers.

So what does "powers small appliances rated 500-1600 watts" mean?

Here is a photo of the front of the box.
http://mysite.verizon.net/bjkass123/jen50.jpg

Is the box wrong or does "Maximum AC power 50 w" mean something other than
"don't use with appliances that use more than 50 watts"?

Thanks for explaining this to me!

Joy

buy the kid a 220 volt hair drier... That converter will convert 50
watts maximum, and I'd be reluctant to trust it to do that even.

 

[Eric]

Note that the 500-1600 watt part is followed by two asterisks ** implying
further qualification elsewhere.

Your doughter has been victimized by misleading or downright phony marketing
claims.

Note the 50 watt rating is prominently marked on the front of the packaging.

A one kW (1,000 W) stepdown transformer will weigh quite a bit and coast
substantially more then a new hairdryer.

Some examples of stepdown transformer that are packaged for use are here
http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=170
These are not the voltages you want and most are in the 5,000 VA range but
it will give you the feel for what is called for with this application.

There *are* however, converters in about the same form factor as the one shown by the OP, that are
rated to power high-wattage appliances. Here's an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Recoton-ADF1600-Foreign-Voltage-Converter/dp/B00006JQ28

These devices always state that they are for heating appliances only. I suspect what's inside is
nothing more than a big diode.

Eric Law