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Hi there!

ISLAND LIFE | Do You Need a Transformer/Converter?

Looking back and thinking about my experience on the island, there are more than a couple of things that caught me off guard. There are things I wish that I knew (not just about studying!) I wish I found a post like this before I moved, and if this post or any of my others helps just one person, I’d’ve done my job. Today I want to talk about electricity converters (random, but crucial). If this is already obvious to you, that’s fantastic. But I can’t be the only one who had no idea about these before I started on the island!

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UP/DOWN TRANSFORMERS/CONVERTERS EXPLAINED

We’ve all come home exhausted before. Whether it be after a long day at work, or a trip, or otherwise. We walk through the door, turn on the lights, maybe make a cup of tea, and plug in our cell phones to charge. We take that for granted. Upon moving to this new “home”, none of that was available. There wasn’t a lamp to turn on the light. There wasn’t a US plug that would fit my electronics, and having a cup of tea just sounded like the utmost luxury. What to do?

ENTER: THE TRANSFORMER

This is basically an electronic appliance that converts/transformers the electricity current in order to be compatible with your electronic devices. To put it simply, you plug the transformer into the wall, and plug your devices into the transformer. It’s so important to double check the compatibility otherwise your electronics will be damaged.

The max wattage of your electronic device must be equal or less than the maximum the transformer can hold: it’s additive. The wattage capacity of the transformer states the total it can handle at one time. For example, if my transformer has a 1500W capacity and I want to boil water with my 1000W electric kettle, that would work just fine. Now if I wanted to boil water (1000W electric kettle) AND blow-dry my hair at the same time (let’s say the hair dryer also requires 1000W), I would blow the fuse. This is because I have the 1500W, and the kettle (1000W) + hair dryer (1000W) = 2000W, which exceeds the maximum. The wattage of each appliance should be somewhere on the appliance itself; usually at the bottom on a sticker or something. Be sure to make note of this and not blow the fuse (I learned by trial & error)

Set the transformer to 220V to convert down (If you set it to the 120V, it'll convert to a higher voltage). You plug the transformer into the wall + plug a surge protector into the transformer + plug your appliances into the surge protector. Voila!

Side note - I ended up purchasing a 5000W transformer, as it turns out that the 1500W can ONLY handle an electric kettle and a phone charger at one time. This was more expensive, but it could handle my Nutribullet Mini, a Black & Decker conventional oven, and my electric kettle. Again, make sure you add up the numbers and double check before plugging anything in!

I hope this helps. Let me know if there’s anything specific that would be helpful in a future post. Good luck!

CLINICALS | OBGYN Rotation & How I Studied