I have a power adapter that changes the tip of a power cable from the US standard to the Spain standard. My laptop has 3 prongs and the adapter accepts 2. It fits into it, but the 3rd prong just rests outside. I know the voltage over there is twice as strong, so will this work correctly?
2007-01-14 10:14:32 · 5 answers · asked by nkbsbl 2 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Other - Electronics
Yes it should work.... BUT you will not have any ground protection. So, if something goes wrong with your laptop power supply, it's going to fry.
ADDED --- Never directly said the 3rd prong was to protect the equipment. Although it does limit the damage to the device while protecting you from electrocution.
2007-01-14 10:38:51 · answer #1 · answered by Houjo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The third is a ground, you should try and find an adapter that will accept a 3 prong plug. It' s not necessary, but its good to have. Your laptop should accept the voltage, look on the power adapter thing inline with the cord and look to see what its voltage rating is. It should have a bunch of written stuff , one of the lines will say "input AC 100-240v 1.5A" or something similar. If it does not read 100-240 but instead reads 110v, then DO NOT plug it in, the second you do it will break. my friends plugged in an xbox to a 220 volt system, they didn't even turn it on, something exploded inside almost immediately.
2007-01-14 10:24:42 · answer #2 · answered by roman_ninja 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Houjo and another correspondent seem to think that the earth ("ground") connection is to protect the equipment.
It isn't.
It is to protect you.
If the laptop was designed to be used with an earthed mains lead (the handbook should tell you) it will still work with a two-core one but in the, albeit unlikely, event of certain type of fault in the laptop you may be exposed to mains voltage on any conductive part of the laptop.
2007-01-14 13:20:31 · answer #3 · answered by dmb06851 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i hope to goodness this is not just a gimmick that changes from round plugs to flat plugs...make sure it down-steps the voltage too!!!
but otherwise, yeah. the third prong is not essential in any country, it's just a "safety feature" - many homes in the US even don't have it. my one friend installed fake electrical sockets that have the hole for the third prong (but the hole is not connected to anything) and her laptops work fine.
2007-01-14 10:22:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
NO! You will have no grounded electricity and will blow the inverter on your laptop in which case it will be useless. Do NOT even attempt this. Spend the $20-$30 and save yourself the trouble.
2007-01-14 10:22:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jay 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋