>>> If you are going to use a power strip in 220 country then I recommend
>>> that you purchase one designed for use there. [...] A 110 power strip
>>> running 220 makes me nervous.
>> The problem is the other way round - for the same power, 220V wiring
>> will need half the current. The insulation (where the voltage makes
>> a difference) will have a safety margin of orders of magnitude, the
>> wires won't.
> The insulation for 220 or 110 is the same most times. Lots more dielectric
> than is required. Is the design of the device. They are designed to run on
> 110V or 220V or dual voltage. Put 220 into a 110 device and all the
> voltages double. Capacitors explode, and if a cheap power supply like on a
> lot of consumer devices, they may short out and then apply 110 to the unit.
> And a 5v integrated circuit does not handle 10V at gracefully.
I took "power strip" to mean a multiway power adaptor - plug at one end,
sockets at the other, nothing but wire and fuses in between. They don't
have capacitors or integrated circuits.
> Most laptop power supplies are designed for dual voltage, but a 110V
> hair dryer on high will become a flame blower for a short time.
I once saw a laser printer designed for US power get plugged in to the
UK mains. There was a series of loud bangs and chugs of convulsing
motors before it emitted a pillar of smoke. Laser printers have very
high startup current requirements so the fuses didn't react at all.
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