Bought speakers with non-US plug.. how to convert to US outlet voltage?

Thread Starter

andrewr47

Joined Aug 23, 2012
5
I bought a set of speakers for my computer recently on Ebay. Apparently all the manuals are in Spanish (which wasn't much of a problem for me since I can get the manual in English). But when I looked at the plug, it isn't the standard US electrical plug at all. It IS a two-pronged plug, but not the flat rectangular ones I see here, but they are slim cylindrical shaped. It says it is a 110V-60Hz 525mA power cable.

I tried looking online to see what kind of adapter I should get from Amazon to be able to use it properly without blowing the house up, but I get different answers as to which adapter I should get. I see commonly a 110 to 220 converter... but my search reveals that US households have a voltage of 120V. Some common adapters I see on Amazon are "220/240 to 110/120". But that doesn't seem like that's what I need. I seem to need the 110 to 120 adapter. (Unless I'm totally wrong on that, which I could be).

Any ideas? Any links to an Amazon product that would help me?

Thanks
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
If the device works on 110V-60Hz then you just need to cut off the old plug and connect a USA type plug to the wire. See if you can find a picture of the plug on the Internet so you can determine which wire is hot and which is neutral (although that is not critical).
 

Thread Starter

andrewr47

Joined Aug 23, 2012
5
I'm an extreme newbie so I'm not sure how I can just cut off the plug and connect a USA plug. Also, I didn't want to just stick this plug into the wall and have it blow up or damage the whole system. So I'm not sure if it actually works or not.
 

Thread Starter

andrewr47

Joined Aug 23, 2012
5
The other thing I want to confirm is -- the subwoofer states the cord is a 110V power cord, but the plug itself has a voltage on it that says 250V. I should go with what is stated on the subwoofer correct? (And ignore what is on the plug itself?)
 

KJ6EAD

Joined Apr 30, 2011
1,581
Yes. Being a Europlug, it has the ability to survive the higher line voltages present in much of Europe, but this extra capability is not needed in the US.
 

mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
Just go get a 2 prong plug from the hardware store and cut off the europlug and attach each wire to one of the prongs on the US plug.. There are only 2 wires and 2 prongs and it really doesn't matter which is which for this situation.
 

PackratKing

Joined Jul 13, 2008
847
Just go get a 2 prong plug from the hardware store and cut off the europlug and attach each wire to one of the prongs on the US plug.. There are only 2 wires and 2 prongs and it really doesn't matter which is which for this situation.
Would the polarization of the ac plug on the line still not matter if the woofers contain circuit other components serving as frequency dividers, pass circuits or the like ?????
 

tester272001

Joined Aug 24, 2012
18
The only way the "polarity" of the AC plug makes a difference is for safety. If the chassis is metal and the ground fails you could get a shock if the plug is reversed. If the plug inside the unit goes to a transformer (like a step down) then the risk is zero. Since the transformer becomes an isolation of the ac mains from the internal circuit.
 

whiteggs

Joined Feb 15, 2010
14
I'm also doing something similar for a laptop psu with a AU plug, will I just cut off the 3 wires, match the polarities and connect a 3 prong USA plug?

 

inwo

Joined Nov 7, 2013
2,419
I guess not.:confused:

What is the voltage rating?

From google............................

"Australia uses
a 3-pin 240-volt plug "



 
Top