Simran AC-200 Step Up/Down 110v 220v Voltage Converter Transformer, 200 Watt

I got this so I could run a 220v Singer Featherweight sewing machine off a standard 110v outlet. My husband got me the Featherweight off of Craigslist, but didn't realize at the time that it has a 220v motor. Turns out it was brought over from New Zealand and the previous owner just got a new cord and plugged it into a 220v appliance outlet to use it. Not wanting to have to use it next to my washing machine all the time, I figured a voltage converter was the way to go. This one was the most affordable one I found, and it works great. Not too big or heavy to lug around either! It won't fit in the Featherweight case though (not that I expected it to).Do note that because of the frequency difference - 220v motors (of any kind) are designed for 50hz while the US runs on 60hz - will make the motor run slightly faster. A voltage converter can't change that, so you'll just have to deal with it. For a sewing machine it totally doesn't matter, but depending on what you want to use this for you should check into how this will affect your device.

Have happily used this converter for a month with absolutely no issues. It is powered on 24/7 to run an old 220-volt Bose Acoustic Wave radio from the European market and it does it well. The converter is heavy and is not for portable use and it runs a little warm, but not hot.Don't be like me and skip reading the little pamphlet that comes with it - I couldn't understand why it didn't seem to work until I realized there is a switch in the rear of the unit to select a 220 or 110 input voltage and it was switched to the 220 volt input at the factory. D'oh!!Anyway, it works just fine and it comes with a couple of extra fuses and a European converter plug in case you need one.

Update - Been using this for over a year now and it has worked great. Wife has used her German Kitchen Aid that is 220volts 50/60Hz and with the Thermomix that is 220 volts 50/60Hz. She hasn't had any issues. The device it self can be plugged into a German outlet that has 220 volts 50Hz and can be used as a transformer to step down the power to 110 volts 50Hz or it can be plugged into a US outlet at 110 volts 60Hz and will step up to 220 volts 60Hz. It does not step up or step down the frequency though. If you are drawing power at 60Hz the output will be 60Hz. If you draw power at 50Hz the output will be 50Hz. I recommend you look at your device you plan on plugging in and see if it supports both 50 and 60Hz. If it does and the wattage of your device is below 500 you should have no problems. Just remember if you plug in multiple devices at the same time, you have to add up the wattage. So for example, if 2 devices are rated at 300 watts each, they will work fine as long as your input and output frequency matches but do not plug in both devices as the total will be 600 watts. Trying to pull more power or wattage from a device than what is recommended is the way a lot of electrical fires start.Original- Works great as long as you don't have devices where you have to also adjust the frequency. In Europe, many devices with motors are 50 Hz and in the US they are 60 Hz. If your device only supports 50Hz and you use it in the US, it will most likely cause issues. We use it for my wife's thermomix which is 220 volts only but supports both 50 and 60Hz. We just moved back to the US so we didn't want to get a new thermomix so this was the best way for us. We have been using it for almost 3 months without any issues. Thermomix has been working great off of it. Just be careful on the frequency support of your device. So if you are going to Europe and you need to step down to 110 volts, it will do that but the frequency will be 50Hz. If you need to step up to 220 in the US, it will support that but the frequency will be 60Hz. Most electronics support both 50 and 60Hz, but many appliances and devices with motors in them do not. Just look at your device where the power cable is and you should see a label with what power and frequencies your device supports.

We've left this on for over a month now without issues to test a firewall appliance and it just stayed luke warm and never got too hot to touch.There's a switch in the back where you can select the input voltage, either 110V or 220V. We've only used it in the US at 110V input and 220V output in the front. Please note that this is quite a bit heavier than travel transformers that are popular for temporary use.However, this transformer does not change the Hz from 50 to 60 or vice versa. In Europe, it's only 50 Hz, so this transformer can only take down the voltage to 110V but does not increase the cycles to 60 Hz. Likewise in the US, this transformer does not reduce the cycles to 50 Hz. This mainly affects devices that rely on timing such as clocks and the speed of motors.FYI...many devices like your cell phone/camera charger, laptops, and shavers are already 100-240V 50/60 Hz and usable worldwide with the appropriate $2 adapter plug. Just carefully check the label.