What adapters do my in laws need? Vacation to Ireland

Inlaws are traveling from the US to Ireland soon. They need power adapters. It is my understanding that Ireland operates on 230, so I assume we need a converter for them as well. Is this correct? 

Theyll be plugging in 2 iPhones, which shouldn’t need the converter, but they also are traveling with a Cpap and some fancy hair dryer that apparently can not be left behind. 

check and see what the sticker on the hair dryer says , it might be 100v-240v

you have 2 things to consider , the wall plug adapter which you will need  on everything , 

and a 230V to 110v  transformer ,  the transformer needs to be big enough to supply the watts needed , 

Your iPhone chargers are probably 100V-240V  but the hair dryer pulls lots of power.......

I would look at the hair dryer website and see what it says , USA is 60hz and Europe is 50hz,  the fan motor  will not be the same speed on 50HZ.

I’ll check the dryer in a few minutes. 

This was on the cpap, I assume this means it is good to go without a transformer?

Yep. No transformer needed for that

I have never needed a transformer in Europe. Darn near everything will run on 230v.

Really, It's just the hair dryer. For all modern electronics, they almost all run on 100-240V because it's more expensive to make multiple models for each country. I always use the hotel hair dryer and then just grab a couple cheap adapters. It's worked all over the world for me. 

Just got back.  we had to charge phones, kindle, pcs every night .  I bought a bestek, came with all the plug configurations for the world.  It had 3 110 and 4 USB ports.  Worked great but it did have an internal fan that was quiet but not silent.  Your issue will be the plug, Ireland has a configuration that our cords will not work with.  So maybe just an adapter will work.  

Other things they need to consider are cell phones and GPS for the car.  We bought a SIM card for an old unlocked Galaxy 3.  10G of data and a month of free calls for 25 euro.  Best deal ever.  Also, NEVER trust GPS all the time, it dies in the boonies.  Buy a good map.

General comments, meat is always overcooked thanks to mad cow, irish breakfasts are huge and mussels are always a good choice in restaurants.  And driving on the left sucks, even more on the goat paths they call roads.  Plan to put your right mirror into the bushes on a daily basis.

They’re on a guided tour the whole time, which means a bus. MIL has MS, so I don’t think that they’ll be on any real excursions outside of what is included. 

Thanks for the advice. Going to get them some plug adapters and then one transformer for the hair dryer. 

In my experience with step up/step down transformers, overspec it considerably. Most of them seem to be rated in "fantasy watts".

I did hear a rumour that they do have hair dryers in Ireland as well .

bmw88rider said:

Really, It's just the hair dryer. For all modern electronics, they almost all run on 100-240V because it's more expensive to make multiple models for each country. I always use the hotel hair dryer and then just grab a couple cheap adapters. It's worked all over the world for me. 

This depends on the electronics.  Phones/Computers... yes; their bricks are usually designed dual voltage.  TV's, razors, e-toothbrushes, home speakers... power strips, UPC's, kitchen gadgets... not so much, and they do tend to 'puff the magic dragon' if it's 100/60Hz rated only.

I fried a  110v hair dryer  one time using a  transformers , 

cool smoke and a few sparks !

Now if there was hair spray included it might have been a real mess !

use scare tactics on her and either buy a dual voltage hair dryer or buy one there ....

And yes we went to Blarney castle and kissed the Blarney Stone ,  it seems to have worked so far :)

BoxheadTim said:

In my experience with step up/step down transformers, overspec it considerably. Most of them seem to be rated in "fantasy watts".

I did hear a rumour that they do have hair dryers in Ireland as well .

I got one that is for 2000W. I need it to go for 500W. Hopefully they didn’t overstate it by 4x. 

As to the hair dryers in Ireland, I think it is just familiarity. Very simple tasks are becoming more and more difficult for her each day as she has MS. 

She can hold this one and do her hair with it; it has a spinny brush on the end too, and it is very light. While she could make do with one they have over there, she knows she can use this one. 

mtn said:

BoxheadTim said:

In my experience with step up/step down transformers, overspec it considerably. Most of them seem to be rated in "fantasy watts".

I did hear a rumour that they do have hair dryers in Ireland as well .

I got one that is for 2000W. I need it to go for 500W. Hopefully they didn’t overstate it by 4x. 

Agreed - that's probably good enough safety margin. I tend to go for 2x-3x, so 4x should be more than good enough. It's more a case "don't use a 500W/750W one for a 500W appliance".

As to the hair dryers in Ireland, I think it is just familiarity. Very simple tasks are becoming more and more difficult for her each day as she has MS. 

Sorry for the foot in mouth - my ex had MS, so I only know too well what kind of struggle even supposedly simple, daily tasks can be.

All I have it is back in the mid 80's when we lived in Germany we had transformers for almost everything, and being 11 or so they were heavy mothers.