Power Surge Aboard Ship

[Gig103]

Is everyone ordering the 5 watt or 10 watt? I will need to plug in an extension cord for a c-pap machine. And also iPad and camera.

 

Thanks for any information you can give us.

 

Betty

 

Go for the 10W one if you have an iPad.

[HEINER]

Go for the 10W one if you have an iPad.

 

Mike, thanks for the information.

 

Betty

[faiz23]

Not worried about surges as much as I am worried about brownouts

[baldercash]

I was going to order one but it seems it is not required.

I did lose the charger for my Mac at home during a storm the phone line took a lightening strike.

More then 260volts I would guess : )

 

For those looking to buy one.

Check this unit as it comes with 3 outlets and a short extension cord, packs small and only cost $11.00 +postage.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-TRAVELER3USB-Notebook-Protector/dp/B002KEA9RS/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380398847&sr=1-5&keywords=mini+surge+protectors

Edited September 30, 2013 by baldercash

[flamomo]

I don't have an iPad, but cruise with an Asus netbook, a Samsung tablet, a Kindle, and am MP3 player, all of which require recharging the batteries. Everything but my cell phone has a dual voltage power cord.

 

In the past 8 years, I have never had a problem with excess voltage when recharging anything while onboard. Not sure if I need to be concerned now on the basis of someone else reporting getting their power cord fried due to what they believe was a power surge on the Royal. If indeed that was the cause, I have to wonder if the Royal's electrical problems were somehow involved.

 

Just sayin'

[westom]

If indeed that was the cause, I have to wonder if the Royal's electrical problems were somehow involved.

So read the numbers. Normal voltage for 120 volt portable appliances is even 265 volts. How often does Royal voltage exceed that? Protectors do nothing useful if voltage remains below 330 volts. Is the Royal creating 330 plus volts on its 120 volts? Of course not. So many who recommend that protector are easily deceived by hearsay that ignores numbers.

 

Most suffer manufacturing defects. Then use wild speculation to claim it was a surge. You don't need that surge protector. One Belkin protector is really only two USB charging ports. Its surge protection is so near zero to be virtually non-existent. Its value is only two USB recharging ports.

Edited September 30, 2013 by westom

[bhopal21]

I also don't see the need for a surge protector.

 

If the ship's voltage varied that widely then there would be quite a bit of damage to the electronics involved in the operation of the ship itself.

 

Mike:)

[MauiLvrs]

If the ship's voltage varied that widely then there would be quite a bit of damage to the electronics involved in the operation of the ship itself.

Mike:)

They protect all of their electronics...:confused:

[redtogo]

I bought the BST300bg at Home Depot today. If for no other reason, it will be nice to have for peace of mind.

[cruisenfreak]

I lucked out at Radio Shack yesterday. I got a clearance marked travel surge protector with 3 AC outlets and 2 USB ports for $3.47!!! It is 7.5 W and three pronged. I think I did good!

[Steviewonder1]

Ok folks not to get too technical here. A power strip that has several outlets on it and a couple of USB Ports with ratings of 5 or 7.5 or 10 watts. That is what you can plug into the USB ports. Most cellphones will charge easily with either 5 or 7.5 watts. Most if not all tablets will re-charge easily on the 7.5 or 10 watt outlets. The 120VAC outlets will handle whatever you want to plug into them as it is plugged into one of two 120VAC outlets in your cabin. The 120VAC outlet in the Bathroom will only power a 20Watt Electric Shaver or charge one of the new Rechargeable Tooth Brushes. If you can get one of the outlet strips that have the outlets that turn around, you can do lots of things with them like connecting more wall warts than those that are all in line with another because you can move the things around where they do not bump into one another. I take two 6 outlet power strips. One plugged into the outlet on the desk and the other into the outlet (which on most ships is Both US and European) on one side of the bed's nightstand. YMMV on your ship and cabin/Suite. No USB ports, then plug in your Cellphone/Tablet wall warts and go charge them!

Edited October 2, 2013 by Steviewonder1

[rjack22]

To those of you who had your Belkin confiscated, just curious, how close to the bridge was your cabin? I am wondering if that is why.

[Hlitner]

Those Belken devices are terrific, but one should be very cautious about using their USB Outlets to charge devices. There is no standardized charging specs for today's devices and some products (especially Apple) have specs substantially different from the norm Using the wrong wattage and/or amperage to charge a product can cause significant damage to the devices battery and/or internal components. For example, the newer iPad chargers have a 13 Watt Output while many generic chargers put out as little as 2.5 Watts. It is best to use the charger specific for your device or something with similar specs.

 

Hank

Edited January 19, 2014 by Hlitner

[Colo Cruiser]

To those of you who had your Belkin confiscated, just curious, how close to the bridge was your cabin? I am wondering if that is why.

 

 

It has nothing to do with being close to the bridge.

[Steviewonder1]

USB Charging ports do have standards for voltage and then are rated for Current, which combined with Voltage equals Wattage. The voltage that comes out of ALL USB ports is 5.0VDC. The differences are how much current in Amps is available. USB 2.0 (right now the most common) can have current ratings from 500MA up to 2100MA. The 500MA (which is very common for most smart phones) is 2.5 watts. The 2100MA unit is for the Apple iPad (10.5 watts). The USB 2.0 port on your computer will only supply 500MA or 2.5 watts. You cannot blow up a smartphone that has a 500MA wall wart by plugging it into a higher powered one for an iPad. The phone will only charge at the rate it needs inside the phone not the wall wart. When charging is done, it stops. You can also charge a 10.5 watt iPad with a 2.5 watt wall wart and it will just take longer before you get to 100% charge shows. I swap wall warts all over my house with 2 iPhone 5, 1 iPad2 and 1 Mini iPad. As others have said, when wall warts or power cords break it is likely a local failure (inside the wall wart or computer power box) than an external surge. When we traveled to Europe we take a plug adapter and plug all of our 120VAC US power cords into the 220VAC adapter and haven't blown anything up yet. Lots of not understood issues turn into myths on the internet. I do not believe everything I see and take it with a grain of salt unless I know better from experience. PIA likely had a component failure in her computer power unit because if there was a real Power Surge on the ship, there would have been plenty of blown electronic devices and lights and the boards here would be really lit up.

[satxdiver]

The Belkin 3 outlets is nice for expanding one outlet into three. However plug on wallwart into it and at least one of the outlets is now unusable. I have gone to one where the outlets can be turned and is special designed to accommodate wallwarts without blocking the other outlets.

 

The surge protectors are used for lightening surges on your electrical distribution lines to your house. If there is a strike anywhere near your electrical lines coming into your house, it can put a momentary surge on your internal power distribution. Ships are immune since the power distribution system is inside the metal hulled ship.

 

The ship power supplied to your stateroom is equal to if not surpasses the cleanliness of the power to your home. The ship is full of electronic devices that are far more susceptible to any power abnormalities than your consumer electronics you brought on board.