# American Power Strips and Monitor, and British Electricity
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 28, 2011, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010 "2011-04-28T10:17:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/21 "2011-04-30T10:16:49Z")
A Dell monitor isn’t really “generic.”. Does it have a power brick, or just a cable with an IEC socket on the monitor? if the former, the info you need is on the brick. If the latter, the info you need is on the back of the monitor some where. I really doubt Dell would exclude it. You’re looking for some thing which says “100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz.”. If it says that, it has a worldwide power supply and all you need to get is a proper mains lead.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2011, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/22 "2011-04-30T10:27:35Z")
This is what you’re looking for
[http://home.comcast.net/~jz78817/stuff/dell.jpg](http://home.comcast.net/~jz78817/stuff/dell.jpg)
Sorry for the blurriness, crappy mobile phone pic.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/23 "2011-04-30T10:35:42Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> A Dell monitor isn’t really “generic.”. Does it have a power brick, or just a cable with an IEC socket on the monitor? if the former, the info you need is on the brick. If the latter, the info you need is on the back of the monitor some where. I really doubt Dell would exclude it. You’re looking for some thing which says “100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz.”. If it says that, it has a worldwide power supply and all you need to get is a proper mains lead.
Well, by “generic Dell” I just meant that all I know is that it says “Dell” on it in big letters, but all other markings are tiny and cryptic.
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> This is what you’re looking for
>
> [http://home.comcast.net/~jz78817/stuff/dell.jpg](http://home.comcast.net/~jz78817/stuff/dell.jpg)
>
> Sorry for the blurriness, crappy mobile phone pic.
No, no power brick.
It does have a label with symbols on it similar to the one in your photo, but I did not see voltage ratings on it when I looked at it before. Maybe I missed them, though. The writing is all tiny. I will look again when there is a good light (it is night here now, and other people are asleep). Now I have a better idea of whereabouts I should be looking, maybe I will be able to find it. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/24 "2011-04-30T15:59:00Z")
Shipping an older Dell LCD monitor to the UK and then worrying about power conversion does not seem to make good sense in terms of shipping cost and hassle. LCD monitors are cheap enough nowadays it would seem to make more sense to get a new one in the UK.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/25 "2011-04-30T16:10:37Z")
> [@astro](#):
>
> Shipping an older Dell LCD monitor to the UK and then worrying about power conversion does not seem to make good sense in terms of shipping cost and hassle. LCD monitors are cheap enough nowadays it would seem to make more sense to get a new one in the UK.
well, it depends. if you’re moving (back) then it’s reasonable to assume you’ll be shipping a lot of stuff. the incremental cost of including the LCD would be minimal at best; at which point simply buying a new power cord would make more sense.
if, otoh, you were just shipping the monitor, then I’d agree with you.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/26 "2011-05-01T01:33:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> well, it depends. if you’re moving (back) then it’s reasonable to assume you’ll be shipping a lot of stuff. the incremental cost of including the LCD would be minimal at best; at which point simply buying a new power cord would make more sense.
>
> if, otoh, you were just shipping the monitor, then I’d agree with you.
Exactly. I am shipping a lot of stuff. At this stage, the cost of shipping the monitor is the cost of a box (and I may even have the one it came in in the garage.) One more box will not add anything to my shipping costs.
Thanks to the pic posted by\*\* jz78817\*\*, and the opportunity to examine the thing in a better light, I have now determined that it will indeed run on 240V\*, so now I am going to be working on getting it safely packed.
\*Nearly all the writing on the label is both tiny and in Chinese, but I did eventually manage to find “120 -240V AC” in amongst it.
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### Author:  [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-power-strips-and-monitor-and-british-electricity/580010/27 "2011-05-02T20:46:39Z")
Ignorance must really be bliss. I did exactly what the OP wrote. US power strip to a UK plug adapter to run 3 power bricks. The strip was rated to 15 amps at 120V and had no surge suppression. The power bricks totaled between 2 and 3 amps. They were battery chargers (iPod, cell phone) and an external hard drive enclosure.
No explosions, fires, or fizzles. I should count my lucky stars.
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