A lot of plugs

WhatPlug.info

Guide for the traveller with plugs

How to use plugs from South Africa in United States of America

Plugs, sockets, adapters and other information needed for travelling from South Africa to United States of America in this page. If you want a report for other countries, re-start the wizard to find to electric adapters for your trip here.

Quick Chart at-a-glance

  South Africa United States of America  
Voltage: 220V, 230V. 120V. icons/exclamation2.gif icons/exclamation2.gif  
Plugs Type: M. A, B. icons/exclamation2.gif  
Hertz: 50Hz. 60Hz. icons/note.gif  

If you are electrical savvy, perhaps the previous chart is all you need. If this is not the case, you can continue reading and discover what the chart is saying!

Plugs and Sockets at each country

In South Africa the following plugs are used: (includes Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Stellenbosch, Port Elizabeth, Maseru.)

South Africa' Plug Type M
Plug Type M
South Africa' Outlet Type M
Outlet Type M

... and in United States of America you will use: (includes Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Disneyland, Los Angeles, Chicago.)

United States of America' Plug Type A United States of America' Plug Type B
Plug Type A Plug Type B
United States of America' Outlet Type A United States of America' Outlet Type B
Outlet Type A Outlet Type B

Liberty

Liberty

Voltage

Take care: United States of America uses lower voltage than South Africa

Your electric devices from South Africa will be expecting 220 Volts, but United States of America grid is of 120 Volts, this is a substantial difference that requires you to take some extra steps in preparation to your trip:

On the positive side, nowadays many devices will switch automatically to the network voltage and they will work just fine, i.e. mobile phone chargers are typically multi-voltage (but please, do actually check your own). It is important that you pay attention to your device's voltage. Connecting electronics to the wrong voltage, in the luckiest of the cases, the device will break or stop working temporarily; but please don't take this lightly, in the worst of the cases electrocution and fire hazards are a real possibility.

An automatic power supply suitable from 100 Volts to 240 Volts. An automatic power supply suitable from 100 Volts to 240 Volts.

High-power devices don't usually handle different voltages due to the high-currents involved i.e. anything that its main purpose involves generating heat (or cold) like hair driers, baby bottle warmers, kettles, etc. On the contrary, modern low-power devices are likely to auto-detect and auto-adapt to different voltages i.e. usb chargers, laptop chargers, etc.

A hair-dryer showing its consumption of 2000 Watts at 220 Volts A hair-dryer can consume up to 2000 Watts, like the one in the picture above, due to the high power they usually work in one voltage system; this one is suitable for 220-240 Volts systems.

You will need a step down voltage converter a device that can be plugged to 120 volts and it provides an outlet with 220 volts for your South Africa' device. You will need to pay attention to the maximum power output of the converter and the maximum power consumption of the device.

Plugs Type

Different plug systems

Different plug systems

Sorry, none of the plugs used in both countries are common. You will definitelly need plug adapters, please continue reading for more information.

Adapters

Lists of adapters you can use in your travel:

Adapter: generic

front view of generic adapter to use plugs type A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N from South Africa in outlets type B from United States of America back view of generic adapter to use plugs type A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N from South Africa in outlets type B from United States of America
Front Back

This adapter allows you to use plugs type: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N into outlets type: B.

Adapter: generic

front view of generic adapter to use plugs type C, D, E, F, G, M from South Africa in outlets type A, B from United States of America back view of generic adapter to use plugs type C, D, E, F, G, M from South Africa in outlets type A, B from United States of America
Front Back

This adapter allows you to use plugs type: C, D, E, F, G, M into outlets type: A, B.

This adapter is probably illegal in some countries, we put it here for educational purposes; it does not have earth connection but it allows earthed plugs to be connected to it. It has no finger-terminal protection. Try to go for a more expensive and safer alternative.

Adapters you can buy

You can buy the following multi-purpose adapters from Amazon. Please also take a look at the recommended gadgets for your trip.

Hertz

No equal Hertz

This is not a big issue. Unless you are using an electric alarm clock or some motors when speed is an issue. Explanation: Some alarm clocks uses the frequency of electricity network to measure time. So, time shifts could be experimented. Almost every home electronic device works perfectly with different Hertz.

Finally, by the way ...

We are revamping the blog! Visit our new blog here.

☆ If you find this article useful, help us by sharing it on social media,
↬ a link from your website helps too.