Has Anyone Used an Australian (240v) Allocaccoc PowerCube with 2x Built in USB in a 110v Country (E.g. Japan, USA) Successfully?

z z on 31/08/2019 - 17:09
Last edited 31/08/2019 - 19:54

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to take an Australian 240v Allocaccoc PowerCube with BUILT IN USB, to a 110-120v country (e.g. Japan, USA). I'm wondering does such a 240v PowerCube with USB, work fine in a 110v-120v environment (with simply a plug adapter).

Edit: i.e. will the USB circuitry itself built into the Powercube work Ok on 110v?

I've used such 240v PowerCubes (with built-in USB) in other 240v countries before, with simply a plug adapter, to change the plug to the local plug-type (e.g. Thailand plug adpater, Singapore plug adapter). But I couldn't find any real documentation that says if these built-in USB models actually support 110-240v, or if they're 240v only.

The PowerCubes themselves only seem to mention 240v. So I'm thinking the safer option is to take a plain PowerCube (no built-in USB), along with a separate 110-240v USB charger…

Anyone with first hand experience trying a PowerCube with USB, in a 110-120v country?

Thank you =>

Electrical & Electronics Allocacoc Power Board

Comments

  • cauilfield on 31/08/2019 - 17:17
    +1

    no issues in the US.

    Keep in mind, powercube is not a transformer. Meaning all other appliances you plug there must be okay with getting a 100V juice.

    All modern laptops, portable electronics support 100-240V

  • z z on 31/08/2019 - 19:53

    Yep no worries on the 110-240v issue itself for other appliances.

    I’m asking about the Powercubes with USB built in and whether they handle the 110-120v ok, and still work. So the USB circuitry.

    Or whether it’s better to take an Oz Powercube that doesn’t have USB ports built in, and use that instead (with suitable 110-240v USB power brick, such as a standard 110-240v Apple USB power supply)

  • whooah1979 on 31/08/2019 - 22:01

    Don’t use power boards with different AC mains unless they’re designed to do so.

    • AdosHouse on 31/08/2019 - 23:11

      A normal non-smart 240v power-board will work fine on 100-240v, as long as you do not go over it's rated wattage. A normal power board is nothing more than cables and copper plugs.

  • AdosHouse on 31/08/2019 - 23:09
    +1

    If it is one of these, https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/allocacoc-… , it says 110v-240v.

    • z z on 01/09/2019 - 01:13

      Thanks, but it doesn't actually say 110-120v on the physical product though. That's why I asked for first-hand experience trying the USB version in the 110-120v environment.

      • AdosHouse on 01/09/2019 - 17:00

        Does it have any sort of model number or stamping at all on the physical product?

  • Switchblade88 on 31/08/2019 - 23:21

    For your peace of mind, it helps to understand the actual USB circuitry. In every case, for almost every USB charger anywhere on the planet, the circuit really doesn’t care what AC voltage it receives, as long as it’s over the minimum voltage. In some designs (bridge rectifier with buck converter) it’ll even work on dc (Like a car battery) down to about 6v - and it wouldn’t even care if you swapped the pins around!

    This is also the reason almost every laptop charger is also rated for 110-240v; as long as the voltage is above the minimum its perfectly happy.

  • z z on 01/09/2019 - 17:33

    Thanks everyone for your comments thus far.

    The PowerCube USB (or PowerCube Extended with USB) I have have various model numbers / stamped on them. E.g. BN11609-02CL, BN5101-02QF.

    There is a max power rating of Max 10A / 250v / USB DC 5v/2.1A. So pretty stock-standard ratings there (relating to how much load one puts on such a device).

    But coming back to my original question — has anyone actually taken one of these 240v (Australian) USB-version PowerCubes and used them in a 110-120v environment like Japan or USA?

  • z z on 09/10/2019 - 00:31

    Hi Everyone. I can confirm that the Australian 240v PowerCube WITH USB works fine in 110v-120v countries like USA / Japan. This cube has a 3-prong AU plug on it.

    So… One thing to watch out for / bare in mind (that happened to us)… Many wall outlets do NOT have a 3-prong socket. Instead, they just have a two-vertical prong (no round earth pin) socket, that looks like this:

    | |

    (two vertical live/neutral pins only). Meaning your standard 3-pin AU to Japan / USA adapter won’t fit (no where for the round pin to go). So you might need to get yourself a local 2-pin USA/Japan double/triple adapter (~$3 worth) instead. With this, you can just plug your AU adapter in, and the earth prong just hangs outside of the local double/triple adapter.

    So it goes a little something like this:

    Power cube plug (3 prong) -> AU to USA / Japan adapter (3 prong) -> local Japan / USA triple adapter (2 prong, with your adapter earth prong hanging outside) -> into wall socket.

    Problem solved! And works great =>

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join