The ACUPWR Papers

Defusing the UK’s Fused Plug Law

England has its share of hoity-toity rules, like saying “excuse me” when bumping into some one and driving on the left side of the road. You’re also not supposed to ask a lady her age or initiate the first toast at a dinner party unless you’re the host but it’s okay to stick your pinky out when drinking tea. There’s another that’s actually not so hoity toity: did you know you can’t plug an appliance into the wall outlet in England and the rest of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) unless there’s a 3-amp fuse somewhere between the AC and the appliance. This is required by law (BS 1363) and it’s actually a good safety measure, one that...

Read more →

1 comment

See the Light With ACUPWR

A customer who purchased ACUPWR transformers in the past contacted us recently about using a 220-volt gooseneck desk lamp in Canada. She explained that the lamp was purchased at an antique show in Amsterdam and updated for use with an LED bulb. It also had a Type F Schuko plug. Before we could suggest a compatible voltage transformer for her we realized an important and great thing about LED bulbs: they consume less than half the energy (i.e, wattage) than typical incandescent bulbs (which have been in use since the days of Thomas Edison). Example: according to cnet.com, a 450 lumens bulb requires 40 watts of electricity for an incandescent bulb. However, an LED version of that bulb needs—at the...

Read more →

Bake Me a Cake as Fast As You Can

We’ve noticed that a particular Japanese market Panasonic Home Bakery machine—the SD-BMT1000—has been getting popular in the USA. It’s a great machine, fully programmable and capable of baking bread (including gluten-free bread) and much more, such as udon, mocha, and rice bread amongst other delectables. Panasonic’s SD-BMT1000 is loaded with features, such as a timer-controllable dispenser for fruit, nuts, and yeast, and 36 programmable settings for the recipe you wish to create—marble bread, brioche, French bread, cakes and pastries—you name it. It’ll create a loaf in one to three hours and comes with great accessories such as a baking pan with two kneading pans, a measuring cup and spoon, and a recipe book with great Japanese recipes. Being a Japanese-market...

Read more →

Service With a Smile

At ACUPWR, we like to brag about our superb customer service because it’s one of the things we do best besides making a superb product. Our accessibility for customers is a huge part of the ACUPWR difference. We don’t often hear from our customers because ACUPWR’s voltage transformers are renowned for being safe, reliable, and long-lasting: they rarely break down and we almost never hear complaints about them. Yet people will contact us with questions about wattage, compatibility, and what size transformer is most suitable for their particular appliance or living situation. Or they might have a technical question of some sort. We also have people reaching out to say “Thank you.” Whatever your question or concern is, we encourage...

Read more →

1 comment

Noise Annoys

If you don’t like the sound of electrical hum, then don’t buy a Chinese-made voltage transformer/converter. They hum—loudly, something we’ve noticed in our own tests but also mentioned throughout reviews on Amazon and other marketplaces. Because of the cheap, corner-cutting build quality that goes into making them, and factoring their cheap parts such as aluminum wiring in their transformer coils, it shouldn’t be surprising that they buzz away excessively. Try plugging in an American-made ACUPWR voltage transformer next to a Chinese model; the noisiness of the latter is huge contrast with the quietude of the ACUPWR model. Our voltage transformers/converters are hand-built with the finest parts and materials, resulting in noise-free operation. Our engineers also have the understanding about what...

Read more →