Travel plug adapter

Jamie Mac

Hi there,

I am looking for an adapter to convert a Type M (South African thick three prong plug) to a Type G (Irish plug).

It is so that I can use my South African laptop in Ireland.

I have found many that convert Type F (South African thin two prong plug) but none of the larger ones.

Does anyone know who sells them, or even who has a large selection?

Thanks!!

zagmund

Unless you have some unbelievably rare laptop, the easiest solution is to change the lead and not get an adapter for the plug.

Most laptops power supplies come in two parts - the bit that plugs into the laptop itself normally has one of only a handful of connections - a figure of 8, cloverleaf or kettle interface.

Most decent IT places have a stash of them sitting around, or at worst one of the high street/retail park places would extort a tenner out of you for one. Seriously though, most IT offices and nerds will have a box of them stuck under a desk and will be happy to reduce their clutter, if even just by one cable.

z

ardmacha

Somebody in Ireland has an old one in their shed, as this plug was used in Ireland in the distant past.

If you cannot find one, check if your power supply has a lead that plugs in at at the power brick (many do) then just get this lead. edit as in previous post

Otherwise if you are mostly here, just cut off the plug and put an Irish plug on it.

Jamie Mac

Thanks Zagmund, I was at Compu-B on Saturday and it's €89 for the mac cable, which is a bit pricy for a three week visit.

Hi Ardmacha, I saw that the old Irish plugs were the same, will see if I can find someone with one lying around!

zagmund

Ah, Apple . . . that's your problem right there, son

You probably just need the replacement stubby bit (the one with the pins on it) of the power supply if it looks like this - http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRwPREbWck0zUVTI7Dvx_qlfxoR9FgE9jW9A04lTt4ZMCEQ9rY3mg

The €89 was (hopefully) for a full replacement power supply and not just for the stubby bit.

If it was a regular (non-Apple) laptop you would just need to replace the top generic cable in this image - http://www.7cheapest.com/images/products_big/7c005.jpg

z

Jamie Mac

Hi Zagmund,

Yep, that's all I need but they won't sell it separately. I am sure there are knock-offs but it's a brand new laptop so don't want to risk it.

The problem is the obscure South African plug, I have no problem with the two prong adapters that you can buy at any shop!

Thanks though.

coylemj

OP, does the power cord detach from the AC adapter? If it does, surely you can just go to any electrical shop and buy a power cord with a UK Plug which has either a figure of 8 or clover-leaf connector, whichever is appropriate for the Mac adapter.

You have no business going into an Apple Store unless you want to splash out on a whole new adapter.

Stinicker

eBay is your friend is this instance!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/South-Africa-to-UK-England-Mains-Travel-Plug-Adaptor-/360463615171?pt=UK_TravelTickets_Accessories_RL&hash=item53ed4e44c3