Is there a powerstrip which accomodates most if not all AC power plugs?

Question

You can buy travel adapters for AC power plugs, but do powerstrips exist that accomodate different international power plugs in one unit? When travelling and collaborating in an international environment, power cords turn into a spagetti of cords.

It would be so convenient if powerstrips exist which accomodate for example an US, a British, French/German power cord on one unit, but I have not find it and I have search extensively.

Do they exist at all, or do international laws prohibit such a device?

Answer 1

In India, a lot of plug sockets look like this they seem to accept plug types from most countries. It's a shame you can't find these everywhere.

Answer 2

I do see your point about the collaboration among people of different power types:

(Yes, the rightmost plug is going through three adaptors. It's from 5 years ago, but I believe that one is mine. The picture was taken in South Africa: SA to UK adapters and UK to US adapters were plentiful, other combinations not so much. After that trip I started carrying the mini power strips.)

But surely when you're in your hotel room, all the things you want to plug in are the same kind of plug? I take a small power strip (my smallest is a cube that accomodates 5 plugs; my airport friendmaker) and plug it, using the adapter, into the wall. Then I can plug everything else into the power strip.

I never bother taking a stepdown transformer with me because the only things that I charge (eg my laptop; battery recharger; phone) on the road are happy at both 220 and 110 (and certainly within 10% of each of those.) But if you did then you might want two small strips. Something like this won't take up much room at all:

Answer 3

It's very hard to make a universal socket that's compliant with all the safety standards that would apply. Eg in the UK BS 1363 sockets must have shutters over the L and N holes and plugs must be fused.

The simple answer, if you are travelling to many countries, is often to take your domestic power strip but change the plug on it to a IEC 60320 inlet. This will work with C-13 and C-15 plugs, and almost everywhere will have a kettle lead or a computer lead you can borrow.

If you are expecting foreign visitors, provide a IEC 60320 multi-way strip with C13-C14 leads for most appliances and C-5 plugs for laptops.

Answer 4

Multi-plug sockets exist (I've sometimes seen them in hotels), but you still have to be careful what you plug into them, as there's also a difference in voltages.

While many power units, especially those found in travel-related gear such as laptop computers, accept 110V as well 230V, not all do. A 110V device plugged into a 230V socket is not going to live long.

Maybe multi-plug sockets are not common because makers (and venues that might deploy them) fear getting complaints/lawsuits when this happens.

Answer 5

When this question was first asked I didn't realize it but in fact we have such an adaptor strip/board right here in my hostel in Tbilisi, Georgia!

It seems to be made by a company called "Veto" with model number 606F, but I couldn't find anything by Googling.