Goldsource STU-1500 Step Up & Down Voltage Converter Transformer with 5V USB Output - AC 110/220 V - 1500 Watt

I've been using this for a few days and so far it works great with my stuff here in Germany. I use it for a 700 watt food dehydrator and some other small low-watt items. I'm not 100% sure about the maximum wattage you can use... I found conflicting answers when I looked into it. Some people said to go 3 times the wattage of your item, meaning I would have had to get a transformer that was at least 2100 watts, according to them. I thought this sounded a little crazy and decided that I would get a transformer that is instead twice the wattage, so I may also possibly use it for higher wattage items in the future. So far nothing has blown up and everything performs as it should.I'm very happy with it. Everything is sturdy and well built. It's of course pretty heavy to carry in a suitcase, at 18 pounds. Thanks to the good packaging it was not damaged on the way to my house or in my checked baggage. It has a U.S. plug, but it comes with a small black European (Shucko) adapter. You can use it anywhere in the world, as long as you have the proper adapter. When you turn it on it makes a funny electric buzz for half a second and then goes to complete silence.**ADDITIONAL NOTE**1/30/10 After looking into it a second time I found some information stating that your item's wattage should generally not exceed 75% of the transformer's wattage, so the maximum you should use with this transformer would be 1500 watt transformer x .75 = 1125 watt item. Some items "spike" when you turn them on like blenders, power tools, laser printers, etc., and in this case you would need to multiply your item's watts by 3 to get the right transformer size, e.g. 400 watt blender needs at least a 1200 watt transformer.This stuff can be confusing to someone who doesn't know much about electricity (like me) but I hope I helped.

I bought the Goldsource 1500 watt voltage converter transformer for an Asian appliance. Goldsource recommends buying a transformer that is one and a half times the listed watts on the appliance or product. My 1000 watt appliance works great with this voltage converter. It is just as advertised. It's more compact than some of the other transformers I looked at. Makes hardly any noise and is easy to use. You choose 110, 200, 220 or 240 from the input source on the back of the unit (so for U.S. you put the pin in the 110 slot). Then you can use either the U.S. 3-prong plug on the left or the international 220/240 3-prong plug on the right (for my Asian appliance) on the front of the transformer for the output to your appliance. Voila! Easy. The only thing that could be improved is the output plugs should have been positioned higher on the unit. The output plugs are positioned so there is only one way you can plug in your appliance, and so the 3-prong Asian plug is a little jammed up against the counter (the wire from the plug itself). If the outlet was positioned a little higher on the face of the unit, or if the legs of the unit were a little longer, that would be better. Right now I just position the transformer unit on the edge of the counter so the plug can hang freely. Not ideal if you have children in the house, but okay for me. And the unit is fairly heavy so there's no chance of it being knocked off the counter. I would recommend this unit.

I have lived in different countries around the world and sometimes I have had to buy local appliances. When I moved back to the US I didn't want to have to buy a new food processor for more than $500 when I had a perfectly good working one that just needed a transformer to operate. This 1500 Watt transformer works perfectly for my 700 Watt 220 volt food processor. I have never had an issue with that. The 5 v USB charger I'm not so sure about. I plugged in my Motorola smartphone to charge it on that and then the battery began acting funny on the phone. I tried a new battery, which wasn't easy to buy and that didn't work either. Eventually the phone had to be sent back to the manufacturer. I can't be positive it was because of charging it on this 5 v USB charger, but since then I never use it. Still use the 220 V transformer though.

We have had this transformer now for a month. It arrived well packaged and in perfect condition. As noted in other reviews. the power switch looks a little flimsy, so we use a switcheable multiple power strip to turn the transformer on and off. It works like a charm. It is quiet most of the time but emits a somewhat loud hum at heavy load (we use it to power a 220 Volt soymilk maker, which seems to intermittently heat the water). We are very happy with it. The only negative aspect are the power outlets in the front. On the picture, they look like regular American power outlets but they seem to be made for use in Germany. Fortunately we had an adapter handy.

The transformer is quite big and heavy in my humble opinion and has a white noise, which sometime if you pay attention to may be annoying.I owned before this ST-1500, another transformer which compared to was horrible.Basically, it does the job great, it doesn't warm up at all, even after hours of use.There are similar transformers here much cheaper, which look excatly the same and seems like all made in China.The reason I chose this one is just b/c my friend has one and he is satisfied, so I decided to play it safe...

I bought one before moving to Australia. It converts the 240V here to 110V nicely (though it's a little weird that I have to choose between 200V, 220V, and 240V on the back). It buzzes for a second when you first turn it on, but after that I can't hear it. It was also MUCH cheaper than buying one here and works in reverse for when I go back to the US without needing to buy another one.