Burma is a country located in Southeast Asia and this country is also officially known as Myanmar. If a tourist wants to visit Burma, some of the things he or she must know are the standard voltage used by the electronic gadgets and appliances as well as the primary types of electrical outlet and plug.

In Burma, like most Asian and European countries, the standard voltage used by the electronic gadgets and appliances are 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz. Also in Burma, the primary types of electrical outlet and plug are the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type D Indian BS-546, Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko, and Type G British BS-1363.

In addition to the information about standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet and plug, adapters and voltage converters are also handy in a tourist’s trip to Burma. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet present in Burma while the voltage converters are for instances wherein the voltages between the electrical outlet and appliances/electronic gadget do not work well together.

Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug Electrical Outlet and Adapter

Type C plug and outlet

The Type C Europlug is also known as the CEE 7/16 (Europlug 2.5 A/250 V unearthed), which is a bit similar, only slightly smaller, to the CEE 7/17 and it is one of the most commonly used electrical outlet and plug in Burma. The Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug alters the shape of the appliance’s plug so that it could be used into a “Type C” European CEE 7/16 Class II non-grounded Europlug socket or a Soviet-era Russian GOST 7396 Class II non-grounded socket used in Burma.

Type C adapter

Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug in Burma and from any country, aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The pins of the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced 19mm apart. In using appliances and gadgets in Burma, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug could also be safely used with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlets. In addition, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug is also the most widely used electrical outlet all over continental Europe, island nations in the Caribbean, in Asia like Burma and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug in Burma is also non-polarized and non-grounded. Aside from Burma, there are also countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and Caribbean that use this kind of adapter.

Type D Indian BS-546 Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type D plug

In this Type D Indian BS-546 Plug Adapter, the live and neutral pins are 5mm in diameter, spaced 22mm apart, and the grounding pin is 7mm in diameter with the plug being polarized and grounded. It is an old British standard electrical outlet which is still the primary household electrical outlet in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Namibia, and Hong Kong.The Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet  is most compatible with the Type D Old British Plug Adapter that is sometimes used in Burma.

The receptacle end of this Type D Indian BS-546 plug is also compatible with common household plugs except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. Although the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is not the standard in Burma, it is still used in various households in the said country as well as in other places. In terms of design and appearance, the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet and plug is often confused with the Type M South African electrical outlet and plug. However, as similar as the Type M and Type D Indian BS-546 may seem, they are not compatible and must not be used together in Burma or even in other countries. If the plug of the electronic gadget or appliance of the tourist in Burma is not compatible with the shape of the Type D Indian BS-546 electrical outlet, an adapter designed for a particular plug or a universal adapter, will be very necessary. If the difference is on the voltage, there are voltage converters that could be used so that electronic gadgets and appliances would work efficiently with the Type D Indian Bs-546 in Burma.

Type D outlet

Type D adapter

Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type F plug and outlet

This Schuko plug and receptacle in Burma also have side grounding contacts which allow symmetrical connection system for live and neutral to be reversed. Most countries including Burma use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko except Denmark, Italy, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus that have their own standard electrical outlet. On the other hand, the plug end of Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko is compatible with the variations of the Schuko electrical outlet for France and Germany.

Type F adapter

 The pins of this adapter in Burma are 4.8mm in diameter, 19mm long, and spaced 19mm apart. They have both side-grounding clips and a receptacle for the male grounding pin which is found in French Schuko sockets. If the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Burma is already a Schuko, there is no need to use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko adapter for the electrical outlet.

Type G British BS-1363 Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type G plug

The Type G electrical outlet and plug is a Type G British BS-1363 rectangular blade used widely in Burma that has a protective fuse inside to protect cords from high-current circuits and, most of the time, the Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet includes a safety switch. The Type G British BS-1363 plug  also has a receptacle end that is compatible with most household plug types, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The plug end is a British BS-1363 13-amp type.

For the adapter, the live and neutral pins are 4 x 6 x 18 mm apart, with the grounding pin measuring 4 x 8 x 23mm. Also, through the Type G British BS-1363 adapter, a tourist could use his or her appliance or electronic gadget in Burma. The plug of this Type G British BS-1363 is polarized and grounded but not fused. Another name for the Type G British BS-1363 plug is the 13-amp plug and for safety reasons the Burma requires electrical outlets in households that use the Type G British BS-1363 to have shutters over the live and neutral connections of the electrical outlet. In the insertion of the longer earth pin from the plug, the safety shutters of the Type G British BS-1363 are opened. The shutters are also present to prevent the use of incompatible plugs made to other standards in Burma. However, there are cases wherein the safety shutters of this electrical outlet could be opened through a screwdriver in order to insert Type C plugs.

Type G outlet

The usage of the Type G British BS-1363 outlet along with another kind of plug is not recommended because these plugs do not have a fuse. The regulation about the safety shutters and fuse is then followed in Burma and all the other countries that use the Type G British BS-1363 electrical outlet and plug like Burma, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Oman, Ghana, Grenada, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Maldives and Kuwait. In terms of compatibility, the Type G British 3-pin electrical outlet will work together with the Type G British BS-1363 plug and adapter in Burma. With all the safety measures and features of this plug and outlet, it is considered as one of the safest in Burma, even the world.

Type G adapter

However, with all its features, this type of plug is bulky and cumbersome. Some people claim that the Type G British BS-1363 plug is mostly bigger than the appliances they are connected to but if tourists would want to use their electronic gadget or appliance in Burma, then they must have a Type G British BS-1363 adapter. Although the adapter would not change the voltage used, it will enable the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget to be inserted to the electrical outlet used in Burma. For the electrical outlet, the Type G British BS-1363 sockets are not compatible with other types of electrical outlet in Burma.

Voltage Converters and Universal Adapters

Voltage Converter

These voltage converters and adapters will be very handy if a tourist would plan a trip to Burma and intends to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage. There are certain adapters that would fit particular plugs and these could be bought in hardware stores or electrical outlets in Burma or before heading there. Another is that there are also universal adapters that could be used with any type of plug and electrical outlet, may it be in Burma or another country.

If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in Burma, the best way is by using voltage converters such as the resistor-network converters, transformers, and in some cases the combination of both. Most appliances and electronic gadgets made in the United States of America (USA) have a voltage of 110-120 and using it directly on a 220-240-volt electrical outlet in Burma would cause damage to the appliance or electronic gadget, to the extent that it might be totally fried out or  might even cause a fire.

Transformer

The resistor-network converters to be used in Burma are usually advertised to support as much as 50-1600 Watts and are just ideal to use for short periods of time. The resistor-network converter is also not recommended for digital devices like laptop computers however it is great for lightweight electronics like hair dryers and irons. There is a switch that enables the changing of modes from resistor-network converter to transformer, depending on the tourist’s needs in Burma. If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Burma, the ideal voltage converter would be a transformer which lowers maximum watt rating. It could be used for long periods of time but is a little bit heavy because of the large iron rods and copper wires.