People who want to visit Lesotho must know some basic information about the country before going there. Some of these include the standard voltage, electrical outlet, plug, and adapters that will be needed in Lesotho. The primary electrical outlet type there is the Type M South African SABS1661 / 15 amp “Large” British BS-546 while the voltage is 220-240 volts. There are also instances that the plug of the electronic gadget or appliance will not be compatible with the electrical outlet in Lesotho, so an adapter will be needed. This adapter will alter the shape of the plug to make it physically compatible with the electrical outlet present in Lesotho.

There are also voltage converters that could be used in times that the voltage required by the electronic gadget or appliance does not match the voltage of the electrical outlet. Example of the voltage converters that will come in handy for a tourist’s trip in Lesotho are step-up and step-down transformers, combination voltage converters, and network-resistor converters.

Type M South African Plug, Electrical Adapter, and Electrical Outlet

Type M plug and electrical outlet

The Type M South African plug has a technical name of BS 546 (South African 15 A/250 V) and is the standard plug in Lesotho. This kind of electrical plug has three circular pins and is a little bit larger compared to the Type D. Also, the Type M South African plug is commonly used in Mozambique, South Africa, and Hong Kong. For the Type M adapter, the neutral pins are 7mm in diameter and spaced 25mm apart with a grounding pin that’s 8.7mm in diameter. This plug used in Lesotho is also polarized and grounded. Moreover, the Type M large South African and the Type D Indian plugs are small versions of the old British BS-546 standard. These two are often confused and used in the same location although if a tourist is visiting Lesotho, it is still best to bring an adapter for these plugs and electrical outlets.

Type M adapter

The Type M plug and electrical outlet might be used in some countries as mentioned above, including Lesotho, but even in this country, the Type M South African plug and electrical outlet is now replaced by the Type G. However, old houses and buildings in Lesotho still use the Type M electrical outlet and most appliances and electronic gadget that uses the Type M plug are air-conditioning circuits that are mounted on the wall as well as some kinds of washing machine.

Voltage Converters

Voltage Converter

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 electrical outlet in Lesotho 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. If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in Lesotho, the best way is by using voltage converters such as resistor-network converters, transformers, and in some cases the combination of both. The resistor-network converters to be used in Lesotho are usually advertised to support as much as 50-1600 Watts and are just ideal to use for short periods of time.

Transformer

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. If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Lesotho, the ideal voltage converter is 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. The last kind of voltage converter in order to use electronics in Lesotho that are not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Lesotho is the combination of resistor-network converters and transformer. These voltage converters and adapters will be very handy if you plan a trip to Lesotho and you intend to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage. Most of the time, there is a switch that enables the changing of modes from resistor-network converter to transformer, depending on the tourist’s needs in Lesotho.

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