San Marino is a country located in the Italian Peninsula and it has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe, with its population of over 30,000. If a tourist would want to visit San Marino, some of the things he or she must know are the standard voltage used by the appliances and electronic gadgets as well as the primary types of electrical outlet and plug.

In San Marino, the standard voltage is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz and for the types of electrical outlet and plug commonly used in San Marino, there are the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko, and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian.

Aside from the information about standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet, a tourist going to San Marino could also bring along adapters and voltage converters. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet. On the other hand, voltage converters like step-up and step-down transformer and combination voltage converter, could be used in cases wherein the voltage of the electronic gadget or appliance is not similar to the voltage of the electrical outlet in San Marino.

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 San Marino. 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 San Marino.

Type C adapter

Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug in San Marino 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 San Marino, 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 and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded. Aside from San Marino, 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 F CEE 7/5 Schuko Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type F plug and outlet

Commonly known as the Schuko plug, the Type F CEE 7/5 plug and electrical outlet was derived from the German word “Schukostecker” which means “protective contact plug.” This electrical outlet in San Marino is also similar to the Type E with the difference being its two earth clips on the side instead of the female earth contact. The Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko is used for the “Type F” CEE 7/4 Schuko style electrical socket of Germany or to a “Type E” CEE 7/5 socket of France.

Type F adapter

The receptacle end of Type F CEE 7/7 Schuko is compatible with most sockets except the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546) plug and the non-grounded CEE 7/16 Europlug Socket because of its 4.0mm pin receptacles that are too small for the 4.8mm pins of the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko. This Schuko plug and receptacle in San Marino also has side grounding contacts which allow symmetrical connection system for live and neutral to be reversed. Most European countries including San Marino 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. The pins of this adapter in San Marino are 4.8mm in diameter, 19mm long, and spaced 19mm apart. They have both side-grounding clips as well as a receptacle for the male grounding pin which is found in French Schuko sockets. If the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in San Marino is already a Schuko, there is no need to use the Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko adapter for the electrical outlet.

Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type L plug and outlet

The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has is a 3-pin plug that has two round pins and a round grounding pin in a line, it is commonly used in households and hotels in San Marino. The live and neutral contacts can be inserted in any direction and the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed can also accept Europlugs. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has two models rated at 10 A and 16 A, with a difference in contact diameter and spacing.

Older models of electrical outlets in San Marino only allow either 10 A or 16 A so adapters were really needed to alter the shape of the plug. Although the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlets could accept Europlugs, when it comes to the plug, the two are not similar. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed plug is longer compared to the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug because of its additional central earthing pin. On the other hand, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A have pins that are thicker and a little more further apart. In some cases, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A used in San Marino is referred to as North European or Industrial Type of plug and electrical outlet.

Type L adapter

In addition, Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs are, in a way, compatible with the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet although it might cause damage to the electrical outlet and the prongs of the Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 might get stuck inside. In Italy where the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed originated, as well as countries that use the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian like San Marino, there are two other types of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet–the first is a smaller socket with a central round hole with two 8-shaped holes above and below. This can accept both the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed and the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs.

The second type of electrical outlet seems similar to Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko  but with a grounding hole in the middle and is twice the size of a regular Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed electrical outlet. It is compatible with Type E European CEE 7/4, Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko, Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs, and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian in San Marino. At times, this second type of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet also have extra holes for the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A plugs and could be used in San Marino. Alongside with Syria, other countries that use Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed are Italy, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Cuba, Maldives, Uruguay, and Tunisia.

Voltage Converters, Adapters, and Universal Adapters

Travel Voltage Converter

If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in San Marino, 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 electrical outlet in San Marino 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.

There is a switch that enables the changing of modes from resistor-network converter to transformer, depending on the tourist’s needs in San Marino. The resistor-network converters to be used in San Marino 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.

Transformer

If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Indonesia, 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. The last kind of voltage converter in order to use electronics in San Marino that are not compatible with the electrical outlet present in San Marino is the combination of resistor-network converters and transformer. There are certain adapters that would fit particular plugs and these could be bought in hardware stores or electrical outlets in San Marino 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 San Marino or another country. These voltage converters and adapters will be very useful if a tourist would plan a trip to San Marino and intends to bring along some gadgets that require a particular voltage.