Review on SIMRAN THG-500 Step Down Transformer - Efficient 500W AC 220/230V Transformer by Nick Mosley

This is a regular no frills step down transformer but so far so good. We have a country house in Spain and I needed a pretty solid step-down transformer for some of my American power tools and gadgets that we brought with us. I recently used it for the first time to power a large 110 volt electric slow cooker (1800 watts max) to slow cook a leg of lamb for about 5 hours. I hooked it up outside in our covered BBQ area and it seemed to work fine. It had a noticeable hum (which is an artifact of the autotransformer design), it got a little warm, and after running continuously for more than 5 hours the transformer case felt hot - not dangerously hot, but warm enough that I did it I don't want to keep it plugged in. my home unattended. I'm a bit more electrically savvy than the average consumer, and I know that there's often some truth to the adage "you get what you pay for". Facts: This device is mass-produced in China, is very reasonably priced (1/5 the price of other similar step-down transformers made in the USA), and although it's CE marked for use in the European Union, it's me somewhat suspicious that this device will pass the legal CE certification test. It worked fine the first time I used it. I bought a 3kw unit and it is heavy (over 30lbs). I actually took it to Spain in my hand luggage before Christmas as I wanted to use it to make our Christmas dinner. I managed to get through 2 TSA checks and customs in Madrid. They ran it through the x-ray machine a few more times since it looks like a void (it's a piece of iron, after all). storage box. I only gave the device 4 stars because of some damage, probably received in the shipping from the manufacturer. One of the end bell caps, the one with the American style rosettes, was dented from contact with something in transit. Didn't have time to return it for a replacement so I just left it. As per other reviews, there are signs that the 110 volt outlet is about to fail (it's already loose and coming off). I plan to open up the unit and replace the weak duplex outlet with a good quality US certified grounded outlet.