Hal65

Love the weather this time of year, skin is free of sweat and I barely need a fan.

Weather sites still show humidity at 70% during day, 90% at night though. Same levels shown during low season.

Anyone know why that is? Temps only look to be may 4-5F lower than normal.

33 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I would really avoid a portable, they do work but on a per-BTU cost they're expensive to buy and run.

 

Any idea of kwh consumed for portables and splits?

As I can not read Thai I went to Amazon. One portable 12k btu unit advertised 1,200 watts used.

On another us website I found a 12k BTU split unit. Its operating voltage was 120v and 8.9A, which computes to 1,068 watts.

Does that look in line or are split units way more efficient?

1 hour ago, Naam said:

forget about it as the condenser fan of the unit won't create enough pressure.

put a cheap conventional 9k btu/h in your bedroom (suction and pressure pipe in a neat channel) and drain the water to the bathroom.

 

Can't do it directly that way unfortunately.

But as you said, if there's not enough pressure to push the exhaust air through 8-10 m of tubing, the portable must go in the big room.

How do you guys feel about a portable unit in my case? 

6,500 THB for 12,000 BTU: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/12000-btu-7-natural-i262675179-s404761093.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlistcategory.list.12.4f1f5660pHZfAG&search=1

One way I could use it is to put it in the big room (if very loud) on a chair for water drainage. One tube runs to the bathroom, the other to an exterior facing window or balcony door.

Another option: If its loudness is only of the "fan on setting 3" level, then I may just put it in the bedroom also on a chair, run the water tube to a large container, and run 8 to 10 meters of exhaust tubing through to the exterior.

Less efficiency is not an issue for me. I only need a small drop in room temp and enough humidity removal so that I'm not sweating.

Just need the right configuration for acceptable noise level, water removal and heat exhaust

2 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Maybe make the larger room your bedroom?

The noise in that room makes it unsuitable. The outside street is Soi Buakao with its orchestra of backfiring motorbike engines, street vendors calling out in Thai, and even girls advertising their services to passing baht busses.

2 hours ago, BigT73 said:

Have you thought about mounting the a/c next to the sliding door on the bedroom side?  as you only close this door when your in the bedroom and can still benifit from it.

The bedroom has no exterior walls. I just assumed that swapping the current/broken AC would make the most sense. But you guys are right, the room that really needs cooling is the bedroom. I don't even need cooling in the larger room that has the exterior wall.

The sliding door is metal. There are glass panes though. Maybe piping or ducting is the answer

I'm comfy most of the time with fans, but they can be inconvenient for certain activities. Not sure about the old AC unit, maybe I need to look for a label on it.

I have fans in the bedroom already. What I really want to keep at bay is the humidity.

My space looks like this. I plan to replace the broken AC unit:

Couple questions:

1. Will closing the sliding door (separating the rooms) result in the heat/humidity quickly saturating the bedroom? I prefer to close that door to block the noise and outside light. Maximum length of time it would stay closed is 9 hours. 

2. My room has 10 foot ceilings. The online calculators say 10k to 12k BTU should give me the cooling I need, which is -10 to -20 degrees F (About -5 to -10C). The store people say I need 18,000 BTU for my 350 sqf / 33.5 sqm space.

Do you guys think they are mainly doing this to free the jails up, or to increase tourism?

A 3rd possibility may be to reduce police corruption (taking bribes) but I think that is less of a factor personally.

10 minutes ago, fordguy61mi said:

Watch, it will be for Thai Nationals only. No Farang can get card!

Arghh. Do you guys think this is likely? If so it would be a real bummer

Can't wait to see how this manifests in Pattaya

Are there any central areas on the East side where people congregate, or the concentration of businesses/other stuff increases?

I only have a bicycle and have not ventured too deep. But what I have seen, seems like dark side is a series of roads without specific commercial areas.

Recently ordered a U lock to lock a wheel to the frame, and also a hardened steel chain lock for the frame to an object. My typical parking spots are also highly trafficked.

Means nothing though if the thieves don't care and bring an angle grinder. I'm just trying to make my bike as unappealing as possible. It's a $200 fixed gear so not ultra low end, but nicer than most Big C bikes.

How aggressive are the bike thieves in Thailand? I'm in Pattaya. Are there professional networks that have all the tools or is it mostly desperate people looking for easy gigs?

The latest Jomtien to BKK Airport bus leaves 9pm: https://airportpattayabus.com/pattaya-to-airport/

Same for North Pattaya to Mo Chit. But to Ekkamai the last one leaves at 11pm: http://pattayabus.com/V2/pattaya-to-bangkok-timetable/

I could do this but it would add 3 hours. I think I would prefer the taxi route if I could get a reasonable price. Cherry quoted 1,400 thb. I have another one on Line (Champ Taxi) who quoted 1,250 baht.

Has anyone made this trip? Will the taxis charge a premium at this hour?

I would like to schedule in advance with a taxi service. Emailed Cherry Taxi about it but she didn't confirm that they could do a trip that late (maybe something was lost in translation)

Such a bummer to see these near 100% markups on VR headsets. I know I'll never get it for Amazon prices but was hoping it would carry say a 1000-2000 thb premium.

Does anyone know a cheaper option? Or is this driven by high import costs?

EDIT: I see it can be bought on ebay for about $310. Anyone know the chance of Thai customs putting a tax on the package?

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5 hours ago, DJ54 said:

If they are in the US and your business had any of your information 

SSN etc. eventually the system will go to your employer and force 

employer to take a portion of your pay that would go to who is owed. 

Employer is in the US, yes. The way I have read it works is the creditor gets a judgement against me and then requests a debtor exam to have me appear and give information about my assets. This will be hard because my US information is all old, which creates a problem for them during process service.

The IRS has my new information (in Thailand). I don't believe creditors can directly access IRS information though.

Even if the creditor is able to track down my employer and do a wage garnishment of reasonable proportion, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. What I really needed to avoid was a bank levy, as that could wipe out all my cash assets and put me on the street.

I have setup transferwise. They have a borderless account that gives you a bank account number and routing number for direct deposits. Those deposits can then be transfered to your own Thai account. TW gives you the actual mid market exchange rate too. Basically exactly what I was looking for!

I know the usual way to do this is have the employer direct deposit to US account and then do a transfer. But before i moved to Thailand I was going through debtor hell from a failed business, the end result being judgments against me and the risk of bank levies on my US bank accounts. 

As a freelancer this was not a problem as I was paid through Paypal, but my new employer doesn't do that, just paycheck or direct deposit. 

Is there any way to have my employer direct deposit to a Thai Bank account? If not I will go with paychecks instead, although it will take longer (to send from the US to Thailand) and maybe incur more fees as well.

There were 2 good companies mentioned in this thread but both website links appear broken: 

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Does anyone know some good companies for shipping around 300 lbs of stuff via sea that won't cost half a cargo container ($2,000+)?

Posted on the DIY forum about a 8,400 thb 12,000 BTU AC, people said it was good. If I can find a local installer at a decent price I'll save a lot compared to paying 17,000 at Big C or Powerbuy.

Does anyone know a good installer? I'm near S Pattaya Rd on Soi Buakao.

I'm also open to an AC shop with good prices for the AC + install.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/air-mitsui-chofu-12000btu-r32-mu-13ec-i250802632-s387102660.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.1.481c5ff0hQ1AjX&search=1

8,400 thb for a 12,000 BTU unit. In Big C it cost 17,000 for a unit of that power. A little higher at power buy.

They include free install at those local stores. I imagine I could pay someone 500 thb, maybe 1000 at most to get it done. 

Is Mitsui Chofu a low quality brand? Anything else to be wary of?

I also dislike this rule as it's just more cash to potentially lose (or taking an exchange rate hit by withdrawing in Laos).

Say immigration formally denies you. Can you run to an ATM and run back to the line? If not, what is the waiting period before a second attempt?

I was turned down for a new account by an otherwise friendly SCB teller for this reason. She said to try other banks. I was able to get an account at Kungsri but I want an SCB account due to them being popular near my area.

Is SCB regularly turning language school ED visa holders (not university ED visaholders) or is this spottily enforced?

On my next visa run to Laos I want to try taking Nok Air's DMK to Udon flight which arrives at 7am if not late. Normally I come mid day and take the "limo" service (a minivan) to the border. Will that be an option at 7 to 7:30am or do I need a taxi?