bprhodes

A 30/100 amp meter is the largest capacity meter.  A 15/45 is all you need unless you are routinely drawing more than 45amps.  The supply is the same for both.  The measurements Crossy suggested will determine whether you have a supply issue or an internal (your wiring) issue.

Some back-of-the envelope calculations suggest I would have difficulty exceeding 45 amps....until the water heaters get turned on. I have 3 heaters, including one under the kitchen sink. If someone is taking a shower and another doing dishes, with my big AC on, I would easily exceed 45 amps. I don’t want to have to go around turning off guest’s AC because I want to take a shower or do dishes. I want to have the power there when I need/want it.

Having said that, the problems I’m having (voltage drops more than 10% causing the overload on my pool pump to cycle on-off) are occurring with loads of 20 amps or less.

This suggests that either PEA can’t supply 45 amps to my meter (at least at certain times of the day), or I have a problem post-meter (maybe too much resistance between meter and house?). My electrician will come tomorrow, hopefully he doesn’t tell me “you have electricity, no problem”! I will report back.

 

Firstly, a 15/45 is the largest supply PEA will normally do in rural areas. If the PEA infrastructure isn't up to it a bigger meter will do nothing to help.
 

I live in Muang Chiang Mai, so there is hope for a larger supply.

I live alone, so getting an assistant is problematic. I have a PT girlfriend, but she would be useless and I’m not ready to fry her yet.....I will try to get the electrician who wired my house out here, he’s pretty good, and therefore understandably very busy. I will report back.

Thanks for the info!

What size meter do you have?
 
Check on the poles outside, if there are 4 wires then 3-phase is available (post photos if stuck).
 
An AVR will do good (see my pinned thread) but don't run your water heaters through it.
 

I’ve done some observing using a multimeter. Virtually anytime I turn on a high wattage devise (AC, espresso maker, hob, etc.), I get a significant voltage drop. The pool pump only cycles if the voltage drops below 200. So just 1 AC+hob will usually do it. The voltage drop is worse during late afternoon (peak demand). However, with nothing on but low amp stuff, the voltage is fairly steady at 219-220.

In my simple mind, it seems the amount of electricity my 15/45 line is supplying is insufficient. A voltage regulator would seem to be a bandaid. The regulator would try to pull more amps to boost the voltage, but if the amps aren’t there it would ultimately fail to regulate or trip the main breaker.

Seems to me a better solution would be to request a larger single phase power supply or 3 phase (but not sure either available here).

Is my reasoning correct?

If I was able obtain a larger single phase supply from PEA, am I correct in assuming the only added expenses would be a new meter, and heavier wire going from meter to my breaker box?

If 3 phase was available, would I also need a new breaker box in addition to the above? Any other considerations?

I want to arm myself with as much knowledge as I can before visiting the PEA.

Haven’t had it, but likely will sometime in the future. Check out these links:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/17917-holmium-laser-enucleation-of-the-prostate-holep/procedure-details

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446381/

What size meter do you have?
 
Check on the poles outside, if there are 4 wires then 3-phase is available (post photos if stuck).
 
An AVR will do good (see my pinned thread) but don't run your water heaters through it.
 

We have the standard 1 phase 2 wire, 15(45)W meter. All the meters for the nearby homes are the same.

For the purposes of calculating the size of my AVR, I assume that watts ~ kVA right?

Also, can you recommend a whole house Surge protector?

Thanks!

How many aircons ?

2. Yes too many aircons

3. Possibly

4. Yes. They can install a bigger transformer and thicker wires.
(Expensive)

You could ask for a 45 or 60 Amp supply.

Thanks for the answers. I have 4 A/C units but normally only 1 or 2 running at the same time, often with my pool pump going to. Also have 3 hot water heaters, oven, microwave, etc.

Would a voltage regulator solve my issues and protect my electronics?

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the overload on my pool pump (see picture) was cycling off and on every 2-3 sec. Pool company replaced it with no effect.

 

On further experimentation, I noticed that the cycling would stop if I turned of all my A/Cs.

 

Today, I checked the voltage in an outlet and it was 188-192 V.

 

Questions:

 

1. Could this low voltage be the cause of the pool pump overload cycling?

 

2. Is the low voltage a result of the very hot weather we are having in Chiang Mai (43C)?

 

3. Can this low voltage do any damage to the A/C, pool electronics, etc?

 

4. Should this low voltage get reported to my PEA? Can they or I do anything to ensure proper voltage?

 

Please answer in dummy terms, I am pretty ignorant about electricity. I am willing to spend money to ensure a reliable electrical supply that won’t kill me one day.

 

PS: I have single phase - I was told that 3-phase was not available.

 

 

 

 

A friend from the USA will be arriving this Saturday and stay at my home for 1 week. During his stay we will make at least one trip overnight (Phayao and Chiang Rai). I am the housemaster (my adult Thai son owns the land, I built a house and have an Usufruct). I have some questions about the TM30.

 

1. How can I report him to immigration within 24 hours if he arrives on Saturday morning? Monday is not a good option because we already have a fully booked day.

2. If we leave CM for one night do I have to go back to immigration and do a tm30 again within 24 hours of hour return?

3. What are the potential consequences if I do nothing? Will he be questioned when he leaves Thailand?

 

I asked at immigration about doing a tm30 online and was told that online is only for hotels. :-(

 

 

19 minutes ago, bprhodes said:

That is a great answer!  Now to dive into the grab app and see if I can do this.

Trick is that you need to use grab plus.  Of course at about 50% extra cost.  But better than hoping for a free driver at 3 am since I am outside of downtown.

1 hour ago, StevieH said:

There's an option in the app to schedule a Grab to pick you up at a specific time/day. Have done it before, driver accepted the job a couple of days in advance, phoned me to confirm, arrived at 6am no problem on the day. Was good as gold.

That is a great answer!  Now to dive into the grab app and see if I can do this.

 

I need to get to the CM airport for a 6 am flight from my home in the northern burbs. No major streets close by so tuk tuk or red truck are not options. Anyone have experience calling for a Grab at 3-4am? Or do I need to book a taxi?

 

"Undeserved bad reputation"  …..  just a great laugh, thanks

I’m just reporting my experience. I’ve never had anyone there be anything but friendly. Maybe it is because I always come well prepared, well informed, well and organized. So maybe they are happy to see me after the disorganized, uninformed people I’ve seen in line ahead of me.

OP is exaggerating significantly. My retirement extension ( I am British) was renewed yesteray at Chiang Mai in 30 minutes. All I needed was the British Embassy letter, Letter from my Pension Provider confirming my annual income, and certification of my residence in Chiang Mai.
 
No bank statements, spreadsheets, or any of that guff!
 
My only concern now going forward is can I bring "210,000" for three months, or do I need to bring "70,000" every single month. Nobody seems to KNOW the answer on this. Everyone has a view, but based on guesstimates not practical fact!

My IO said the total of transfers has to be 800,000 for the year. Not 65,000 every month. YMMV

It would have been interesting if you had only presented your income affidavit and see whether or not the IO would want supporting docs of which you had well prepared.

I was more interested to know if my supporting docs were sufficient without affidavit. They were.

9 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

 Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?)

No, not even close to matching the amounts. My transfers were “as needed”. And varied considerably.

 
Can you expand on this? This was a statement you requested from Bangkok Bank? How long did it take to get? Is it signed/stamped? Did you do the highlighting?
 
Did the monthly transfers exactly match the sum of your SocSec/CalPERS net or gross disbursements? (My guess would be no, hence providing these without prompting may be unnecessary?)
 
 

It was an official statement with stamp and signature on each page. I requested it at my branch, it took 1 week and cost 200 baht.

Sharktooth,  Which bread maker do you use?  I am looking to by a break maker so I would appreciate any recommendations.  I also live in CM.

Thai immigration in Mae Sot has told me that they only accept foreign consulate/embassy affidavits for the monthly income requirement. No other documentation is acceptable for this. I told them about the recent changes regarding the affidavits as of 1 January 2019 and they then said one must keep the required 800,000THB. That is the only option which they will accept,

This will change, if it doesn’t they will be facing a mass exodus.

Trying to.  There are clearly different levels of backup and with the affidavit the level may well be lower than without.  

This is a good point. But it’s hard to imagine better back up than I have with pension letter, SS statement, bank book, tax return. If they won’t except mine hard to believe they would accept anything.

My opinion is this is a $50 insurance policy. Nobody knows what is going to happen but by doing this you hedge your bets. I am obtaining the income affidavit and hope it works. If not: Plan B
 
During the US Consulate meeting a couple of weeks ago the acting ambassador said the income affidavits would be honored by Thai Immigration for 6 months from date on the income affidavit.
 
Edit... assuming one has reasonable backup documentation. In Chiang Mai they have not been letting people inside unless there is some for of backup documentation along with the income affidavit. I'd take SS / private retirement letters, retirement 1099s and maybe a tax return.
 
I'd also go as early as possible (30 or 45 days before expiration depending on the office) in case one needs extra time to prepare.
 
What plays out in real time is anyone's guess.

If they are requiring backup, what’s the point of the affidavit? Everyone know it’s not worth the ink used to print it. Sorry, I know I’m using logic here....

Had my 3x6 pool done by Siam pools. Salt water system with skimmer. Too small for overflow. Siam did a quality job at a cost well below your 700k budget.

I am due to renew my extension of stay in March 2019. I am trying decide whether or not to “purchase” an income affidavit from the CM U.S. consulate while I still can. (I have an appointment on Dec. 20th.) But I wonder, is this just a waste of $50?

 

My thinking is that come Jan. 1 affidavits will no longer be available, so after that date The IO will have to have methods in place to verify income. I have heard anecdotally that the CM IO is already requiring backup evidence of income. I have multiple ways of proving my income such as a letter from my Calpers pension, SS statement, income tax return (I will complete mine prior to March renewal), and my BKK Bank statement showing an average of 100 K transfers into Thailand over the last year (although there may have been the odd month with less than 65K.) I also hold an usufruct on land and a house owned by my Thai son, and 2 year old bank statements showing about 3 million baht coming into Thailand for the construction.

 

It seems to me that getting the affidavit would likely be a waste of time and money, even if I have one, they will still be looking at the other proof, and they can’t require an affidavit because they are no longer being issued.

 

Should I get the affidavit as additional security? Or am I wasting my time and $50?

Now that Stu and Mong (Mong Cycling) have left Chiang Mai for greener pastures, can anyone recommend a good bike shop that can reliably service my Marin road bike that I bought from Mong?