Cashboy

2 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

You never want to squeeze cables in conduit or anything else.

Seriously,  why not?

When wires (live, neutral and earth) are in a cable, that is tight.

So what is the difference to wires being tight in a conduit make?

56 minutes ago, Crossy said:

What's confusing me is the need for three x 16mm², single phase would need 2 plus a reduced ground, 3-phase would need 4 plus ground unless it's a 380V machine.

 

Anyway for 3 x 16mm² VCT you're looking at at least a 1.25" tube (no bends). Could you drill for three (or however many) 1/2" tubes and run one wire in each? 

 

In reality, I'd just cut the re-bar, you're not going to significantly weaken anything.

 

Our incoming supply (16mm2 x 2) runs down the wall in 2.5" square plastic trunking (there's other stuff in there too). Done carefully it's neat and easy if you want to get another cable in.

What do you mean "reduced ground"

Isn't the earth cable also 16mm cable from the earth rod?

If you are saying that 16mm cable is 8mm in diameter, then 3/4" (20mm) round internal should be able to squeeze 3 cables in I would imagine in a straight run.

The mains supply coming in is 2 x  25mm aluminium cables (live and neutral) I assume.

I shall be coming into the loft with that and immediately go into a 100 Amp switch where the earth from the copper rod will also meet.

Then I was going to run 3 x 16mm copper wire (live, neutral and earth) through the ceiling to a 63 Amp MCB and then to 3 consumer units.

21 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Depends how big it is, in a floor it will likely just be mesh, cut it with a big pair of bolt cutters.

 

If it's a column or beam you shouldn't be doing anything to it, run round the outside.

No way would I drill a hole through a beam.

I am either hitting the steel raw bar in the pre-made concrete floor slabs you put down before you put down the wire mesh and concrete the floor or the wire mesh.

I think the only way I can cut the steel is with just a blade from a metal saw.

40 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Do you have 3-phase?

 

What size generator are you planning? 16mm² would be about right for 15kVA single phase.

Single phase !

Mains is government 50 Amp single phase ( live, neutral and earth)

and generator would probably only be a 6 kilowatt single phase (live, neutral and earth)

Hence 6 cables or wires.

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

 

You won't get one 16mm² in a 1/2" duct/conduit and get it to go round any bends.

 

16mm² VCT is 8mm outside diameter.

 

Are you talking about conduit (round) or trunking (rectangular)?

 

I do not need to go round any bends, just a short straight 3 meter run from a 100 amp switch through a concrete floor into a consumer unit.

OMG

I only have lying around 2.5mm and 1.5mm cable.

I can see that I can easily get 6 x 2.5mm through the 1/2" (15mm) SCG round plastic conduit.

However I have no 4.0mm (for shower) or 16mm cable ( I don't mean that aluminium cable from the pylon) but the copper cable to check.

No bends expected in the 4.0mm or 16mm or if I did was going to use that flexible plastic ducting.

In response to questions; the reason I was thinking of 5 x 16mm through 3/4" was the government mains coming in and generator mains coming in.

The, what I termed "clay bricks" are those small little bricks they use in bathrooms.  The rest of my house I used 15cm G Con blocks (Thermalites to British).

Ducting pipes are all round.

I am correct with 16mm copper for mains in with the 50 Amp government supply as I read that 1l6mm is good up to 80 Amp and if I recall that was quite common in Do Home, Global House etc.  I am talking about the single 16mm cable rolls available in different colours.

I am put the ducting in the walls.

I have noticed that there are basically three main sizes of round plastic ducting:

3/8" = 15mm   = outside diameter about 18mm

1/2" = 18mm  = outside diameter about 22mm

3/4" = 20mm = outside diameter about 26mm

I need to run the mains cable ( 3 No 16mm ) in ducting.  

Will I manage to get those in the 1/2"  ?

I ask because I had to drill through the concrete floor and keep hitting steel and don't want to chop out the steel but can get the 1/2" through no problem.

On the 4,500 watt electric shower I am going to use ( 3 N0 4mm) in ducting.

Will I manage to get those in the 3/8" ducting.  ?

I ask this because I have to chase the bathroom ducting in those small clay walls so don't want to weaken the wall

Can I get 6 No 16mm cables in 3/4" ducting 

I think the riskiest time would be the travelling back to the UK; in the airplane and terminals.

UK is in lockdown also and appears worse as you have to cue up to go to the supermarket while in Thailand the super markets are accessible and most markets are still open.

You would still have a 14 day self quarantine in the UK also.

If as you say you have nothing to do also in the UK and a choice; I would therefore prefer to stay in Thailand in these times.

I had the normal Tourist 30 extension to the 28 March.

I had a flight back to the UK for the 26th March that was cancelled by Ethiad.

I went to the Udonthani immigration office on the 30th March (28th was a Saturday so ok) and got a Coronavirus Extension until the 14 April where I was instructed to come back to get it re-extended on the 14th April.

I got a phone call from the immigration office on the 13th April that informed me that my paperwork had been verified and to come in on the 14th April to get it further extended (no cost).

I went to the immigrtion office and they have extended it until the 26th April.

I had a revised flight by Ethiad for today (17 April) but that has been cancelled as all flight are cancelled until the 1st May.

At this point I assume that I have to return to the immigration office on the 26th April to get it extended further.

I have also read (maybe on here) that foreigners with Coronavirus Extensions (non resident visas) will have to depart from Thailand by the 7th May.

I have informed my travel agent to therefore reschedule my return flight to the UK for the 3,4, or 5th May but no reply from him after 6 days.

I just checked Ethiad flights from Bangkok to London and they appear to all be sold out to the 7th May and the flight costs after that is over 33,000 bt !

Interesting times ahead !

ince 8 April the Visa Amnesty Scheme for Thailand has entered into force.

The notification was signed by Prime Minister Prayut and Minister of Interior Anupong on 7 April. It has now been published in the State Court and immediately comes into force.

Main points below:

1. foreigners with a Thai hometown, who are now outside Thailand, can enter Thailand, even if their period outside Thailand is longer than a year.
2. Foreigners whose visa expires between 26 March and 30 April 2020 will receive an automatic visa extension until April 2020., 30 This includes those who own all types of visas, including visa exemption (i.e. tourists who 30 days have arrived and received) and Visa-on-Arrival. * Foreigners who stay in Thailand for more than 90 days and have to submit a residence certificate, the deadline will be extended until April 30, 2020, if the deadline was 26 March 2020-30 April.
3. Foreigners with a border pass [neighbouring countries] that arrived before 23 March 2020 will automatically receive visa extension until the land border opens again. As soon as the land border opens again, they have to leave within 7 days

* If your visa has expired on March 25th or earlier, you must have extended earlier and if the new expiry date after March 25th you will still be eligible this automatic extension.

Summary of the "visa Mamnesty" that Thai immigration offers foreigners:

✅ Anyone legally in Thailand has an automatic extension of 30 days
✅ 90 days reporting duty is postponed
✅ People with Permanent Residence can come back late

A visa support letter is no longer necessary in view of the above scheme. There is no need to extend your visa in person at a local immigration office.
Read the announcement on the official immigration service website. https://immigration.go.th/content/visa_auto_extension

My Corona Virus Extension runs out on the 14th April (they gave me 14 days and told me to come back on 14th to extend again with no cos then).

I believe government is shut for Songrian festival on the 14th April so considering going to Immigration Udonthani on 13th April as not sure if the talk of the new no need to go to Immigration Office is real or not.

On 3/31/2020 at 2:04 PM, MagnumForce said:

What if one is renting a house, mate? Are you living with your wife/partner in her house?

You just created a debate (argument) about the Blue Book with my "Thai Secretary".

The "Blue Book" is supposedly a book of the registered owner and occupants of the house.

My Thai secretary is the owner of the house and has physical possession of the blue book so it was no problem.

So I asked the Thai secretary, what would happen (your situation) if you were renting and your farang boyfriend was living with you.

Would you have a Blue Book?

She said no. 

I confirmed that with her because when she was living in Bangkok renting a condo, she said of course she did not have a Blue Book for that condo, that would be in the possession of the Landlord / Owner.

So I asked her what would be the situation for you.

She said that you would have to say that you were living at the address your girlfriend is registered in The Blue Book.

I said but that could be in a different province and therefore he would have to travel to the immigration office in that province.

She said: correct.

I said but what happened if immigration later turned up to check and discovered he wasn't there.

She said: bad luck.

Immigration actually screwed up because they asked for my Yellow Book that shows I am resident in Thailand at  specific address that would appear to be pretty dumb when I was extending a travel visa extension so not likely.

Hence the immigration came up with needing the "Blue Book".

Perhaps in your situation, she could take her rental contract and invoices for rent from the landlord and maybe a letter from the landlord confirming that she is a tenant at that address.

Good Luck

7 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

(1) The value of gold can fall far more in a few days than one loses in negative interest rates in a year or decade.  In any case, negative interest rates are (almost?) invariably for commercial borrowers - not for retail customers.  UBS' interest rates are at https://www.ubs.com/ch/en/private/interest-rates.html and not a negative sign to be seen.

 

(2) Of course banks are solvent.  There are stringent rules about how much capital they must maintain.  In the European Union these are defined by the capital adequacy directives CAD1 and CAD2.  The Federal Reserve defines the rules for the United States.  And in any case, bank deposits in most countries are guaranteed by the government within generous limits.  In the UK it's GBP 85,000, in Switzerland  CHF 100,000, in Canada it's CAD 100,000, and in the USA it's USD 250,000.

Capital of a bank = Net Assets of a Bank.

If the bank provides a proper provision for bad debts; result is a hit on its Capital resulting in it not being allowed to make more loans so it wouldn't want to do that.

Banks Solvent ?

It would be easier to list the banks that are solvent than insolvent in the west (certainly Europe).

Bank Deposits are guaranteed by the governments:

You will find that Thailand is stopping its guarantee on bank deposits in August 2020.

You might like to recall that Cyprus Banks were going to deduct 10% of the balances in bank accounts but had to change it to 38% of balances of over 100,000 Euros because the EC told them to.

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Sorry. If that has to be explained to you, you are already beyond convincing. Homey don't play the baiting game. 

You mean you have nothing and you will be torn apart and feel a fool.

By the way, I am British but can analyse what is going on in the world for myself and not a MSM sheep that you are more than likely.

If you are indeed American, it is nice to see that Donald Trump and Putin are able to talk and respect each other.

That probably really annoys you.

Lets talk about military bases outside the USA.  How many?  800 in 70 countries

How many Russian military bases outside Russia?  21.

So who is the aggressor on that basis?

4 hours ago, Leaver said:

I accept what you say, but many countries in the west have stress tested their banks.  Very difficult for Thailand to do that with such a big cash economy here, a large portion of it in the hospitality and tourism sector, which has evaporated, virtually overnight.  

 

Like some western countries, Thailand will have a freeze on mortgages etc, but with so many working in tourism here, that freeze can't last forever, and the poor way in which they have handled shutdowns here means the virus will be around for quite some time, with Thailand never really flattening the curve.  

 

Eventually, the defaults will start rolling in at a rapid rate, leaving some Thai banks distressed.  Now, whether the Thai government offers bail outs will be interesting in the financial quarters ahead, but I would suggest, Thai banks are going to be hit with some heavy losses in the near future, and it's not impossible we see a run on the banks here. even from Thai's, who prefer gold in uncertain times.  

 

Interesting times ahead, but I stand by my earlier comment to the OP to withdraw the money, whilst it's still there to withdraw, and whilst he still allowed to.  It's more a safety first measure than a panic option.   

Those western "bank stress tests" were a public relations exercise in my opinion.

The fact that Thailand has such a big cash economy is an advantage in my opinion regarding daily living and surviving in these times.  So many people and companies are in effect working for the banks with their loan terms.

I would argue that this Corona Virus will be an excuse for a lot of companies throughout the world to go bankrupt that were already in financial trouble.

Your so called "Thai distressed banks"will more than likely be bailed out by the government and covered by the Thai Central Bank much like the west (UK as an example) with RBS etc.  Lets also not forget Cyprus that had account holders with more than 100,000 Euros have 30% of it taken from them.  And lets not forget that that was back in in 2008 time.

On 3/9/2020 at 11:44 AM, spidermike007 said:

Somehow I doubt that there will be much in the way of sympathy, for most of the Arab oil producers, nor for Russia. None of them are what I would refer to as "good citizens". They have not done much good with their wealth. And they have sowed major discord, especially the heinous Saudi regime, the nasty Emirates regime, and of course Dictator Putin. MBS, Sheikh Maktoum, and Putin are always up to no good. That is just who they are. 

Maybe you would like to expand on what "Dictator Putin" has done wrong and what "no good"he has done?

On 3/19/2020 at 2:32 PM, Oxx said:

 

You really are grabbing at straws.  Investment is nothing to do with what happens over 1 year, 1 month, or 1 day.  It's for the medium to long term.

 

Just give up.  Gold is not an investment.  It's a pretty useless store of value at best.

I am not so sure if you are correct about a üseless store of value" because:

1) banks (e.g. Swiss banks) are paying negative interest rates.

2) most banks are not solvent; i.e. bankrupt in reality.

On 3/3/2020 at 8:46 PM, DaRoadrunner said:

And just where are you going to keep all this physical gold? (Not that we want to know so we can break in to your place one night). Why not buy a gold ETF online?

An ETF !!

Not sure I would trust one of those and what the spread might be in the buy and sell price.

In these times I would want to hold the physical, not a piece of paper.

Regarding buying fake Thai bt.

There is some about.

My advice is buy from reputable gold shops in Thailand (big ones in Bangkok).

But more importantly ask for a receipt and ask them to stamp the gold with their trade stamp so you have evidence it came from them.

I am looking at trading the SET in the near future.

Any information you have would be appreciated such as what your portfolio comprises of and your feelings.

Clearly the market is going through a massive dip at the moment and expect it to fall.

I would never recommend spread betting on the Thai market and its shares seem to be very volatile which gives you opportunities but often sorrows.

I have my Thai secretary trading the SET with 200,000 bt.

She was trading daily at one time, buying sudden falls on the basis of recovery.

he last year she seems to be holding onto shares that pay a dividend.

The Thai Gold Price is based on the US Dollar price and US Dollar to Thai Bt and the purity of gold (96.5%) of Thai bt gold.

The spread was only 100bt between buy and sell price when 20,000 bt that represents only 0.5% cost.

Unfortunately the spread is now 200 bt.

Thai bt gold can be bought and sold in most places in Thailand.

I therefore cannot see the point in importing bullion from abroad if keeping gold in Thailand.

"Growth"for the last 40 years has been basically driven by the increase in debt.

The question is; is the available debt coming to an end?

On 3/30/2020 at 12:23 PM, RocketDog said:

Not to mention the USA corporate debt, mostly being junk bonds. 

The USA had been able to find buyers for its bonds even after years of increasing debt but corporations likely won't. Until the world can find a safer haven, like metals, the dollar will remain strong. America can print because it's had only marginal repercussions. Those days are waning. 

 

If America is forced into austerity then China will quickly follow as exports dwindle and then the rest will crumble. In the meantime I look for a wave of countries depreciating their currency to boost imports. 

 

Virus aside, the world is swimming in unredermable debt and a major re-ordering is inevitable. Like many of the policies the world has followed such as environmental, our financial system is unsustainable. 

True but provided all the Central Banks print together, then everything can continue for a while longer.

23 hours ago, Leaver said:

Thailand's never been through something like this, has it?

 

The can do a back flip here with a stroke of a pen in Bangkok. and there goes your bank deposit "guarantee."

 

Then, let's not forget who is running this country, not exactly the brains trust, are they, and they didn't even truly get voted in by the people.

 

Remember, Thailand has record household debt, and I have a feeling some of the banks here have over leveraged.

I think you will find that most banks in the world are over leveraged and not disclosing / providing for true likely bad debts because that would lower their net assets on their balance sheet.

Also most countries seem to have record household debts and if you really researched into it would probably find that growth has been purely from the increase in debt over the last 40 years.

I assume you ( SwissCheeseman ) are a Swiss National.  I would say that the USB and Credit Swiss are more bankrupt banks than say the Bangkok Bank.

Switzerland and Swiss Banks lost their credibility over the last few years for safe banking and trust and anonymity.