zlodnick

Ive read hours and hours of posts about electricity and still Im puzzled about the term "safe t cut'.

When posters talk about safe t cut, are they refering to a specific brand, or is it a generic term for a type of consumer unit?

We had the common Issan set up of a knife switch and a buss fuse for years, then 5 years ago, I got the local sparky to upgrade us to something a bit safer. He installed a ground rod and a real fusebox. The fusebox is not a safe t cut brand, but it looks the same. The main breaker is 63A with a test button, and there are 4 individual breakers. Because it is not safe t cut brand, does that mean it is less safe?

When we first came to Live in Thailand, we lived with my wifes sister. Her place was a mess, so I cleaned everything up and built a nice compost pile with all the organic matter. Came home one day and the SIL had burned the compost pile!

I dont like to burn anything, so I have brush piles all over our property. I plant squash and pumpkins around the edges of the brushpiles. Its like a ready made trellis and its quite attractive too.

Great photos, Thanks,

Isnt it something how we all have different interests. Some guys would hate this kind of stuff, but to me, there is nothing more relaxing than hanging out in the garden, pulling weeds and enjoying nature.

Also, a good compost pile is a beautiful sight.

And the best part is, here we can do it all year long.

Hi Pib,

Dont they spray some kind of chemical first to loosen up all the gunk?

Thanks Pakaty,

Is it alright for me to use malwarebytes? I have AVG and Ive heard you should not use more than 1 antivirus.

As far as cleaning unnessary files, do I have any files at all? All I do is watch youtube, facebook,read newspapers and look up stuff.

Well, you gave me enough homework to keep me busy this weekend.

Thanks, Zlodnick

First of all, Im not really computer literate. I just bought an Acer laptop 6 months ago. I bought Windows 8.1 and the shop installed it for me

Slow but sure Im getting the hang of it. Then a friend told me I needed virus protection and suggested AVG. Took awhile but I downloaded AVG and it seemed I was all set. I run a scan every 2 weeks and occasionally they send a message saying a threat was detected and they got rid of it.

I try to be careful and on the advice of some TV members, I dont look at porn and I dont open anything that looks suspicious or if from someone I dont know.

So far so good. But, I was reading a thread here about defraging and "cleaning up" a computer. I did a google search about malware and about defraging, ( the stuff about defraging was like reading Chinese to me), and Im not sure what to do if anything.

I could use some advice. Do I need to take further steps to protect my computer? As usual, there is conflicting information out there. What happens when one gets a virus and will I have problems for sure, sooner or later?

If I need to take further steps, it will probably not be something I can do myself. Are there places I could go where they handle this kind of thing?

Sincerely,

Zlodnick

Thanks Steve,

Ive lived here a long time and I know one must approach a government employee very carefully if one wants a positive result.

Truth be told, Ive always been satisfied with the power we have and I can live with or without aircon.

I didnt even know there was a problem til the other day. As they say, "ignorance is bliss".

Steve

Im not speculating. Im doing research.

I know nothing about electricity, so Im asking here on the forum, where there are some very knowledgeable and helpful guys, Im searching google and youtube also.

This way, when I go to PEA, I will be able to explain the situation and hopefully understand what they will tell me.

Steve,

I certainly didnt mean ME personally. I was asking if this was a posibility. Ive been struck by lightning, twice and zapped several times. Im scared to death of electricity.

So, am I correct in thinking I can tap into the new line they installed a while back. (making it 3 phase now in our village)

No one seems to be using that new line, (making it under-utilized?)

Also, will I need a 3 phase meter?

I havent had time to get a multimeter yet, so Im not sure how low our voltage gets. When the Mitsubishi guy was here, it was 202 volts, but that was 10 am, so probably not many were using power here then.

Gonsalviz,

Are you saying using the aircon with low voltage can damage the unit? We have a smaller aircon (9kbtu), 11 years old and never had a problem. Maybe because it doesnt draw as much power?

I was reading some threads about power surges and lightning strikes and it seems the only surefire prevention is to unplug all appliances. The only things we can unplug are the television and refridgerator, which we do. I was wondering if its possible to put an outlet and plug into the aircon line between the breaker and fusebox?

When we build our house, 20 years ago, our fusebox consisted of a knife switch and a buss fuse! I wasnt too comfortable living with that, but I felt confident that when I opened the knife switch, we were protected from lightning strikes. Not so! One day we got a direct strike that jumped right across the knife switch, nearly gave me a heart attack. It blew out 2 40w round ceiling lights, but didnt damage anything else.

RichCor,

What you say makes since. We used to be 2 phase in this village and then about 10 years ago, they added a third wire. I had no idea what the third wire was supposed to do, but I dont believe anyone is using it. So, I guess we are all drawing fron the same line?

Would it make sence to switch from the old line to the new?

Just a question that has always bugged me. Im from the US and there I see transformers everywhere. In rural areas there will be a transformer near almost every house. Here, they are sometimes 2km apart. Im guessing its just a matter of cost?

Thanks for the reply Crossy,

Just to let you know, Im no electrician. I can change a light bulb, but thats about it.

I have no multimeter.

Meter is 15/45

Meter 40 meters from house.

We are just outside of a small village (only 50 houses)

The transformer is in the village 300 meters away.

The neighbor has a small ricemill and when it starts up, the lights will dim.

Bought a new 18k btu aircon and it worked ok for about 3 weeks. Then we started having problems. It would work fine for a couple hours, then blow warm air.

The shop sent over a guy from Mitsubishi and he checked it out and said everything was ok with the unit, but the problem was the power. He said he was only getting 202 volts. It was working ok at 202volts, but he said when we have a power dip, it will not be enough. Then I remembered, I heard the blower slow down a few times just before it stopped working.

I asked him what I could do about it and he said nothing really, thats the way it is in Thailand. He said it happens in the city too. Our 9k btu unit never had a problem, he said this new unit uses much more power.

Has anyone else had this problem and what do you do about it?

Thanks for the replys.

Its a mr slim.

Just got the elec. bill. Went from 400 a month to 800, not bad.

I tried turning it from 30 to 28 degrees and put the fan on auto . The cycle time is much longer now and it works great.

We'll see what happens.

Whats the matter with you party poopers?

For me, its so heartwarming to watch the nieghbors 5 year old granddaughter as she screams with laughter, running into the road to throw water at the drunken motorests as they speed by.

It shouldnt need refridgerant or cleaning, its brand new.

Ill try turning it down.

Any idea what a normal cycle is?

Ive been reading alot about air conditioners that run on short cycles, meaning they shut off and on too often.

I just cant find anywhere, that tells what a normal cycle should be.

I just bought a Mitsubishi 18k btu unit for a 25 sq mt livingroom.

It runs for about 20 minutes and shuts off for about 5 min.

Its set at 30, sun never touches the walls, steady drip out the drain pipe. It does a good job of cooling the room.

Is this a short cycle or normal?

What about the meters?

Not sure about nowadays, but I believe the builders used to buy and install the meters. Ive seen in Global House etc., meters from cheap to expensive. Our original meter stopped working and we didnt recieve a bill for 2 years! I looked on the meter and it said, "Waterproof", and it was half full of water.

Maybe some meters arnt very accurate. That could work in your favor or not.

I think this topic could be re-titled to "How can I drive fast and aggesively and still be safe?".

When I was a kid, I drove like a maniac, no fear and had a couple bad accidents.

Now in my old age, I drive much slower, (everything I do now is slower), and I am constantly aware of my surroundings and trying to antisipate what every other driver on the road is up to. This doesnt make riding as much fun, but it must be done to survive on the road here.

Ive had one motorcycle accident here and ALOT of close calls. The outcome would have been much different, had I been driving faster and/or not paying attention.

I know how great it feels to get out on the road and open er up!, but, Im just too afraid to do it here. It also scares me to think of covering the brake, just to have that extra fraction of a second of brake time.

Whatever everyone does, I hope they stay safe out there

Very interesting thread. Ive been doing alot of skidding in quick stops lately and I was thinking it was the rear tire. Now, I think Ive been hitting the rear brake too hard. I thought I was applying the front brake with equal pressure, but now not sure.

I will definately be doing some test braking before any more rides.

Thanks

I have a laptop and an aircard. The aircard is a bit awkward when moving around and using.

A guy was showing me that he removed the sim card from the aircard and opened up the back of his laptop and put the sim inside somehow.

Ever heard of this and any problem doing it?

Ive only had internet for 3 months and not sure if Im using the correct terminology, so please bear with me.

When I turn on my laptop, I click on Google chrome and it takes me to a page with several bookmarks. Not sure how they got there, but they are the sites I use frequently and its handy because I dont have to sign in.

Im just concerned that eventually something will go wrong with the laptop and I will have to take it in for repair and the repairman will have access to my email, etc. My banking still has to be signed in, at least I know that much.

Is it ok to use it this way?

Mahogany trees! You can buy a 3 meter tall tree for about 500 Bht.

They look good, provide lots of shade, and grow fairly fast.

If you have rain gutters, keep them at least 1o meters from thehouse.

The girl we deal with at BB really keeps an eye out for us and is always telling us about the latest promotion. She told me the other day my wifes account matured and is only drawing .75% , She said we should take advantage of the latest promotion that was I think 2.75%.

Im just wondering why they would tell people they can get more interest? Better for customers, but not better for the bank. Are they just being good to thier customers?

Just an interesting sidenote, I remember when we opened our first savings account. We deposited a million baht and the interest rate was 13%!