klikster

After a run-in with one of these critters, I am very careful about walking barefoot in gass.

One can ruin your month and scar you for life. Think 2nd and 3rd degree burns!

Roughly translated as แมลงน้ำกรด

Maybe a heavy duty metallized mylar sheet under the poly roof.

Part of one solution involved solvents putting a platable layer on the plastic. I have no memory of what we used, but testing a few pieces with common solvents,( toluol, acetone, +++) you might find something that puts a haze on it. No idea if this will give you enough of a mechanical bond. Sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth.

Decorative chrome plated plastic parts probably get electroless nickel. Chrome won't plate directly onto steel either. When I was selling to that industry they would do copper, then nickel, then chrome.

I'm in the final stages of 'design' on the house below. If I make the walls 4 m high, what is the best range of heights for the peak of the roof and for the roof extension for the terrace. I'm not very good at this kind of stuff, so I need help.

The house will be built 1 m above grade, which will be ~ 0.7 m above the soi pavement surface.

Crude outline sketch and architects rendering (will change to gabled roof) below.

Update: Wife took UPS to Amorn and purchased 9 A batteries (same brand OEM used) @bt 590 .. Bt 100 service charge. Good to go!

Thanks to everyone who helped.

Mongoose!

"Taste" of water varies per individual -- and depending on dissolved solids and aeration. A really old experiment was to boil water for some period of time, let it cool, then taste it. Next part of the experiment was to take an eggbeater to the water for a couple of minutes, then taste again.

I don't know how long water stored in unsealed containers (tanks, lagoons, boreholes) holds up. I would guess it depends on exposed surface area. But water stored in sealed containers holds up very well.

Most folks think pure water (especially distilled water) tastes too bland. TDS in the range of 25 ppm (as I recall) is near ideal. Once upon a time, drinking water sellers in the US used real R.O. (not ultra-filtration membranes), then activated charcoal, and had a stage of aeration in their process.

Actually, they could afford it with their prices. I can remember Sparklet's delivered water costing more per gallon than gasoline.

I had all lug nuts taken off a front wheel of my beat-up pick up truck. It was parked by the Search & Rescue post, at the corner by the old bus station. A Tuk Tuk driver must have done it ..

.. the Tuk Tuk drivers - wouldn't accomplish anything except make them angry and more vengeful. Some of them are friendly acquaintances of mine, actually.

One can only wonder what actions might be undertaken by the ones who are not 'friendly' ..

Answering my own question for folks in KK. Amorn shop is on Si Chant Road less than 1 km from Mittiphap.

16.438769311319117,102.83413574465926

these batteries are certainly 2*7.2 amp, you can buy replacement batteries (equivalent) at home pro each is 450 baht, you can also get 9 amp wich are priced at 600 baht i think.

Thanks, NHJ. I pulled mine apart yesterday and they are the same, 7.2 A, 12 V. The batteries were wired in series, which could mean one going bad can kill the UPS -- but not worth fiddling with an old battery for Bt 600..

When I bought the unit I had 2 machines, and probably will again when I get one for my wife. So opting for the 9 A should give me more 'up' time.

I do know where the Home Pro is here.

Electronics shop such as Amorn can fix you up.

I've seen UPS repairs w/ motorcycle batteries. Worked fine!

Thanks JSixpack. Does anyone know whether Amorn has a place in Khon Kaen?

You can use any generic brand of battery. I have a bunch of APC's in my office and have been replacing the batteries that way for years. I don't recall the exact price but think it's approx 6-800/pc. They are very easy to change too - will take less than 5 mins.

Sorry can't help with Khon Kaen but in BKK you can get them in any of the IT plazas. I'm sure you could order one online too.

Thanks, Dork. The battery appears to be 2 identical smaller batteries coupled mechanically. "Taped" together with plastic warning labels.

The battery on my APC RS 800 died, apparently during our house move. In trying how to order a battery, one supplier told me that the Thai APC dealer will not sell batteries separately.

I can understand the reason, i.e., maybe the battery is not the real / only problem. I'm in Khon Kaen and not planning a trip anytime soon, although the wife's nephew makes the trip fairly often.

So I'm trying to sort through my options to find the best one.

1. Buy a smaller UPS locally while having the existing unit serviced
   
2. Forget about my existing UPS and buy another APC or other reliable UPS. Good brands?
   
3. Look for a clone battery
   
4. Look to a local shop for a solution
   

I believe I paid about Bt 7k +/- for the unit. I have no idea how much a new battery will cost as the Schneider (sp) Electric website is pretty standoffish with telephone number.

So I'm looking for recommendations, especially from someone who has gone through the process with APC

Well you can go to the Mae Sa elephant camp and visit the elephant my wife and I owned for nearly 20 years.

so are you saying you owned the Mae Sa camp?

Well that is not how I, nor most native speakers of English, would parse my grammar. The noun phrase /the elephant my wife and I owned for nearly 20 years/ is the direct object of the transitive verb /to visit/.

Most people who speak or read English are able to draw inferences from script - however it seems to me that now you are evading the question and it looks to me as if you are part and parcel of the exploitation of elephants in Thailand and that is why you are trying to be so evasive. I take it you didn't own the park as well but merely an elephant. How did you purchase it , from who and why?

It looks as if you are a part of the naive public duped into putting money into some allegedly beneficial arrangement for the elephants but in reality, it seems you are saying that you owned an elephant that presumably was beaten into submission and then forced to do anthropomorphic tasks purely to entertain an ignorant or naive public.

is this a fair assessment?

script [skrɪpt]n

1. handwriting as distinguished from print, esp cursive writing

2. the letters, characters, or figures used in writing by hand

3. any system or style of writing

You don't know Johpa very well, do you?

I understood exactly what he wrote (in sans-serif, BTW). Johpa lived in Northern Thailand for 20 odd years, bought an elephant (as a rescue?), then apparently gave it to the elephant camp. He has apparently seen 3 offspring from 'his' elephant.

You seem to be trying like hell to start an argument.

But the company can actually do legit business as laid out in the company articles which state the reason for the company. Comply with tax laws etc. and if the company is actively doing business and paying tax I don't think it's a worry.

Still if the 51% can not produce proof that they used their own money then it is because of using nominees illegal.

Now how many foreigners that own 49% have their company just for owning the land and use 51% nominees and do 'legitimate' business renting the single house to 'surprise, suprise' the managing director of the company. I bet more than 90%.

And those have to start worrying about how to solve that problem. Hint.. it will cost you money.

+1

And, so you have a company doing business. But does that company need to own land on which a house is subsequently built in order to do that business?

Probably not .. oops!

I first visited Koh Samet around 1989, and it had huge dumps full of plastic bags and bottles - why not get the "resort" owners to support and work on a cleanup instead?

Yup, I was there around Songkran time in '90. 2 meter high pyramids of beer bottles. I asked one resort employee how they disposed of them. He pointed out to the gulf.

A foreign national cannot own ( have title to) land in Thailand.

There is one exception to this under BOI investment rules.

A foreign national can have a lease on land in Thailand.

The title to the land is retained by a individual Thai person or entity.

This can be a company with 51% Thai shareholders. The Thai company has title to the land not the foreign national, they ( the foreign national) will lease or rent the land from the Thai company.

Naam has placed a very good post # 523 on the subject.

A foreign BOI Promoted company that has the right under its promotional priviledges to buy land for the purposes of doing business on that land is considered a Thai company. When the company no longer qualifies under the BOI privileges, (or they elect to sell) they must dispose of the land within a period of time by selling to a Thai person or Thai company.

Re the company route. It is clear that it would be a simple matter to investigate all companies with foreign involvement owning land, if the will to do so ever emerged and the funding and staff were made available. They just need to screen the companies database mechanically to match all companies with foreign shareholders or directors that have buildings and land on their balance sheets. A further manual check would eliminate companies with substantial business operations that legitimately own land as part of the business. Then they could investigate the remaining companies that have negligible or non-existent business operations and question the Thai shareholders and directors about their sources of funds and the rationale for company to invest in a villa with infinity pool and let the minority foreign shareholder or director live in it for a peppercorn or nil rent, whilst doing no business. Foreign directors could also be handed over to Immigration and the Labour Ministry for prosecution for working without work permits. If they wanted to dig deeper, they could screen for any company, even without foreign shareholders or directors, that owns land over a certain value, particularly in tourist resorts, and conducts no significant business to see if the Thai shareholders and directors really bought the land and then did nothing with it or are nominees for foreigners. Even so, that would be an extreme situation and having a company with no foreign involvement at at all on paper would be safer from prying eyes but more risky in terms of being ripped off by the nominees or being caught short if one of them suddenly died.

Personally for those without Thai spouses contemplating buying property I think the only sensible approach is either to buy a condo that you can own in your own name or rent and invest your funds elsewhere.

That 20% of property value reward for reporting violations may help a bit.

An important distinction: foreigners cannot own land in THEIR OWN NAME.

Land can be owned by a legal company having a legal share structure with two classes of shares, just lke in the west.

Just like in the west a minority shareholder holding "ordinary shares", legal in Thai law, (not "preference shares") can control the company and control is what matters.

If you have a company, file statements and pay tax. That's how to keep governments happy and quiet.

I think that comes down to the 'purpose' of the company rather than the structure. I was told personally by a recently retired Permanent Secretary that a company set up for the sole purpose of owning land is illegal.

It goes something like "One Thai law cannot contradict another Thai law".

there will be some asses twitching over this one,,,lol

Especially a forum down Hua Hin way?

This in a PM sent to me, signed in ..

Image links were NOT active in original message, but were active in my copied reply. Clicking them got the

"You do not have permission to view this attachment."

Message.

I have also never seen a tank type gas water heater here - and only seen electric for use in hotels. Private homes use point-of-service flow control units. Gas point of service units used to be popular and cheap but have been replaced almost totally by electric as people enclosed bathrooms (making venting required for gas) and RCB helped to make electric safer. I changed several decades ago here in Bangkok but suspect in cooler regions the gas option might be better (was totally too hot for Bangkok water).

The Rheem dealer in BKK shows them http://www.j7eng.com.../rheem-gas.html

Personally I think the advice and comments you received are just a load of crap. The windows in Thailand were not meant for insulation and noise reduction. Gazing is worthless and will not give you what you want. Back in the U.S. the biggest pitch now is the double pane windows with vacuum between he glass. I just refinished my home and it works beautifully. Noise reduction to almost zero. Try finding that tin Thailand. Haven't see it yet.

Looking at the stars is not worthless, it is an amazing sight on a cloudless lightless night.

The US comes up with some stupid ideas, but putting a hoover between glass is just weird.

I doubt if that is fact. More likely the space is filed with inert gas to prevent condensation / fogging. Seems to me a vacuum between two thin layers of glass would put them under significant stress and make them lots easier to break..

"Personally I think the advice and comments you received are just a load of crap."

Actually, many of the comments here were pretty good until ..

And I'm still trying to figure why "g(l)azing is worthless". Glass is glass, whether Thai or farang.

"The windows in Thailand were not meant for insulation and noise reduction."

????

"Noise reduction to almost zero."

Wouldn't noise reduction to almost zero would actually be "dam_n near nothing"?

After trying the free version of Advanced System Care for some time, I read GaryA's post and in a moment of great financial weakness, upgraded to the Pro Version. So far I like the suite of features in a single package.

Thanks everyone for their recommendations and comments.

I've used Avira for years, but their latest version I downloaded about a week ago has too many annoyances. The 'cloud' service popup is not too bad, but they have a popup window advert that often requires 10 click attempts to close.