sometimewoodworker

11 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

 

It depends if you have a condo or not, but your provider will have a small noc in the condo and that will lose power.  If you have a house there will be a noc nearby.  You'll find out. 

I don’t have a condo. There is no nearby network operations centre. I have had power cuts ranging for minutes to several hours, my internet supply did not get cut. So your vast knowledge is sadly lacking and your predictions that I will lose connection has not proven true yet, and may never be. I wait, but won’t hold my breath.

11 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

Buy a generator.

I have no need for the noise, smell, disruption and bothersomeness of a generator. My setup silently (apart from warning tones) runs the necessary equipment for several hours and with batteries with more capacity can do the same for days 

2 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

I think the larger Apple dealers can provide training but not sure where in Thailand. Most Apple shops, like Studio 7, are resellers.

There are 2 Apple Stores in Bangkok all the others are Apple Authorized Resellers

24 minutes ago, DudleySquat said:

 

When the power goes off, your upstream routing devices will likely go off to.  So what is the point?

Your upstream devices may go down/off. My provider has backup power, so, so far I have never had a power cut to my house effect my fibre connection. So that is the point

6 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

The purpose of a UPS is not to keep the computer running but to shut down the computer safely. 

Your purpose may be to do that, however mine is to keep the minimum units, routers, Ethernet switches, security cameras & NVR, running for as long as it takes, potentially hours.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

The limit is actually 32KmAh, I checked on that before I bought my last one from Lazada which was supposed to be 30K. By the time I noticed it was marked 90K it was too late to return.

When I went to the UK I discharged it and put it in the suitcase but it was detected. Had to open the case and take it out before I could board. I explained what had happened and said it was discharged and they let me go with it in the hand luggage.

We were late into Dubai and the last thing I needed was a problem at security so I threw it in the bin.

Your information is incorrect. The limit is actually 27,000mAh (100Wh) without getting permission from the airline and you can have several, this is why the 20,000 mAh power banks are popular. With airline prior permission you are allowed 1 or 2  X 160Wh batteries. 

So you were lucky that the airline allowed your over sized power bank on board. It is irrelevant if it is charged or discharged and lithium power banks are never permitted in checked baggage. Laptop computers are allowed in checked in baggage but it is a poor idea to do so given the treatment of some checked bags.

There are special measures on cargo aircraft for carriage of lithium batteries and lithium batteries in devices.

2 hours ago, grain said:

Last time we went, about 5 years ago we had a couple nights at Kuta then 5-6 nights at Ubud, and I enjoyed Kuta sitting on the beach in the evenings drinking beers and ordering up seafood, and in Ubud I was bored stiff after 1 day there, and regretted booking in advance. Of course the main attraction for me at Kuta was the beach with seafood restaurants. So where would you recommend that has a similar scene to Kuta but less full on?

I can’t really help on that as I was travelling solo, rented a motorcycle and it was quite a while ago, though I did really enjoy staying in the village in the giant crater where Mt Batur is located and joining the locals in the outdoor volcanically heated bathing area. The other main time I got a diving tour and visited about 8 different sites diving from the beach. 
I did visit Kuta or Legian one day but nothing there was of any interest to me.

One interesting memory was dropping in on a funeral ceremony a completely unbelievable experience with hundreds attending along with at least 4 gamelan bands with the guest of honour in a giant horse mostly made of banana plants attended by 4 very large paraffin blowtorch’s 

7 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Thanks.  The whole thing seems odd because from what I read, the point of an International Driving Permit is to provide an English translation for non-English language licences.  Since Thai licences already have both Thai and English, what is the purpose?

The purpose of the IDP is to provide a translation into several languages English is only one of them. Many, not all, countries will accept a license (like the Thai one) that has English as part of the license without requiring an IDP. The U.K. accepts a full Thai license. It does not accept the temporary 2 year license and you can’t get an IDP using a temporary license.

1 hour ago, grain said:

sometimewoodworker, thank you very much indeed for that good info and photos, plus the vid. Very much appreciated.

@grain if you have any more questions just ask, we only spent 3 nights in KL & could easily have stayed 2 or 3 more.

I have spent about a month or 2 in Bali over the years and if you are looking to have a relaxed time it the place as long as you stay north of Denpasar. If you go south to Kuta or Legun you might as well stay in Australia with pubs that cater to 400 to 600 plus with pub crawls for hundreds being standard

On 12/4/2023 at 1:29 PM, grain said:

Will be flying BKK to Perth late Feb 2024, and will no doubt transit through KL airport, and I'm considering breaking the journey at KL and having approx 5 nights stopover. So I'm looking for some recommendations for parts of KL to stay in and suitable hotels in those areas. I'll be with Thai wife, we're not backpackers nor are we 5-star, guess we're medium budget. Not into shopping, pubs or clubs, or fine dining. We'd like to be in an area with lots of character, and some nearby attractions, close to public transport, we like local food, night markets. As for hotels, I guess 3 star, a pool would be nice but not essential, AC of course, clean, and not noisy. Breakfast included would be OK but not essential as we can eat outside. So any ideas for me?

We have just come back from KL having stopped on the way back from Singapore.

for an extremely easy transfer from the airport to central KL we used https://www.kliaekspres.com/products-fares/vip-service/ for about RM 210 for 2 people, it was extremely fast and convenient, you get collected at baggage reclaim then door to door porter services using the KLIA express with a limousine van in central KL. it’s a bit more expensive but a luxury transfer.

We stayed in Le Apple Boutique Hotel Bukit Bintang at about 2,000 baht a night, the room was small, the shower huge, 10 seconds walk to breakfast, view from the hotel.

2 minutes to lunch,

10 minutes to Jalan Alor 

walking distance to the aquarium

and petronas towers

49 minutes ago, bluejets said:

 

One could go that way but the cost difference is massive.

That is an incorrect statement. I have a design, copied from a Nepalese builder that is around ฿15,000 for the deluxe version, probably under ฿10,000 for a smaller one.

You are probably basing your assumption of cost on the use of vacuum tube versions that are required in higher latitudes and are north of ฿60,000.

We are in a latitude where a far more simple, probable un-pumped, setup can do an adequate job.

9 hours ago, Sigma6 said:

I think it’s fair to assume if the OP has gone through the process of getting a yellow house book and pink card, he wouldn’t be asking this question 👍 

Not necessarily, the possession  of a pink card/yellow book doesn’t grant any knowledge of where they are, and are not, accepted. The acceptance is variable and not known until tried.

CyberPower UPS is value for money and quite a bit cheaper than APC. They also have a two-year on-site guarantee I’ve had technicians come out to my house in the middle of nowhere twice. This was for battery failures. However, replacing the battery is really quite simple and remarkably inexpensive, Batteries are about 175~ 250 baht for one and you need two for the UPS 

this is the one approved by my cat for keeping her router powered and warm, it also powers the TV

This is another in the range, you can drop in price for lower power

and then this gets rather more expensive but powers the security system and several computers 

AFIK all cyberpower UPS offerings can shut down your computer if the computer is windows, the shutdown may also work on Mac, I have never configured it so can’t comment on the functionality but it is in the SW.

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

No tank, no pump. So for us it works. There's something to be said for simplicity at times.

I agree that sometimes simplicity is good, however our tanks and plumbing means that we can virtually never be unable to get water. It would have to be over a month of the village water being cut. We also are always able to shower. It would have to be several days of power-cut to exhaust the ready-use tank in the roof. So the one downside is that the roof tank isn’t sun warmed, but we could add a tank on a flat roof we have and connect the already installed warm water plumbing.

I would be far more likely to get round to making a passive solar heated system, I already have a design and some of the plumbing, it is just my supply of rountuits has never got high enough to be top priority.

All in all the benefits of my setup vastly outweigh the single downside.

16 hours ago, Silencer said:

I understand pre-mixed concrete bags (including the stones) are not available here. I'm not a concrete/cement expert so I would like a recommendation (Brand/type) for the best alternative cement bag mix to use to build a simple retaining wall, stacking individual unopened bags, as in the attached picture.

Since the picture has dry concrete (cement sand aggregate) and is significantly more expensive than the individual items you can’t find it here. The pictured wall while easy is much more expensive than the volume of concrete it contains.

That said you could just stack bags of cement they will harden but have not much structural integrity or strength, they will also be vastly more expensive than the idea of filling rice bags with dry mixed concrete.

14 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Listen up @CapraIbex. By the time you've weighed up all the possible options. Figured out the logistics. Done all the costings. Found a suitable person to do the installation (that's probably your biggest challenge) the cold spell will be over and you'll have forgotten all about it. 

 

I've been going through this every winter for the last 5 years. What I do now is to wait until the afternoon when the water and the air temp is at its peak, man up a bit and just get done with. I only take one shower a day when the weather is cool like this so it's no problem for me.

That may work for you and your plumbing. With us it doesn’t as the storage tank is in the roof so daily temperature changes have no noticeable effect

45 minutes ago, bluejets said:

 

 

I've seen these run directly from a rooftop solar panel as well.

No inverter, connect direct to the dc from the panel.

A 250 litre would keep 2 people happy for days.

That is certainly one reasonable way to power them. However a non electric version would probably be far more economical hear due to hot sun.

Just now, CapraIbex said:

Actually, I am not. It's just so bloody cold up here... Anyway, the S/E 8KW unit seems less demanding on my electrical supply and I hope the new water heater makes a difference in combating the cold. Thanks for caution.

If you get a stored water heater it will still use the same amount of power BUT it will run at a much lower amperage just for much longer, so 2.5mm sq cable is ok

25 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Besides the wiring capacity may also need to consider if your water pump has enough power, especially if your shower is on an upper floor. These tankless point of use water heaters need  a certain water pressure to operate properly.

While absolutely true, I can attest to the fact that they function with much lower pressure than is comfortable for a shower. 
 

I can throttle the pressure to a flow that is so low that it is virtually impossible to use it as a shower but can get 44C temperature.

16 minutes ago, CapraIbex said:

Which one did you use - STIEBEL ELTRON 8000W DHC 8EC or STIEBEL ELTRON 8000W DDC 8EC ?

I can virtually guarantee there is no functional difference, it is just the form factor

There is one point that hasn’t been suggested yet and it will very much depend on your plumbing and house layout.

you can add a stored water heater.

The benefits are significant if your system can accommodate one.

• the problem is that you can’t raise the water temperature from under 20C or lower to a comfortable 37C+
• if you raise the incoming water to 25~30C you have no problem.
• the stored water heater can be your primary heater or supplementary heater 
• the supplementary heater can be turned off for the 10 months it’s not required 

our build has incorporated a hot supply that has never been developed due to laziness but would suit the above easily,

though heating the incoming cold would be simpler, just put the 2 inline and Bob is your mother’s brother!

42 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

I believe 6kW will do it. 8 would be better as you can always turn down the heat.

I’m living between Udon and KK and our 6,000W heaters can give you a warm trickle, so absolutely don’t  waste money on a 6,000 and an 8,000 may be enough if you don’t want a very strong shower at 42C. You are likely to manage a normal power shower at 37C

8 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

This Christmas, I do hope that all of us will recall that WATER is also a solvent.

Of course it is.

However anyone who buys finishes understands (or should understand) that the vocabulary used is a subset of regular English with words can, and do,  have slightly different meanings (this is true for a vast number of areas where English has special meaning for a couple of examples look at legal terminology and spoken computing English )

So when talking about finishes there are 2 main categories of dilutable finishes solvent based and water based so in the vocabulary of finish water is not classed as a solvent. For paint, in general the terms are oil and water based paint, with oil including a variety of substances not usually classed as oil.

So while your statement is true for water general English it is false when talking about finishes 

On 12/11/2023 at 3:38 AM, croftrobin said:

 

 

You will probably be looking at a price north of 14,000 Baht

 

For the kind of service you are suggesting I think that a price north of 70,000 Baht is more accurate 

2 hours ago, itsari said:

I have a distribution box that will not accept the RCD I recently bought . Will not accept even all the distribution breakers are off . 

I am thinking that there is a fault in the bar holding the breakers .

The distribution box is made by  Schneider whom I have tried to ask for advise but without a reply.

Any help would be appreciated ,

I have tried a second RCD that I have and that was the same result .

 

It is very likely that you need an actual electrician who has the tools and knowledge to sort out your system.