kloghead

Just saw this thread and wanted to comment. Azomite is def good stuff--I've used it for about 3 years now. Behn Meyer sent me a sample (5 kg) bag for free--I paid 0 baht for shipping through Thai Post--and still have about 1/4 of it left after all this time.

I can't remember the name of the guy I talked to at Behn Meyer but he was def a European and suggested the free sample before I even asked about buying any...

electau--thanks so much for the helpful suggestion. Why didn't I think of (doing) that?

"Thanks for the replies, amigos. I spent hours on the web yesterday researching this situation and my eyeballs are about to fall out "

Last month I sent queries to 'GardnerBender UK", "Cabletrix UK" and four others. Not one of them even replied. A fellow from "Alcopstore" (in the states) who sells "Alumiconn" connectors did reply but they have no connectors large enough. And I didn't find any Thai or SE Asia sources for what I need. Not even the outrageously expensive RS have a suitable product.

Maybe you can give me a name or two?

I wanted to use copper cables for the full run (235 meters from the road) but out here in the sticks the thieves will take it the night after it's installed. I know of 3 homes in my 'hood where this has happened in the past six months. Has anyone priced 16 mm2 copper cable lately?

Anyway, we ended up using the bronze connectors from the PEA--my sparky thinks they're brass. Treated the Al with NOTROX, painted the joins with ScotchKote, wrapped them with 3M '23' stretch tape followed by reg elec tape. Then closed everything with heat shrink tubing. I'll keep my fingers crossed and check the joins for corrosion in 6 months or so. Thanks kata for the heads-up...

And thanks to all you guys for the replies

OK guys, thanks for the answers. I should have asked my question a bit better--such as "can well-shielded telephone and coax cables be bundled in the same conduit with 1.5 mm2 power cables for about a 7 meter run without experiencing interference?"

It appears David006 thinks they can (unless I've misunderstood his reply) and longball, Crossy and kata disagree.

The RS catalog has some RG6 but it's 6500 baht for a 100 meter roll Everything from that company seems exorbitantly expensive...

RG6/U Surveillance and CCTV

RG6/U cable specifically designed for the use within surveillance and CCTV applications.

• 18awg solid bare copper conductor
  Foam polyethylene insulation
  Solid bare copper braid shield
  95% bare copper braid/shield coverage

I'll wait for some more info before I go any further...

Thanks again

edit: Pib, I missed your message as I was typing my reply. The circuit I had planned on bundling the TV and phone lines with will def have an mini-RCBO for just the reasons you mentioned.

Oh well, back to the drawing board...

The topic title pretty much sums up my query. I need to run one telephone line and one TV (coax) cable for about 7 meters inside PVC conduit that will also have a few 1.5mm2 cables. These cables will carry fairly low amperage--ceiling lights, light switches and one double plug receptacle. I reckon the load will be about 3-4 amps (5 amps max) in the selected conduit.

Do you guys think bundling these together for a (relatively) short distance will cause interference with the TV and 'phone functions?

Thanks

edit--the topic title should read : "Telephone and TV cables in same conduit as 1.5 mm2 cables"...

Thanks for the replies, amigos. I spent hours on the web yesterday researching this situation and my eyeballs are about to fall out . It seems electrolysis and galvanic corrosion are the bugaboos when joining AL-CU. Applying an oxygen cleaner (Penetrox, Notrox) to the aluminium and then filling the connector with an anti-oxidizing paste--don't know the name of that product, yet--is key to making a connection that will be safe and durable.

Crossy--I'm waiting on a reply from Cablectrix UK about their 'Klauke' connectors so maybe I'll have good news from them soon. Yesterday we made the join much the same as you suggested but wrapped some 3M '23' stretch tape (which I conveniently 'acquired' last time I was offshore) around the join and covered that with plain old elec tape. The sparky says that's the way they do it all the time here--no problems! We shall see...

I'm going to the local PEA office today and ask the manager if he knows anything about the connector I'm after.

Thanks again everyone for your replies

PS Did I spell 'aluminium' correctly? I'm a Yank and we call it 'aluminum'

I've searched this forum and can't find a relevant answer to my question...

I have 235 meters of 25 mm2 aluminium cable from the meter to my house (under construction). Last night someone stole the the final 20 meters to the consumer unit so I need to join another 20 meters to complete the run. My electrician seems to think splicing 16 mm2 copper cable to the aluminium will be OK but I'm not convinced he's correct.

I always thought joining dissimilar cable is a no-no... What do you sparkies think about this? Also, what type of joining device (sleeve, clamp, etc) should be used? I'm at a standstill right now so any quick answers are greatly appreciated. Thanks

That was fast! It appears the office is about 10 kilometers from the HomePro store. With the map you provided I should have no problem finding it.

Thank you sir...

I need to make a trip to the HomePro in Rayong this Friday and my 90-day reporting to immigration is due next Monday. Can any kind soul give me the approximate location of the Immi office?

I've tried calling the phone # for the Maptaphut branch but it seems out of order

That looks really sweet--something like I have in mind. What did that little baby cost you? Thanks

Check out this place for supplies/prices: http://www.klangfaifa.com/

The PEA will put your meter where all the others are unless you make alternate arrangements ($$$). One inch PE pipe will be OK for your 16 mm2 cables. Have you considered bundling a phone line with the electrics?

Maybe someone else can help you with question # 7...

HI canopy--I went down this road about 10 days ago. Check out the thread: http://www.thaivisa....c-cable-prices/

Listen to Crossy--he knows what he's talking about

I ended up with 35 mm2 aluminum cables x 215 meters long clamped into 16 mm2 copper cables x 20 meters long (at the PEA meter/knife switch end). The result was 227.8 V at the business end.

I joined the copper/aluminum cables with two bog-standard clamps (about 25 baht each) and doubled over the 16 mm2 copper cores to make them fit snugly into the grooves of the clamps. Dipped them in some 'Skotch-Kote' I had laying around, wrapped the connection with 'Skotch 23' stretch tape then finished the join with plain old electricians tape.

I did the connections myself and I ain't no sparky--so I'm sure you can also.

Hope this helps...

I hear ya Crossy. Today I went over to his place, checked out what appliances were on (constantly) and came up with 25A and ~7000 W. He still has no probs with an aluminium 25mm2 cable. Go figure...

Anyway, the PEA turned on my juice this afternoon so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks when the changs do their thing. Thanks for the replies--I DO appreciate it.

Crossy--you the man! I also retrieved a dozen or so calculators from Google but obviously couldn't find any that did metric (as yours does). My sparky here on Koh Chang today said a 35 mm core would be about a 9% drop

The guy next to me is drawing a helluva load because he's building two villas simultaneously and using heaps of power tools. He's on a single-phase 25 mm2 temporary line and said so far no probs. The PEA office here was closed today but I'll swing by there tomorrow and get their opinion. I def want to do this correctly the 1st time!

Here's what I got using the Doncaster calculator:

Phase: Single Phase

Power:10.35 kilowatts / 45 amps

Length: 235m

Core Size: 50 mm²

Voltage Drop: 10.58 volts {X 1.7 = 18 V}

Is this correct or did I muck it up

Thanks a bunch and I'll let you know what the outcome finally is. Also thanks to Pib and electau.

Crossy--yep I sure have but it's a bit inaccurate because all the calculators I've found have inputs in feet, 240 V (not 220), AWG and kcmil. Like this one:

http://www.csgnetwork.com/voltagedropcalc.html

If I could just convert 25 mm2 into AWG or kcmil size I'd be able to nail it. Or work backwards to get the correct size cable. Any suggestions? Thanks

PS Found a distributor in Bangkok that sells a Euro-brand cable (25 mm2 aluminium) for 12.75 per meter...

Thanks Pib--I've just called a few cable vendors I found on the Yellow Pages to try to get some idea of what the cost per meter should be. No luck so far so I guess my next calls will be to the usual suspects you mentioned. Gracias amigo.

Hi electau--the max amperage demand will never be more than 45--the average will be closer to 15-20. The two transformers are both single phase (don't know their KVA, sorry, but they seem to be the standard size for my area).

I found some online voltage drop conversion modules last night and reckon an aluminium core 25 mm2 cable is close to AWG 3 size. The conversion works out to a ~4.3 V drop over 235 meters @ 20 amps...

AWG 3 = 53 kcmil = 26.7 mm2...does this make sense to you? I couldn't find any conversion that worked using square mm cable size--only AWG.

Do you think an aluminium 25 mm2 cable is sufficient or should I go up or down one size?

PS The reasons I need to use aluminium are cost and the fact that several thefts of copper cable have occurred nearby my building site.

Thanks mate, I really appreciate your help.

Can't help with prices, but I've fixed the topic header.

Please be careful using Aluminium cable, you need at least one size bigger than copper to maintain your required volt drop and it is very important to use the correct termination process (you can't just bung it in the regular screw terminals).

Thanks Crossy. Your advice is appreciated. I have a 235 meter run from the utility pole (twin transformers) to my house. My neighbor installed 25mm2 aluminium cables and hasn't experienced any problems even with a load which is probably double what mine will be. Can you give me a link or a rough idea what the voltage drop would be in my case?

I've been quoted from 18 to 48 baht per meter for the same spec cable and don't understand why the big difference in prices. Thanks again.

I've been looking at meter-to-home cable and found a wide difference in prices. I need: single-phase, 25 mm2, aluminum core, 750 Volt, insulated and sheathed. It won't be buried so I don't need the NYY brand. What have some of you fellas found to be the cost per meter sold at builders supply/electric shops? Cheap-Charlie to top-of the-line quality...I'll welcome any and all answers.

I've searched on this forum (and others) all this morning and either missed the info I seek or it's just not here. Thanks

edit: I meant to type "elecTric" in the subject title

^^^^^ABSOLUTE RUBBISH^^^^^

While the landslide and flood did occur (a month ago yesterday) all the repairs were made weeks ago. A worker died when one unfinished bungalow collapsed--unfortunate in any case but certainly less than "a few deaths". The weather has been fine for 10 days--not a drop of rain. The landslide damage to the road (2 places only) has long been repaired. Many nice resorts have bargain prices.

Visit several websites--www.iamkohchang.com is a good start--and you'll have a plethora of choices.

Methinks the above poster has his own agenda...

Koh Chang is a national park and any modification to existing/natural waterways is very much against the law. What might be allowed in other areas is strictly forbidden on Koh Chang. Piling, building 'breakwaters' upstream, dumping large rocks in the river, etc will NOT be tolerated by the local authorities under any circumstances. I know of no faster way to get in serious trouble than altering the course of a klong (as quite a few individuals on Koh Chang have found out). I'm very surprised the wall was permitted to be installed in the 1st place.

As others have said, building a structure close to the outside bank of any waterway is a recipe for disaster. Moral of this story: Don't fukc with Mother Nature.

JFC--what I'm saying is that right now channel 103 is showing all the games that ASN is playing. Some games on 103 were broadcast live (same as ASN)...

BTW, my link to the TRUE/ASN NFL schedule on page 1 (post #14) works all the time, and rolls continuously, now showing 12 pages out to week 4.

Here it is again TRUE ASN NFL TV Schedule

Also some games on TrueSport 3, and an HD game! Scroll to page 13.

So it looks like two (2) Sunday afternoon games will be on TS3 each week.

From what I've seen so far--and what the True magazine schedule shows--ALL the NFL games shown on channel 108 (Plat package) will be shown numerous times during the week on channel 103 (Gold package).

So...if not seeing the live games isn't a problem then there's really no need to pay for the Platinum package. Don't know if this situation will continue throughout the season but I haven't upgraded to the Plat package just yet...

The issue Vietnam vets is complex. I am not sure if the authorities and doctors really understand how the war really affected these guys.

Should they have sympathy or contempt?

I personally know a few who still have flash backs and start screaming as if they were still in the middle of battle.

And of course a lot of invented symptoms.

I guess losing a war against a small country when you are a huge country, would affect anyone ?

If you were less geographically challenged, you may realise that VN has a much larger population than Australia. On the other hand, we are in good company. In recent history, Viet Nam has fought wars with France, the US and it's allies, and China - and came out on top in every one. Tough little buggers.

OzMick--don't pay any attention to this troll. He only posted that to get a rise out of someone. Prick...

edit: kirkinpattaya--good one mate. His screen name says it all. I pity the fool...

The issue Vietnam vets is complex. I am not sure if the authorities and doctors really understand how the war really affected these guys.

Should they have sympathy or contempt?

I personally know a few who still have flash backs and start screaming as if they were still in the middle of battle.

And of course a lot of invented symptoms.

I guess losing a war against a small country when you are a huge country, would affect anyone ?

If you were less geographically challenged, you may realise that VN has a much larger population than Australia. On the other hand, we are in good company. In recent history, Viet Nam has fought wars with France, the US and it's allies, and China - and came out on top in every one. Tough little buggers.

OzMick--don't pay any attention to this troll. He only posted that to get a rise out of someone. Prick...

edit: kirkin pattaya--good comeback mate. This wanke_rs screen name says it all. I pity the fool...