canopy

we followed PEAs requirements, up to 100 meters 100A one phase, 35mm2 copper

Have you noticed this size does not agree by a long shot with what has been calculated here for the same parameters?

Does anyone have any rel life experience in Thailand putting mains electricity cables under ground to the house?

Yes, I did this recently and am very happy with it.

To avoid ugly cables running across the property

Not only are the lines, poles, and rigging an eyesore, but they also get in the way of landscaping. I come from an area outside Thailand where underground services are standard so these disadvantages are very noticeable to me and not doing it was basically unthinkable.

Anyone we have asked so far, just say, 'mai me'.

I designed and installed myself as no one from electricians to shops to PEA was familiar with proper processes or specifications and I wanted it done right. I received input here in a thread titled "minimal electricity setup". But to be brief, I buried NYY cable directly. No conduit is required in the trench as NYY is suitable for burial but you do need conduit on the up stands. NYY cable may not be available in many normal electrical shops but can be found abundantly in chinatown in bangkok. NYY is roughly double the price of aerial cable, but it should stay put as the work required to dig it out is immense compared to snipping a cable off a pole.

A few other suggestions. One is drop a suitable phone cable in while you are at it in case that might be needed in the future. Also on a run that far make sure you run a voltage drop calculator to size your cables properly.

You are lucky. In my village burning plastic is a daily ritual among villagers getting rid of their garbage. So there isn't just an occasional plastic fire, but many such fires going every day with virtually everyone doing it. Burning plastic is also the defacto standard way to start their cooking fires. Another favorite is they like to poison their yards and fields, then burn all the dead stuff sending poison into the atmosphere. The smokiest though is when someone makes charcoal in their yard that smolders out thick smoke 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I think a lot of people will find this state of affairs a shock compared to their home countries where if someone was stupid enough to do something like that the fire department would be called in within 5 minutes. I would not be surprised if all of this is just as illegal in Thailand and that calling the appropriate phone number would result in putting a stop to it. That's kind of the way it works here, as long as nobody cares which is the norm then things like this just go on.

My choice on a toilet vent setup would be a 1" going up 2 might be more than needed.

I have a doubt about this advice since it fails every vent sizing specification I am aware of and is a code violation where I come from. Making up specifications as you go (if that is in fact what this is) is likely what got the OP into this predicament in the first place. And I see the OP of all people went off and made up a design! Are you within the critical distance from trap to vent for the pipe size you are using? Are you aware venting below the roof wafts bad odor around and in the house and is not approved? My advice is get a plumbing book and read it. You will be filled with factual data from experts that takes everything into account.

Not just this thread in particular, but it is odd to see the eagerness of so many to make things up when the answer is a few clicks away. It's like being presented with a complex math problem and some people with weak math skills go calculating answers and posting them, frequently wrong when all they needed to do is punch in a search and the right answer is there waiting for them. It's never been easier to access information than now.

Perennial peanut sounds promising. Can the plant stay green through the dry time of year without watering? There are wild rabbits, pigs and small deer (เก้ง) around to name a few. Limiting access will be impractical, but I wouldn't mind if what gets eaten is manageable. Hunting anything that moves is rampant so the presence of such animals stays quite limited.

In a properly designed system, vents are placed no further than say 1-2 meters of every single fixture. Not doing so even once is a code violation in developed countries because it leads to drainage problems. Not only that, it is very important that vents are correctly sized and there are other considerations if one wishes it to work right. In my observations, it would be extremely unusual for a Thai builder to be aware of any such technical allowances that the rest of the world has worked out generations ago.

Yes, edible ground cover is a plus though not required. Good point about invasive type plants and I would not want that. It would be good to keep things contained to simple borders without too much trouble.

Any suggestions on a ground cover to prevent erosion on slopes? I have a shrub in mind already. My interest is to find something to complement the shrubs that stays somewhat low to the ground and does not need trimming, provides good coverage, and stays green year round without extra watering. For example, might rosemary work? Others?

This is really important guys and I am very happy to have your ideas and hope you can guide me with just a few more answers and offer other suggestions you may have. The shade cloth is a good idea and I think that would work well, but am even more interested in understanding bougainvillea as it would create a more scenic border. Is it correct bougainvillea can survive on its own without care here including making it through the dry season without water? Is there a certain variety to look for that is most suitable to a hedge or are they all pretty much the same? And what will it take to trim such a massive hedge to keep it contained?

What I am thinking of now is 2M concrete posts buried .5M meaning a 1.5M tall fence with barb wire on 20cm intervals. Plant bougainvillea on the inside of the fence. And furthermore move the fence 2M inside the perimeter of the property border so the bougainvillea has room to spread outside the fence without encroaching on neighbors property or roads. The concrete posts establishes the property line (within 2M accuracy in this case) and the barb wire offers the final discouragement to anyone thinking they can hack their way in with a machete at a weak spot in the bougainvillea.

I have a large rural property among forests and farms. Sometimes hunters, gatherers, and hill tribe people wander through taking stuff from the land like they do everywhere else. I want to grow things and restore other parts to an undisturbed state and hope a properly made fence will be enough to keep people from wandering in. Can you recommend a design--how high, what materials, etc? If it is too easy to just prop a piece of bamboo between barb wires to slip in then I doubt it would be effective. But on the other hand I also don't want it too overboard that looks like a prison if it doesn't have to be that way. There are plenty of other places around these people wander so just a reasonable deterrent should do. A lot of these people cannot read and pay no attention to signs. The other reason for the fence is to clearly define the property border as this tambon has no chanote nor ns3.

Food grade is not needed. I don't know how much the Makro option is humor though will check as a last resort so please keep 'em coming. I would think Thailand, land of plastic there would be many great places to buy.

Anyone know a place that carries these, preferably in Bangkok? I am looking for sizes in the 10-40mm range.

I need 5 gallon buckets or 20 liters or somewhere thereabouts with tight fitting lids. Not the buckets you find at Tesco or Home Pro but something more durable than their offerings and again lids that fit tight. Is there anywhere worth checking for such things?

Lol Gregb, there is no way that contraption is going to properly compact 50cm at a time. Transam knows how to do it right and it is a nice to have informed people around and I second his advice if you want a stable base. One other thing is you don't want any topsoil or soil with grass, roots, leaves, or organic matter in it.

It's hard not to notice the price hikes. I remember when Pizza Company offered a small pizza, garlic bread, wings, and 1/2 liter of pepsi for 109 baht and that included delivery. Guess what? Now just some wings are 109 baht. I stopped buying from them for a long time because I couldn't justify what they were doing with their prices. But now they have a buy 1 get 1 membership card which doesn't make things cheap, but at least it is palatable again.

Convenience is more important than cost--I don't mind spending more on MMS if it means it can sustain the camera longer. The AIS "Text Lover" package mentioned looks good and the True package would be even cheaper for my usage. So with either of them I could just put 1000 baht on the phone and it would be plenty for a number of months, automatically renewing the package and charging for going over. That's what I was looking for.

The camera specs can be seen at minisimcam.com.

I don't think software can be loaded onto the camera. The camera does have the option of sending the pictures by email instead of MMS. However, I like the instantaneous nature of MMS. If there is a security breach seconds count. I may use 100 MMS messages a month worst case, but normally just a fraction of that. It is always from one source (the camera) and to one destination (my phone).

Someone asked what I meant by a camera visa run. It means with AIS I am forced every month to go out and buy another MMS package. It's not a cost issue, it's the inconvenience. The camera has no display or keyboard. To change the package it must be unmounted, the sim taken out and moved to a phone, the new package entered, and then put the sim back in the camera and remount it. That's why it would be better to do this once a year or more rather than every single month.

Google for "Organic Fruit and Vegetables from the Tropics". This pdf has good information on this. Below is an excerpt. There is much more.

Coconut soil and weed management

Legumes used for ground-coverage, such as e.g. Pueraria

phaseoloides, Glycine wightii, Arachi Pintoi, Desmodium

ovalifolium, Mimosa invisa, Calopogonium muconoides

or Centrosema pubescens: these plants rapidly develop

a dense layer of foliage, and can be mulched. The thick

layer of mulching material, along with the shade provided

by the crop itself (especially by pueraria), is an effective

way of controlling weed growth by suppressing it.

If you want to use MMS for sending pictures and videos, forget it. I doesn't work, especially if you want to send it to another provider.

I am not sending video or going between providers so I can't comment on that, but using MMS for sending pictures from AIS to AIS has been quick and reliable in my experiences thus far. Just want to know if there is some way to avoid needing a "visa run" every month for the camera.

Sabai Dee Bor

That's Isaan. I can't say that I have heard that greeting used in Phetchabun so it may not be part of their Laos dialect though they would understand it.

Phetchabun is classified in some circles as northern Thailand and by others central Thailand. Technicalities aside, to me it seems most similar to Isaan. Phetchabun borders Isaan on the east (Chaiyaphum). Phetchabun people are primarily ethnic Laos. The food, particularly outside the city is Laos/Isaan style with slight differences. For instance unlike Isaan, people commonly eat beef and water buffalo, but on the other hand I haven't seen dancing shrimp. Laos language has a number of dialects. The language people speak in Phetchabun is referred to by themselves as Laos, not Isaan and has numerous differences from Isaan, though it is similar. For instance, in Isaan the word for "that's right" is "man you", but in Phetchabun it is simply "man" and the word "you" is never used here in any circumstances. The music and festivals in Phetchabun are also like you see in Isaan. People in Isaan refer to themselves as being Isaan, people in Phetchabun refer to themselves as being Laos. So almost same same, but different.

I currently use AIS. Their biggest package is 107 baht for 30 MMS messages. The package expires after one month so any unused messages are lost and a new package needs purchased.Do any of the other providers offer a more advantageous package? It would be nice to be able to purchase more than 30 at once plus not have to go through the hassle of buy and install a new package every month. This is for a surveillance camera by the way.

I understand you don't care so this post is for the benefit of others so please stop reading here, thank you.

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Please be aware the above ground is not safe. This is not a flame, but a safety warning. Improper grounds in Thailand are common and in some cases deadly which is in the news too often. A ground seems a simple thing, but in each case there are dozens of decisions made, each of which can be done the right way or the wrong way that one must be aware of. If you wish to have a safe ground, follow trusted practices and specifications and not contraptions made up arbitrarily by yourself, people on forums or local electricians.

I've got close to 100 fruit trees going with countless varieties of things, but one thing I have not found yet in Thailand is blueberries. It would be essential to get a low chill variety. And even then I am not totally sure the cool weather in the mountains where I am would necessarily meet the chill requirements year over year. None the less I wish to give that a shot as it is just a hobby. Anyone know if seeds or plants are sold anywhere or have additional information on suitability?Otherwise what I was thinking of doing was just taking a pack of frozen blueberries from Tesco and see what I can get by starting from that though wonder if they will be high chill or worse yet GE.

For a second there I thought this thread might be a discussion about the 'Safety Areas' idea that is new for this year. But thumbing through this thread seems to have shifted to other things. I went to the safety area in Phetchabun province and was wanting to compare notes but since the safety areas now appears to be off topic I guess I'll wait for next year to read more about the idea and some discussion about how they worked out. Rarely pays to read past the first post anymore, but I guess that's a topic for the suggestions forum.