beddhist

We visited and had to wait for the responsible person to arrive. He was either the big boss or an engineer.

Yes, I know about grid monitoring and that most inverters simply shut down when the grid does. The rest of the world functions like that...

Ok, so we eliminate point 5 and now where do I start? So much choice!

I think I'll make sure that the inverter can play with LiFePO4 batteries and when they have come down far enough we will buy them. Then they make 0 profit from us.

We have just spoken with PEA and were told that we must tell them if we install a solar system. Back feeding is not allowed, because it endangers the linesmen.

Thank you both for your input. More reading to do... ????

I have read somewhere that if the nearest IO is "too far" away you can also report to the nearest police station. Also, when the IOs are closed (weekends, holidays) that would be the only option to stay within the 24h.

A few days ago I went to the Suphanburi IO for my first ever 90 day report. I have never filled in any other notification and my wife came armed with authorisation from her father to do a TM30. I fully expected to have to pay a fine.

The most onerous thing I had to do was to figure out to take a paper number near the door and the lady at the counter was calling for the numbers in Thai only. She looked up my details on the computer and the paperwork was done within minutes.

I asked whether I can do it online from now on and she said the system didn't work even for her ...

????????

Hi All,

This is kind of a follow-up on this old topic:

@Crossy, do you mind updating us what you bought in the end?

Our story: we will soon start building our house in Central Thailand. We have a storage container on site and I bought 14 x 325W Jinko panels and installed them on top of it. I have been looking everywhere for a suitable inverter, but every one I looked at didn't quite fit the bill. One of the problems is that you can slice and dice a 17-panel array only two ways: 7x2 and 2x7, unless you have an inverter with two inputs (reasonably common, it seems).

A little detail on the panels:

ModuleTypeJKM325PP-72        STC NOCT
MaximumPower(Pmax)         325Wp  241Wp
MaximumPowerVoltage(Vmp)  37.6V  35.0V
MaximumPowerCurrent(Imp)  8.66A  6.89A
Open-circuitVoltage(Voc)   46.7V  43.3V
Short-circuitCurrent(Isc)  9.10A  7.40A

I guess that makes the PV max. total about 4.5 kW

This is my wish list for the inverter:

1. Easy control whether export to grid or not.
2. Batteries optional (I may add them later)
3. Keeps going when the grid goes down during the day.
4. From a reputable manufacturer with a decent warranty
5. PEA approved

The only one that seems to tick all the boxes is this one, made in Thailand: Leonics Apollo S-219C ia

Nobody advertises them online and the only useful link seemed to be one to an event where the Leonics MD donated 2 of these, value 400 kB. That's about 5 times what I intended to spend.

Any and all advice welcome.

Thanks,

Peter.

Toot late, I took his word for it. I assumed the document in Thai posted at the beginning stated that, but I can't read Thai.

According to kamalabob2's post #15 it has to be single core. IIRC we paid 76B/m for 2.5 mm² aluminium. Amazingly, the day after we asked for the connection it was already done!

The Chinese have merely copied and perfected what the US has done for decades. For an insider view of how this works read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins.

Thanks, I will have a word with the builder. Maybe go to the source and see what they have.

Hi folks,

I found this topic just in time, as our builder wanted to go and buy standard cable to bury. He had never heard of NYY. (In town, mai mee, so an extra 160 km round trip to buy it).

On 9/1/2018 at 6:20 AM, Crossy said:

Whilst the trench is open drop in a run of 1¹/₄"  HDPE tube for the internet chaps to run their cable / fibre, keep it 6" or so away from the power cable (which should be in its own tube in case you need to replace it).

 

Excellent idea, but would this 2nd run at 15 cm above the power cable not be a little close to the surface?

Any idea where we can hire a Ditch Witch? I guess they are unknown here?

The builder wants to use PVC ducting. According to him, PE is not strong enough when the ground turns to slush in the wet season (I don't believe that, it withstands NZ winters with cows trampling on it.) and the joiners are made of steel and so rust away. (D we need joiners? How do we get a cable into a 30 m long duct? How do you get a draw string in?)

I think he wants to cut it into sections and then re-join them.

Sorry about so many questions at once. I think I will come up with a few more...

Thanks!

Peter.

Quote

No foreign currency exchange

The customer must agree never to exchange assets purchased from the Website for any foreign currency other than Thai Baht.  The customer must also guarantee that any digital asset the customer sells at the Website have never been involved in exchange with any foreign currency other than Thai Baht.

For national currency deposits the company will accept only Thai Baht; all deposits must involve only Thai Baht and no other foreign currencies. All Thai Baht deposits must originate within Thailand. Any deposits sent in other foreign currencies, or originating from outside Thailand, will be rejected and forfeited.

Source: https://bx.in.th/info/terms/

This is all BS, of course, but these are the rules imposed by the central bank. (For starters, most coins have been mined outside Thailand, so the mere existence of an exchange violates the rules.) On top of that, THB is here called a foreign currency.

On 11/27/2017 at 1:50 PM, Shiver said:

bx.in.th  That's a Bitcoin eXchange IN THailand.

Yes, but their terms state quite clearly that using them for currency conversion is illegal. However, if you are leaving then I can't see how they can enforce it.

Thank you for the useful tips, folks. I'm on my way to ordering one.

Regards,

Peter.

Thanks for those tips. I will take another look.

Visited two electrical supply stores today, one a very big one in Suphanburi and asked for this tool. Mai mee.

A quick search on Lazada turns up a bewildering array. I have never used one, apart from something similar to this: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/total-6-tht25616-wire-stripper-i111898955-s114505230.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.39.2e391167YjSGZt&search=1

Can the experts please help me identify a good one to buy? I will be wiring two houses shortly. I think my builder will be wiring up the big mains, so I will be dealing with all the lights, sockets, etc. I have done this before, in NZ, but had to use knife and side cutters back then.

I don't mind spending a bit more to get something that works and lasts.

Thanks in advance,

Peter.

I, too, found this interesting promotion when I stumbled into GH Singburi for the first time. As I have been following developments in solar tech I found this report by Greentechmedia, which they do every year: https://www2.greentechmedia.com/l/264512/2018-08-21/6fw2l/264512/64213/DNV_GL_2018_PV_Module_Reliability_Scorecard_Final_Report__1_.pdf

Jinko turns out to be one of only 4 companies that came out tops in their reports for all of the last 4 years.

It looks like the promo ends at the end of the month. I intend to buy some. Comes with a 25 year performance guarantee, if I understand the blurb correctly. As always, the question is: will they still be around then?

I looked at inverters and charge controllers on Lazada, but could find none with more than 1 year warranty from unknown or unnamed companies. I suspect it's all cheap Chinese.

Cheers,

Peter.

My understanding is that it is the responsibility of the "house master" to do the reporting, not that of the guest. In my case it's the father-in-law and for him to avoid travelling to Suphanburi he has to give someone else written authorisation to report on his behalf (yet another letter to write, rather than a form to fill...).

I've never heard of a tourist having been questioned on this subject. Until a few days ago I didn't even know this law existed and I've been coming here for many years now. In any case, the obligation to file is on you, not them. Also, I doubt that all this info on the arrival cards gets deciphered and keyed into a computer. If you are worried, I would pick a guest house and get them to put that on their arrival cards. It doesn't mean they have to stay there.

In 2008 or 2009 my wife sat her bike licence and with that was able to immediately obtain an IDP. Not that anybody ever asked to see it...

OK, but that has never stopped a good bureaucrat. I have a feeling Suphanburi will be a stickler for regulations. My wife thinks they are greedy. If we hadn't bought our land yet I would have chosen to buy a few km down the road in Chainat province or in Singburi. Plus they are only half the distance to travel.

Now that I have a TM47 for my 90 day reporting (thanks to @ubonjoe) and a TM30 is for reporting by my family, what is a TM28?

Got it, thanks!

'fraid knot! My wife rung them and explained what had happened and they said yes, they want the form and we now owe them 700B. I'm banking on them not remembering any of that. In any case, we are about to go on a trip, so I will truthfully report back on arrival.

@ steve73: Thanks for the clarification. I'm on a retirement visa. I didn't know I had to do the first 90-day report in person. What bits of paper do I need for that one?

The way I understand it now I had better get a TM30 done asap. I guess I can put on any date I want, so the 24h are complied with?

My wife does all the talking in the I/Os...