doglover

If you would open it up to the "general sparky populace" it would surely be more entertaining, and possibly even more informative. Even very skilled professionals can sometimes gain something from an apprentices enquiring mind.

^{Personally, I would go with lamp between L-E and that's it. As the cord end with N-E hard wired connection could still end up being a short if a receptacle has reversed polarity, even though in Negita43's case it is there will not be if his receptacle tester is functioning properly. It would be easier Negita43 if you forget about having to hardwire any terminals together. You need only the lamp tester that Crossy told you how to build.}

^{You must also check a circuit with the lamp tester from each consumer unit (CU or DB for distribution board - same thing). If the communication was correct between you and your electrician and the feed for your 2nd CU has been spliced from the mains prior to it entering the 1st CU that means the 2nd CU has no RCD protection, as bankruatsteve mentioned. When you perform the lamp test L-E on a circuit from your 2nd CU and it trips the RCBO or main CB (with the RCD activated (switched to the off position in your case - bizarre) then there is a miscommunication between you and your electrician. It could be that he has fed the 2nd CU's main breaker from the 1st CU's RCBO? Could it be leakage current will trip the main CB if fed from the 1st CU and will trip the RCBO if the circuit is fed from the 2nd CU?}

^{Not sure why you would have a main CB and then the main RCBO for a reason other than to offer the 2nd CU RCD protection. But I am only a Canadian and we only have an RCD (we call it a GFCI) on the receptacle in the bathroom. So my RCD knowledge is lacking. I know in the CU in my house (yeah ok, my wifes' house) there is only the main RCBO and no main CB. Let us know what happens with lamp test with 1 circuit from each CU.}

^^^^

Of course this just verifies basic operation of RCBO and a connection to ground. It does not compare to professional verification with professional equipment. If you want to go deeper with it I think you know who you might want to PM (not me, I only have a 15W lamp and a cheap Chinese meter).

Thanks you guys - I am an electricity layman and I appreciate all your practical help that takes account of my Laymaness!!! So what do I do I can assure you that as far as I can ascertain every outlet is correctly wired. How can I say this well 1. I told the sparks that it was imperative that he followed the correct colour wiring procedures. 2. I bought an extension plug (4 sockets) from homepro and it has two lights on it red and green if the red one lights the plug (as far as I can ascertain has reversed polarity in the green one lights all OK if both light NO Earth I'm pretty sure that this crude tester works because he wired one socket the wrong way and the light showed red I told him to rewire it and he did and the light showed green. I have tested every socket with this lead and they all showed green. So I am reasonably confident there is not reversed neutral live in the system. All I want to do is to check that he has not bypassed the RCBO and to be honest after yesterdays trip and todays test (which I accept was dangerous - but isn't that why we have RCD's RCBO's etc) I think it is working. If you have any other suggestions as to what I can do please let me know (and unless you instruct me otherwise I will when I have time between fitting the bathrooms and kitchens and curtains redo the trip test (but I have do be honest i don't understand how a lamp plugged in at the same time will give us more info). Once again everybody thank you for your help - you are all invited to the housewarming - NO PUN INTENDED

The idea of the lamp is not to provide more info but to provide more safety. A shorted circuit could lead to explosive power causing burns and/or blindness. So this should be left to the professionals. When using the lamp there is a resistive load which will simply light up and stay lit if rcd and/or mcb does not function as expected (tripping the circuit). If you short the circuit with no resistance (like with a cord end that has the live and neutral hardwired together, or the neutral and earth hardwired in the cord end and reversed polarity in the receptacle) and the rcd and/or mcb does not function as expected) you could have the 'nasty scenario'.

This is certainly not a shot at Forkinhades, as he knows what he is doing. But laymen could make an error with the process and suffer sever consequences is all.

I understand your lack of faith in simply pushing the test button to see the main breaker trip and feeling all is well. I would want further downstream testing as well for peace of mind.

So if you connect the lamp L-E in a receptacle with your RCBO actively protecting your installation it should trip immediately. Leave the light connected in receptacle. De-activate the RCD portion via the switch and re-energize the breaker. Lamp should light up and stay lit. Unplug light from receptacle. Be sure to re-activate the RCD portion of the RCBO!

You have now verified that that your RCBO is working and that your ground wire is also connected to earth, another good thing to feel sure of.

I hope this helps your dilemma from being lost in the technical crossfire. If it doesn't just keep asking.

Thanks for all the advice. Honda 250L it is.

I have only ridden scooters for several years and a Kawasaki Boss 175 for several months. I am set on buying a Honda 250 but unsure about picking the L or M version. Living in Issan and planning on taking in a lot of dirt back roads with hardpack and mud but also will spend a lot of time on the streets and highways. My plan is to buy one version or the other and purchase an extra set of complete wheels for quick wheel swaps. From what I have read the M version suspension is firmer and lower than the L which would be a negative when enjoying the dirt. I certainly prefer the look of the M over the L.

1) Should I go with the M or the L considering what has been mentioned?

2) How long does it take to swap complete wheel sets?

3) Can the suspension be easily adjusted from supermoto to dirtbike mode and vice versa or am I stuck with set parameters?

4) As a novice should I just stick with the L and ride the stock dual sport tires?

Thanks for your input.

Great so that means that my builders electrician can find all the breakers I need locally. One more question. Since my CU is going to be above the refrigerator in my kitchen I wanted to choose a better looking CU Box. I noticed that Schneider does have two different types. One square gray metal and the other a sleeker white. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1361502018.407627.jpg Am I correct that everything that I want to do can be done with the white box? Thanks

Make sure you purchase a CU that has a few more breaker slots than you require. At some point in the future you may need the space.

*My last post wasn't a jab at you Mike45. Just poking fun at your electrician*

If it's any help, his is my Square D 63A RCBO that fit into the Main Circuit Breaker location of the CU

june 2012 (9).JPG

........hey wait a minute! How come my CU only has 4 ground wires and his CU has enough ground wires to wire a house?

Since my CU is going to be above the refrigerator in my kitchen I wanted to choose a better looking CU Box.

Lol. Only in Thailand.

I'm not sure where to find it but I am curious. Is it a wooden or pvc door that you want to install the lock in? I have pvc sliders I would like to beef up security on.

When I found out the electrician ran 2.5mm for the 6000W heater I went out an bought some 4mm.... which I aged in the shed for year. Before mustering up the gusto to climb up into the attic I tried a little experiment.

I ran the heater on max with the existing 2.5mm for 5 minutes and checked the water temp. I then ran the approx length (+4M) temporarily across the floor from panel to heater (don't worry, I read flagged the area with danger tape). Ran the heater on max for 5 minutes through the 4mm and checked the water temp. The same! Now I'm no engineer, but I was thinking there would be a difference. Even after the shower runs for 15 minutes on max on the 2.5mm the wires themselves do not feel any warmer than room temp.

So I aged the 4mm another year and then used it for the guesthouse shower. I am not endorsing breaking codes that are in place for very good reasons. But it was just too hard to climb up in the attic for a low level alert with a beer in my hand.

Nothing wrong with going with the biggest size heater your service allows. I would recommend it actually, I found my 6000W undersized at the peak of some cool seasons. But it would be a good idea to crank on a few of your biggest loads and perform a voltage check at a receptacle. Often in the evening at my place with two A/C units running and half the lights on I could be floating between 195 - 200 V. This will nose dive if I now crank on the biggest water heater. So I now have a routine of turning off all motor loads possible before showering..... until the PEA shows up at my doorstep to save me.....been waiting a couple years now.

And the next question is... When you are running that new big draw heater at max what is your voltage drop? Depending on the distribution system in your area the voltage drop could be big. If so, be sure to turn of you fancy new air con units and other motor loads when you shower. Except for the poor overheating water pump of course....

Thanks Khonwan. I have done some reading through all this and can understand why you would recommend the treatment. I have 2 healthy fish which have returned to the pond and one left in the hospital tank. The loner appears to have gill flukes and I still have to get to a fish shop and communicate that. I ran him through the ich treatment and bio-knock with the others but the gill flukes were unaffected, as expected.

^^^^^

Confirmed! Thanks for saving me alot of travel time!

Have to get a visa extension today on a TR visa. For kalasin area farang do we still have to go to Nakhon Phanom? Or is there somewhere closer to kalasin these days?

^^^^

never mind about the water change question, missed my chance to edit.

Guess if all your fish are sick then would be OK to add medicine to the Pond, change water every day for about 4 days adding 'Bio-Knock' each day, about 3 shots, then every other day for another 4 days, hope will clear everything..........

Lost 3 more fish today, have 4 left. I did a little reading on the net. Had no idea fish could get so many diseases. Seems mine have a few. Couldn't find bio-knock was sent home from the shop with a bag of salt, D-Bio and Super Ich (green malachite). As my fish seemed to be hanging on I put them in a mickey mouse hospital tank and water from the pond and treated with green malachite as it seemed the strongest and the fish look like hell. Lost my only koi, not sure if from the malachite or maybe he was sucking air too long the third time he jumped out of tank.

Cleaned out the pond and put the same plants back in and filled the pond with fresh well water. Added the rest of the bottle of malachite as I am trying to kill any nasties in the pond and the plants (I don't want to trash the plants). When to a different shop and found bio-knock. Added it to the hospital tank and the pond.

Is it ok to be treating them with bio-knock and the green malachite at the same time?

Can I add in the salt to the hospital tank as well for a triple hammer?

Am I supposed to do a 100% water change in the hospital tank daily and then add the drugs? Or just leave the water and keeping adding more drugs each day for 3 days?

^^^^

Ok, BioKnock. The pond is quite small. 12' long X 14" wide X 14" deep. So I'm thinking I could just add bioknock to the pond directly and then it could also knock off anything lurking in pond. The pond has plants though. Is this a good idea?

And BioG. What does it do?

Sounds like the fish have a fungal infection, caused by? I don't change the water regularly but leave the hose pipe to cascade into the small pond once a day, I have an overflow. When it gets hot the water can quickly become anaerobic, I assume you don't have too much algae in there? There is special sealant for aquariums/ponds, aqua putty I think. Acrylic paint probably isn't at the root of the problem but who knows what gunk is put in there?

Maybe I will take a picture of the black lionhead and take it to a fish shop for advice on possible fungal infection. The pond is attached to north side of my home and receives zero direct sun hence the water stays around 25 degrees right now. Algae growth just started it's new pond bloom maybe a week before the problems. The algae looks somewhat rusty, along with the green. The entire volume of pond water is filtered in 45-60 minutes and spills out from a tilted urn to drop about 16 inches into the pond. More aeration comes from a two port compressor.

I have recently constructed a new small pond and have moved the fish from the old pond that I had for a couple years. Every morning the fish are lively and hungry. But two mornings ago I went to see them as I do every morning and they were all laying on the bottom of the pond. I tried to get them going with a nudge and they all seem lazy and weak. They all seem slimier than usual. One of them is a black lionhead and looks likes he is covered in a film of grey to clear mucus.

The pond is constructed of block that is rendered with a type of mix that is supposed to be impermeable by water. The render was allowed to cure for a week. I had 3 layers of sandstone installed near the top end of the pond. Most of this is below the water level. I heavily painted it with 100% acrylic paint that was allowed to dry for 5 days. I filled the pond and allowed water to soak out chemicals for 1 week, changing the water 3 times. Cut up banana trees were thrown in for one of the soaks. Fresh water and plants were added. A day later the fish were introduced. They thrived for 3 weeks until they were found suddenly lethargic the morning as explained.

I am thinking if the acrylic paint was a problem that would have shown with dead fish earlier than 3 weeks. But in case the chemicals slowly leached and built up too toxic levels over the three weeks I changed the water today. The black lionhead still looks covered in mucus and fish are lazy. I did lose my weakest fish today with the water change. Stress of it pushed him a bit too far I suppose.

Any ideas?

^^^^

Grounding your appliances, I meant.

Unfortunately those little bagged ground wires only seem to protect manufacturers. I know better and not one of the bagged ground wires ended up in use in my house. I did set them aside with the intention of doing it tomorrow.... All to easy to justify to oneself that the RCD/RCBO will do it's job if called upon. Any of you 'electrical guys' ever get around to bonding every appliance with a two prong cord end your homes?

Is that a 5(15)A or a 15(45)A meter? If the latter, it should be sufficient unless your home has multiple heavy loads. What is the number for these low voltages? I was getting voltages as low as 160V at full meter load. I am 0.8km away from the undersized transformer. I contacted the PEA who showed up to check for themselves on my second plea for help. They confirmed the problem and were kind enough to change the tap setting on the secondary of the transformer to allow a higher starting voltage. Unfortunately, actually upgrading the transformer is out of the local offices hands. They passed on the info to the powers that be and maybe in a few years something will happen, and maybe not.

It is possible to purchase your own transformer should you be fortunate to be living near a high voltage line. The PEA or a private contractor can sell and install for you. This will cost a bit of baht however.

In the meantime try to only run 1 large load at a time if possible. If you have more than 1 hot water heater only use 1 at a time. Your hot water heater is likely your biggest load. It is important to turn off motor loads while showering as running motors at low voltage is bad for there health.

Lots of info in the DIY forum where this aught to be. You may want to request a MOD to move it there.

The 1000/500 baht payout is ridiculous, in my opinion. People trying to buy merit and face at the same time. This is the sort of thing that attracts those to become Monks that should not be there.

Thankfully, my wife makes the decisions on things like this for us as she is the more knowledgable in regards to Thai traditions. I assume in our village we are considered affluent money wise and if there were any money chasing monks they may have been rubbing their hands together when they pulled up to our house. We had 9 monks and we gave each monk 40 baht, food and hospitality. We both agree that monks should not be pursuing monkhood for money. And if they are, they came to the wrong house.

Very nice. What is the cost for 1 Cadweld kit (Thai version)?