Water Pump problem. DIY? Meh. Why bother?

[snowgard]

On 1/24/2020 at 1:35 PM, SiSePuede419 said:

I'm an adult now with a real job. Painters tend to be stupid.

Listen like a lot of people will call you a arrogant a*hole!!!

And I am sure they are right!!!
 

[DJ54]

Luckily in-law does electrical and plumbing and a excellent work

sometimes he doesn’t clean up his food plates but other than that

and cheap... I pay more because if he’s nearby he’ll come get it done.

 

A lot better than me doing it and I can work on somethings and others well... I’m US replacing the water inlet for washing machine. 

Short pipe joins basically in middle of wal.... it broke and I said now you’ve got a mess... went to hardware store bought a lot of parts

becaue they’d soon and I wasn’t going back and forth..

[Classic Ray]

I find the materials, especially plumbing, such low quality that it’s quite dangerous to DIY, things always collapsing, stripping, leaking. 
 

Since having to explain what an earth wire was for to an “electrician”,  I do most of that myself as well. But found a good guy to install A/C units, no way I wanted to hang out of windows.

 

Know your limitations and don’t expect too much quality from local craftsmen. You can judge them by what tools they bring and how much they have to borrow from you!

[Sydebolle]

Well, the labour on this pump is also not worth more than Baht 150. Earlier posters already referred to the fact, that you have to compare apples with apples.

I run Grundfos Scala 2 pumps everywhere; never ever had a failure, is water cooled, features adjustable power and is extremely quiet. 

It really depends, what exactly you need, not everybody needs a brand new Toyota SUV to get from A to B ???? 

[SiSePuede419]

6 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Plus some people actually take pride in their work and learning the skills. Sure you can pay a local 150 baht and it will be half done, but you can also do it yourself, acquire the skill set, and be covered the rest of your life.

 

Sorry OP, you took the easiest way out and couldnt help yourself bragging about it.

 

You're not counting the cost of the tools.  Do you gamble at casinos often?  Show me the math. It's not in your favor. ✓

[SiSePuede419]

7 hours ago, giddyup said:

Had a couple of doofuses install a shower curtain rail, they cracked every tile they drilled because they used a big blunt hammer drill. A job I now wished I'd done myself.

Ah, so what?  Tile is cheap.  Labor is cheap.  If they break it they fix it for free.

 

Listen, I built my own home in America. 

 

Everything. 

 

Didn't hire a single contractor, except a guy with a bulldozer who leveled the area prior to construction.  

 

Design, foundation, plumbing, electrical, interior finish, exterior finish, stucco, painting, roof, windows, doors, bond beans, walls, flooring, solar system, wind generator, fence, shed, driveway, landscaping.

 

Only hired day laborers @ $10/hour to help out.

 

I even dug a 4' deep trench for the drainage with two Mexican jornoleros.

 

Dude. 

 

I Guarantee you NOBODY here has done this, except me. ✓

 

Not even professional contractors.

 

No brag, just facts.  Most contractors I met live in trailers ("manufactued housing") because they are too busy working and most ain't got a pot to <deleted> in because alcoholic and or drugs.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by SiSePuede419

[impulse]

On 1/24/2020 at 12:20 AM, SiSePuede419 said:

Grundfos is from Denmark, the largest pump manufacturer in the world.  But only a 2 year warranty.  Whaaaaaaat.

 

The Japanese are famous for copying and improving the quality.

 

Got a 8500B Hitachi pump nearby, 20 minute drive with a 5 year warranty.

 

5 year vs 2 year.  The Japanese aren't stupid.  They're not going to lose money on 99% of the units by offering a warranty.

 

That means it's more reliable and higher quality than the Danish leader

 

Look closely at that warranty and you'll see it covers failures due to manufacturing defects.  It doesn't cover failures due to wear, inclement well conditions, installation problems, power quality issues, or the other 99% of the things that are going to kill your pump eventually.

 

Grundfos, Franklin and Hitachi all make a great product.  I sold some of them for decades, bought all 3 for various jobs in my career, and competed with the others.  In Thailand, the big difference is who they chose for their distribution network, their service (with respect to inventory levels, delivery, etc), and how much they gouge the Thai customers.

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by impulse

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Ah, so what?  Tile is cheap.  Labor is cheap.  If they break it they fix it for free.

 

No they don't, they shrug their shoulders and walk away. If you actually live in Thailand you'd know the Thais rarely accept blame for their actions. My point has nothing to do with the price of tiles, but that sometimes it's better to do the job yourself, rather than risk incompetent workmen. Get it?

[bkkcanuck8]

4 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

 

You're not counting the cost of the tools.  Do you gamble at casinos often?  Show me the math. It's not in your favor. ✓

good tools will last a lifetime... (though electrical versions may not last as long).

Edited January 25, 2020 by bkkcanuck8

[Sterling]

I dont mean to hijack the thread but does Thai Immigration conside DIY "working in Thailand"?

 

I cant find the post but I recall another expat said he had been doing some work outside his house for a day or two (clearing brush or something) and he got a visit from Immigration saying he had been reported for doing labor without a work permit.

 

I dont think anything came of it, but curious if any of the avid DIY'ers have experience the same thing?

[bkkcanuck8]

13 minutes ago, Sterling said:

I dont mean to hijack the thread but does Thai Immigration conside DIY "working in Thailand"?

 

I cant find the post but I recall another expat said he had been doing some work outside his house for a day or two (clearing brush or something) and he got a visit from Immigration saying he had been reported for doing labor without a work permit.

 

I dont think anything came of it, but curious if any of the avid DIY'ers have experience the same thing?

Thai immigration does not generally consider DIY as working in Thailand (thought it could be covered as pretty much anything if they did want to interpret it that way).  DIY for your own residence where that residence is not used as a business for your wife... is pretty safe.

[Fred white]

10 hours ago, Lee4Life said:

I built my own computer desk, I spent days looking for a decent desk for a dual screen setup, the best I could find still had a press-board top. The one I built looks good, cost a fraction of the cost and will be having grand-kids when the other one is long gone.

   I built my own bunk beds, the bunk beds available where I live are junk and the beds available in other places are outrageously priced and don't include shipping,

          I replace my own water pumps, I don't have anyone available who will do a decent job, besides...I rather enjoy the work as I am not one to sit around.

          You asked the question, did you really even expect an answer? Or were you just trolling?

 

              

 

The problem I have with wood working is finding good material I built a cabinet to hold our gas cylinder in and put a microwave on top of bought the material from mega home couple of months later I noticed saw dust and small holes in the wood it was infested with some kind of termite

[Fred white]

6 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Ah, so what?  Tile is cheap.  Labor is cheap.  If they break it they fix it for free.

 

Listen, I built my own home in America. 

 

Everything. 

 

Didn't hire a single contractor, except a guy with a bulldozer who leveled the area prior to construction.  

 

Design, foundation, plumbing, electrical, interior finish, exterior finish, stucco, painting, roof, windows, doors, bond beans, walls, flooring, solar system, wind generator, fence, shed, driveway, landscaping.

 

Only hired day laborers @ $10/hour to help out.

 

I even dug a 4' deep trench for the drainage with two Mexican jornoleros.

 

Dude. 

 

I Guarantee you NOBODY here has done this, except me. ✓

 

Not even professional contractors.

 

No brag, just facts.  Most contractors I met live in trailers ("manufactued housing") because they are too busy working and most ain't got a pot to <deleted> in because alcoholic and or drugs.

 

Wrong me and my wife built our house in the US we didn't hire labor I did pay for a septic tank system. I worked for a contractor when I got out of the military he had a nice house wasn't a druggie or alcoholic of course our house didn't have a bond bean in it

Edited January 25, 2020 by Fred white
Added

[Fred white]

7 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

 

You're not counting the cost of the tools.  Do you gamble at casinos often?  Show me the math. It's not in your favor. ✓

Depends on how much you are going to do only 1 small job then no it's not worth it but even then it depends on what kind of tools your buying basic hand tools are not that expensive and if you live here full time you should at least have a few tools

[Dustdevil]

13 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

I do everything myself and even built my own house which wasnt the plan but because the idiots stuffed the foundations i bought an excavator, destroyed it and started again and did it myself and did the lot because quite frankly everyone is out to get rich for doing things idiots can do.

Got my own machines like cnc, lathes, etc... Learnt years ago if you wana do things right, do it yourself but if your an idiot pay an idiot to do it????

Infact i learnt more about how to do diy everything since living in Thailand. I was a signwriter with basic skills a long time ago but now basically a qualified, mechanic, machinist, welder, builder, electritian, etc..

I have no life though????

Can't expect everybody to do all that stuff and have all those types of skills. Some of us are, for example,  academics in the humanities, a different set of skills that takes many years of study and work. And some of us hate doing that kind of machinist/welder/builder/electrician work. We respect those who do it, of course, just as I respect farmers, because I'm not about to go slaughtering cows and raising vegetables.

Edited January 25, 2020 by Dustdevil

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Fred white said:

The problem I have with wood working is finding good material I built a cabinet to hold our gas cylinder in and put a microwave on top of bought the material from mega home couple of months later I noticed saw dust and small holes in the wood it was infested with some kind of termite

That is not so much the material as the maker lacking knowledge. All wood will need to be treated with Chandrite. No wood, even most modern growth teak, is completely resistant to termites and powder post Beatles without treatment. Pressure treated wood is virtually unknown here so everything you buy that is in permanent contact with the house structure has to be treated.

[Nanaplaza666]

On 1/24/2020 at 1:35 PM, SiSePuede419 said:

Who cares.  I'm not climbing up a ladder and risk injury to get paint all over myself and clothing and inhaling paint fumes.  I did that as a child to make spending money.

 

I'm an adult now with a real job. Painters tend to be stupid.

 

By the way, do you use Zero VOC paint?

 

Hey if you enjoy inhaling toxic fumes in order to save 150B, knock yourself out.  Literally. ????

Wow , you can let someone else do a job for you that you are to lazy to do yourself , and call painters stupid . You must be looking for your broomstick that you lost at some point ???? wonder where that could be ????????????

[Lee4Life]

18 hours ago, Fred white said:

The problem I have with wood working is finding good material I built a cabinet to hold our gas cylinder in and put a microwave on top of bought the material from mega home couple of months later I noticed saw dust and small holes in the wood it was infested with some kind of termite

I have had the same problem before, it is actually a very small insect that looks somewhat like a bee, it burrows into the wood and lays it's eggs. I have been trying to get rid of them in a couple of doors. I think the trick might be getting a good thick urethane or other coating on the wood, like termite resistant stain as sometimewoodworker stated. The desk I made has a steel frame with rubber tree wood for the surfaces. One of the locals told me it is water proof.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Lee4Life

[sometimewoodworker]

9 minutes ago, Lee4Life said:

The desk I made has a steel frame with rubber tree wood for the surfaces. One of the locals told me it is water proof.

He lied, Rubberwood is not water proof and both powder post beetle grubs and termites love it 

 

11 minutes ago, Lee4Life said:

I have been trying to get rid of them in a couple of doors. I think the trick might be getting a good thick urethane or other coating on the wood,

That’s not going to work. The only way to exterminate them is to heat the doors in a wood kiln for the correct time and temperature. Nothing else will kill them off.

 

FWIW the Chanderite I suggest is not a stain. 

[Lee4Life]

10 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

He lied, Rubberwood is not water proof and both powder post beetle grubs and termites love it 

 

That’s not going to work. The only way to exterminate them is to heat the doors in a wood kiln for the correct time and temperature. Nothing else will kill them off.

 

FWIW the Chanderite I suggest is not a stain. 

What I was referring to is not exactly a stain but a wood preservative they make which guards against termites and fungi (Chaindrite1)  when applied it appears similar to stain.

[mikeoffenbach]

I hope you checked that Hitachi is providing a 3-conductor power-cable with their pumps. A pump should be grounded. Did you check whether your the outlet is properly connected to earth? Did your "engineer" perform a test, to conclude whether the safety relay in your consumer unit is switching off in case of fault current resp. did he measure the resistance between metal parts of the pump and ground? 

Cheers

Mike