Where to repair stand fan?

[Kerryd]

Sorry to drag this back on topic, I know how people like to get bickering with each other for pages and pages.

But I was wondering if the OP managed to find a place to get his fan fixed ? If so, perhaps he could share some details (location, quality of service, cost) ?

(One of my neighbours collects recyclable stuff and occasionally ends up with a fan or other appliance. She tries to get me to look at the stuff and I tell her to take it to the guy down the street but of course, that would cost money. Maybe more than she'd get selling it to the scrap dealer. Which is why she tries to get me to look at it instead. I usually don't mess with electrical appliances though. I'll wire in a circuit breaker or junction box and fix a wonky door bell chime, but I don't mess with electric motors,)

I realize that information isn't as exciting as the trolling/baiting that's been going on for the last couple of pages but (gasp) it might actually be useful for some people.

OK, back to the bickering !

[topt]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

But I was wondering if the OP managed to find a place to get his fan fixed ?

I was about to take it yesterday to the guy mentioned on 3rd road but thought I better just check it again before I do. Lo and behold after it doing the same I then jiggled (very technical.....) the power cord and it seemed to work normally.

Before anybody chimes in I am aware that I still need to have a proper look at it but sorry at this stage I don't have any details to share.

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, topt said:

I then jiggled (very technical.....) the power cord and it seemed to work normally.

If I recall it is a stand fan so unlikely to be a connection issue at the fan end, is the plug loose in the socket?

[topt]

7 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

If I recall it is a stand fan so unlikely to be a connection issue at the fan end, is the plug loose in the socket?

No. The sockets here are tighter than a ducks a**e.......

Sorry but don't understand the reasoning. More likely that where the wires go into the base something has changed - which I cannot get to without pulling the base apart and not even really looked to see how to do that.

[Kerryd]

16 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

If I recall it is a stand fan so unlikely to be a connection issue at the fan end, is the plug loose in the socket?

 

2 minutes ago, topt said:

No. The sockets here are tighter than a ducks a**e.......

Sorry but don't understand the reasoning. More likely that where the wires go into the base something has changed - which I cannot get to without pulling the base apart and not even really looked to see how to do that.

I know what jacko45 is talking about. A number of my junction boxes have loose connections. Some used to spark quite nastily when you plugged something in. Others were loose and you'd have to "jiggle" the plug in the socket in order to get it to work. 

I've fixed (or had fixed) most of those issues but just last night the overhead light/fan started acting up. It would suddenly blink out, back on, out again, on and then off. Did a little checking and the problem seems to be the light switch on the wall. Currently it's working but this morning I had to turn it off and on again 3 times before it settled down. Going to have to go to Somchai's hardware store down the block and get a new switch. Most likely the old one is worn out and cheaply made to begin with.

I just replaced the plastic "frame" and cover for the light switch for the bathroom light a couple weeks ago. It was old and brittle it seems and when you went to turn the switch on/off, it would get pushed back into the box and you'd have to try and fish it out (knowing there were live wires on the back of it). Not a hard repair or expensive, but another example of the cheap materials used to build a lot of things in Thailand. After a few years they start to show that cheapness by cracking and falling apart. I've already replaced probably 75% of the light switches in the house and a third of the junction box "sockets" and covers.

Another question, does the fan problem happen at all speeds or just on one setting ? For example, maybe you always have it on "2" and now it's not working but does it if you press 1 or 3 ? (I have 2 stand up fans, one on the patio in the "gym" and one in a window in the "den". I usually have the den fan on "2" and the "gym" fan on "3" when I use them. Rarely have them on any other setting.)

[jacko45k]

30 minutes ago, topt said:

No. The sockets here are tighter than a ducks a**e.......

Sorry but don't understand the reasoning. More likely that where the wires go into the base something has changed - which I cannot get to without pulling the base apart and not even really looked to see how to do that.

I have a stand fan at the side of me spinning now and actually put it down on it's side. Just couldn't see how a bit of jiggling of the trailing wire would have much effect in the base. But you may be on the right track, as I have fixed numerous things by jiggling and narrowing down where the issue is!  It could even be a broken core in  the cable itself.

Old sockets can be the problem too. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by jacko45k

[petermik]

19 hours ago, topt said:

I was about to take it yesterday to the guy mentioned on 3rd road but thought I better just check it again before I do. Lo and behold after it doing the same I then jiggled (very technical.....) the power cord and it seemed to work normally.

Before anybody chimes in I am aware that I still need to have a proper look at it but sorry at this stage I don't have any details to share.

I had a similar issue some time ago...the cable in the moulded  plug was either frayed or nearly broken..simple solution was to cut the first couple of inches off and fit a new plug (15 baht) and all was well again

[Leaver]

On 6/7/2020 at 4:37 AM, petermik said:

Not from the said gentleman...not all are useless....coming from an engineering background I do have some knowledge of what is a good job and what is not

Care to put a percentage on good tradesmen to bad here? 

 

I am sure you are aware tertiary education in the trades is practically non-existent here.  

[jacko45k]

7 minutes ago, Leaver said:

Care to put a percentage on good tradesmen to bad here? 

 

One or two in 25. Those who think they are good tradesmen despite being inept... all of the rest!

[Leaver]

6 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

One or two in 25. Those who think they are good tradesmen despite being inept... all of the rest!

So, 8% good, the rest hopeless. 

 

When it comes to electricity, best hope you get one of the 8%.  ????

[mran66]

On 6/8/2020 at 8:22 AM, topt said:

No. The sockets here are tighter than a ducks a**e.......

Sorry but don't understand the reasoning. More likely that where the wires go into the base something has changed - which I cannot get to without pulling the base apart and not even really looked to see how to do that.

in addition to the capacitors dying, I've also had twice problem with cable with hatari floor fan. First time one of the wires inside the cable was broken just next to the socket, and cutting few cm off the cable and replacing socket fixed it. Year or two later the same cable was cut at the point where it goes inside the base. Just opened the screws and the bottom plate gets out, cut a bit off the cable and put back. Seems the cables are weak and get broken if move the fan.

[mran66]

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

One or two in 25. Those who think they are good tradesmen despite being inept... all of the rest!

...less than that in my experience...those are rare exceptions...and those exceptions prove the rule that Thai tradesmen are really not good!

[Pilotman]

I can't believe that there have been 6 full pages and 72 posts about repairing a fan.  Some people here really do need to get a life. The damn things are so cheap; just buy another one.  

[quake]

74 now.

Yes boss 

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, Leaver said:

So, 8% good, the rest hopeless. 

 

When it comes to electricity, best hope you get one of the 8%.  ????

When it comes to electrics I can do a good bit myself, but I shirk at some jobs where hard effort is involved. I had a problem with wall lights and was stumped as the wires went into concrete pillars. The guys my Mrs found worried me to death and needed my help to over-ride the photocell, but lo and behold, had resolved the problem  after an hour or two. 

[topt]

11 hours ago, Pilotman said:

The damn things are so cheap; just buy another one.

Go back and read my, quite short, original post 

[Pilotman]

1 hour ago, topt said:

Go back and read my, quite short, original post 

I did, but it has kind of got out of hand don't you think? 

[Kerryd]

2 hours ago, Pilotman said:

I did, but it has kind of got out of hand don't you think? 

Nah. It's the 5 pages of bickering and handbag swinging that was out of hand. Remove that and you'd maybe have a page of actual useful info !

[Kerryd]

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

When it comes to electrics I can do a good bit myself, but I shirk at some jobs where hard effort is involved. I had a problem with wall lights and was stumped as the wires went into concrete pillars. The guys my Mrs found worried me to death and needed my help to over-ride the photocell, but lo and behold, had resolved the problem  after an hour or two. 

Yeah, I just changed that wonky light switch yesterday during the rainstorm. I have the breakers marked so I know which one controls the lights. Took all of 3 minutes to change the switch (which cost a whole 20 baht as it turns out). Bought an extra and put it in my "parts" locker. Hardest part was balancing a flashlight on my shoulder so I could see the screws and then remember to not touch the wires after I turned the breaker on (to test if the new switch was working).

But when the power to my doorbell crapped out, I had "a guy" come in. Same thing - no idea where the wires went to inside the cement "gate post" or where they came out inside the house. Ended up having to run a new wire (using an old hole in the roof where a satellite coax cable used to run). 
The "guy" figured that it was probably ants chewing through the insulation of the old wires, somewhere underneath the patio, that was causing the problem.

(The "guy" was a bit impressed when I opened my "tool" locker and he saw I had way more stuff than he did. I could do more stuff myself, and often do, but when it comes to big electrical or roofing repairs I usually get someone else to do it.)

That is one thing I miss from "back home" is all my tools. I had enough that I could literally build a house by myself if I'd been so inclined. I really wanted to bring a lot of them over here but trying to bring them through the airport would have been a pain and shipping them would have cost more than they're worth.

And I probably wouldn't use 75% of them over here anyways, unless I moved to Nakhon Nowhere and started building a shack at the back of a property. And a chicken coop. And a fish pond. And a gazebo.

Probably for the best that I left them all behind. (Not to mention that the power tools were all 110 and so were the chargers for all the cordless stuff.)

OK, that should almost qualify as "out of hand" now ! (As I look around the house for something I can tinker with. Hmmm, could probably benefit from rewiring the entire place. And redoing the water pipes from the meter to the house/water tank/pump. And I could do some more grout work in the bathroom.)

Meh - I'll just wait for the Som Tam guy to roll by and eat some spicy salad instead.
 

[Leaver]

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

When it comes to electrics I can do a good bit myself, but I shirk at some jobs where hard effort is involved. I had a problem with wall lights and was stumped as the wires went into concrete pillars. The guys my Mrs found worried me to death and needed my help to over-ride the photocell, but lo and behold, had resolved the problem  after an hour or two. 

I have some knowledge and can also do a bit myself.  Over my time spent in Thailand, I have watched with interest many residential constructions.  The way many of these places were wired up was concerning from the point of safety for the inhabitant of the property.