Grandma's house - cost to install hot water shower ?

[SGD]

She has electric but clearly no consumer unit or RCD protection. So, costs to buy the kit and have it installed. Shower unit, consumer unit, safe-t-cut rcd, wiring, ground rod and wiring, possible wiring from meter, etc.

Also, whilst I know a fair bit about multi point instantaneous hot water and use Panasonic and Stiebel Eltron myself, what would you use for a decent hot water shower ? about 4kw ? or higher ?

[Crossy]

Are you looking at just adding the shower or doing something more electrically?

 

She is almost certainly on a 5/15 meter which would limit you to about 3.5kW (there's a reason so many 3.5kW showers are available).

How's the water pressure? You may need to factor a pump into the equation too.

 

Costs?

Some examples:-

3.5kw shower heater (not multipoint) - 2,100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1133289

Stand alone RCBO - 500 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1079609

Box for the RCBO - 50 Baht

Ground rod - 100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/16377

Pipe, cable etc. etc. say another 1,000 Baht.

 

Competent sparks to install it - Priceless!

 

Let's have some photos of what she has now and we can give some pointers as what's really needed.

[fishtank]

3 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Competent sparks to install it - Priceless!

 

 

In Thailand? A very rare species.

 

[bankruatsteve]

How does Grandma get water?  If from local mains, is there sufficient pressure to run a shower?  IE: if you need to install a storage tank and pump the costs go up.  Is the bathroom plumbed for a shower?  May need to add plumbing.  I see Crossy just responded so I'll stop with a comment...

I have yet to see a Grandma in Thailand want to use a shower.  The splasher or bust.

[ChipButty]

2 minutes ago, fishtank said:

In Thailand? A very rare species.

 

I have to disagree I know a couple of guys who are good

[Tyler Visan]

15 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

I have to disagree I know a couple of guys who are good

A couple out of how many?

[Crossy]

I think we can all agree that competent domestic sparks are a pretty rare comodity here in sunny Thailand.

 

The really good and licenced chaps are (or at least were) earning $$$ in O&G or the megaprojects.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Are you looking at just adding the shower or doing something more electrically?

 

She is almost certainly on a 5/15 meter which would limit you to about 3.5kW (there's a reason so many 3.5kW showers are available).

How's the water pressure? You may need to factor a pump into the equation too.

 

Costs?

Some examples:-

3.5kw shower heater (not multipoint) - 2,100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1133289

Stand alone RCBO - 500 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1079609

Box for the RCBO - 50 Baht

Ground rod - 100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/16377

Pipe, cable etc. etc. say another 1,000 Baht.

 

Competent sparks to install it - Priceless!

 

Let's have some photos of what she has now and we can give some pointers as what's really needed.

There is also the very important point is where is Grandma’s house.

 

different answer if up country than further south or on the plains.

 

our supply water temperature is dropping now, and for the next 2 months the showers will have a lower maximum temperature.

Edited November 19, 2020 by sometimewoodworker

[SGD]

Thanks guys - knew I could count on you !

Yeah, when I did my old house, running a circa 14kw multipoint heater, we had to get a meter upgrade and all the jazz so I guess that's reminded me of the 3.5kw stuff.

Why a shower ? boiling water on a fire or on her cauldron I guess but in Buriram and I've wintered there and nearly died of cold (after years living in the south).

Good comments about water pressure. Had overlooked that one. Simply don't know as yet.

I'll ask if there are photos of what she has, maybe there are ?

Other half is going back to LOS in a couple of weeks and is (I think) looking to sort this out for Grandma in December.

 

[thaisail]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

Are you looking at just adding the shower or doing something more electrically?

 

She is almost certainly on a 5/15 meter which would limit you to about 3.5kW (there's a reason so many 3.5kW showers are available).

How's the water pressure? You may need to factor a pump into the equation too.

 

Costs?

Some examples:-

3.5kw shower heater (not multipoint) - 2,100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1133289

Stand alone RCBO - 500 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/1079609

Box for the RCBO - 50 Baht

Ground rod - 100 Baht https://www.homepro.co.th/p/16377

Pipe, cable etc. etc. say another 1,000 Baht.

 

Competent sparks to install it - Priceless!

 

Let's have some photos of what she has now and we can give some pointers as what's really needed.

I am importing all stainless steel solar water heaters which require no electricity. The cost will be around 15,000 baht but then there is no need for any electric bills. Please PM me if you are interested. I will be placing my order for 2 units with 150 liter tanks in the next 2 weeks. One will be fitted on my house in Chiang Khan. The other will be for sale. All you need is sun! There is a place on the tank to fit an imersion heater resistance of about 1500 watts for rainy days or when using more than 150 liters of water after dark. This is an option found locally on Lazada. But there is plenty of sunshine in Thailand so I will not order the imersion heater unless I find the need.

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

Solar 15k sounds great what country they coming from?

Could use  on my house got 1 300ltr does kitchen and main bathroom  we never run out hot water all year round.

150ltr for guest wing be good.

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, SGD said:

Why a shower ? boiling water on a fire or on her cauldron I guess but in Buriram and I've wintered there and nearly died of cold (after years living in the south).

If you are limited to a 5/15A supply then you will not get hot water in December as the temperature can drop to under 17C and a 3,500W shower isn’t good enough. So either a larger supply or a gas heater.

[bankruatsteve]

2 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

temperature can drop to under 17C and a 3,500W shower isn’t good enough.

Can reduce the flow and get to warm - which is good enough for many.  ????

[sometimewoodworker]

1 minute ago, bankruatsteve said:

Can reduce the flow and get to warm - which is good enough for many.  ????

You can not reduce the flow enough to get to warm, just not very cold.

[bankruatsteve]

42 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You can not reduce the flow enough to get to warm, just not very cold.

Yes I can.  And I live north of you.

[Crossy]

Back to granny, much depends upon what she's used to.

 

If she's had cold water washes all her life a few degrees of warmness will feel like luxury!

 

Us young whippersnappers are just too used to volcanic temperatures at massive flow rates.

 

[natway09]

Posts like this really bring out the Thai bashers don't they 

If you have existing water supply (even if needs a pump) & min 5 amp power already,

20,000 Bht using an electrician would be a generous budget figure

[Ireland32]

Don’t forget the Western toilet for granny, I did both 

[Moonlover]

3 hours ago, bankruatsteve said:

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You can not reduce the flow enough to get to warm, just not very cold.

 

3 hours ago, bankruatsteve said:

Yes I can.  And I live north of you.

Agreed. We have a Rinnai 3.5kw  unit and live on the same latitude as Udon Thani. The shower is always hot enough no matter what the outside temp is.

[ronaldo0]

Always used steibel my houses without problems but got a uk sparky to install it . You can get a ok steibel in homepro for 2400-4000bht depending on model and homepro will install it also if you live within a certain distance. Think it’s about 800-1000bht to install , the prices are on their website depending on what it is you need installed . 

[rwill]

I have seen some heaters here that run on gas.  It could be an option if too much trouble for the electric type.

 

[spornb]

Buy the heater on lazada, can be less than 2000 bhat, will already have, 

 

Check spec  VERY CAREFULLY and make sure RCD included

 

Also make sure has automatic turn off if water ceases

 

A competent farang should be able to do the wiring

 

All the pipe , get plenty of cut off valves at global

 

Change from 3500

 

Go to a local shyster and can be 10,000 up, 20,000, skys the limit

 

We offered grannie hot shower three years ago here in Issan, she did not want it

 

Two step sons , 16, and 17 NOW  outside bathroom, no hot water as they destroy inside bathroom adjoining their room, got fed up fixing it all the time, so locked it no longer a problem, our bathroom same as step sons works no problem after 12 yrs

[GreasyFingers]

Up here the 3500kw heaters are not enough at this time of the year. Just installed a Mazuma 8000 kw and it is sufficient at the moment but not so sure when the temperature drops into the low teens. Good sparky, upgraded all of the wiring and circuit breaker etc for that unit. All up cost about 9000 baht with the unit 7800 baht from Homepro.

[bwpage3]

13 hours ago, Tyler Visan said:

A couple out of how many?

A couple out of 60,000,000!

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, Moonlover said:

 

Agreed. We have a Rinnai 3.5kw  unit and live on the same latitude as Udon Thani. The shower is always hot enough no matter what the outside temp is.

The shower can only raise the water temperature by a margin that is determined by the power of the shower in kw and the flow, so if you have a reasonable flow the incoming temperature must not be as low as mine.

 

You cannot get something for nothing.

[Damrongsak]

12 hours ago, thaisail said:

I am importing all stainless steel solar water heaters which require no electricity.  ...

I had a solar water heater in Loei 40 years back.  Plastic wash tub covered by an old bus window.  On a good day, I could get the water to maybe 20-25 C by late afternoon.  Loei gets rather nippy in the cold season, eh?

[thaisail]

1 hour ago, Damrongsak said:

I had a solar water heater in Loei 40 years back.  Plastic wash tub covered by an old bus window.  On a good day, I could get the water to maybe 20-25 C by late afternoon.  Loei gets rather nippy in the cold season, eh?

I am an hour north of Loei in Chiang Khan and we have even more nippyness up here! The Solar water heater uses a stainless insulated tank on top and glass vacuum tubes that circulate the cold water down at an incline and then through convection the water gets heated by the sun on the way back to the tank. Because the hot water is surrounded by a vacuum, there is virtually zero heat transfer during the night so theoretically you should get hot water in the morning! On a bright sunny day, you will see steam coming out of the vent and the challenge is how to deliver the hot water where needed without damaging the piping. I am using PPR piping that is rated for maximum 95° C to feed a pump that will mix the water using a thermostat reducing the output temperature to 50° C so that I can distribute the water all around the house using a PP-R pipe rated at maximum 60° C. I figure that if I get 150 liters of 90° water at the end of the day, it might take another 100 liters of cold water to cool it down to 50° giving me 250 liters of hot water because I went all out and installed a bath tub for the ladies! 

 

I have a friend here in CK who wants to pass his water through a clear 1/2 " hose back and forth across his roof just to pre heat the water going to his electric shower. Not a bad idea as this will lower his electrical load required so that he can use a 3.5 Kw water heater during the cold winter days. But I love your idea of the plastic wash tub with the old bus window! I'll bet it worked real good around Songkran!

[whaleboneman]

3 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

Up here the 3500kw heaters are not enough at this time of the year. Just installed a Mazuma 8000 kw and it is sufficient at the moment but not so sure when the temperature drops into the low teens. Good sparky, upgraded all of the wiring and circuit breaker etc for that unit. All up cost about 9000 baht with the unit 7800 baht from Homepro.

3500kW should bathe the whole village and light them up also. Sorry, but you mean 3.5kW and 8kW.

[Damrongsak]

2 hours ago, thaisail said:

...  I have a friend here in CK who wants to pass his water through a clear 1/2 " hose back and forth across his roof just to pre heat the water going to his electric shower. ...

Perhaps better would be fairly flexible black tubing, if it can take the heat.  Easy enough to make, though might work best if enclosed and covered.  And a pic of a fancy bucket/bus window setup.

 

 

[SGD]

 

15 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

If you are limited to a 5/15A supply then you will not get hot water in December as the temperature can drop to under 17C and a 3,500W shower isn’t good enough. So either a larger supply or a gas heater.

 

Yeah, I experienced that in Buriram long ago, hence me going with a 14kw heater ???? 

I suspect this "put a shower in for grandma please" task is going to get far more complicated !

 

15 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You can not reduce the flow enough to get to warm, just not very cold.

 

Yep, we had the problem that if we reduced flow enough to even get the water warm, the shower would them cut out to prevent overheating. Rock and hard place I seem to remember.