transam Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 14 minutes ago, Confuscious said: Give the guy a break. He only wanted to install the fan upto GERMAN QUALITY. But he forgot he was in Thailand. Looking at his wiring attempt, I would suggest he didn't have the knowledge to make an acceptable safe installation....???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vogie Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 2 minutes ago, transam said: Looking at his wiring attempt, I would suggest he didn't have the knowledge to make an acceptable safe installation....???? We bought a new house on a gated estate, we wanted an electric socket fitted, the local electrician turned up wobbly and worse for drink. He never bothered turning the mains off, but to his credit he only got two electric shocks, they never use spirit levels and the finished project ended up looking like a dogs hind leg. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natway09 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I think you will find that the actual wires he was working on had no current as the circuit breaker was off, but some other dodgy wiring in the ceiling was live & he happened to touch it. RIP Old Fella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Greer Posted January 30, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted January 30, 2021 5 hours ago, xylophone said: Yes, always use voltage tester if doing anything in Thailand like that, and I know because I've done some work on a few houses here (for friends) and I am a qualified electrical technician. I was extremely surprised when trying to do a bit of work on an air conditioner in my room, only to find out that no matter which circuit breaker I switched off, the thing would not go dead, so I switched off the main breaker and was just about to work on it when I thought I would test it just for the sake of it, and lo and behold it was still live. The electrician had fed it from the cables coming in from the pole off the road, even before it got to the distribution board, so it was continuously live, and I was a very lucky boy. So sad to hear that this man ended his life that way. Yes years ago we had an air-con unit installed in a converted garage so I could use half of it as an office, and the kids had someplace to play on hot days in the other half. I was suspicious when I noticed that they had installed a separate dual pole on/off switch nearby, and asked why. They said that the air-con was fed from the incoming consumer mains directly! I was horrified and told them it must be changed - and even drew a diagram showing how it had to be fed from a breaker on the board in the house. "No, we never do that, this is Thailand, and you don't understand." Now, although I work in broadcasting, I am actually an electrical engineer - but despite this, my wife said that they knew what they were doing, and it's not the same as farang countries! As the pole-top fuse had to be changed to a higher rating, MEA had to do an inspection. They immediately noticed what the "electrician" had done, and knocked it back. I showed the guy my drawing, which of course he agreed was the correct way, and the electricians had to run in a new feed from the point of entry to the house down to the board, replace the board with the correct type and size, and rewire things as I had drawn. OK, it cost me money, but how much is the life of your family worth? Very sad to hear of this chaps death. PLEASE - PLEASE - PLEASE - DO NOT attempt electrical repairs or work unless you are a trained electrician - it's not worth your life, or the lives of those you love! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotchilli Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 5 hours ago, FritsSikkink said: Even better, don't touch it if you haven't got a clue. Better still if you can't see it leave it.... I'm ok with water . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greer Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, KarenBravo said: Electricity scares the cr*p out of me. I usually get an electrician to do any work, but if it's small and I know I can fix it quickly, my paranoia makes me throw the main breaker switch so there is no power in the house at all. I also put tape over it so that it can't be switched back on by accident. That is NOT sufficient at all - you MUST check the wires involved (ALL of them) because here in Thailand, they OFTEN wire things direct from the incoming feed BEFORE the main switch - meaning that the circuit is LIVE ALL THE TIME unless the pole top fuse is removed outside (the PEA or MEA have to do that). Use a "pen-tester", which has a small neon bulb that glows orange if the circuit is live - it is not the same as a meter, which has to be connected across an active and neutral or earth to give a reading, and CAN give a false reading making you think the circuit is dead when in fact it is not. Better still - get a QUALIFIED electrician to do the work. Edited January 30, 2021 by Greer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 8 minutes ago, natway09 said: I think you will find that the actual wires he was working on had no current as the circuit breaker was off, but some other dodgy wiring in the ceiling was live & he happened to touch it. RIP Old Fella I had belts in my house with the consumer unit turned off.....If anyone is going to do what looks like a simple electrical job, they should test ALL wires before isolation, after isolation then do it again. This is not farangland electrics...???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soi3eddie Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jeffr2 said: Labor here is so cheap, why do it yourself and take the risk? Especially at his age. RIP. Maybe because he thought that by doing it himself the job would get done properly? Clearly he made a grave error. I always test circuit once breaker is set to off just to be sure. Edited January 30, 2021 by soi3eddie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbj2 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 25 minutes ago, Lacessit said: The average Thai understands electricity about as well as I understand open heart surgery. An aging aunt of mine when I was a kid demonstrated a commendable grasp of the fundamentals of electrics. She used to throw a hissy fit if anyone switched on a light when there was no lightbulb in the bulb-holder as she said "Don't do that - there's no bulb in it - all the 'lectric will leak out!" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fondue zoo Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jeffr2 said: A proper sparky here isn't that hard to find. It takes time, but can be done. Some of the problem here is that you speak to the qualified sparky but then he sends his "apprentice", and the apprentice brings his girlfriend for some reason, or the sparky sends his brother in-law who watched him do some wiring once. Edited January 30, 2021 by fondue zoo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Monday Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Forger electricity what is a man that age burrowing up in a crawlspace? I know of seriously injured old guys just from ladders, when they should have hired the neighbor boy to clean gutters or remove snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailand49 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 6 hours ago, smedly said: he should have turned the power "OFF" he may have thought the breaker for the lights fed the lights in the bathroom - a fatal error it seems and a lack of electrical knowledge RIP RIP, Based on the story and it could be wrong? " Said he climb into the crawl space " confirm by the photo which indicates ceiling and I'm not expert but turning the circuit breaker off inside the house isn't going to do much if he is crawling in the ceiling? Big reason I never climb or crawl around the ceiling not even roll out insulation you should see my ceiling the many exposed wires. NEVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsari Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 6 hours ago, Jeffr2 said: Labor here is so cheap, why do it yourself and take the risk? Especially at his age. RIP. Risk can be greater employing local labour . What ever his age , turn of the power before working on wiring . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffr2 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 2 minutes ago, itsari said: Risk can be greater employing local labour . What ever his age , turn of the power before working on wiring . Not so sure. Electricity. Ladder. Attic crawl space. Over 60. Hmmmmm.....I'm self insured. Not worth the risk. IMHO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffr2 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 43 minutes ago, fondue zoo said: Some of the problem here is that you speak to the qualified sparky but then he sends his "apprentice", and the apprentice brings his girlfriend for some reason, or the sparky sends his brother in-law who watched him do some wiring once. I'm very lucky. Have had a sparky for 11 years now. He's fantastic. Not the cheapest. Not the most expensive. But very good. Does a lot of commercial work. So having to wait a week or two for him to show up isn't unusual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedly Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 30 minutes ago, thailand49 said: RIP, Based on the story and it could be wrong? " Said he climb into the crawl space " confirm by the photo which indicates ceiling and I'm not expert but turning the circuit breaker off inside the house isn't going to do much if he is crawling in the ceiling? Big reason I never climb or crawl around the ceiling not even roll out insulation you should see my ceiling the many exposed wires. NEVER! a house has several power rails depending on the size of the house, each one of these rails is fed by the fuse/breaker box and they can all be switched off individually and all have different loads and different breaker/fuse amperage Lights will be on one Wall sockets will be on another Hi current kitchen appliances such as cookers ovens etc will be on another one Bathroom will be on another if it has an electric shower (hi current) The power to all of these can be turned off with the main switch which will cut off electricity to everything It would be wrong to assume that lights in the bathroom are fed off the light circuit - especially in Thailand were standards are possibly not followed If he turned off the light breaker assuming that this would also isolate the bathroom light would be a very grave error and I personally would never assume anything especially in Thailand, the absolute safest thing to do would be to turn off the main breaker Now nobody really knows what went on here - he could have turned off the main breaker and carried out his fan installation and then asked the wife to turn it on to test it - at that point you need to be 100% certain that any instructions you are calling out to a 3rd party are understood and carried out, maybe the fan didn't work and he asked her to turn the main breaker off again - did she understand and did he check with a handy essential mains tester to make sure who knows, but obviously something went wrong I know some people might try to carry out such an installation with the power on - that would be very poor judgment and could cost you your life I have had a few heavy electric shocks over the years but always on one hand or arm - the fatal shock comes when it is across your body from one hand/arm across your chest to the other, getting a mains electric 240v shock is like someone hitting your arm with a heavy hammer 50 times a second, it is not pleasant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailand49 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 8 minutes ago, smedly said: a house has several power rails depending on the size of the house, each one of these rails is fed by the fuse/breaker box and they can all be switched off individually and all have different loads and different breaker/fuse amperage Lights will be on one Wall sockets will be on another Hi current kitchen appliances such as cookers ovens etc will be on another one Bathroom will be on another if it has an electric shower (hi current) The power to all of these can be turned off with the main switch which will cut off electricity to everything It would be wrong to assume that lights in the bathroom are fed off the light circuit - especially in Thailand were standards are possibly not followed If he turned off the light breaker assuming that this would also isolate the bathroom light would be a very grave error and I personally would never assume anything especially in Thailand, the absolute safest thing to do would be to turn off the main breaker Now nobody really knows what went on here - he could have turned off the main breaker and carried out his fan installation and then asked the wife to turn it on to test it - at that point you need to be 100% certain that any instructions you are calling out to a 3rd party are understood and carried out, maybe the fan didn't work and he asked her to turn the main breaker off again - did she understand and did he check with a handy essential mains tester to make sure who knows, but obviously something went wrong I know some people might try to carry out such an installation with the power on - that would be very poor judgment and could cost you your life I have had a few heavy electric shocks over the years but always on one hand or arm - the fatal shock comes when it is across your body from one hand/arm across your chest to the other, getting a mains electric 240v shock is like someone hitting your arm with a heavy hammer 50 times a second, it is not pleasant I'm no electrician for sure but what you indicated for example you got all the box and switches inside the house as you indicated. For example: Because I'm never sure whenever I do work on anything inside the house I just simple go to the box and turn every switch off before doing any work! But am I wrong the live wire coming from the street into the ceiling of the house which connects to the box inside the house isn't that live in the crawl space even if the box and switches are all turn off? Reason I mentioned if he was in the crawl space. When I stick my head into the crawl space I see wires everywhere I have no idea what is what and many look tie into and expose reason I want to insulate my ceiling but no way I'm climbing inside to do a type rope along the walls! Thanks in advance of your answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedly Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, transam said: I had belts in my house with the consumer unit turned off.....If anyone is going to do what looks like a simple electrical job, they should test ALL wires before isolation, after isolation then do it again. This is not farangland electrics...???? part of the problem in Thailand is that they have no true earth especially in high condo buildings were if not connected correctly the earth or neutral can in fact have a potential voltage over distance - it is a difficult problem to solve here in Thailand because they don't use proper earthing and as all of you know generally only have 2 pin outlets (no true earth) - then you have earth at your feet lol Experiment - if you have a mains tester (neon type) - touch something that you assume to be earth like the metal on a USB charger cord - you will find that the tester will light up, if you are brave enough - touch the metal with a finger will barefoot and you will feel a small electric shock - I hate it when working inside my computer or something and haven't removed the power cord - I get zapped all the time when barefoot - and turning the power switch off on the power supply doesn't help - what you are feeling is the difference between your bare feet "earth" and the earth/neutral provided through the power socket - they have a voltage across them because there is no proper common earthing in buildings especially tall ones ever wonder what the 3rd pin of an appliance like a kettle is actually connected too or wonder why in Thailand such an appliance only has a two pin plug but the actual cable has 3 wires lol Edited January 30, 2021 by smedly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soi3eddie Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 For domestic wiring in the UK we typically have 1 cable with 3 wires inside (positive, neutral and earth) for each switch or outlet. In Thailand the wires seem to be individually connected and often without an earth wire system. Additionally, suspended ceilings have a lot of sharp metalwork that could easily become "live" if in contact with a positive cable. It often looks like spaghetti up there and it amazes me how they ever get it connected properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedly Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 6 minutes ago, thailand49 said: I'm no electrician for sure but what you indicated for example you got all the box and switches inside the house as you indicated. For example: Because I'm never sure whenever I do work on anything inside the house I just simple go to the box and turn every switch off before doing any work! But am I wrong the live wire coming from the street into the ceiling of the house which connects to the box inside the house isn't that live in the crawl space even if the box and switches are all turn off? Reason I mentioned if he was in the crawl space. When I stick my head into the crawl space I see wires everywhere I have no idea what is what and many look tie into and expose reason I want to insulate my ceiling but no way I'm climbing inside to do a type rope along the walls! Thanks in advance of your answer! I would always double check - take nothing for granted especially in Thailand 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctxa Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 (edited) Bottom line is, if you don't ground yourself, you won't get electrocuted. Unless you grab live and neutral with each of your hands and the current flows through your heart. But I bet in this case he just accidentally touched a live wire while he was grounded. So even if you have disconnected the power and made sure there is no power, better to also make sure you are not ground yourself (gloves, proper boots, etc..). After all, even if the power is on, you can't get electrocuted when you're not grounded! Edited January 30, 2021 by ctxa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blookhead57 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Just now, blookhead57 said: How could you even reward the idiot the title of electrician Boger, Cowboy, idiot, half-wit, bright spark? Anything but a professional electrician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blookhead57 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 6 hours ago, transam said: About 70bht buys you a screwdriver tester.....Simple, cheap life saver...... Always be weary of these neon screwdrivers as they can give you false reading better use a volt meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blookhead57 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 7 hours ago, KPG59 said: NEVER trust house wiring in this country. In my houses the FIRST thing installed is a simple 200Baht Knife switch between the meter and the house. Flip that and both the hot and neutral wires are completely disconnected from the mains. No possibility of a shock then. Was it that type made in China with exposed contacts like the old Frankenstein switches? If yes then these types are lethal with exposed live terminals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blookhead57 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 7 hours ago, KPG59 said: NEVER trust house wiring in this country. In my houses the FIRST thing installed is a simple 200Baht Knife switch between the meter and the house. Flip that and both the hot and neutral wires are completely disconnected from the mains. No possibility of a shock then. Was it that type made in China (see pic) with exposed contacts like the old Frankenstein switches? If yes then these types are lethal with exposed live terminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiepeter Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 This poor chap was the same age as me. I lived in Thailand for over 30 years. I have never ever touched electrical stuff, either in LOS, UK, or Oz where my Thai family are now, permanently. It is 0100 here in clean, crystal clear air, in Oz. If I need an electrician I'll call one, tomorrow. Yes, it'll cost me $200 -$400. Perhaps more. However, I'll still be alive when he has done his job . Mr Xylophone pretty much covered my feelings. I had to almost completely re-wire my 2 storey mansion in Saraphi, prior to selling it before I left LOS for ever. I got a foreigner to do it & it was not cheap but at least, the new 'Nai-Amphur' who bought it, knows it won't kill him either. He watched the kiwi electrician do most of the work ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Theory Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 14 hours ago, rooster59 said: The circuit breaker had been turned off You never know, even with all breakers off wires could be still hot (bad breakers or professional electricians ????). Whatever was wrong, I never trust breakers in off position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whaleboneman Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 10 hours ago, paulbj2 said: Yes I was doing some minor electrical work on my place in Chiang Mai and so just switched the light off at the switch in the room. However, I NEVER touch any electrics unless I have checked with a volt-stick that they really are not live and hey presto they were live. The electrician who installed everything had put the switch in the neutral line rather than the phase! This was perhaps not altogether surprising as the whole house had been wired with single cables all of which were grey so un-colour coded. The electrician was clearly extremely gifted as he installed a non-waterproof mains switch for the extractor fan actually INSIDE the shower cubicle in the bathroom well within splash range of the shower nozzle. The circuits there were not protected by an RCCB so a mishap with the switch in the shower would likely have been terminal. The first thing I did when I moved in was to get an electrician to move the switch out of the shower cubicle and fit an RCCB at the consumer unit. My experience is that power is run to the lights and a switch leg is run down to the switch. Turning off a light switch to work on the light does not turn off the power in the light outlet. Also, I never have trusted electrical testers alone. Turn off breaker. Test circuit with tester. Open up connection and grab hot wire by insulation and touch it to ground. If it sparks, usually the correct circuit breaker has now been opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmen Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Most shops provide installation for around 1500 baht. Cheap price to save your life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 12 hours ago, Greer said: unless the pole top fuse is removed outside (the PEA or MEA have to do that). I haven't even got those..... I think the first fuse might be on the high side of the transformer at the bottom of the street and that isn't going to stop anyone getting fried. My meter on the pole went faulty and basically near burst into flames and there was no way to isolate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now