Neighbor stealing my water?

[Chris Daley]

We have just moved into a new house and noticed the pump runs even when no one is using it.  One time we both went out and when we returned it was running.  As soon as we walked to the back of the house it stopped.

 

So we called the village technician.  Turns out the neighbor is the village technician.  He is a dodgy man.  Shirtless and smoking a lot.  And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

 

So he went to the back of the house and stared at it.  He looked at me and said 'what's wrong with it'?  He then said that it doesn't work and we should buy a new one.  I then said to him no it works too much.  It is on and off all day.

 

He said he will go back to the office and we haven't seen him since.

 

I looked at the back and it looks like the pipe goes into the neighbor wall and is hidden under some bricks.

 

Still not sure if he is stealing it but he looks shifty.

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2023 by Chris Daley

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

We have just moved into a new house and noticed the pump runs even when no one is using it.  One time we both went out and when we returned it was running.  As soon as we walked to the back of the house it stopped.

 

So we called the village technician.  Turns out the neighbor is the village technician.  He is a dodgy man.  Shirtless and smoking a lot.  And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

 

So he went to the back of the house and stared at it.  He looked at me and said 'what's wrong with it'?  He then said that it doesn't work and we should buy a new one.  I then said to him no it works too much.  It is on and off all day.

 

He said he will go back to the office and we haven't seen him since.

 

I looked at the back and it looks like the pipe goes into the neighbor wall and is hidden under some bricks.

 

Still not sure if he is stealing it but he looks shifty.

 

 

 

Turn off the water, cut the pipe and install a stop cock, turn the water back on, turn the stop cock to off and check all is OK in your house, if it is, you can cut the pipe out or wire the stop cock up in the closed position...????

[Liverpool Lou]

8 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

How terrible that a Thai man, in Thailand, doesn't speak English, there must be so much wrong with him. 

Why didn't you speak to him in Thai or is there something "terribly wrong" with you also because you don't speak Thai?

Edited September 28, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[couchpotato]

4 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

We have just moved into a new house and noticed the pump runs even when no one is using it.  One time we both went out and when we returned it was running.  As soon as we walked to the back of the house it stopped.

 

So we called the village technician.  Turns out the neighbor is the village technician.  He is a dodgy man.  Shirtless and smoking a lot.  And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

 

So he went to the back of the house and stared at it.  He looked at me and said 'what's wrong with it'?  He then said that it doesn't work and we should buy a new one.  I then said to him no it works too much.  It is on and off all day.

 

He said he will go back to the office and we haven't seen him since.

 

I looked at the back and it looks like the pipe goes into the neighbor wall and is hidden under some bricks.

 

Still not sure if he is stealing it but he looks shifty.

 

 

 

So a Thai man who is the village technician doesn't speak a word of english.

Do you realise how silly this sounds.

Also run a new pipe (above ground) from your pump outlet and connect into your house ..problem solved.

[impulse]

Please somebody tell me this is a windup.

 

[transam]

2 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

So a Thai man who is the village technician doesn't speak a word of english.

Do you realise how silly this sounds.

Also run a new pipe (above ground) from your pump outlet and connect into your house ..problem solved.

You must first check the pipe in question is not going to his house, a bypass for instance, hence my suggestion......????

[transam]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

Please somebody tell me this is a windup.

 

Well, it is a breath of fresh air after weeks of cr@p threads posted by the fruitcake clique........????

[BenStark]

14 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

I looked at the back and it looks like the pipe goes into the neighbor wall and is hidden under some bricks.

A pump has 2 pipes, an inlet and an outlet, do you know the difference?

[transam]

1 minute ago, BenStark said:

A pump has 2 pipes, an inlet and an outlet, do you know the difference?

Yes, be careful you are not mistaking it for the tank or pump supply, a photo would be helpful...

[NorthernRyland]

 

26 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

He is a dodgy man.  Shirtless and smoking a lot.  And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

Most hilarious thing I read in a while. ????

[impulse]

Assuming this isn't just a windup, I suspect the pump will have a dedicated circuit breaker.  When you don't need water, turn it off. 

 

If he gets real angry, you'll have your answer.

 

[Bday Prang]

Doesn't speak a word of english? yet he asked you "what was wrong with it" and suggested that" if it didn't work you should buy a new one"  he also managed to tell you he was "returning to the office" his english would appear to be better than your Thai.

             Anyway he's not stealing your water, he is stealing your electricity, so simply start by switching off the pump when you are not there or not using it for any length of time. Or as others have suggested re plumb the piping from the pump  to your house effectively cutting him off, 

              Rightly or wrongly you should expect some unpleasantness somewhere during the proceedings

    

[transam]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

Assuming this isn't just a windup, I suspect the pump will have a dedicated circuit breaker.  When you don't need water, turn it off. 

 

If he gets real angry, you'll have your answer.

 

Our pump must start up a hundred times a day.........????

[PR3]

Sometimes there's a one way valve fitted between the house pressurised pipework and the mains. They sometimes start to fail (water back pasees);and the pump switches on occasionally just to repressurise the house circuit.

Why you would consider someone to be dodgy because he smokes tobacco and takes his shirt off if he's hot is quite amusing. 

Don't be so judgemental it's the tropics it's hot and many males smoke here.

[ChaiyaTH]

They have stuff that is food grade, you can put it in your water tank when you suspect he will use it to shower, he will then look like a blue smurf for a few days.

[Bobthegimp]

22 minutes ago, PR3 said:

Sometimes there's a one way valve fitted between the house pressurised pipework and the mains

Do they have anti siphon/backflow prevention devices here?  

[ravip]

20 minutes ago, PR3 said:

Sometimes there's a one way valve fitted between the house pressurised pipework and the mains. They sometimes start to fail (water back pasees);and the pump switches on occasionally just to repressurise the house circuit.

Why you would consider someone to be dodgy because he smokes tobacco and takes his shirt off if he's hot is quite amusing. 

Don't be so judgemental it's the tropics it's hot and many males smoke here.

Yes, the non-return valve/s can fail and this could occur - does the pump run continuously or in short bursts?

Also, check for any leaks in your pipes (maybe under ground).

[NoDisplayName]

Before you start cutting pipes............you're renting?

[Elkski]

I find it sad that the OP is so uneducated he cant tell for sure what his plumbing is doing.  Or fix it himself.  If a supply pipe is going to neighbors then he is using your water. 

[ravip]

59 minutes ago, Elkski said:

I find it sad that the OP is so uneducated he cant tell for sure what his plumbing is doing.  Or fix it himself.  If a supply pipe is going to neighbors then he is using your water. 

Sometimes it's very difficult to fathom what's happening. Especially if the plumbing is underground. 

Further,  everyone is not technically oriented. 

Your comment is very unreasonable. IMHO.

[zzaa09]

Typical disconnected Farang neighbor....

????

[Celsius]

Top post.

 

Please teach me

[JimTripper]

 

3 hours ago, PR3 said:

Sometimes there's a one way valve fitted between the house pressurised pipework and the mains. They sometimes start to fail (water back pasees);and the pump switches on occasionally just to repressurise the house circuit.

Why you would consider someone to be dodgy because he smokes tobacco and takes his shirt off if he's hot is quite amusing. 

Don't be so judgemental it's the tropics it's hot and many males smoke here.

looks dodgy to me. I don’t care how hot it is or if many people smoke here.

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

We have just moved into a new house and noticed the pump runs even when no one is using it.  One time we both went out and when we returned it was running.  As soon as we walked to the back of the house it stopped.

 

So we called the village technician.  Turns out the neighbor is the village technician.  He is a dodgy man.  Shirtless and smoking a lot.  And something is terribly wrong with him as he doesn't speak a word of English.

 

So he went to the back of the house and stared at it.  He looked at me and said 'what's wrong with it'?  He then said that it doesn't work and we should buy a new one.  I then said to him no it works too much.  It is on and off all day.

 

He said he will go back to the office and we haven't seen him since.

 

I looked at the back and it looks like the pipe goes into the neighbor wall and is hidden under some bricks.

 

Still not sure if he is stealing it but he looks shifty.

 

 

 

You better move back to your home country:

Can't sort out your visa.

Something is terribly wrong because a Thai in Thailand doesn't speak English. 

It is on and off all day (what is this supposed to mean).

 

[Sigmund]

Similar arguments have arised in some housing developpments. House owners usually farangs, often not in Thailand, get abnormal electricity or water bills to pay each month directly to the developpment managers. Such cases highlited issues of overrating due r to faulty meters or reckless settings of the automated garden or plant watering systems. Sometimes just to clean the space in front of the house the developpment staff would connect their water house in a tap inside a private unoccupied home. Always keep an eye on your property especially if you are not always in it.

[mstevens]

The problem might be cracked pipes.

 

My sister in law had this problem at her near-new house. The pump could be heard outside even when no-one was using any water inside the house.

 

It turns out there was a problem with the pipes below ground which had a crack and water was leaking all the time, which caused the pump to continuously pump water up in to the water tank. She got a guy out who diagnosed the problem. A few of his crew come out and after a lot of digging, removal of the cracked pipes, laying new pipes and 2 days / 10,000 baht later, it was fixed.

[jaideedave]

13 hours ago, ravip said:

Sometimes it's very difficult to fathom what's happening. Especially if the plumbing is underground. 

Further,  everyone is not technically oriented. 

Your comment is very unreasonable. IMHO.

Correct, when I bought my house in Pattaya the pump would cycle several times day/night even when not in use.A lot of the blue pipes were buried and some digging and investigating showed some dodgy plumbing which I bypassed and eliminated . Off/on cycling stopped immediately.

The pump shouldn't be running unless water is leaking out or as someone mentioned faulty non return valve.

Working with the local blue plastic tubing is simple, You Tube is your friend.

Get your hands dirty and have a good look.

[2baht]

16 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

he doesn't speak a word of English.

Really? ????

[bignok]

Sawadee khrup

Sabaidee mai

Chok dee khrup

 

Buy him a bottle of whisky, your issues will go away.

 

Ffs learn how to deal with people

Just find their currency

Whisky for most thai males

[transam]

1 minute ago, bignok said:

Sawadee khrup

Sabaidee mai

Chok dee khrup

 

Buy him a bottle of whisky, your issues will go away.

 

Ffs learn how to deal with people

Just find their currency

Whisky for most thai males

And you, please go away, you are embarrassing................