charleskerins Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 New Samsung Refrig delivered today -two prong receptacle - ground wire in bottom of frig closest receptacle 2 prong Help are there any easy yet safe solutions? Thanks in Advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sometimewoodworker Posted January 13 Popular Post Share Posted January 13 Yes. Run a separate power supply that has an earth. Alternatively run an earth cable from a stake in permanently damp ground to the refrigerator. As a last resort do as most Thai’s do and ignore the pesky green cable as you can’t eat it. 2 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I got the same bit of green (earth) wire and instruction's booklet stating the appliance must be earthed when I bought my Mitsubishi freezer..I immediately thought "WTF" !!! if it needs to be earthed why did you not put an earth cable with 3 pin plug on it from the factory ? There are adaptor plugs that have a little tab sticking out for and earth cable I think I got mine from AMORN electrical shop or you could cut the 2 pin plug off and run the earth to a 3 pin plug and grounded socket. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleskerins Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 7 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said: Yes. Run a separate power supply that has an earth. Alternatively run an earth cable from a stake in permanently damp ground to the refrigerator. As a last resort do as most Thai’s do and ignore the pesky green cable as you can’t eat it. Neither of the two top ones are feasible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleskerins Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 2 minutes ago, johng said: I got the same bit of green (earth) wire and instruction's booklet stating the appliance must be earthed when I bought my Mitsubishi freezer..I immediately thought "WTF" !!! if it needs to be earthed why did you not put an earth cable with 3 pin plug on it from the factory ? There are adaptor plugs that have a little tab sticking out for and earth cable I think I got mine from AMORN electrical shop or you could cut the 2 pin plug off and run the earth to a 3 pin plug and grounded socket. Understand running it to a 3 prong outlet not feasible either you are using the terminology earth cable that we Americans call ground cable -correct? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleskerins Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 4 minutes ago, johng said: I got the same bit of green (earth) wire and instruction's booklet stating the appliance must be earthed when I bought my Mitsubishi freezer..I immediately thought "WTF" !!! if it needs to be earthed why did you not put an earth cable with 3 pin plug on it from the factory ? There are adaptor plugs that have a little tab sticking out for and earth cable I think I got mine from AMORN electrical shop or you could cut the 2 pin plug off and run the earth to a 3 pin plug and grounded socket. So can you connect the ground cable to the adaptor plug and then the 2 prong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Just now, charleskerins said: you are using the terminology earth cable that we Americans call ground cable -correct? Yes indeed earth and ground tomato tomatoe potato potahto 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebike Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Defo best practices above. That said, my western size Panasonic has run perfectly for over a decade, Thai-style... as an ugly man once said, "We don't need no stinking green wire" 😅😅😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleskerins Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 2 minutes ago, mikebike said: Defo best practices above. That said, my western size Panasonic has run perfectly for over a decade, Thai-style... as an ugly man once said, "We don't need no stinking green wire" 😅😅😅 Mike my Thai friends and one Aussie mate say run it with out the ground thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyf Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 13 minutes ago, charleskerins said: Neither of the two top ones are feasible Obviously it is your choice if you want to use the appliance without grounding the metal casing. You are incorrect to say it is not feasible. I have seen many Thai houses where an earth cable has been added alongside the surface wiring, just needs a competant electrician. If it is a matter of cost or landlord permission, that has nothing to do with feasability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 5 minutes ago, charleskerins said: run it with out the ground thoughts? It will wok fine without the ground wire and you'll be ok if you always wear rubber boots and gloves when opening the fridge ( AKA the Narnia wardrobe) in other words you'll be ok until there is a fault and the metal parts on the outside become live which will happen suddenly and unexpectedly that one time while you are not wearing rubber boots and gloves ! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoDisplayName Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 13 minutes ago, charleskerins said: So can you connect the ground cable to the adaptor plug and then the 2 prong? We bought a new Hisense with a 3-prong plug, but only 2-blade outlets available in the kitchen. We used a 3-prong to 2 blade travel adapter with surge protection. You can find 'em in DIY or Tesco. Looks something like this: Ran fine for about a year, after which I ran an additional grounded power from the main board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 21 minutes ago, charleskerins said: So can you connect the ground cable to the adaptor plug and then the 2 prong? Yes on the adaptor I have/had but can't find at the moment to show you a photo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyf Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said: We bought a new Hisense with a 3-prong plug, but only 2-blade outlets available in the kitchen. We used a 3-prong to 2 blade travel adapter with surge protection. You can find 'em in DIY or Tesco. Looks something like this: Ran fine for about a year, after which I ran an additional grounded power from the main board. Devices like that are designed to protect the load device, based on current going from live to neutral. Does nothing to protect your heart with current going from live to earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoDisplayName Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Just now, sandyf said: Devices like that are designed to protect the load device, based on current going from live to neutral. Does nothing to protect your heart with current going from live to earth. I was going to edit to add "not claiming this is safe and effective." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossy Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 22 minutes ago, charleskerins said: Mike my Thai friends and one Aussie mate say run it with out the ground thoughts? If you have an RCD/RCBO/Safe-T-Cut you probably won't die, running with no ground/earth isn't ideal of course but TiT. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyf Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 1 minute ago, NoDisplayName said: I was going to edit to add "not claiming this is safe and effective." From the OP "Help are there any easy yet safe solutions? " Bottom line is there is no easy solution if you want to be safe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyf Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 9 minutes ago, Crossy said: If you have an RCD/RCBO/Safe-T-Cut you probably won't die, running with no ground/earth isn't ideal of course but TiT. No earth to the sockets, good chance there is no earth in the consumer unit. Probably just overload breakers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthainess Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 18 minutes ago, Crossy said: If you have an RCD/RCBO/Safe-T-Cut you probably won't die, running with no ground/earth isn't ideal of course but TiT. You beat me to it, as with many things here 2 pin plugs are common, fridge compressors are normally rubber mounted IME, its things like rice cookers, and kettles I worry about more, but yes a good RCD should protect you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebike Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, charleskerins said: Mike my Thai friends and one Aussie mate say run it with out the ground thoughts? Only subjective experience. The sparkies are correct about the "right" way to do it 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) Before you start, is you house wired with a ground?. Most homes and apartments I've lived in here in Thailand are not. I had an electrician rewire the outlets in my study in order to plug in a guitar amp as well as my computers and accessories. Interestingly enough, the amp did not come with a grounded cable. It shipped that way. However, I'm not a fan of shocks. And I could feel current through the strings. I wrote the company (I won't name them but they are a major music company) and they assured me that the amp didn't need a ground. Right??? All I asked the company to do was to send me a compatible cable with a ground. They refused! <expletive> Whatever. So much for <expletive> customer service and future purchases of their equipment which is not cheap stuff. They insisted I take the amp back to where I bought it and have it shipped for examination and repair. I dwelled on that for a few seconds before rejecting it outright - yeah, go to the store where they don't speak English and explain to them why that amp needs a grounded cable or else they need to ship the unit back to the manufacturer for inspection and repair. How many weeks would that take. I bought a three-prong, grounded computer power cable which works perfectly. Thank you Lazada. No more shocks. Such a simple solution and yet the hubris of the un-named company seemed to Ok with losing my future business. The rest of my house? Pretty much un-grounded although we have had the main house and guest house completely rewired with the cabling placed in PVC conduit and attached to a new power distribution system (The original house had nothing but bare cable run though the roof and to a distribution box that had freaking fuses. Scary, old, and dangerous). That whole setup got replaced. Edited January 13 by connda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charleskerins Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 6 minutes ago, connda said: Before you start, is you house wired with a ground?. Most homes and apartments I've lived in here in Thailand are not. I had an electrician rewire the outlets in my study in order to plug in a guitar amp as well as my computers and accessories. Interestingly enough, the amp did not come with a grounded cable. It shipped that way. However, I'm not a fan of shocks. And I could feel current through the strings. I wrote the company (I won't name them but they are a major music company) and they assured me that the amp didn't need a ground. Right??? All I asked the company to do was to send me a compatible cable with a ground. They refused! <expletive> Whatever. So much for <expletive> customer service and future purchases of their equipment which is not cheap stuff. They insisted I take the amp back to where I bought it and have it shipped for examination and repair. I dwelled on that for a few seconds before rejecting it outright - yeah, go to the store where they don't speak English and explain to them why that amp needs a grounded cable. I bought a three-prong, grounded computer power cable which works perfectly. Thank you Lazada. No more shocks. Such a simple solution and yet the hubris of the un-named company seemed to Ok with losing my future business. The rest of my house? Pretty much un-grounded although we have had the main house and guest house completely rewired with the cabling placed in PVC conduit and attached to a new power distribution system. How many appliances actually have a ground here in Thailand? Not many. Anyway, I don't get zapped by my refrigerator, treadmill, air filters or other electronic equipment. Personally I would not bother with the ground. Caveat: I'm not an electrician and this is not professional advice. it's a shop with a small bedroom . My guess is it is not grounded. Next on the agenda will be a treadmill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimewoodworker Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 4 hours ago, charleskerins said: Neither of the two top ones are feasible They are both feasible. That you don’t want to actually do them is a rather different point. 4 hours ago, charleskerins said: So can you connect the ground cable to the adaptor plug and then the 2 prong? There is no requirement that the earth neutral and line conductors are together. It is convenient and is the way that the vast majority of appliances are connected. The important point is that the potentially live metal case is earthed, how you achieve that is rather less important. 3 hours ago, NoDisplayName said: We bought a new Hisense with a 3-prong plug, but only 2-blade outlets available in the kitchen. We used a 3-prong to 2 blade travel adapter with surge protection. You can find 'em in DIY or Tesco. Looks something like this: Ran fine for about a year, after which I ran an additional grounded power from the main board. A surge protector has nothing to do with safe earthing. Your appliances that require an earth will virtually always run fine without the earth connection. They will be perfectly safe to use, until they are not. They will not kill you, until they do How long until they decide to kill you? How long before they are not safe? if you can answer those questions please tell me the next winning lottery ticket number. Recently in our village someone who had been using an appliance perfectly safely for years became the featured guest at the local celebration that is usually reserved for those with terminal cases of old age, disease, Drug addiction etc, she hadn’t been due to be the star for 20 or 30 years. The problem is that it is a low risk case but has the chance of a really really bad outcome, I personally want to delay my introduction to the quite high temperature temple ceremony for as many years as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruit Trader Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, brianthainess said: You beat me to it, as with many things here 2 pin plugs are common, fridge compressors are normally rubber mounted IME, its things like rice cookers, and kettles I worry about more, but yes a good RCD should protect you. The compressor has insulated noise isolation but what about refrigerant lines clamped to the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtrnuno41 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 5 hours ago, Crossy said: If you have an RCD/RCBO/Safe-T-Cut you probably won't die, running with no ground/earth isn't ideal of course but TiT. Agree Crossy. If you dont have, just change the breaker on which the socket is to a breaker with 30 mA differential breaker. SO breaker is the normal value, like 20 A but 30 mA is differential between L and N to break it for leakage. Normally L and N are same in current (A) but if you touch a metal part and electricity is on that part, then it flows to ground and there will be a difference between L and N, causing the safety switch to break. That could happen if power goes to chassis of fridge and you touch it. I have experienced such a shock, not voluntarily, you feel it, but wont kill you. However that is all depending on your heart condition, your blood, which place it enters, sweat. Mind the 30 mA, not higher ! Be aware it has the right fitting for your existing panel. Of course if you do, you switch of the power on the main switch and measure volts before starting unscrewing. Also check if meter is properly working. The 3 M measuring. Test meter measuring volts (in this case AC setting) then measure on working place and then measure again volts to test meter again. Remind, electricity can kill you in jiffy time ! Be aware, what you do. Use isolated screwdriver. Something like this This one is a C10, meaning breaker switch (shortcut)10 A with C-characteristic, most common in Thailand. IF you find one with a B, it is even better. NO other letter of alphabet ! Then you see 30 mA and that is the safety switch setting. 30, not 40 ! The green button is for testing, but it can vary from color and shape on those devices. If you see one with a separate (testing) button, you see value 30 mA then it is an RCBO. If you already have just one (1) device in panel , it says "safety T cut" . Then you and family are protected on each socket or fitting. Mostly they have an adjustable setting, mind this is set on 30 mA. All electric metal devices, which you can touch, should be grounded, but not always done. Like a metal lamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danderman123 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Never forget that Thai voltage is 220+, so yeah, even a quick jolt can kill you. Lazada sells grounding equipment, you can install a ground outside your kitchen, and wire the fridge ground to that ground. I wouldn't live in a place that doesn't have a ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenslegs Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I apologise for my pedantism but "frig" is an act of sexual intercourse. The correct abbreviation of refrigerator is "FRIDGE". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtrnuno41 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 30 minutes ago, Danderman123 said: Never forget that Thai voltage is 220+, so yeah, even a quick jolt can kill you. Lazada sells grounding equipment, you can install a ground outside your kitchen, and wire the fridge ground to that ground. I wouldn't live in a place that doesn't have a ground. If you dont make a proper installation of ground (measured resistance) then it is worthless. If resistance is too high, then you will be electrocuted, despite ground. Your body is a pile of water with many minerals, so a very good conductor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danderman123 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 30 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said: If you dont make a proper installation of ground (measured resistance) then it is worthless. If resistance is too high, then you will be electrocuted, despite ground. Your body is a pile of water with many minerals, so a very good conductor. Please define "measured resistance ". I presume you are referring to the gauge of the ground wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimewoodworker Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 8 hours ago, Danderman123 said: Never forget that Thai voltage is 220+, so yeah, even a quick jolt can kill you. Never believe that 110+ volts can’t kill you. 5 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said: If resistance is too high, then you will be electrocuted, despite ground. That is incorrect, possible but wrong. The vast majority of times you will receive an electric shock that falls far short of electrocution. The chance of electrocution is vastly reduced if you, like any competent electriction and keep one hand in your pocket. The reason is that the majority of accidental electrocutions require a path through the heart, so from hand to hand. Of course a shock that doesn’t travel hand to hand can electrocute but the risk is vastly lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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