Plugs And Sockets

[soisicknote]

when are the government gonna do something about it ?? i have to do a balancing act to fit my rubbish 2 pin plug into my 3 pin socket when are the governerment going to standardize the electrical mess in this country its a major headache to fit a plug into a socket sometimes impossible and very dangerous

[Rimmer]

In short they are not!

Maybe you can change your 'rubbish' two pin plug for a rubbish three pin version then it will fit better into your rubbish 3 pin socket

[soisicknote]

In short they are not!

Maybe you can change your 'rubbish' two pin plug for a rubbish three pin version then it will fit better into your rubbish 3 pin socket

haha its still a major problem doing that also

[Crossy]

when are the government gonna do something about it ?? i have to do a balancing act to fit my rubbish 2 pin plug into my 3 pin socket when are the governerment going to standardize the electrical mess in this country its a major headache to fit a plug into a socket sometimes impossible and very dangerous

The whole system is a nightmare, have a decco at this thread http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=67644 and this site http://www.crossy.co.uk/wiring/ for some clues on how to be safe

Adaptors are available to fit just about any international plug SAFELY (well reasonably safely) into a Thai outlet. Have a look in Homepro at the 'Wonpro' branded stuff, usually on a pegboard near the other electrics.

[dave111223]

The government should create an agency which kicks down peoples doors and replaces their plugs with a standardized version.

Edited May 25, 2008 by dave111223

[Crossy]

The government should create an agency which kicks down peoples doors and replaces their plugs with a standardized version.

I'd happily hold my door open for them. Now which standard should they use, I know, Israeli (it's used nowhere else in the world).

[dominique355]

Not likely in our lifetime. The government has other priorities, I am sure, such as buying a submarine, building atomic power plants, being nice to the Burmese generals ...

But, hey, not even the EU has been able to standardize electric plugs and sockets and they love to standardize just about everything else from bananas (true!) to condoms (true also) and license plates on cars.

The problem in Thailand is that while most plugs and sockets are 100 V (US) standard, the voltage is 220 V and usually not grounded. And then, electric appliances sold in Thailand apparently do not have to comply to any standard, safety or other. That's why we find US 110 V plugs, European 220V 2 and 3 pin lugs, Australian and UK plugs, mostly sold with adapters etc. a nightmare for anybody, at least for me.

[Maestro]

The problem in Thailand is that while most plugs and sockets are 100 V (US) standard...

Just two small corrections:

1. Plugs have no voltage. In Thailand, they are the same type (shape and form) as those used in the USA and a number of other countries. Not necessarily US standard.

2. In Thailand, sockets are wired with 220 V, not 110 V.

--

Maestro

[tuky]

Just an on/off switch on the socket would be a great start. How many times have you plugged in an appliance only to see the electricity arcing inside? or you have to fiddle with the plug to get it to make contact with the contacts inside the socket?

Scary indeed.

[coventry]

In short they are not!

Maybe you can change your 'rubbish' two pin plug for a rubbish three pin version then it will fit better into your rubbish 3 pin socket

And they are rubbish. The ones from Homepro break up whilst connecting them to the cable. When I was having my electrics installed I bought some 3 pin plugs. My electrician had never seen them before and asked if I'd brought them from England. I can find no stockists of 3 pin plugs within 100 K's of where I live.

[lopburi3]

I suspect you might find the small mom and pop lighting/electric stores do indeed have grounded plugs available. I never see in major stores, even here in Bangkok, but can obtain on soi without problem.

[ludosiam]

If you wait for the government to change your sockets at home my guess is that you'll wait a long while. I have the house fitted with EU style sockets, cut off all rubbish 2 pin plugs, repalced them with proper ones and that's it.

[PhilHarries]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous not the electrics. Change the plug, it is not difficult, or buy an adaptor.

Be proactive in life, don't waste it waiting for somebody else to do things for you there are already too many of those types around so we don't need any more.

[lopburi3]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous

I fail to see why I should not plug a two pin plug into a 3 pin socket. I have been doing for 60 plus years and don't intend to stop doing it now.

[Crossy]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous

I fail to see why I should not plug a two pin plug into a 3 pin socket. I have been doing for 60 plus years and don't intend to stop doing it now.

Agreed lop. the local 3 pin outlets are intended to accept both 2 and 3 pin "US" plugs. Most outlets also accept 2 pin plugs with round pins but beware the Schuko plug which has only 2 pins but is actually a 3 pole plug and requires a ground (get an adaptor from Homepro).

[Naam]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous

I fail to see why I should not plug a two pin plug into a 3 pin socket. I have been doing for 60 plus years and don't intend to stop doing it now.

a good method to save energy as you get only 2/3 of the voltage and draw 1/3 less amps

[pitrevie]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous

I fail to see why I should not plug a two pin plug into a 3 pin socket. I have been doing for 60 plus years and don't intend to stop doing it now.

Some years ago a friend of mine in London when confronted with 3 wires and his two pin plug assumed that two of the wires should be wrapped together on the same pin. The resulting bang nearly gave him a heart attack.

[tuky]

I paid extra to have 3 pin sockets and earthing built into my house a couple of years ago.

I had to buy a sample 3 pin socket and draw a picture showing 3 wires going to it, and then the whole earthing principle.

Yes Khun Tuky, no promprem. I understand and I will make it like you want.

A year or so later I was doing some work at home and realised that whilst I had 3 pin sockets, they never bothered with the earth wire. I had incorrectly assumed that the green wires in my breaker box was an earth, I should have thought more about it seeing as there was blue, red, green, black, white, purple and several other colours in the birdsnest of a breaker box.

No wonder my Safe-T-Cut never functioned properly.

[lopburi3]

Actually you do not need a ground wire for RCD to operate so suspect there was something else wrong if your Safe-T-Cut failed to work.

[tuky]

Actually you do not need a ground wire for RCD to operate so suspect there was something else wrong if your Safe-T-Cut failed to work.

My wife eventually got it working...she just turned it off.

No problems...

[Cuban]

It's the fault of the airport - plain and simple !

A person walks off the plane all happy and warm, gets the right stamp in their passport and leaves the airport thinking that the functioning aircon and bright lights means that they are in a first world country, a false sense of security surounds them like a bubble. They fail to see that a different set of rules apply the moment they climb into a taxi with thread bare tyres no safety inspection.

They fail to take responsibility for the electrical terror that lurks behind the power socket. Should the home owner have to do this? Well the answer is clearly yes. Why? because no one else in Thailand will do so, if people moving to Thailand need a government to put in place such protections they probably should question if this is the right country for them?

Domestic wiring in Thailand has been covered here in depth. But the increase risk in Thailand comes in from all angles. I've seen: fuel carried in plastic bags, cars on the road with major body panels missing, bizzare working practices on building sites, over-loaded vehicles, unrestrained children, dangerous road repairs and so many food safety violations in 'proper' shops along with open markets that it is wonder half the population is not dead.

Switched socket outlets are avalible in Thailand, I have seen such units sold even in Tesco (139 Baht?). They are seldom installed by the building contractors due to the extra cost of the switch. That switch also takes up one socket position in the blank socket unit.

Most of us that can have dealt with our own wiring. I would guess someone here has considered running a business providing such a service to farang householders wanting to have Western safety standards - the Labor Office's limtations on farang trades is probably the thing that stops such companies openly trading?

Getting a Thai worker to install to western standards is possible - but I guess they might charge more than Somchai? Within increasing costs of rice and fuel the government will never make the mistake of a very unpopular move to 'ban' one standard of electrical plug/socket over another one due to the knock on effect of cost on the nation.

I read some months ago that within Europe there is a move to harmonise all electrical power plugs/sockets - the new standard will I understand be different from every nations current choice. (I think the Swiss had the closest match but the pin spacing was off.) Buy shares in companies making adaptors.

And the winner is....

Futher Reading.

[LooseCannon]

Quote from Cuban:

"It's the fault of the airport - plain and simple !

A person walks off the plane all happy and warm, gets the right stamp in their passport and leaves the airport thinking that the functioning aircon and bright lights means that they are in a first world country, a false sense of security surounds them like a bubble. They fail to see that a different set of rules apply the moment they climb into a taxi with thread bare tyres no safety inspection."

Whenever a new post starts with the words...

"Why don't they....."

"Why do they........"

"When will they....."

"When are they......" etc. the above quote by Cuban should be automatically inserted.

One of the major negative side affects of cheap, convenient international air travel is that it has enabled far to many people to jump on airplanes & fly to third world countries with little or no thought of the possible consequences. Lacking in forethought, insufficient planning, nonexistent research, seduced by glossy brochures, they jump on a plane & arrive at their destination totally ignorant to the fact that the have arrived in a 'third world' country.

If you feel the need to ask one of these "when will they..." questions, you should be asking yourself "have I made the right choice & can I adjust?"

Despite some outward appearances Thailand is a 'third world country' (you may prefer 'emerging nation' or 'developing country') & thus has all the associated problems.

[PhilHarries]

If you are fitting a two pin plug into a three pin socket then it is you who are dangerous

I fail to see why I should not plug a two pin plug into a 3 pin socket. I have been doing for 60 plus years and don't intend to stop doing it now.

Agreed lop. the local 3 pin outlets are intended to accept both 2 and 3 pin "US" plugs. Most outlets also accept 2 pin plugs with round pins but beware the Schuko plug which has only 2 pins but is actually a 3 pole plug and requires a ground (get an adaptor from Homepro).

Ah I've learnt something today. I've not even seen let alone studied closely three pin sockets in Thailand.

In the UK it is more difficult to get a two pin plug into a three pin socket. For a start the live and neutral holes are a larger pitch than the standard two pin plugs. Then the earth pin on a three pin plug is longer and actuates a mechanism that opens the gates in the other two holes allowing the plug to be pushed home. This can be bypassed by using a screwdriver in the earth hole but it is generally taken as a bad practice to stick anything other than the correct plug in an electrical socket. Okay in the US you are only playing with 110V rather than the potentially lethal 220 but in the UK only some small electrical appliances such as electric shavers use two pins and we have three to two pin adapter plugs.

[longball53098]

The US has not used the 110 volts for years-------------------the voltage is 120 and it is just as deadly to your heart as any other voltage. Its the amps that run between you and ground/earth that kills you not the voltage! If it goes through your heart good bye!

[Cuban]

Okay in the US you are only playing with 110V rather than the potentially lethal 220 but in the UK only some small electrical appliances such as electric shavers use two pins and we have three to two pin adapter plugs.

As little at 55 volts with a current of 65mA is enough to kill an adult human.

Some time ago I read figures on hospital treatment required when people suffered injuries self-infected when 'testing' 9v batteries. I have seen the worst DIY efforts of domestic low voltage (which is what a 240 volt system is) star networks held together by twisted wires secured with sellotape. So I am beyond the surprise factor of how the untrained treat electrickie.

BTW - Thai contractors using power tools etc seem to overcome the problem with different sockets by only using bare wire ends held into the socket with a matchstick or two.

The two pin plug/socket for use with electric shavers in the UK is a special design for use with a double insulated transformer - to allow with an element of safety when providing a mains derived power source in a wet enviroment. That is why they are stamped - shaver use ONLY.

Like those people we see driving without seatbelts, on motorbikes without helmets or eating liver fluke invested foods - you have a choice. As farangs with enough money to live overseas I would expect you (not directed at any one person) to have enough life experiance to see what the situation is in this country and carryout your own safety audit and impliment safe working practices. If you don't have the skills directly employ someone that does at a fee, it is the Thai way to accept known dangers and ignore them.

If the OP is in Pattaya I can recommend a company that employ eectrical contractors that work to European standards, not used them myself but I know their work is to a good standard by reputation.

[TheDon]

BLOODY hel_l, when will the Thai government cut my grass, its about 10 cms long and its giving me the sh%ts.

Im sick of it, how hard is it for them to stick a few workers on a plane and fly them over to Sydney. They are probably just lazy

[EmptyMind]

I think what the OP meant was when is the government going to add some kind of legislation to standardise the sockets and plugs here.

Probably never but it is a nightmare.

3 Pin plugs and 2 pin sockets, how the hel_l does that work lol ? Cut off the Earth pin just so that you can plug it in.

Round sockets that are too narrow for the flat bladed plugs, Round plugs that wont fit into a square hole or they fall out of the round hole because they are too narrow, Flat plugs arcing away in a round hole and sockets that spark like hel_l when your trying to plug something in. On top of that 9 times out of 10 there is no Earth wire in any of the sockets.

Ah well, the joys of Thailand again