Electrician In Seka, Ban Phaeng, Tam Ta Khla .. Nong Khai Province

[philo]

Hi.

My wife has a new house (disaster) in Amphur Seka, Jangwat Nong Khai. I am based in Chiang Mai.

The house has never been used - but now she says she will use it. I wouldn't worry too much about it if it wasn't for the fact that my two children lives with her.

In layman's terms there are:

1. A 15 Amp meter.

2. The two blue supply cables.

3. A consumer unit with a main breaker, an RCD (or RCB - same thing?) (this is the unit wit a test button, red light, 10-30 mAmp - right?), and around 6 brakers from 10 to 63 Amp.

4. Normal ceiling lights.

5. Unearthed outlets in living room and bedrooms.

6. A water heater for a bath tub, brand new 10 kWatt with an ELCB.

7. Cabling for a wall shower unit in the other bath room.

8. Earth rod and eart cable to the consumer unit going further to the two bath rooms.

When the house was finished (joking), all lighting and outlets ok. Turning on the water heater made the main braker close. After 'repair' it gives hot water when the RCB is off. If the RCB is on, opening the hot water triggers the main braker. The 'electrician' is not reachable and I wouldn't trust him anyway.

I want to have the following done:

1. Have one or two wall shower units installed.

2. Check all wiring including earth from the current consumer unit to lights, outlets and water heater/showers.

3. Check the earthing: cable dimension and dig up the soil around the earth rod.

4. May be install a new earth cable if the old cable is too small and/or the rod cannot be located.

5. Maybe have a separate braker/RCB for the water heater and/or the shower unit(s).

6. Ask if this MEN connection should be done.

7. Ask if I need MCB on ordinary outlets for stereo, fridge etc.

I will drive from CM to Seka around the 10th of Dec. It is more than a 1000 km ride. I desperately need to get in touch with someone knowledgable, trustable, knowing where to buy needed equipment and having real tools (not just a screw driver with a bulb to find the lead).

Help me, PLEASE!

philo

Topic title typo: Kham Ta Kla. Phon Charoen is also fairly close.

Edited October 22, 2009 by philo

[Prajak]

I could help you but I live in Muang Nongkhai and that's really too far from your house. Seems the cables in your house are typical Thai. I rent a house here and changed everything. The way the Thais handle electricity is shocking. Turn off the lights and the "live" cable is still connected in stead of the zero. Groundcables are not connected or with a 50 cm copper pin in dry soil. A 15 amp fuse, I had a single 16 amp fuse and that can not handle both fridges, freezer, microwave and heater. All cables are "pinned" onto the wall and on some places the waterpipes were ABOVE the electricity cables.

Find a good company but be there when they change things. Even when you are no expert, use your brains and look.

Try to connect "breakers" that shut down electricity when there is a "leak". They are for sale in Thailand. At least in the electric shower and the washing machine and the pump.

Sometimes I wonder if Thais love their children when they connect electricity.

Sorry for my poor English, it's not my native tongue.

[citizen33]

I would copy this question into the DIY forum section moderated by Crossy, who is very knowledgable and helpful.

Just by way of impressions from a layperson who just knows a little bit:

1. The fact that the installation is covered by a RCD is good. It sounds like one of the thai-style units with variable trip sensitivity. There is usually a switch which will bypass the RCD function completely. Your problem is that the RCD gives some measure of protection on the sockets (for the kids) but has probably been put on bypass so as to use the hot water. It is probably better while waiting for the system to be fixed for the wife to switch bypass on and off only when the hot water is needed - but obviously this is a pretty bad arrangement.

2. There is already some provision for earthing, which is good, and this could be a basis for adding additional earth cabling. You probably won't need to dig the earth rod right out to investigate it. I have put in 8 foot earth rods and find that they will just push in or pull out with a bit of force. If the top has been concreted over, you'll need to chip out a little circle in the concrete but shouldn't have too much actual digging. The rods are not expensive, so you could just insert a new one and move the cable connection across to that.

3. The MCB (mini-circuit breaker) is presumably what you say you already have when you mention the collection of breakers in the consumer unit, so you shouldn't need any additional ones to protect the socket circuits.

4. The ELCB (earth leakage circuit breaker) on the water heater is a form of RCD (strictly speaking the old kind but I think the term is used loosely by some Thai manufacturers) so you should not really need to duplicate this, especially if the whole installation is covered by the big RCD where the supply comes into the house.

5. MEN? I don't know but haven't used it myself. if you want an unbiased view don't ask an Australian.

Let's hope that a professional in your area can help soon. The heater tripping problem sounds like the major concern, as this may be based on earth leakage rather than the unit drawing more current than the consumer unit can supply. You could also ask your expert if he thinks the 15A meter is enough for your needs, and whether the cable sizes (and MCB values) supplying the heaters are big enough. It is probably another case of the missing 'ha'peth of tar' in a Thai installation.

Edited October 23, 2009 by citizen33

[philo]

Thanks to both of you. Have tried DIY forum, may be I will get an answer.

PS Since when did thaivisa start to put ads IN the posts? I'll rather pay the satangs myself to not be associated with this kind of business ... And if anybody knew a bit about what they were doing, it would be more than obvious to them that noone will buy resistors from this thread.