Students seriously injured by 'electric shock' at Wakor Science Park

[Unkomoncents]

I enjoyed all the witty posts but here's one to show this is not a Thai problem per se. A newspaper in Denmark recently decided to visit one of Denmark's two most famous amusement parks and bring an electrician with them. Within 45 minutes they found 25 illegal and dangerous installations within reach of children. Naked wires, rain water-filled plugs et cetera. There's pictures and all. In Danish but Google Translate might help. The authorities are contemplating a visit and the head of the park, Nils-Erik Winther, said they will fix everything within days.

Wow, if that's what it's like in Denmark, where the orientation towards safety is far more reassuring, then I can't even imagine how many dangerous installations the average Thai building offers up to the public. I think the problem with these kinds of posts is that no one would argue that reckless, negligent, inconsiderate behaviors occur in every corner of the globe. How frequent these occurences are and how preventable they are probably varies considerably from country to country. Like, car accidents clearly happen in every country. Poor drivers exist in every country. However, in Thailand, car accidents and poor drivers are an epidemic. This is supported by everything from websites (http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/) to just basic, everyday empirical observation.

[RigPig]

thailand, is there any place that has real ground wire? not in my "new - 5 year old house"

The contractor doing the renovation of our house just used two cables. We had to separately "ground" our washing machine as it was handing out electric shocks when touched.

And how diid you do that?

A "specialist" attached one end of a wire to the rear of the washing machine and stuck the other end in a hole he had drilled in the wall. Check - no more shocks - finished. I guess you can't be too picky when you want to live in this country.

Unless you want to live!!! It cost 2500 Baht for an RCD from Homepro and a small switchboard to mount it in,,,,,,,,,,,

The girl didn't have a clue what i wanted then told me the switchboard I selected was no good for it...until showed her.......

Up 2 U I guess

Trust me bad electric shocks don't throw you across the room, you can't get off them, and it physically hurts, and is usually caused because someone did something they shouldn't have.....WELCOME TO THAILAND!!!

[Bluespunk]

When given a quiz after the visit to the science museum and asked if electricity can be dangerous, none of the students were able to answer the question due to the fact that one of the injured students was the one from whom the rest of the class copied

Ah mate, come on, these kids were hurt.

[MaxYakov]

Look here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648257-how-safe-are-wall-mount-water-heaters-without-earthing/

GOOD LUCK

WARNING: Check ground continuation in your power strips/extension cords. I found at least one power strip that had not continued the ground wire to the strip's receptacles resulting in tingles from my microwave. Yep. I had gone with the cheap ones.

Also, don't assume that your building/room ground is actually terminated to earth ground. I've had to fabricate a ground for a friend in their room - ran a separate wire to a sink drain.

Has anyone ever seen a Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) in Thailand?

Edited June 26, 2013 by MaxYakov

[MaxYakov]

thailand, is there any place that has real ground wire? not in my "new - 5 year old house"

The contractor doing the renovation of our house just used two cables. We had to separately "ground" our washing machine as it was handing out electric shocks when touched.

And how diid you do that?

A "specialist" attached one end of a wire to the rear of the washing machine and stuck the other end in a hole he had drilled in the wall. Check - no more shocks - finished. I guess you can't be too picky when you want to live in this country.

A building wall (concrete) ground? I guess theoretically ... NOT! According to below link, it requires a 20-foot conductor embedded in the concrete footing.

http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100605225443AAomVDK

Edited June 26, 2013 by MaxYakov

[Thai at Heart]

thailand, is there any place that has real ground wire? not in my "new - 5 year old house"

The contractor doing the renovation of our house just used two cables. We had to separately "ground" our washing machine as it was handing out electric shocks when touched.

And how diid you do that?

A "specialist" attached one end of a wire to the rear of the washing machine and stuck the other end in a hole he had drilled in the wall. Check - no more shocks - finished. I guess you can't be too picky when you want to live in this country.

We grounded our oven and washing machine to a ground rod driven into the earth behind the kitchen. Cheap and easy.

[masuk]

Look here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648257-how-safe-are-wall-mount-water-heaters-without-earthing/

GOOD LUCK

WARNING: Check ground continuation in your power strips/extension cords. I found at least one power strip that had not continued the ground wire to the strip's receptacles resulting in tingles from my microwave. Yep. I had gone with the cheap ones.

Also, don't assume that your building/room ground is actually terminated to earth ground. I've had to fabricate a ground for a friend in their room - ran a separate wire to a sink drain.

Has anyone ever seen a Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) in Thailand?

It's amazing that these power boards are sold with 3-pin sockets, yet come with a two-pin plug.

Pays to check these things very carefully.

The GFI you refer to is also known in some countries as an ELD (Earth Leakage Detector). They have been compulsory in new homes in Australia for some time now. Maybe in Thailand, about the same time as all power cables go underground and homes are all earthed.

[Crossy]

Has anyone ever seen a Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) in Thailand?

Yes, many, you can even get RCD equipped outlets.

The big name sold here is Safe-T-Cut who have become synonymous with supplying whole house RCBOs and other earth leakage protection.

If you tell your sparks you want a Safe-T-Cut he'll know what you mean.

GFIs are known by different terms around the world:

RCD

RCCB

ELCB**

ELB

ELD

GFCI

GFI

ALCI

RCBO*

Are the same device for the purposes of this discussion.

* With the exception than an RCBO also has over-current protection as well as earth leakage protection.

** Technically an ELCB is a different device and is reserved for the older voltage-operated units which are no longer used in domestic situations as they provide no protection from direct contact shock. Most non-engineers use the term to describe an RCD.

[tango]

My sympathies to the students, their families and to their, no-doubt 'shocked', teachers. It's a dangerous world.

Now that Pattaya is once again under water I am reminded how years ago I was amazed more people were not electrocuted by wet electrics through hidden circuits and overhead wiring dangling in the flood waters. I know it was concerning enough for me to end my holiday, and considered myself lucky to have escaped alive.

Recently I was at a computer/ electronics 'mega' store where the metal stair railings to the second floor promenade has a large metal fan attached by a metal clamp to the upper railing. The stairs were wide enough for shoppers to not come into contact with the railing. Probably safe, but I was not about to verify.