Core balance?

[samran]

Just reading about the two lads who got electrocuted by the pool. Sad story. One of the responses talked about a 'core balance' device.

I'm not anywhere near handy, and we live in a rented place so any expectation we can rewire the entire place is zero, but can someone in lay mans terms explain what one of these core balance things is, where it is installed and if it is useful?

And if yes to that final question, where do I get one and who can install one for me? Happily will pay for it even if we rent the place.

[Forkinhades]

Easy in a word or three
Safe-T-Cut

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[samran]

Easy in a word or three

Safet-T-Cut

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Thanks.

Where to I get one and more importantly who would you trust to install one given all the electricians I've met here aren't electricians!

[Crossy]

Safe-T-Cut have stalls in every major store in town, theoretically they have installers who know what they're doing, HomePro, HomeWorks etc etc can also supply.

Looking at an existing installation, look for a button marked 'Test', if you have one there's at least some form of earth leakage protection.

[Forkinhades]

Not too difficult to install, any big outlet will have them, you should really look at my pinned thread for complete saftey

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[thomasteve]

Easy in a word or three

Safe-T-Cut

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Core balance refers to a type of transformer used in an electrical safety device known as a RCD (residual current device).

This switching device very quickly cuts off the supply if there is a fault (imbalance) between the electrical current on the live and neutral supply wires. This happens when the electrical supply goes somewhere unintended, such as through a human body, resulting in electrocution.

In Thailand they are more commonly known by the trade name of a local manufacturer (Safe-t-Cut) and are usually fitted in a small box next to (rather than inside) the main consumer unit ('fusebox') Expect to pay approx. 4 000+ Baht to have one fitted.

Read the pinned threads at the start of this forum to understand more and how to have a safer electrical supply to your home.

[samran]

cheers one and all. Very useful. Best check to see if our fuse box doesn't already have one installed!

[samran]

before I do anything else - I've taken a photo of our fuse box and a mysterious white box below. Any ideas guys? Where abouts should the safe-t-cut be installed amongst all this?

[wayned]

I don't see a Safe-T-Cut in your power panel. The big box below seems to be a sophisticated alarm system: http://www.alarm2sms.com/download%20manual/C&K/C&K%20238%20Installer%20manual.pdf

[Forkinhades]

From picture 2, you can see your supply cables at the bottom of your DB, your 3 phase safety cut device needs to go before that.

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[samran]

Indeed, probably is the alarm, not that we use it!

Forkinhades - cheers again. Very helpful for a numpty like myself. "DB" I presume the same thing as what I'm calling the fuse box?

[Forkinhades]

Indeed sir

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[samran]

...coming back to this. Went to home pro - seemed very helpful and once I can tell them what it says on my meter about the type of voltage in the house, they said they'd sell us the right one and can organise for a proper sparky to come around and install it.

Now, I'm wondering when does the Safe-T-Cut actuall trip?

The reason I ask is that there are probably one or two appliances in the house (desktop computer being one) which do give off a bit of a nip when turned on and touched in the wrong spot. Are incidences such as this going to continually going to be an issue tripping the Safe-T-Cut? Or will it only trip above a certain threshold.

I suspect the former, meaning I'm probably going to have that sparky go around and ground anything which is causing the trip?

[Crossy]

No, the tingle you're getting from the PC isn't big enough to trip a Safe-T-Cut, the leakage is a few micro-amps, the Safe-T-Cut will trip at 30 milli-amps (1000 times more).

That said you should ground the boxes, it will stop the tickle and allow the mains inlet filter (that's causing the tickle) to do its job properly.

[samran]

No, the tingle you're getting from the PC isn't big enough to trip a Safe-T-Cut, the leakage is a few micro-amps, the Safe-T-Cut will trip at 30 milli-amps (1000 times more).

That said you should ground the boxes, it will stop the tickle and allow the mains inlet filter (that's causing the tickle) to do its job properly.

being on the 2nd foor of a 4 story townhouse, is that even possible?

[RichCor]

No, the tingle you're getting from the PC isn't big enough to trip a Safe-T-Cut, the leakage is a few micro-amps, the Safe-T-Cut will trip at 30 milli-amps (1000 times more).

That said you should ground the boxes, it will stop the tickle and allow the mains inlet filter (that's causing the tickle) to do its job properly.

being on the 2nd foor of a 4 story townhouse, is that even possible?

Samran, are your electrical sockets grounded?

Have you tested them?

Is your computer (and other peripherals) plugged into a 3-prong socket using 3-prong wire?

You really shouldn't get a tingle from a properly grounded system

I would hope that your electrical box includes a separate cable to a ground rod.

It's always possible to run an extra wire to those sockets that need it, though not always aesthetically pleasing or cheap.

[samran]

No, the tingle you're getting from the PC isn't big enough to trip a Safe-T-Cut, the leakage is a few micro-amps, the Safe-T-Cut will trip at 30 milli-amps (1000 times more).

That said you should ground the boxes, it will stop the tickle and allow the mains inlet filter (that's causing the tickle) to do its job properly.

being on the 2nd foor of a 4 story townhouse, is that even possible?

Samran, are your electrical sockets grounded?

Have you tested them?

Is your computer (and other peripherals) plugged into a 3-prong socket using 3-prong wire?

You really shouldn't get a tingle from a properly grounded system

I would hope that your electrical box includes a separate cable to a ground rod.

It's always possible to run an extra wire to those sockets that need it, though not always aesthetically pleasing or cheap.

House is 20 years old so it is unlikely. Everything two pronged. One of the reasons we are installing the safe t cut.

[Crossy]

No, the tingle you're getting from the PC isn't big enough to trip a Safe-T-Cut, the leakage is a few micro-amps, the Safe-T-Cut will trip at 30 milli-amps (1000 times more).

That said you should ground the boxes, it will stop the tickle and allow the mains inlet filter (that's causing the tickle) to do its job properly.

being on the 2nd foor of a 4 story townhouse, is that even possible?

You don't need a particularly good ground to kill the tingle, balcony railing perhaps or any metal water pipes or structural steel you can get at.

IMPORTANT These 'alternative' grounds should not be thought of as safety grounds (although when combined with a Safe-T-Cut they are far better than nothing), they are 'functional' grounds required to ensure correct functionality of a device.