Thailand Unplugged?

[thailiketoo]

Last month a house burnt down in the village, one with a wooden structure above a cinder block ground floor.

Owners said caused by electricity shortcut.

Thus now my wife ensures all appliances are plugged out when we leave the house (except the fridge)

I also have a friend who had lots of dammage to appliances after TWO lightning impacts in one month time around Udon Thani.

Also watched news here (on holiday in Belgium) a few days ago where recommendation was to unplug devices when away from home to reduce housefires caused by shortcuts.

As for gas bottle closure, had a gas smell in my kitchen some time ago, had one burner still active withouth heating, maybe wife made an error?

In Belgium they have gas distribution similar to water and a few houses exploding each year. Thus it is good practise to close the gas bottle tap.

Does your wife unplug your TV, fans, lights? How do you unplug light fixtures that are built in the ceilings? If you get gas through gas lines from a main why would you have a gas bottle?

In Thailand I have a large gas bottle under the stove with the cook top. Do you folks really turn off the gas bottles attached to cook tops on a daily basis?

Edited September 11, 2014 by thailiketoo

[h90]

there can be huge changes in currency that may destroy the devices.

Safety is poor so on an internal short there might be no fuse that cut off the device.

Extremely poor manufactured local devices

I always asked myself why they close the gas bottle after cooking....Meanwhile I have seen a heavily leaking pressure reducer and a big internal leak on the cooking device.

Now it makes sense.....

i always turn off gas bottles no matter what country i live in. why put pressure on lines and fittings any longer than necessary?

In Austria it is complete unheard of and everything has fail safety.....And now most people are on a gas line from the pipeline from Russia (at least if they don't cut us off), so an almost infinity amount could leak out.

[catweazle]

Saving on the electric bill and fear of fire.

[thailiketoo]

Saving on the electric bill and fear of fire.

How does unplugging an appliance that is turned off save on the electric bill?

[Mudcrab]

Saving on the electric bill and fear of fire.

How does unplugging an appliance that is turned off save on the electric bill?

many electronic devices...tv's etc can be turned off but left on standby and still consume power.

[DP25]

Last month a house burnt down in the village, one with a wooden structure above a cinder block ground floor.

Owners said caused by electricity shortcut.

That's what he says. He also may have gotten drunk and fallen asleep in bed with a cigarette.

[steve73]

Last month a house burnt down in the village, one with a wooden structure above a cinder block ground floor.

Owners said caused by electricity shortcut.

Thus now my wife ensures all appliances are plugged out when we leave the house (except the fridge)

I also have a friend who had lots of dammage to appliances after TWO lightning impacts in one month time around Udon Thani.

Also watched news here (on holiday in Belgium) a few days ago where recommendation was to unplug devices when away from home to reduce housefires caused by shortcuts.

As for gas bottle closure, had a gas smell in my kitchen some time ago, had one burner still active withouth heating, maybe wife made an error?

In Belgium they have gas distribution similar to water and a few houses exploding each year. Thus it is good practise to close the gas bottle tap.

Does your wife unplug your TV, fans, lights? How do you unplug light fixtures that are built in the ceilings? If you get gas through gas lines from a main why would you have a gas bottle?

In Thailand I have a large gas bottle under the stove with the cook top. Do you folks really turn off the gas bottles attached to cook tops on a daily basis?

If your gas bottle is in an enclosed (European style) kitchen, you really should turn off gas at the bottle (leaks can appear as the seal ages or gets damaged with each bottle change) - even a small leak can build up a dangerous amount of gas if there is no ventilation. Permanantly piped systems as less likely to develop leaks, so dont require isolating. If you have a Thai sytle (outdoor) kitchen, there's almost no possibility of a leak developing an explosive or narcotic mixture, but even a small leak can empty your bottle in a day or 2.

If you have an enclosed kitchen, you should locate your bottle in an outside & ventilated space (where a leaking bottle connction will not have any safety issues), but if the typically poor quality thai stove develops its own leak inside, then you're back to having a dangerous mixture build-up...so still best to shut-off when not in use.

[thailiketoo]

Saving on the electric bill and fear of fire.

How does unplugging an appliance that is turned off save on the electric bill?

many electronic devices...tv's etc can be turned off but left on standby and still consume power.

OK I'll bite. How much power does a turned off TV consume per year? Watts is a measure of power (technically, Joules/second) analogous to speed (miles/hour). So you need to convert the power into energy (like speed into distance). Here's an easy conversion factor: if a device draws 1 watt constantly for a year, then its energy consumption was 9 kWh. That corresponds to about $1.00

[thailiketoo]

Does your wife unplug your TV, fans, lights? How do you unplug light fixtures that are built in the ceilings? If you get gas through gas lines from a main why would you have a gas bottle?

In Thailand I have a large gas bottle under the stove with the cook top. Do you folks really turn off the gas bottles attached to cook tops on a daily basis?

If your gas bottle is in an enclosed (European style) kitchen, you really should turn off gas at the bottle (leaks can appear as the seal ages or gets damaged with each bottle change) - even a small leak can build up a dangerous amount of gas if there is no ventilation. Permanantly piped systems as less likely to develop leaks, so dont require isolating. If you have a Thai sytle (outdoor) kitchen, there's almost no possibility of a leak developing an explosive or narcotic mixture, but even a small leak can empty your bottle in a day or 2.

If you have an enclosed kitchen, you should locate your bottle in an outside & ventilated space (where a leaking bottle connction will not have any safety issues), but if the typically poor quality thai stove develops its own leak inside, then you're back to having a dangerous mixture build-up...so still best to shut-off when not in use.

My question was do you really turn off the gas bottle attached to a cook top in your kitchen in your house in Thailand. BTW I have a Japanese Rinnai cooking top.

[ggt]

If unplugged electrical appliances is all you have to worry about in Thailand...you my man...are near reaching Nirvana...enjoy your peace of mind...

[searayman]

In Thailand, most of the house circuit box have got no earth leakage breaker appliance install.

i guess it is for safety and old habit.

also power sometime surge to 250 VAC spiking appliances ir drop to 200 VAC

i think their thought is better be safe than sorry and will sleep better

[searayman]

Please ask the culprit whom did it

[Crossy]

OK I'll bite. How much power does a turned off TV consume per year? Watts is a measure of power (technically, Joules/second) analogous to speed (miles/hour). So you need to convert the power into energy (like speed into distance). Here's an easy conversion factor: if a device draws 1 watt constantly for a year, then its energy consumption was 9 kWh. That corresponds to about $1.00

I just measured our rather old Tatung 32" LCD telly that's in the bedroom, 21 Watts on standby (seems a lot to be honest but the Wattmeter used is known good).

21W * 24 * 365 / 1000 = 184 units per year, @ 4Baht a unit that's 736 Baht per year, a case of beer

[marios]

The British type three pronged fused wall outlets are fitted with a switch. If you have this facility then switching off the outlet will suffice. If not then, in my opinion, unplugging is the thing to do because leaving an appliance on standby is not a good idea as there may be an insulation failure and the unit can short out. It is a sound advice never to leave any appliance relying on the on-off switch alone.

[KhnomKhnom]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

One good way to get very sick is if the ICECREAM freezer storage refrig is off and allows the ice cream to melt even a little bit. Germs grow in that very rich melted cream and of course, is refrozen with the refrig turned back on, plugged back in.

You can see the re frozen part of the ice cream in the container because it is very different looking from the continuously frozen stuff in the same container.

[KhnomKhnom]

In a properly installed two wire electrical system in a Thai home, there is a minor reason to unplug all electrical devices when not in use and a very minor reason to keep them plugged in... other than convenience.

We use a Television set (tv) as an example...... 1 COST: When a modern tv is plugged in but turned off with the remote only, it consumes a small amount of electric power via the pilot light and some circuits "warm" so that the tv comes on via the remote fast. The amount of consumption cost is small but it adds up over all such appliances and over time. A modern home is likely to have 3-5 tvs, 2 stereos, air cond, computer, and the like all having their pilot lights ON and the appliance OFF. Unplugging these items stops that cost; also turning OFF the electrical socket strip to that item also stops that cost, but the power socket strip usually has a pilot lamp on it, too.

2. minor danger: Any electrical device can fail and start a fire via an accidental full or partial connection from the hot to the neutral which forms a path that runs through or near some material that will burn. This is called commonly a "short circuit" or a "leakage path" and involves heat created when the path has high resistance (i.e., is not a perfect short) and that heat can set fire to the surrounding material. This can happen with the wires sealed inside concrete walls or inside appliances or even worn extension cords, but it usually happens where there is lots of wear rubbing on the wire insulation or the insulation just gets old in any application, breaks, and forms a heated path. Of course, if there is no current flow through a danger point, like unplugging, then the fire danger is eliminated.

3. The very minor reason to keep them plugged in is that SOME appliances are designed to work best and live longest if constantly supplied with a small amount of electrics, even if turned to "standby" and pilot light on. Some argue a computer is best left on all the time for longer life and avoidance of the start up strain... if that is real. Some say same for refrigerators.

The final answer is that any appliance is safer unplugged; the amount of safety relates to the age and use of the item, older is worse, of course.

Lightning: In all cases of remote strikes, the off switch on most appliances will keep the lightning surge from going into the appliance even when plugged up. In the case of a direct hit or a very near miss, all bets are off. I have seen tvs and other items fried by a direct hit on a house EVEN IF UNPLUGGED totally. The EMF voltage of lightning induces voltage on all near-by metal items, all.. including the metal fillings in your teeth. However, even a very high instant very high induced voltage will not be a harm unless there is also at the same time current flow. The inside of a 5VDC tv system can easily have voltage induced and current flow happen because in that instant of the strike, some parts of the tv system are at different voltages which allows current to flow and burn out parts inside the tv. Unplugged does not always matter.

Same for computers.

Turning off and especially turning off an outlet socket strip is excellent protection from remote lightning (same for other type of power surges); unplugging is unnecessary but can not hurt except for the inconvenience.

Doing all kinds of turning OFF and also unplugging is not a fail-safe protection from direct hits. However, an unplugged appliance is safer in some unknowable amount.

There is another big question about what to do when the items are plugged in and being used, but you did not ask about that.

[AYJAYDEE]

Last month a house burnt down in the village, one with a wooden structure above a cinder block ground floor.

Owners said caused by electricity shortcut.

Thus now my wife ensures all appliances are plugged out when we leave the house (except the fridge)

I also have a friend who had lots of dammage to appliances after TWO lightning impacts in one month time around Udon Thani.

Also watched news here (on holiday in Belgium) a few days ago where recommendation was to unplug devices when away from home to reduce housefires caused by shortcuts.

As for gas bottle closure, had a gas smell in my kitchen some time ago, had one burner still active withouth heating, maybe wife made an error?

In Belgium they have gas distribution similar to water and a few houses exploding each year. Thus it is good practise to close the gas bottle tap.

Does your wife unplug your TV, fans, lights? How do you unplug light fixtures that are built in the ceilings? If you get gas through gas lines from a main why would you have a gas bottle?

In Thailand I have a large gas bottle under the stove with the cook top. Do you folks really turn off the gas bottles attached to cook tops on a daily basis?

we turn off the bottle after every use. the valves on the stoves are cheaply made and i have seen them fail.

[bendejo]

A lot of gadgets these days draw electricity even when off.

My coffee grinder (Krups) does this -- if I leave it plugged in it is warm to the touch. Not a big deal, probably not much in expense, but there is no reason for it (no timer, etc). And this for something I use less than one minute per day.

A few months back I came across one of those list articles "## Things You Should Not Leave Plugged In" that gave some whats and whys. My coffee grinder wasn't on the list.

[Toscano]

My wife believes it saves money and she is afraid of an electrical fire in the night that might burn down our largely wooden house .

I think the fear of electrical fire is due to the very poor wiring many (rural ) houses have , with no proper fuse box or T Cut protection .

I completely rewired out house with the best professional in the district , when I largely rebuilt and modernised it .

I do find it very annoyng when all the plugs are pulled out , but one has to be tollerant . My wife is the house owner and nobody has heard of house insurance .

[willyumiii]

O.K., thanks for the input!

I have learned that I can save 14 baht per year by unplugging my phone charger and about 35 baht per year unplugging my TV!

WOW!

I still do not believe my cinder block/ cement and tile houses will ever burn down.

But seriously, somethings I did not consider that have been pointed out here:

Electrical items:

The quality of electrical things produced, copied and sold here in Thailand is very poor.

I have made several purchases of electrical items from power tools to DVD players that either do not work when first brought home or fail within a couple of months of purchase.

I have a friend who believes that even electrical equipment made by good companies, in Japan for example, ship merchandise that does not pass quality control to Thailand for sale.

They know it is very rare for Thai people to return faulty merchandise or try to have a warranty honored.

So, I do worry about shorts in electrical items.

But what is the difference if they fail while I am sitting there or if they fail while I am not there?

The fire proof house will not burn!

Gas or Propane:

This thread was started about unplugging electrical items when not in use, but several have mentioned turning off , or shutting the valves on propane tanks when not in use.

In America, I never worried about things like this.

Here in Thailand, I do question the quality and safety of gas appliances and find it hard to believe that using plastic or rubber hoses for gas lines is not only permitted, but very common.

The chance of a rupture or a leak in a runner hose is very high compared to the copper tubing used in my home country.

As I stated above, my houses will not burn, but unreinforced brick or cinder block structures can blow up pretty good in a gas explosion!

I'm the OP and I'm pretty much done with this topic...thanks for the good replies!

[jacko45k]

Some devices that can be purchased here are not safe to be left unattended.

I have had issues with a phone charger and an electric kettle.

It could also be concern that the power could be interrupted in the night and come in and out, these spikes can damage electrical devices.

Not that I unplug things....only if I have an outage during the daytime.

[thailiketoo]

O.K., thanks for the input!

I have learned that I can save 14 baht per year by unplugging my phone charger and about 35 baht per year unplugging my TV!

WOW!

I still do not believe my cinder block/ cement and tile houses will ever burn down.

But seriously, somethings I did not consider that have been pointed out here:

Electrical items:

The quality of electrical things produced, copied and sold here in Thailand is very poor.

I have made several purchases of electrical items from power tools to DVD players that either do not work when first brought home or fail within a couple of months of purchase.

I have a friend who believes that even electrical equipment made by good companies, in Japan for example, ship merchandise that does not pass quality control to Thailand for sale.

They know it is very rare for Thai people to return faulty merchandise or try to have a warranty honored.

So, I do worry about shorts in electrical items.

But what is the difference if they fail while I am sitting there or if they fail while I am not there?

The fire proof house will not burn!

Gas or Propane:

This thread was started about unplugging electrical items when not in use, but several have mentioned turning off , or shutting the valves on propane tanks when not in use.

In America, I never worried about things like this.

Here in Thailand, I do question the quality and safety of gas appliances and find it hard to believe that using plastic or rubber hoses for gas lines is not only permitted, but very common.

The chance of a rupture or a leak in a runner hose is very high compared to the copper tubing used in my home country.

As I stated above, my houses will not burn, but unreinforced brick or cinder block structures can blow up pretty good in a gas explosion!

I'm the OP and I'm pretty much done with this topic...thanks for the good replies!

So did you learn anything that you didn't already know or suspect?

[emanphoto]

Maybe this will help answer the power saving question. Phantom power.

http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/how-much-save-unplugging-appliances1.htm

[Farma]

I'm led to believe its due to wanting to prolong the life of the appliances.

In areas away from the big cities they suffer from unreliable voltage and power surges especially during wet season when blackouts are common. A majority of power outlet in homes don't have switches.

You also have problems with rodents eating through the appliance cables. They tend to like chewing on warm cables. I know of one house in a village that had this happen to 2 washing machines, a fridge and a toaster in the past few years.

[hugh2121]

The reason given to me by Thai people in my village is that Thailand has many storms and very much lightning and the lightning can destroy the appliances. I did not initially believe this.....until my DVD recorder was zapped and completely destroyed during an overnight storm. We have all seen the overhead power distribution lines in this country. Not a good idea for many reasons. However, on subsequent inspection, I could not find any surge protection on these lines which means that if lightning strikes the overhead wires, the full voltage of the lightning is delivered to houses. Even though my Safe T Cut operated and cut all the power to my house, it obviously was fast enough to protect the Recorder and just a few milli-seconds of this voltage destroyed it. The Safe T Cut was fast enough to protect all my other electrical equipment. That is the reason Thai people unplug.

[Kwasaki]

The reason given to me by Thai people in my village is that Thailand has many storms and very much lightning and the lightning can destroy the appliances. I did not initially believe this.....until my DVD recorder was zapped and completely destroyed during an overnight storm. We have all seen the overhead power distribution lines in this country. Not a good idea for many reasons. However, on subsequent inspection, I could not find any surge protection on these lines which means that if lightning strikes the overhead wires, the full voltage of the lightning is delivered to houses. Even though my Safe T Cut operated and cut all the power to my house, it obviously was fast enough to protect the Recorder and just a few milli-seconds of this voltage destroyed it. The Safe T Cut was fast enough to protect all my other electrical equipment. That is the reason Thai people unplug.

Are you earthed up, a Safe 'T' cut should be OK if set right, you can get independent surge protectors for computers and other sensitive equipment.

Our electrical system has been fine, if your concerned at all ask on DIY forum.

[willyumiii]

O.K., thanks for the input!

I have learned that I can save 14 baht per year by unplugging my phone charger and about 35 baht per year unplugging my TV!

WOW!

I still do not believe my cinder block/ cement and tile houses will ever burn down.

But seriously, somethings I did not consider that have been pointed out here:

Electrical items:

The quality of electrical things produced, copied and sold here in Thailand is very poor.

I have made several purchases of electrical items from power tools to DVD players that either do not work when first brought home or fail within a couple of months of purchase.

I have a friend who believes that even electrical equipment made by good companies, in Japan for example, ship merchandise that does not pass quality control to Thailand for sale.

They know it is very rare for Thai people to return faulty merchandise or try to have a warranty honored.

So, I do worry about shorts in electrical items.

But what is the difference if they fail while I am sitting there or if they fail while I am not there?

The fire proof house will not burn!

Gas or Propane:

This thread was started about unplugging electrical items when not in use, but several have mentioned turning off , or shutting the valves on propane tanks when not in use.

In America, I never worried about things like this.

Here in Thailand, I do question the quality and safety of gas appliances and find it hard to believe that using plastic or rubber hoses for gas lines is not only permitted, but very common.

The chance of a rupture or a leak in a runner hose is very high compared to the copper tubing used in my home country.

As I stated above, my houses will not burn, but unreinforced brick or cinder block structures can blow up pretty good in a gas explosion!

I'm the OP and I'm pretty much done with this topic...thanks for the good replies!

So did you learn anything that you didn't already know or suspect?

I can't say I learned anything I didn't know...

But I was not considering the poor quality of electric items purchased in Thailand!

[thailiketoo]

So did you learn anything that you didn't already know or suspect?

I can't say I learned anything I didn't know...

But I was not considering the poor quality of electric items purchased in Thailand!

Hard to believe they make 40% of the world's hard drives isn't it?

Makes one question the future of mankind.

Edited September 12, 2014 by thailiketoo

[willyumiii]

So did you learn anything that you didn't already know or suspect?

I can't say I learned anything I didn't know...

But I was not considering the poor quality of electric items purchased in Thailand!

Hard to believe they make 40% of the world's hard drives isn't it?

Makes one question the future of mankind.

I have had to replace three hard drives on computers I purchased in Thailand..so, no, it is not hard to believe!

And as for the future....

I woke up this morning and got myself a beer..

Cuz the future's uncertain and the end is always near..

Jim Morrison

[thailiketoo]

So did you learn anything that you didn't already know or suspect?

I can't say I learned anything I didn't know...

But I was not considering the poor quality of electric items purchased in Thailand!

Hard to believe they make 40% of the world's hard drives isn't it?

Makes one question the future of mankind.

I have had to replace three hard drives on computers I purchased in Thailand..so, no, it is not hard to believe!

And as for the future....

I woke up this morning and got myself a beer..

Cuz the future's uncertain and the end is always near..

Jim Morrison

To be expected. How long have you been posting and still haven't figured out the quote function. Maybe operator error. Eh? Naw just kidding but it is funny how every thread turns into some kind of negative Thailand subject. In this case I say Thailand makes 40% of the worlds hard drives and you say they are no good because you had three that failed. Thai Visa anecdotal reasoning always trumps reality. I understand.

Edited September 12, 2014 by thailiketoo