Hot water heaters in thailand can be dangerous!

[Sandman77]

Just found this link explosion of a hot water heater!

http://news.sanook.com/1762135/

One woman died in thailand..

Sounds dangerous , did we all have a bomb in our bathroom made in China ..

[Costas2008]

Mine is made in Thailand.

Does that make any difference Sandman?

Unfortunately any electrical device can be dangerous if not installed or maintained properly.

But it's a necessity to us.

This is the first time I hear of a water heater exploding but I can't think of any alternative to that.

[Rooo]

Moved to housing Forum.

[casualbiker]

According to the bad google translate. It seems that a gecko may have been the cause of the electric shock problem.. and a badly installed water heater!

[96tehtarp]

Life in Thailand can be dangerous. I recall the thread a few moths ago "Death by electrocution from ATM machine."

[gerry123]

lets not forget the going LIVE of the school sports viewing stand a while back

[Kaalle]

I have read many story's about electrocutions in the shower so I'm always terrified, I turn them of before showering. Here at home I actually unplugged mine completely and it improved the water pressure immensely on top of everything.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Kaalle

[Rancid]

We use a Japanese one, apart from the on board breaker and switchboard breaker also have a safety cut.

Remember years ago a Thai actor got electrocuted by one.

[questionsreplies]

Just landed ?

[JingerBen]

Thomas Merton was electrocuted in the shower - but it was by a fan.

There are many dangers here that are unlike the ones in our home countries.

[beechguy]

I have read many story's about electrocutions in the shower so I'm always terrified, I turn them of before showering. Here at home I actually unplugged mine completely and it improved the water pressure immensely on top of everything.

You care to explain how that improved the water pressure?

Anyway, not just Thailand, I worked in the Middle East, electrical related accidents happened on a regular basis, and on the military bases in Iraq.

Edited March 12, 2015 by beechguy

[WheresWaldo]

I used multipoints and put them all under cabinets.

EDIT: I also personally did the installations with all wiring and grounds to Western code. If you don't want to gamble, learn how to do it then do it yourself. If you are not sure, ask Crossy.

Edited March 13, 2015 by WheresWaldo

[BKKdreaming]

I am also scared of water and Electrocution !

I would like to put some hot water heaters in my old house , but since it does not have grounded wall plugs I was never sure how to do it !

My house was built in 1948 before they did grounded plugs in California , at least its only 110v to ZAP me dead !

[96tehtarp]

I am also scared of water and Electrocution !

I would like to put some hot water heaters in my old house , but since it does not have grounded wall plugs I was never sure how to do it !

I use a very inexpensive Thai heater. It came with a ground cable attached to it. I had a hole drilled through the bathroom wall and the cable connects through it to its own 1.5 meter long copper ground rod which is hammered deep in the ground. I'm not sure if this is enough, hopefully it is.

[Suradit69]

Mine is made in Thailand.

Does that make any difference Sandman?

Unfortunately any electrical device can be dangerous if not installed or maintained properly.

But it's a necessity to us.

This is the first time I hear of a water heater exploding but I can't think of any alternative to that.

" ... but I can't think of any alternative to that."

[IMHO]

If you're really concerned about electric shocks from your water heater, go solar hot water

[BKKdreaming]

solar works in the evening , but not overnight here as it gets pretty cold.. so a cold shower in the morning would not be fun !

[Kaalle]

I have read many story's about electrocutions in the shower so I'm always terrified, I turn them of before showering. Here at home I actually unplugged mine completely and it improved the water pressure immensely on top of everything.

You care to explain how that improved the water pressure?

Anyway, not just Thailand, I worked in the Middle East, electrical related accidents happened on a regular basis, and on the military bases in Iraq.

I have no idea. I wasn't trying to make the point that unplugging the heater always increases the water pressure.

I cant remember the last time I felt the need for a nice hot shower in Thailand anyway, I think many would say the same.

[IMHO]

solar works in the evening , but not overnight here as it gets pretty cold.. so a cold shower in the morning would not be fun !

We have been running solar now for several months, with 4 people showing morning and night (and sometimes also during the day - after gym/sauna/swimming), on a 200L system, with zero electric assistance (the heating element breaker is always off).

In the morning, even before sunrise the water is still plenty hot - we mix in about 70% hot, 30% cold - maybe 80% hot and 20% cold for the last person showering. In the evening though, it's so hot you use maximum 20% hot water in the mix.

If it gets especially cold where you are, you could always wire up the electric heating element and run it on an overnight timer I guess. We didn't need to do that last winter though - YMMV.

[IMHO]

I cant remember the last time I felt the need for a nice hot shower in Thailand anyway, I think many would say the same.

If you don't need a hot shower, you probably don't have sufficient air con

[Kaalle]

23 degrees all night long baby.

[kamalabob2]

I'll go out on a limb here. If you have a properly installed under the counter multi point water heater from a reputable brand such as Stiebel Eltron, Panasonic, Toshiba, or Hitachi and use green PPR pipes or PEX hot water flexible pipes I believe you are not at risk in the shower. You should have the correct size and proper safety breaker dedicated to your hot water heater. But a Schneider Electric or Panasonic RCD or RCCB or GFCI breaker seems a wise choice and the proper sized breaker for your 6000 watt under the counter multi point heater would seem prudent to me. In a 2000 baht a month rental I lived previously I had a Panasonic on the wall shower unit installed and the local appliance store seemed to grasp electric safety to a certain point. The better electricians that were sub contractors on a house I had built in 2007 and 2008 put both one in the bathroom grounded outlet AND the under the counter 6000 baht multi point heater on the same RCCB breaker. It has worked out fine for 7 years. If all those items were readily available in 2008 in Buriram there must be a wider selection available in 2015 in any Province in Thailand.