Make yourself a power board / extension lead.

[Crossy]

One major bane of living in Thailand is the lack of sensibly placed power outlets, and the seeming unavailability of half decent extension leads.

 

Whilst the ideal situation is not to use any extensions and to install outlets where they're needed many of us are in rented accommodation where the landlord may not take kindly to "home improvements".

 

This thread is your saviour.

 

For a few hundred Baht you (yes, you) can make a safe and robust extension using minimal tools and parts available to you.

 

You will need:-

 

 

1. A rubber power outlet - you can get in two and four way - this is a four way.
2. A 3-pin plug - used to be a rare as hen's teeth, now readily available
3. 3m (or whatever you need) of 1mm² or 1.5mm² 3-core flex. 1mm² is good for 10A (about 2000W), 1.5mm² will take you to 15A which is as much as you can put on one outlet.

 

You will also need some tools:-

1. A pair of side-cutters or pliers
2. A knife
3. A screwdriver, the plug and outlet I used needed only a Posidrive / Crosspoint driver

The four outlet traily I used came with the L & N of the two modules already linked inside, I added the ground link (yes, I know but I had no green in stock).

 

 

Feed the end of the cable into the back box of the outlet.

 

 

 

Strip back about 100mm (4 inches) of the outer sheath using your knife. Be careful not to nick any of the cores, if you do, cut the lot off and try again.

 

 

Then strip about 10mm (1/2") of the end of each core and twist the strands together.

 

 

Loosen the terminal screws of each connection and insert the stripped ends, tighten the screws and tug the wire to ensure that you have connected it properly.

 

Connect:-

1. Black to the terminal marked L
2. White / Grey to the terminal marked N
3. Brown (in this case), red or green (the right colour) to the terminal marked E

 

Put the box back together ensuring that the cable clamp clamps the outer sheath securely.

 

 

Moving to the other end of the cable, strip about 50mm (2") of the outer sheath and trim the cores to length. Measure using the plug.

 

 

Then strip and fit the wires in the correct holes, if you use the Haco plug you can follow the photo. Yes, the grey wire is a bit long, I trimmed it before putting the cover on (no photo). Again ensure the clamp grips the outer sheath not the cores.

 

 

Put the top on the plug and the job's complete.

 

 

Be proud that you have an extension that will take pretty well whatever you throw at it without smoking.

 

[TheCruncher]

All good except the plug. I purchased several of those plugs in the past, and I consider them of questionable quality, but unfortunately it are the only 3 prong plugs I have ever found in Thailand.

[Crossy]

All good except the plug. I purchased several of those plugs in the past, and I consider them of questionable quality, but unfortunately it are the only 3 prong plugs I have ever found in Thailand.

I have many, they are a zillion times better than the alternative (rubber body things) which have difficult terminals and look terrible. They are amazingly robust even when stood on by an XXX kg farang

If you (or anyone else) can find a better alternative please post.

[stubuzz]

Where did you find the 3 prong plug and 3 core wire?

[Crossy]

Where did you find the 3 prong plug and 3 core wire?

Homepro have them both as do Thai Watsadu and MegaHome. Tesco have the plugs but not the cable.

At least the ones close to BKK do.

The plug is item P002 on this page http://www.hacothailand.com/product-engshow.php?setype=10&setype2=1238

The cable is 1mm² or 1.5mm² of this http://www.bangkokcable.com/product/backoffice/file_upload/131004_20-300!500V%2070C%2060227%20IEC%2053-3C%20(GNYE).pdf

[IMHO]

Here's my outdoor, heavy duty DIY version:

OK, yes it's using Shucko plugs (but so do all my power tools), and it's only 3 points, and TBH really not much of a DIY effort, but I still like it

Oh and it cost a small fortune too

[IMHO]

Where did you find the 3 prong plug and 3 core wire?

I bought my 3-core 2.5mm2 VCT from Charnchai: http://www.charnchai.net/

It was around 4,000 Baht for a 100M long roll. The1.5mm2 3-core VCT was only a couple of hundred Baht cheaper at the time, so it seemed like a good idea to go bigger That said, the 3x2.5mm2 makes for a very heavy extension cord.

Good quality 3-pin plugs are very hard to find - I've tried many over the years, and in the end I chose to buy some Shucko sockets and just go all Schuko for my garage/garden.

Inside the house, I now only use the APC Surgarrest power boards:

http://www.apc.com/shop/th/en/products/APC-Essential-SurgeArrest-6-outlet-230V-VN-TH-PH/P-P6E-TH

These have actual real buss bars inside, are properly earthed, and none have failed me yet.