Hangover guy electrocutes himself going to the fridge, say police

[Emster23]

Story like this is why I always wear rubber sandals at home. Assume everything here is trying to kill you, and may not be far off. I'd rather be somewhat safe than be fodder for arguments on TV regarding wiring.

[sabaii69]

Do not attempt to use a fridge when drunk/ hungover. (I'll starve).

[tandor]

Having a hangover certainly must be a factor, but yes, the yellow shorts certainly puts a twist on it.

...the sheila on the right in stripes needs to drink more water.

[williamgeorgeallen]

Wiring is not earthed nor is a Safe-T-Cut installed.

None of the fridges I have have a three pin plug, I ran a separate wire from the ground pin to a screw on the fridge at my house. Safe-t-cut would likely have worked. Nasty way to go, should have at least been reaching for a beer and not water.

Just curious.....if none of your fridges have a 3 pin plug, how come they have a "ground pin"?

appliances often have a pin for an earth but it is rare to find wall sockets that run a wire to the earth. i went around to pick up a washing machine last year and it had a green earth wire hard wired to its metal case. someone had run it to a pot plant and stuck it in the soil. wish i took a photo.

Edited July 20, 2016 by williamgeorgeallen

[Artisi]

I don't understand this: there is not a single reachable metal piece in a fridge. It's all plastic. So how can he be electrocuted? Or have I been living in false sense of a security ? Confusing.

That is not true, I have a fairly new Hitachi fridge - the entire outer case is steel and the door frames are aluminium, internally there is nothing metallic. The fridge came with a 2 pin power lead with a separate earth point / screw, this lead was removed and replaced with a 3 core lead all connected to an RCBO in the main switch board.

[williamgeorgeallen]

And is

I don't understand this: there is not a single reachable metal piece in a fridge. It's all plastic. So how can he be electrocuted? Or have I been living in false sense of a security ? Confusing.

It doesn't make sense.....opening a fridge....rummaging around inside ......nothing in there to get a shock from....either he fooled with the power cable or outlet.....or was possibly assisted

And is your typical police guy qualified to make assessments in regard to electrical stuff?

think you will find most of the assessments on here are made by non qualified people. this is a forum to discuss things and have a bit of fun. not much of a discussion if everyone has to be qualified to make comments.

[sahibji]

unfortunate accident or there is more than meets the eye.

suppose the first step would be two check the wiring of the fridge for any leakage.

further investigation will then be done to determine if there were other factors involved.

in either case a tragic episode.

[Hammock]

Probably he died from a hangover and not from electrocution?

[Sean87s]

Electrics here scare the hell out of me more than driving and cobras.

We were getting shocks from the shower on/off faucet since last week, wife got one off the metal drum inside the electric clothes dryer and then some lights on one switch panel in particular, quit working. Progressive failure day by day it seemed.

Found a new electrician who said the heating element inside the water heater tank had corroded. It's only about 2 years old, but we have been saltier well water during the continuing drought so that made sense.

Upon inspecting my Safe-T-Cut, he was shocked to see the GFCI dial was set to DIRECT. He turned it to 25 amps and it tripped the mains off every time. I didn't know what that dial was for, but about 2 years ago, we were having breaker trip problems. Some Thai dude came out, fiddled around with it for a few minutes and announced it was "fixed". I'm sure now that's how and when it ended up on DIRECT, and it's been like that ever since.

So 2 days of work, we've got a new water heater in. A new Safe-T-Cut installed, set to trip at 20 amps. And I bought a 6' long grounding rod to replace the 2' rods I had the heater and water pump on. Worth every Baht and I feel quite a bit better about the electrical system now..... but there's still room for improvement. Watch yourself out there.

Old SafeTCut.

20160719_130736.jpg

Damn! That could have turned out really bad man.

I get scared just buy looking at that DIRECT logo on the picture.

[Artisi]

Can anyone please explain the significance of hangover and electrocution.

[Krataiboy]

Moral of the story: beer is healthier than water.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Krataiboy

[DepDavid]

Checked my fridge. 2 prong power supply. The leveling feet on the front are plastic but the rear are metal stamped into the Bottom metal pan. I can see how water on the floor may have conducted the electricity to his bare feet.

[hansnl]

I don't understand this: there is not a single reachable metal piece in a fridge. It's all plastic. So how can he be electrocuted? Or have I been living in false sense of a security ? Confusing.

It doesn't make sense.....opening a fridge....rummaging around inside ......nothing in there to get a shock from....either he fooled with the power cable or outlet.....or was possibly assisted

There is the light.

There may be water from defrosting, from leaking, from damp, whatever.

And there you go.

Even earthing might not have helped, a ELB would if reaching for the drink.

Rented a new building.

Everything was earthed, after checking it was.

But no earth rod.

And the electrics looked a bit dodgy.

Cost me 20,000 to rectify.

Two men working for two days.

Don't ever trust electrical installations in Thailand.

Always install an ELB!

Edited July 20, 2016 by hansnl

[tuanku]

And is

I don't understand this: there is not a single reachable metal piece in a fridge. It's all plastic. So how can he be electrocuted? Or have I been living in false sense of a security ? Confusing.

It doesn't make sense.....opening a fridge....rummaging around inside ......nothing in there to get a shock from....either he fooled with the power cable or outlet.....or was possibly assisted

And is your typical police guy qualified to make assessments in regard to electrical stuff?

Only when it avoids having to conduct a thorough investigation.

Edited July 20, 2016 by tuanku

[55Jay]

Story like this is why I always wear rubber sandals at home. Assume everything here is trying to kill you, and may not be far off. I'd rather be somewhat safe than be fodder for arguments on TV regarding wiring.

Mee too. Inside the house "clean" sandals also became a habit for us after finding a small scorpion on the kitchen floor.

[manfredtillmann]

my fridge, like many other modern appliances (tv's, electric power tools etc), is 'double - insulated' and does not require earthing.

however, it is plugged into a multi board together with my also double insulated espresso machine.

this board is situated on the floor next to the fridge door.

i often wonder what would happen if i stood barefoot right next to that multi - board and dropped a bottle of water all over it...

yes, rcd's (safety switches) certainly are a good idea - if the place you live in has earth wiring installed.

[Stray]

my fridge, like many other modern appliances (tv's, electric power tools etc), is 'double - insulated' and does not require earthing.

however, it is plugged into a multi board together with my also double insulated espresso machine.

this board is situated on the floor next to the fridge door.

i often wonder what would happen if i stood barefoot right next to that multi - board and dropped a bottle of water all over it...

yes, rcd's (safety switches) certainly are a good idea - if the place you live in has earth wiring installed.

As manfredtillmann points out, many modern appliances are double insulated and should not be earthed. Check the data plate for the 'square within a square' symbol. If it has this then any internal conductive parts are insulated from the outer casing.

[HappyinNE]

The "electrician" who did my house solved the problem of not having a 3 pin receptacle by just snipping the ground pin off the plugs. Had to individually ground all the appliances.

[DrTuner]

Can anyone please explain the significance of hangover and electrocution.

Hangover is when you feel like you're going to die, electrocution is when you die. Some bright fella made a logic call of one leading to the other.

Edited July 20, 2016 by DrTuner

[natway09]

They do not need a 3rd grounding pin.

All appliances are now what they call double insulated.

But do not rely on fuses. Must have a cutout system or whole house on circuit breakers

[Hiyaall]

I was in Chiang Rai during New Years, and a crazed Brit was tearing at the electric boxes by the clock tower. He was under some kind of delusion. I thought for sure he was about to get zapped. I went up to him because I was the only one big enough to handle him and all the Thais were pointing at him for me to handle it. I was the the obvious choice. I ended up haveing to try and heckle the guy away from the pole. He was out of his mind. It came to the point were I was going to have to fight this guy and pin him or something ( jujitsu/wrestling background here). All the Thai ladies were filming us on their phones. I eventually got him to follow me down the street after calling him a little dumbass bitch. I just kept backing up until the police arrived. Hahahah the guy diddnt ever realize I was trying to save his life. Don't do drugs in Thailand folks.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Hiyaall

[Andaman Al]

I thought from the title somebody from the movie had been electrocuted.

Surely a full post mortem is required before conclusions can be jumped to, but he would have been drained of blood and filled with formaldehyde lying in a box within 6 hours of discovery. Amazing how the police can be so perceptive at knowing the cause of death by looking at him.

[Mitker]

People having a good time playing with the baby a few meters from a dead body

where am I?

[Artisi]

Story like this is why I always wear rubber sandals at home. Assume everything here is trying to kill you, and may not be far off. I'd rather be somewhat safe than be fodder for arguments on TV regarding wiring.

Your house is easily made safe from electrical problems, simple ensure all appliances that should be earthed are earthed, this might entail running a ground wire to the appliance preferably via a 3 pin outlet socket with all ground wires feeding back to central point for earthing to a ground rod. The ultimate protection against active power to earth via "You" causing electrocution is 1 or more RCBO's wired into the active/ neutral supply at the power board. Sorry to say there is no protection available if you become a link between the active and the neutral supply, but this is unlikely in the normal course of events in your home, unless you are playing at being an electrician.

So wearing rubber soled shoes at home is going to protect you, what do you do outside of your home, or do you think once outside - everything is fine.

[Artisi]

They do not need a 3rd grounding pin.

All appliances are now what they call double insulated.

But do not rely on fuses. Must have a cutout system or whole house on circuit breakers

WAY WRONG, not all appliances are double insulated.

My fridge, rice cooker, toaster, coffee perc, oven, microwave oven plus a few others are not double insulated and are connected to the power supply by earthed 3 pin plugs and backed up with RCBO's.

[Artisi]

I thought from the title somebody from the movie had been electrocuted.

Surely a full post mortem is required before conclusions can be jumped to, but he would have been drained of blood and filled with formaldehyde lying in a box within 6 hours of discovery. Amazing how the police can be so perceptive at knowing the cause of death by looking at him.

Thai police very smart, not like stupid farang police who take months sometime to find problem.

[Artisi]

Wiring is not earthed nor is a Safe-T-Cut installed.

None of the fridges I have have a three pin plug, I ran a separate wire from the ground pin to a screw on the fridge at my house. Safe-t-cut would likely have worked. Nasty way to go, should have at least been reaching for a beer and not water.

Just curious.....if none of your fridges have a 3 pin plug, how come they have a "ground pin"?

My LG double door was supplied with a separate green earth wire hanging off the back.

That's for Thai electricians to screw into a plastic wall plug they drill into the wall - see now earthed Thai style - you farang know nothing.

[DrTuner]

Double insulation just makes it less probable for the outer skin to get "hot". Enter Somchai the superhandyman with a hammer, nails and burning desire to attach an appliance by nailing it to the floor, or some such everyday occurrence. Better check everything you can touch is grounded, then check again and again every time you've turned your back for more than 10mins, which is all it takes for the Supersomchai to turn your la-z-boy into an electric chair.

[55Jay]

^^Yup. First time we had the village electrician/builder/car mechanic/pork stick BBQ chef, install a hot water heater years ago, I told him I wanted a grounding wire. He nodded understanding and said, "Sa-tafe-tee", OK, Krup!"

He ran the ground wire, attached it to grounding post and pounded it into a crack in the concrete out back.

Job done!