Should I turn off my shower heater when not in use?

[Deepinthailand]

50 minutes ago, sandgroper2 said:

Yes, every thing you read in books , take the bible for example, is the truth. Nuff said.

In your opinion of course. So I take it everything you read on google is truth TV nuff said

[daveAustin]

On 1/3/2017 at 0:59 AM, GuiseppeD said:

Be careful, only Italian contractors should be used to make sure your electrics are in order.  If you fiddle with the box then you might be electrocuted to death if not declared safe by an Italian.

 

An Italian and electrics? Sounds as 'safe' as Italians and tower building.  Stick to building nice cars, chum, and leave the electrics to the Brits. 

 

Turn it off if you're worried about the thing malfunctioning and causing a fire (unlikely unless a cheapo Chinese thing or mice in ceiling), but regards power drain from 'on' light, since they are all LEDS nowadays drawing milliwatts, it wouldn't be worth your while.

[sandgroper2]

59 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

In your opinion of course. So I take it everything you read on google is truth TV nuff said

Never said that. Good bless and may his lord guide you through your day.

[Deepinthailand]

1 minute ago, sandgroper2 said:

Never said that. Good bless and may his lord guide you through your day.

She always does thankyou

[sandgroper2]

9 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

She always does thankyou

You need spell check. "He"

[farcanell]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

@uptheos Google is your friend if you really want to know.

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=shower+electrocution+thailand&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gws_rd=cr&ei=NaNtWJySFoX8vgS2rKCQAQ#q=thailand+shower+electrocution

 

2.2 million results.

 

Slightly fewer (380,000) results for swimming pool deaths.

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=swimming+pool+electrocution+thailand&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gws_rd=cr&ei=4qNtWNTBAoeFvQTnoIKgAQ

 

Faulty wiring here, scares me more than the roads.

 

right now my stove is trying to kill me.... this after having an electrician install a second circuit breaker box to my house, two weeks ago.... ostensibly to reduce overloading of circuits... obviously I need to get another electrician asap

 

that said.... of the five farang deaths by electrocution, in the bottom link, under farang deaths.com, the problem seems to be faulty wiring from sources not connected to the pool (i.e... light bulb found still dangling in pool and connected to power)

 

Then these few deaths are then repeatedly regurgitated by google 380,000 times.

 

back to my stove.... almost....I did see one article saying someone was electrocuted by the fridge.

 

its simple really... don't trust Thai wiring or tradesmen

[Deepinthailand]

53 minutes ago, sandgroper2 said:

You need spell check. "He"

Why bother enough grammer police on here. I was correct she

Edited January 5, 2017 by Deepinthailand

[farcanell]

1 hour ago, sandgroper2 said:

You need spell check. "He"

 

Plenty of female deities to worship.... oftentimes better than their male counterparts.

[JetsetBkk]

On 01/03/2017 at 3:33 PM, 12DrinkMore said:

 

Lemon juice is going to be a bit slow.

 

I was considering using one of those industrial strength cleaners that work so well in the bathroom, with lots of fizzing and bubbling. The unit would have to be removed from the wall unless I buy a small pump. Yep, might try that.

 

What could possibly go wrong......

 

Try white Vixol - 30% hydrochloric acid. That should do the trick.

[12DrinkMore]

13 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

 

Try white Vixol - 30% hydrochloric acid. That should do the trick.

 

Thanks, but I was really planning on using the screws to take the unit from the wall, not dissolving it and the entire bathroom.

[sandgroper2]

3 hours ago, farcanell said:

 

Plenty of female deities to worship.... oftentimes better than their male counterparts.

How did my  weight get into the conversation?

[MichaelFaHam]

Having read right through this thread I can see that there is a little good advice and a whole lot of wild assumptions. Typical of any forum I guess, but as was mentioned, be very careful about online advice.

 

So, now for my advice! Do not mess with electrical stuff if you do not fully understand it. It can kill you, or some other person. However, as a user there is one simple precaution you can take with these instant water heaters. Push the ELCB Test button!

 

For those who don't know, the ELCB (earth leakage circuit breaker) is designed to shut off the power if any dangerous voltage is detected where it could cause injury. For it to function it requires the unit to be properly installed with a functioning earth connection. It is this earth connection which is sometimes either missing or defective.

 

In short, to use one of these shower heaters without a functioning ELCB is potentially fatal. If pressing the test button does not result in an instant shut down of the unit (you should hear a clear clunk noise) then DO NOT USE the heater. Get the electrician to fix it. If the unit shuts down correctly then reset the ELCB and use the heater if there are no other obvious problems.

 

It is wise to test your home heater on a regular basis as earth connections can become disconnected. Always check the ELCB of a hotel or guesthouse heater and demand a different room if faulty.

 

I recently checked my mother in law's shower heater. The "electrician" had dropped and lost a small screw so left the earth connection loose. A little vibration and corrosion and the device had become potentially deadly. I like my mother in law.... the earth is now fixed and tested!

 

As for turning the whole unit off after use, most manufacturers tell you to do so. I don't know why but why argue? Just don't touch exposed switches in wet conditions. Use the on/off control on the heater.

[transam]

10 hours ago, MichaelFaHam said:

Having read right through this thread I can see that there is a little good advice and a whole lot of wild assumptions. Typical of any forum I guess, but as was mentioned, be very careful about online advice.

 

So, now for my advice! Do not mess with electrical stuff if you do not fully understand it. It can kill you, or some other person. However, as a user there is one simple precaution you can take with these instant water heaters. Push the ELCB Test button!

 

For those who don't know, the ELCB (earth leakage circuit breaker) is designed to shut off the power if any dangerous voltage is detected where it could cause injury. For it to function it requires the unit to be properly installed with a functioning earth connection. It is this earth connection which is sometimes either missing or defective.

 

In short, to use one of these shower heaters without a functioning ELCB is potentially fatal. If pressing the test button does not result in an instant shut down of the unit (you should hear a clear clunk noise) then DO NOT USE the heater. Get the electrician to fix it. If the unit shuts down correctly then reset the ELCB and use the heater if there are no other obvious problems.

 

It is wise to test your home heater on a regular basis as earth connections can become disconnected. Always check the ELCB of a hotel or guesthouse heater and demand a different room if faulty.

 

I recently checked my mother in law's shower heater. The "electrician" had dropped and lost a small screw so left the earth connection loose. A little vibration and corrosion and the device had become potentially deadly. I like my mother in law.... the earth is now fixed and tested!

 

As for turning the whole unit off after use, most manufacturers tell you to do so. I don't know why but why argue? Just don't touch exposed switches in wet conditions. Use the on/off control on the heater.

Was that online advice.....?

[farcanell]

7 hours ago, transam said:

Was that online advice.....?

 

Damn good advise.... I just went and checked all my trip switches... thanks.

 

noteworthy is that if I do not turn off the devices, as recommended, I get an E1 message on the screen, accompanied with a warning alarm, which persists until I do turn off the unit, reinforcing that the manufacturer wants the unit turned off if no water is running through the unit.

 

[MichaelFaHam]

12 hours ago, transam said:

Was that online advice.....?

 

Well spotted transam ! :)

 

Treat it with care.

[lemonjelly]

It's like this; you're In Thailand, take a good look around you, take note of how these lovely people deal with electrical wiring, and then you'll realise that taking cold showers is beneficial to one's health in more ways than one.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[surangw]

sounds like the start of another " you know you have been here too long when"

    

 

as in you think  the  ground water is too cold  for a shower

Edited January 6, 2017 by surangw

[longball53098]

On 1/3/2017 at 11:49 AM, dbrenn said:

Right. Earthing is non existent in Thailand. When my shower unit was installed, the 'electrician' simply hammered a nail into the corner of an (insulating) concrete wall and attached the earth wire to it. He was adamant that this was a job well done. 

 

Very important to use earth leakage circuit breakers here. They save lives.

Bold statement about Earthing in Thailand.

 

My home built 8 years now is earthed properly and I know of many places also earthed. Non-existent? I don't think so. Earthing is much more common these days than you may think.

 

I agree most local sparkies are weak in this( earthing) and all aspects of electricity.

Edited January 7, 2017 by longball53098
spell check

[dbrenn]

56 minutes ago, longball53098 said:

Bold statement about Earthing in Thailand.

 

My home built 8 years now is earthed properly and I know of many places also earthed. Non-existent? I don't think so. Earthing is much more common these days than you may think.

 

I agree most local sparkies are weak in this( earthing) and all aspects of electricity.

That's a contradictory statement. First you say that earthing is more common than I thought, then you say that most local electricians are weak in earthing and indeed all aspects of electricity. 

 

Surely good earthing is dependent on good electricians, who know about earthing and all aspects of electricity.

 

Which is it to be? 

[farcanell]

1 hour ago, longball53098 said:

Bold statement about Earthing in Thailand.

 

My home built 8 years now is earthed properly and I know of many places also earthed. Non-existent? I don't think so. Earthing is much more common these days than you may think.

 

I agree most local sparkies are weak in this( earthing) and all aspects of electricity.

 

Luck of the draw, perhaps.

 

my house is five years old, and I had an "oh shit" moment, when I found multiple wires of various colors attached to an earth stake.

 

but in the end, it was ok, because further investigation showed that the other ends of the wires, which were about 2 feet long, were simply buried in the ground.

 

placebo electrics

[longball53098]

10 minutes ago, dbrenn said:

That's a contradictory statement. First you say that earthing is more common than I thought, then you say that most local electricians are weak in earthing and indeed all aspects of electricity. 

 

Surely good earthing is dependent on good electricians, who know about earthing and all aspects of electricity.

 

Which is it to be? 

You said earthing was non-existent in Thailand and I totally disagree. I counter by citing my place and many more I know of. So, that would make earthing existent.

 

There are sparkies that know their s*it and those that don't. The ones that do know something are capable of earthing equipment even in a village in the sticks of Lamphun where we re-modelled my wife's family "estate". From a typical house with a knife switch for the master cutoff to earthed water heaters,earthed outlets and a breaker panel with correct sized  wiring, upsized supply and a earth rod. It cost me but I got what I wanted

Enough

[lopburi3]

Quote

From a typical house with a knife switch for the master cutoff to earthed water heaters,earthed outlets and a breaker panel with correct sized  wiring, upsized supply and a earth rod. It cost me but I got what I wanted

Actually that knife switch normally contains fuse wire which act as the main breaker and AFAIK was an official requirement here - before any fuse or breaker panel.

[William Osborne]

Heads up !... Switch it OFF for sure.. this just happened to me.... and I used never switch of my shower..

 

My shower packed up a few days ago (how i found this thread !!).... power LED wasn't coming so I figured it was something to do with flow/switch as pressure was ok..... anyhow, opened the cover and could see there was prox switch on the inlet so figured it was stuck so poked screwdriver up the inlet pipe and gently popped it free and power LED came on ... result !!... hot water !!

 

Then I switched off water and was tiding up but could still hear the heater... which was getting louder so turned it off.... did it a few more times to see if thermostat would kick in but same result...Curiosity getting the better of me,  I tried again whilst standing outside the door and the whole it started blowing steam out through the hose and started flying everywhere as i had it hanging loose.... with that i ran off and cut off the MCB at the board..... god knows what would happen if i had left it on !!

 

Shower still works but will replace it in the next day or so..... have had it for 12 years ago not too bad....