Good Electrician Needed

[semperfiguy]

I recently had some remodeling done and the contractor sent over an electrician to install three ceiling fans. Before he left my home he said that he was concerned about the way my house had been wired. According to him the three A/C units had been wired to the nearest light switches with a small breaker switch installed above the light switch panel and the two shower water heaters done the same way with no ground and no breaker. He advised me to install a larger breaker box in the kitchen and reroute wires from the A/C units and water heaters directly to the breaker box. Total estimated cost (labor and materials) 6,000 baht using a three man crew. No doubt he could do all the work in a matter of a few hours, so this sounds awfully high to me.

My concern is that he is simply playing on my ignorance and there may be absolutely nothing wrong with my current set up. Also, I caught one of his workers hiding parts needed for the installation of the ceiling fans, so that sent up a red flag. I also asked him to use twist-on wire connectors and not just electrical tape twisted around the wire-ends, and I caught him cutting corners there as well. My gut feeling is that he is trying to rip me off, but if he's correct then I could be in some real danger of having an electrical fire.

Does anyone know of an honest electrician who you can recommend (name and number)? Also any comments on the advise given by my electrician would be appreciated.

[fatbob]

You say 6,000 is expensive, are you serious, electricity bites and you cannot see it, water is the best conductor of electricity, by the sounds I would not use your shower, if your A/C units are hooked up to a light circuit that will be 1.5 cable, run your A/C for a time and you will burn it out, pay the small money man, your a long time dead!

[redwolf]

maybe as coxo says the cost isn't an issue, which you would most likely agree.

but if this guy seems untrustworthy then yeah, someone on here should recommend an alternate.

post your reply back so people will know you would like to use a different one if you don't trust this guy, and that the post isn't just about cost.

[semperfiguy]

maybe as coxo says the cost isn't an issue, which you would most likely agree.

but if this guy seems untrustworthy then yeah, someone on here should recommend an alternate.

post your reply back so people will know you would like to use a different one if you don't trust this guy, and that the post isn't just about cost.

Thanks for the comment Redwolf. You're correct...the issue is not really the cost, but rather or not this guy is being honest with me. I'd prefer to hire another electrician for a second opinion and if the new guy is trustworthy, have him go ahead and do the work for me if it's needed. All recommendations would be appreciated.

[Galee]

If simperguy went and checked the material costs he might think differently.
Anyone with common sense should realise that A/C units and shower units are not wired as described. Sounds to me as he's doing you a favour. Pay the 6k and thank your lucky stars.

[trubrit]

Have sent you a PM with contact details of my guy. Not sure he would appreciate his phone number on line .He lives in Udon .

[threestags]

I agree, under no circumstances should your A/C units and water heaters be wired to the light circuit. They should be on separate circuits. Get someone else to check it out.

[bluejets]

Sometimes the ceiling fans come with additional parts that are not required, such as light adaptor parts. I keep these myself as they are brass and come in handy for other things.

Never ceases to amaze me as to what will run on a piece of 1.5mm2 cable without burning the house down. I'd be looking into at least getting this verified as others here have said and then rectified.(quickly)

Those heaters will pull around 30 amps a piece although they normally do have internal over-current and earth leakage built in. So basically, run them on 1.5mm2 and you now have a new version of central heating.

RAC's ....mmm.. depending on size but anywhere from 3 to 10 amps each. Still overloading the lightng circuit though.

6,000 baht for a few hours work with 2 or 3 blokes sounds a bargain when you concider cable (copper) prices these days.

I gues it depends on whether they do the job properly or not.

[RLTrader]

Price seems outrageous to me. Some where on here I posted my electricians #, speaks a little english. Sorry don't have it on phone and wife is not here at present.

Just get it checked out by someone you can trust! Mine is very busy, but depending where you live, he might stop by for a look see, and you can trust what he says.

[mally]

I'll drop in my opinion on this, (I'm a fully qualified electrician in the UK), for me there are 3 issues here:-
1) Is the installation correct and safe ?
Answer - If it is as described, then a big NO. I endorse Coxo's remark

I would not use your shower,

2) Should the work be carried out by the electrician who noticed it ?
Answer - Not if you found him twisting cable together and wrapping electrical tape around it - No electrician worth his
salt would do a joint like this. That's the bodge you saw, there will be others that you didn't ! Get a reputable electrician in to check the installation and have the work done by him.
3) Is the cost too high ?
Answer - Here in the UK it would cost a lot more, but that's the UK not Udon. However, there is always one fact of life the whole world over, you might pay a high price and get bad work, but you will never pay peanuts and get good work.
Get the good tradesman and pay the rate, your life and the lives of those around you are not worth risking.

[Khun Paul]

having gone through my electrics with a fine tooth comb, following a previously undetected fault, your system sounds like a potential hazard waiting to melt down.
All A/C units need to be seperately wired with 2.5 mm cable minimum, preferably from the main fuse board through a cut out switch to the unit itself.
Showers again can be wired off the multi functional power light switch but MUST have a cut out prior to the unit and EARTHED.
With this old house of mine many wires were just twisrted togethere, but rather than untwist and insert block, checked every twist and if unhappy replaced the tape , as and where necessary.

I also installed a safety cut out through which all and every electric component has to go through after the fuse board , therefore ANY irregularities will trigger the switch.

Lights by themsleves are not through this so therefore they will stay on in the event of an appliance fault which then enables you to see what the hell is going wrong.They still have fuse board RCBs though.

Costs about 5000 for the safety cut out, and another 3-5 K for upating and making sure I am safe , being electrocuted is not the way to get aroused a good lady can do that, electrocuted is a one off affair, prognosis is death.

The problem with Thai electricians is like their driving they take all and every shortcut they can find, when I was updating the wiring I laid a new main cable from the main switch through to the kitchen block thereby bypassing the main house fuse board, installed a smaller fuse board and another safety cut out. But in laying the cable as it was not long enough they were prepared to join two lengths together, needless to say i saw it and remonstrated, purchased a new cable that was long enough and installed that. Apparantly they were saving costs which seemed daft as I was paying for the cable anyway, but I made sure I kept all the excess, they got paid for their trouble and nowt else. After that I did the rest, took more time but I now know every damn crook and cranny and it is all safe.

[mally]

With this old house of mine many wires were just twisrted togethere, but rather than untwist and insert block, checked every twist and if unhappy replaced the tape , as and where necessary.

I've come across these twisted cable joints many times, but cannot understand why people trust them.
All cables warm up when under load, the amount they warm up depends on many factors - load, ambient air temp, the ability to dissipate the heat (or not), etc: In a nutshell, they warm up and expand, then they cool down and contract, and repeat this every time they carry or vary the current. Constant movement of the cores of the cable will eventually loosen the twisted connection, loose connection = arcing = heat = fire risk. thus the need for a sound electrical and mechanical joint. The easiest way is to use the small pots that are made for this type of twisted joint, cheap and readily available.
However, the best joint is no joint at all, full lengths of cable between the 2 points.

[Khun Paul]

Agree twists can be a nightmare, however had you seen the bloody mess I had and the sheer number you would do the same, having said that where the twist was illogical and not required I did change it for something far more suitable.I am lucky i can get to all my wiring, in some modern houses its what hidden that scares the C*** out of me.

[semperfiguy]

UPDATE FROM THE OP! I called up Trubrit's electrician, who learned his trade in Japan, and he came out this morning to check things out in my home. Turns out that the first electrician misled me on a few issues, so I'm glad that I got a second opinion...and a better price at that. He suggested that I go to Global House to buy the larger breaker box with 12 breakers and a safety-cut switch. That cost me 3,210 baht, guaranteed for 8 years and seemed to be the best they had to offer. The electrician will charge me 2,000 baht for a days work for a crew of three guys, and he will reroute all three A/C's and two shower heaters directly to the breaker box and see that all is grounded. He'll install the proper size wire where needed and check all connections to make sure they are secure with the use of twist on wire connectors. He says the house will then be shipshape and safe, so I'll report back after the work is completed next Tuesday.

I want to thank everyone who submitted a recommendation, made comments or offered opinions. It's a great feeling to know that I can always count on my fellow forumites to help with any problem.

[weasel]

Dear All, I TOO need a good electrician, I am away right now and the wife has had a "shower heater" installed! I asked here how it was done, did not know but then said lights dim when shower on, I suspect a cowboy HAS wired this from the lighting circuit............can someone send me a number? Thanks

[fdimike]

Something for all concerned to keep in mind related to "twist on" wire nut connectors here in LOS. I've had a number of these locally made wire nut connectors develop problems specificly with the plastic part of the "wire nut" coming loose. The wires remain locked togther by the wire coil inside but it could lead to a safety issue if the plastic cover comes off exposing the bare wires. I've notice Thai electricians using black plastic electrical tape on top of the "wire nut" to prevent the plastic cap from coming undone. I've gone in the other direction and now use "wire nuts" from the US which are made much better and normally include a pair of "wings" to assist in tightening/loosening the connector.

[RLTrader]

I've had a number of these locally made wire nut connectors develop problems specificly with the plastic part of the "wire nut" coming loose

Have always seen that type of problem with 'wire nuts', even in the states. Do not know what they are using in the states these days, but back in the mid 80's were using a plastic shrink wrap. Place it over the twisted wires, then apply heat with a little heat gun. I looked for them here 5 or 6 years ago and found none. I should have gotten some shipped from the states, but didn't think it was an option.

Now when I can't find it here, I buy it on line and send to TX, then from there I send it here. With all that bother it is surprising that it only takes a couple of weeks and sometimes the cost is about the same as one would expect to pay here, sometime cheaper, if you were to count the cost of gas and wasted time looking here.

When I needed some cabinet hinges, wasted weeks looking and found none here, we even looked in a catalog at a wood shop in Udon. Found online made in China, bought from an online shop in FL. So the dam things have now traveled around the world. I expect the 'wire nuts' you got from the states were made at the same factory as the ones you buy here, but maybe a little QC was applied to the batch shipped to the states.

[fdimike]

RL

I'm not quite that nieve. The ones I ordered from the States are much better than what is available here. The additional "wings" allow for easy tightening and/or loosening of the "wire nut". I don't know what the code is where you are from but the electrial code in FL allows the use of "wire nuts" on their own without any additional tape/shrink wrap. I've never seen "wire nuts" seperate like this before.

BTW: You can buy heat shrink tubing in just about any size you want from the electrical shop on road between the fountain circle & the clock circle (right side of the road heading towards the clock circle).

[RLTrader]

RL

BTW: You can buy heat shrink tubing in just about any size you want from the electrical shop on road between the fountain circle & the clock circle (right side of the road heading towards the clock circle).

Thanks. I will guess that is not Phillps (sp?) or the newish 1 on the road pass Ngee Soon. Will check it out.

[RLTrader]

RL

I don't know what the code is where you are from but the electrial code in FL allows the use of "wire nuts" on their own without any additional tape/shrink wrap. I've never seen "wire nuts" seperate like this before.

What I was talking about was in place of 'wire nuts' - this was done in NH on a house I had built. Prior to that I always saw the same type of 'wire nuts' use here and yes they used some black tape. Being that electricians are licenced and inspectors check their work, I will assume it was all legal by NH code, either way.