Stuff That Makes Life In Thailand Easier/Resolves A Problem

[forcebwithu 4,822]

5 hours ago, jacko said:

Had some quite violent ones near me with  a few close lightening hits .... they surprised me slightly and I was lazy .... I now have 2 defective HDMI ports, one on my  laptop, and the one on the other end of the cable on my relatively new TV! No more using that as a monitor!  (I know, wireless is an option). I bought a quite expensive HDMI cable with those surge limiting inductor things near the connectors, but to no avail. I think it took out my neighbours gate opener...again. Had this happen 10 years ago and at that time it cost me plenty!

Thought I'd start a new topic rather with a reply to your post rather than go OT on teelack's OFTR topic.

One thing that's greatly improved over the years is the electric infrastructure in Pattaya. Like you I had two very close lightning strikes during a storm last week. In the past the strike would usually be followed by a multi-hour power outage. But in the past couple years it's been rare to have an outage, and if there was one the electric company usually had power restored in less than hour.

That still doesn't preclude power spikes on the line. To protect against those I have several UPS's (uninterruptible power supply) scattered around the house. Anything electronic gets plugged into them and they've probably saved my electronics on a number of occasions.

I would recommend sticking to name brand UPS's.

For my computer equipement I have the APC Back-UPS 1400VA which has enough capacity for all my electronics in my home office. For the smaller electronics, like access points, hubs, CCTV cameras I use Zircon UPS's.

Perhaps @frostfire can also provide recommendations.

[forcebwithu 4,822]

To add to this topic, here's a C&P of a post I made on the same topic on another forum.

I was having a problem with tiny ants that were fond of making nests in my computers and other electronic gear. They're also a problem in the kitchen when any foodstuffs have been left out too long. Based on a recommendation on another board I bought the two products pictured below. Both have proven very effective at eliminating the ant problem around the house.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i577712854-s1067362695.html

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i4557133900-s18558024373.htm

[keyman 1,379]

You must have a lot of patience to inject each of the ants!!!! 🤣

[sailingbill 1,015]

Ants, the stories. Thanks force I added these to my Lazada cart.

We had a power outage last week, I was pissed since I thought it blew out a pump as well as a panel. The girl said it will come back in stages no worry. I told her it doesn't work like that. We Need to buy a new water pump and have someone check the A/C , the fan works but not the A/c. "It is on 100% or 0", does not come back in stages.  I grew up on the Chesapeake and know what I'm talking about. Apparently I'm lacking in my Issan knowledge. It does come back in flickering stages and she ignored my ranting and flipped the pump breaker off. when the storm began   I insisted the house be built to western plumbing and electrical code but I guess I should have an electrician take another look.  

[forcebwithu 4,822]

32 minutes ago, sailingbill said:

Ants, the stories. Thanks force I added these to my Lazada cart.

We had a power outage last week, I was pissed since I thought it blew out a pump as well as a panel. The girl said it will come back in stages no worry. I told her it doesn't work like that. We Need to buy a new water pump and have someone check the A/C , the fan works but not the A/c. "It is on 100% or 0", does not come back in stages.  I grew up on the Chesapeake and know what I'm talking about. Apparently I'm lacking in my Issan knowledge. It does come back in flickering stages and she ignored my ranting and flipped the pump breaker off. when the storm began   I insisted the house be built to western plumbing and electrical code but I guess I should have an electrician take another look.  

I've noticed that when the power went out, it would sometimes come back in two stages. Each stage 110v. It was noticeable as the fan would start to kick over, but not at full speed until the power came back up to the nominal 220v.

Smart lady you have to throw the breaker until after the storm has passed.

For killing ants I've found the bait packs to be easier to put out, so would recommend just sticking with that.

If you have pets, place them where the pet can't get to them. I had a bit of concern when one my dogs got chewing on one, but when I looked up the active ingredient (boric acid) I relaxed. They'd have to eat 10 - 20 times what is in those small packets to have any ill effect.

[frostfire 1,279]

Just about to hit the sack when I got this notification, so I wont put a lot of work in to this... just too tired and there are a LOT of lessons learned over the last couple decades of living here (almost anyway. Somewhere north of 15 and south of 20). 

I agree with all that Forcebwithu said, but ill add to that this: For the last 18 months or so, I have seen zero dangerous spikes in the electric grid. 

My main workstations are super expensive and almost none of the parts can be bought in Thailand, so I am very careful with them. I use a 3000va Smart UPS for that and it monitors the line voltage, sinewave, etc and adjusts the output as needed, but also gives me reports on any issues - and there used to be a lot of them. In the last year we have had 2 complete outages and one time we had the loss of a single phase (down to 110 from 220), but the "health" of the line has been really good for the last 18 months or so. So much so that I would go so far as to say that you only need to protect really expensive equipment now. When the UPSs at my factory died a few months back I just replaced them with cheap versions, and may let them go completely next time and just use surge protectors (which you should always have - surges can happen even on state of the art grids). 

For pest prevention I tend to use Chris of Termite Tech Thailand. (or previously of that company anyway. I think he has branched off. Happy to give you a number on request). He comes out to both my home and factory once every 3 months and never has to come back in between sprays, though he will do for free if needed. For me it has not been needed. Its well worth the cost, which is not very expensive. 

If you don't have the phone number of a Thai "fix it" guy, find one and keep it in your phone. You will run in to an issue that you can't fix yourself, and having a guy that will come on call is a must. Same thing for the gas/water guys if you cook or have a water tank. Keep those numbers handy. 

I am sure there are a thousand more.... if I get some time ill write them up haha. 

Frosty