chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 2, 2023 9:22:55 GMT 7
Our builder is not bad, at times he's shown remarkable skill and a solid understanding of what needs to be done. He's certainly the best one we've had plus he's a nice guy, for those reasons we overlook his days off to get completely blottoed. On the other hand, there have been days when I've just shaken my head is wonderment. Yesterday we returned from a very rare absence from site, only to find he'd renewed the wiring in the structure that is to be demolished, removing the structure is the main purpose of all the other work! Why would you do that....he blinked several times. Then there was the many diagrams and repeated explanations about what circuits should go on which breakers, there's only six of them and one is spare so how complicated can that be, check, double check and check again. Yet somehow, the water pump ended up on the same circuit as the lights and the washing machine, despite needing to be on its own breaker, how did that happen? He blinked and blinked again. Meanwhile, younger male and female members of the family spend their days watching his every move, they are serving their apprenticeships and will soon be offering their newly learned skills for sale in the village, doing things they've seen done incorrectly but never done themselves. On the job training, Thailand style. Big sigh.
Then there was the family discussion about the newly installed water pump, they've never had one before. Mrs CM said to mum, you'll need to watch the water level in the tank, if the village water is shut off for long periods there's a risk the tank will run dry and that the pump will start pumping air and overheat. Oh noooo says mum, the people in the village said that pumps shut down automatically so that could never happen. Back and forth it went for over half an hour. There's a big difference between a pump that shuts down because it overheated and one that stopped working because there's no water, yours doesn't detect no water. We left that hot potato by telling her that this is the only pump we're going to buy for her and if she cooks it, the replacement is on her. Meanwhile, the search is on for a water tank sight gauge.
It's been a fun few days in Sukhothai, I even managed to get medically dehydrated, without realising it until too late........it's been far too hot.
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siampolee
Detective
Alive alive O
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Post by siampolee on Jun 2, 2023 9:45:22 GMT 7
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Jun 2, 2023 10:26:05 GMT 7
So if I understand correctly then you can see from the blinking of the lights that the waterpump works?  As for dehydrated, didn't your fridge warn you to buy beer?  |
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 4, 2023 14:50:05 GMT 7
There was only one thing left to do, a simple task that we left to the builder but he managed to cock it up after we left. The hole in the bottom of the water tank is 1 inch, connect a pipe from that to the pump and the pump has a source of water, put a valve in the middle to isolate the pump when necessary and you're good to go. But the pump has a 3/4 inch intake so the pipe has to be reduced, we even left him a reducer along with a 1 inch valve, what could possibly go wrong?
What went wrong was, he fitted the reducer onto the tank outlet which meant the 1 inch valve wouldn't fit on the 3/4 inch pipe. "you gave me the wrong size valve" he said so I didn't bother fitting one. Fortunately, technology has not yet evolved to the point where weapons can be fired down telephone lines, just as well really.
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Jun 4, 2023 17:29:00 GMT 7
Better be careful. you might end up showing him how and what following which he'll charge you double for interfering with his work. |
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oldie
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Post by oldie on Jun 5, 2023 1:00:12 GMT 7
I would have threaded another hole near the top of the tank and mounted the pump off that, just to annoy you.
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chiangmai
Crazy Mango Extraordinaire
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 5, 2023 2:47:48 GMT 7
Why not, after all, what are friends for.  |
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TTFT
Fricken Tiger
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Post by TTFT on Jun 5, 2023 8:03:34 GMT 7
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Mosha
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Post by Mosha on Jun 5, 2023 8:51:53 GMT 7
Perversely the majority of the time we run out of water in the tank is when we get a lot of rain, and it knocks out the village pump. It pulls water from an aquifer. Then we ration what's in the tank. If the tank is full, we can go 3 days.
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 5, 2023 8:59:13 GMT 7
Interesting! I figured on around 200 litres a day for two people, so a 1,000 liter tank should last her around 5 days. That said, the village water has been mostly off now for about three weeks, folks have to take large containers to a secret location and get them filled up then take them home and transfer into the ongs. I have a chum who lives off grid and has no municipal water supply at all so he has to store everything in tanks, he currently has around 30, 2,000 liter tanks which he reckons is a six month supply.
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rott
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Post by rott on Jun 5, 2023 11:01:59 GMT 7
You lads living in the "real" Thailand have my utmost admiration. I wouldn't last a week.
But.... my nearest 7 has just closed for a while for a redo, this means either risking the zebra crossing on Suk or trolling up and down the BTS bit to get to the 3 on the other side.
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 5, 2023 11:50:34 GMT 7
Mums closest town is Thung Saliam, about 5 miles away. TS has one bank, one 7/11, a Lotus Express plus a mish mash of other small shops typically found in small rural towns. It also has a national recognised school of a very high calibre. The local hotel is surprisingly good and pleasant. It's newish, has nice gardens, has modern aircon and flat screen TV - 440 Baht per night. The local eateries are also very good and especially good value, a 3 or four dish mezze of good quality food, including soft drinks, is under 500, under 250 if you want somewhere without any ambience at all. If you drive around the surrounding countryside it's easy to spot the homes where the occupants have worked overseas or have successful children in Bangkok, almost everyone else is dirt poor. The city of Sukhothai is one hours drive away, it's home to a Big C shopping mall and a Global House along with city centre shopping that hasn't changed in 30 years and the buildings haven't been painted in that time.....the big tourist hotel charges 1,100 per night! If you were to become ill in Thung Saliam you would be sent to the local hospital. From there you would quickly be shunted to the Sukhothai hospital, then to Phitsanulok and eventually to Chiang Mai where you would begin to find decent quality care.....it's quite scary really. I once told a relative to go to the city hospital because of an extreme temperature. The first time they were given Tylenol, when I sent them back again they were given a vit B shot. I finally went with them on the third visit (same day) when they were admitted with Dengue Fever, the doctor just didn't have a clue.
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Jun 5, 2023 12:07:06 GMT 7
You lads living in the "real" Thailand have my utmost admiration. I wouldn't last a week. But.... my nearest 7 has just closed for a while for a redo, this means either risking the zebra crossing on Suk or trolling up and down the BTS bit to get to the 3 on the other side. Power failure from about 11:00 till 11:30. When the fans started to work again I first has a shower after which I walked around the corner to the small shop for some ice and a beer. Hardship indeed! |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Jun 5, 2023 12:11:16 GMT 7
Interesting! I figured on around 200 litres a day for two people, so a 1,000 liter tank should last her around 5 days. That said, the village water has been mostly off now for about three weeks, folks have to take large containers to a secret location and get them filled up then take them home and transfer into the ongs. I have a chum who lives off grid and has no municipal water supply at all so he has to store everything in tanks, he currently has around 30, 2,000 liter tanks which he reckons is a six month supply. MY last water bill from 14/05 shows 10 units used for a grand total of 119.31 Baht. Two adults and a dog. Wife likes bottled water, dog pepsi and I prefer coffee or the occasional beer. |
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chiangmai
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Post by chiangmai on Jun 5, 2023 12:16:12 GMT 7
Interesting! I figured on around 200 litres a day for two people, so a 1,000 liter tank should last her around 5 days. That said, the village water has been mostly off now for about three weeks, folks have to take large containers to a secret location and get them filled up then take them home and transfer into the ongs. I have a chum who lives off grid and has no municipal water supply at all so he has to store everything in tanks, he currently has around 30, 2,000 liter tanks which he reckons is a six month supply. MY last water bill from 14/05 shows 10 units used for a grand total of 119.31 Baht. Two adults and a dog. Wife likes bottled water, dog pepsi and I prefer coffee or the occasional beer. Our bill is also about 120 baht but that's only 6 units, it seems you get cheaper water in Bangkok. |
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