Bringing a range/oven to Thailand

[DanFromHawaii]

My (Thai) wife and I intend to buy a house in Bangkok soon. We intend to buy one with enough room in one of the kitchens to add a standard 30-inch gas oven. In reading the forums, it looks like conversion kits for Imperial-to-metric fittings for the natural gas will be no problem. The only electricity needed will be for the controls (not the elements). So.... definitive answer from someone who knows, please: 

 

1. Although we can change the 220V to 110V with a converter plug, the controls and readout will still be running on 50Khz. Will this harm the oven? 

 

2. I'm bringing my new large Samsung TV because Samsung explicitly states (in a conversation) that the TV is 50/60 Khz and will automatically switch cycles. Is anyone aware of an oven that will do that? 

[richard_smith237]

Will this all be brought in Tax free in a container / shipment etc ?

 

All this stuff can readily be bought here. 

[CharlieH]

Moving to electrical forum for focussed response.

[DanFromHawaii]

I'm bringing a container of my personal household goods through Bangkok port so it will all come through Customs, clothes, furniture, possessions, etc. I'm assuming the oven would just be another piece of something I own. 

 

I would "readily" purchase this range in Bangkok, but I get the impression from many other posters that an stove/oven "range" like in my picture is difficult or impossible to find. If they can be found, where? That would save the electrical conversion problem. 

[Crossy]

For your oven controls the concern is most likely going to be the clock/timer. If it's mains synchronised then it will run about 17% slow. Probably best to check with the manufacturer of your potential purchase.

 

To be honest I wouldn't bother buying something and then importing it (different if you already own it). You may not be able to get an actual range like that here but separate hobs (cook tops) and built-in ovens are readily available. Go to the professional suppliers for big sizes if the regular stuff is too small.

 

Going the "separates" way would allow you to mix fuels too, electric oven and a gas (or even dual-fuel) hob for the ultimate in culinary variety.

 

From what you say your TV will be fine but may not receive any off-air programming without an add on set-top box (does it have a suitable digital TV tuner). Do verify on the rating plate of the TV that it's good for 100-230V (or similar). Much of the stuff made for the US market is price optimised and has only a 120V power supply.

 

By the way it's "Hz", kHz is rather faster ????

 

[bankruatsteve]

There will be a conversion required from natural gas to LPG.  If that needs a "kit", best get that in the states.

[fruitman]

They can be found but the oven will be electric...never seen a gas oven here.

[sometimewoodworker]

57 minutes ago, fruitman said:

They can be found but the oven will be electric...never seen a gas oven here.

Gas ovens certainly exist here both professional and domestic, we have a gas cooker with 3 rings and an oven. If you can get high end ovens that get built into kitchen cabinets I don't know.

[fruitman]

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Gas ovens certainly exist here both professional and domestic, we have a gas cooker with 3 rings and an oven. If you can get high end ovens that get built into kitchen cabinets I don't know.

Well i guess the bakeries also use gas ovens but those don't fit under the kitchen counter.

 

Electric ovens are not as good as gas but the big advantage is that they are more safe....when you forget to turn off the gas oven it will burn the whole kitchen down, the electric one will go off by the timer.

 

There's a farang selling/making real bbq's in thailand....they have a lid so can be used as an oven....but they are not cheap.

[dimitriv]

8 hours ago, DanFromHawaii said:

it looks like conversion kits for Imperial-to-metric fittings for the natural gas will be no problem

 

Be careful, there are different types of "natural gas" requiring different burners. This varies from country to country. Using the wrong ones can have explosive consequences.

 

I would consult an expert beforehand.

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

29 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Electric ovens are not as good as gas but the big advantage is that they are more safe....when you forget to turn off the gas oven it will burn the whole kitchen down, the electric one will go off by the timer.

 

There's a farang selling/making real bbq's in thailand....they have a lid so can be used as an oven....but they are not cheap.

Humm. Most cooks I know and have read all prefer electric ovens in a domestic kitchen, so there's a bit of a difference of opinion there. 

 

The BBQ is made near me in Udon and we managed to get a reasonable deal from someone selling a lightly used one, but even new some are in the same price range as a quality oven starting at about 20k 

 

They also have custom made gas counter top ovens though the style is a bit steam punk

[fruitman]

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Humm. Most cooks I know and have read all prefer electric ovens in a domestic kitchen, so there's a bit of a difference of opinion there. 

 

The BBQ is made near me in Udon and we managed to get a reasonable deal from someone selling a lightly used one, but even new some are in the same price range as a quality oven starting at about 20k 

 

They also have custom made gas counter top ovens though the style is a bit steam punk

I have contacted that farang with the bbq company but they were all 40.000+ .....

 

Myself i also prefer an electric oven in the kitchen although a gas one is better...this is thailand, my wife is also thai.....

I remember when i brought an electric deepfry pan, my wife's friend came walking into the livingroom to show me the french fries IN the hot pan to ask if they were done already...she walked the hot pan all through the house and didn't know the basket can be lifted....

 

So i would also go for an electric oven (i have one) but it's a combi oven on the countertop. If you build a new house you should also make a special group with breaker ONLY for the oven....and use good quality wiring (thai yazaki). I've seen wall outlets burning out from a simpel electric oven in Thailand....also extensioncords can't handle it.

 

Another possibility is to have the gas oven outside the house in the garden somewhere....then a grill with lid would be great.

 

Just go to the shops who supply the restaurants, they are everywhere and also have second hand stuff.

[tjo o tjim]

Aloha!  
 

Don’t bring the oven over, not worth the hassle. As for the BBQ, Joe apparently has great stuff. 

[fruitman]

hit 

 

This oven looks like a made in Thailand model...i would never buy one like this..will the gasline get hot?? And what's that pipe made of? Stainless steel? Why not copper?? And what are those red valves? Are they certified and from a real brand?  How can you control the temp in this one? I don't see a knob where one can set the temp....I see teflon tape to keep the gas in, that will melt if it gets hot.....and those valves can easy snap of if you hit them....and what if the connection copper (valve) to stainless steel gets warm? Will both materials expand the same way or will it start leaking gas?

 

What a stupid oven this is.

 

I have a stainless bbq on gas, made in Thailand....it also has many issues but i still haven't found a real one (from abroad), i only use it outdoors...

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

I have contacted that farang with the bbq company but they were all 40.000+ .....

Maybe a different company.

 

41 minutes ago, fruitman said:

what's that pipe made of? Stainless steel? Why not copper??

Does it matter? Does it make any difference?

 

41 minutes ago, fruitman said:

will the gasline get hot??

They use LPG not gasoline and a plastic supply hose, so the answer is no

41 minutes ago, fruitman said:

And what are those red valves? Are they certified and from a real brand?

They look to be gas control valves to me. I don't know that I've seen certified valves anywhere. Certainly none of the equipment fitted to my BBQ has failed 

 

41 minutes ago, fruitman said:

.I see teflon tape to keep the gas in, that will melt if it gets hot

Yes it will but at 326 degrees C you wouldn't want your hands to be anywhere near those pipes 

41 minutes ago, fruitman said:

What a stupid oven this is.

I never said anything other than a gas ovens are available in Thailand and gave an example since you said that you had never seen them.

 

if you don't like it don't buy it.

 

I also would only use an oven outdoors as I don't see any benefit to using AC to cool down the house only to have an oven heat it up.

[Fruit Trader]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

This oven looks like a made in Thailand model...i would never buy one like this..will the gasline get hot?? And what's that pipe made of? Stainless steel? Why not copper?? And what are those red valves? Are they certified and from a real brand?  How can you control the temp in this one? I don't see a knob where one can set the temp....I see teflon tape to keep the gas in, that will melt if it gets hot.....and those valves can easy snap of if you hit them....and what if the connection copper (valve) to stainless steel gets warm? Will both materials expand the same way or will it start leaking gas?

 

What a stupid oven this is.

 

Our local Chinese snack shop uses same style oven every day.

 

Its a multi burner baking type oven with manual control.

 

Burner gas valves are usually one time set and forget.

 

Simple robust easy to repair and maintain, no Drama Lama required.

[fruitman]

Teflon tape will melt, i don't care if that hurts ones hand but it might stop doing it's job which is to keep the gas in the pipe!

 

Also, that gaspipe under the lid is that connected to the oven? I bet it isn't, so what if a kid wants to look inside the oven and pulls itself up against the gaspipe? It might snap off from that.  And what if the kid opens the gasvalve on the other side?? Right, then the gas will come out......

 

You know, it's all up to you with ovens like this...i bet i can find many more issues on it but that's all in the game by buying a made in thailand oven or bbq.

Myself i wouldn't want to have one like this anyway, nothing made in thailand for that matter....they sure have western/japanese ovens for sale in BKK...

 

Another thing with importing an oven from the West is that those (in europe at least) are built for butane iirc....thai bottles are filled with propane which gives more heat.

 

Also i would want an oven with a light inside.

 

That stainless steel pipe is welded by hand i bet...and sure they didn't xray the weld for any cracks or so....i don't know if that's safe but i wouldn't take the risk.

 

When we order a new gasbottle for our kitchen, the guy comes without any tools....so he even can't connect that pressure reducer properly...he always needs my tools for that. Also he never has change money....sooooo professional.

 

I've seen electrical systems burning out several times...even in our brand new house....better be safe than sorry. But of course it's all up to you....

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

54 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Also, that gaspipe under the lid is that connected to the oven? I bet it isn't, so what if a kid wants to look inside the oven and pulls itself up against the gaspipe?

It's reasonabley clear that indeed the gas pipes running horizontally under the oven door are connected to burner tubes at the bottom of the oven.

 

If anyone was irresponsible enough to allow kids to play around or next to in use ovens or stoves then their parenting or child supervision skills are terrible. If your children or visiting children have not been properly educated and taught proper control the don't have things like the oven, don't have a car or truck because kids can play under them etc.

 

Life is not child safe that's the parents job. 

 

If you think that your American or European appliances are better (they are almost all made in China by the way) get those and have fun when, not if, they break down, specially the electronics. 

 

This style can be repaired reasonably easily if broken.

 

Simple is not equal to bad, sophisticated is not equal to good.

 

YMMV. your money, your choice. 

[fruitman]

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

If you think that your American or European appliances are better (they are almost all made in China by the way) get those and have fun when, not if, they break down, specially the electronics. 

 

You absolutely don't understand what i'm saying, but that's fine with me....why would i care for your safety??

 

Even if the equipment sold in Europe is made in china they still have to follow the safety laws of Europe or are illegal to be sold....very funny that you don't understand this.

 

Anyway, good luck with your steampunk oven.....

[sometimewoodworker]

33 minutes ago, fruitman said:

You absolutely don't understand what i'm saying, but that's fine with me....why would i care for your safety??

I absolutely do understand what you are saying.

 

You seem to have some kind of mistaken belief that there is only one way to do something. Also that everyone follows the laws in the EU, that no illegal items are sold, and that those laws ensure safety, do tell that to the people with flaming clothes dryers, fridge freezers and the residents of Grenfell Tower, sorry that should be surviving exresidents.

 

No my safety has nothing to do with you, (unless your are driving of course) why should it? 

 

 

FWIW it isn't my oven, I already have one that is outside.

 

[RideJocky]

Most all gas stove/ovens in the have LP/Propane kits available, as most rural areas use it. It is generally an up-charge when you order.

The little white four-burner stoves they have at all the HomePro type places have gas ovens and they are generally under 10K.

That said, stoves in the US are usually much nicer and cheaper.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Gas ovens certainly exist here both professional and domestic, we have a gas cooker with 3 rings and an oven. If you can get high end ovens that get built into kitchen cabinets I don't know.

I am sure that Global House has a lot of them both separate and together as 1 unit. Sorry but I can't remember if they built in ovens.

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, fruitman said:

Teflon tape will melt, i don't care if that hurts ones hand but it might stop doing it's job which is to keep the gas in the pipe!

FWIW if the pipes in front of that oven ever gets anywhere near the teflon melting point you will have so many other problems that the joints leaking will be the last of your worries, by then the plastic gas feed pipes will have melted and cut off the gas supply. That is of course assuming that it isn't an external fire.

[Crossy]

OK people, let's stop the bickering.

 

This is a public warning to cease and desist. Holidays await.

[johng]

I saw ovens like the OP's in 2 places first maybe Homepro ?   but for sure in "Boonthavornn" ( บุญถาวร ) where they also had

dishwashers,front loading washing machines /washer/dryers and very expensive SMEG fridges.

the ovens where quite reasonable in price and as far as I remember they  gas powered.

[kamalabob2]

The OP should get in writing from the manufacturer of his current range that it will work in Thailand. I've seen more than one expat disappointed when they found out the true costs of the "conversion".   There is so much worth bringing in a container, to Thailand, but frankly a range would not be on that list. Teka makes a gas range, with gas oven, Lucky Flame makes a gas range with gas oven. You get a safe item, with a real warranty at a fair price. Oh sure some higher end brands also offer the gas range, with gas oven, and you still get support.  There is a real benefit to separates, an oven built in at a nice height, and then a HOB at a convenient location in the kitchen.  The OP can buy the very top end brands in Thailand for a price, but he can look into the very real value of Lucky Flame or Teka. I own both, and I am familiar with service after the sale of many appliances. You can buy an high end item in Thailand "for a price", however parts might prove a challenge. Qualified service outside of Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket or Hau Hin may prove a challenge. 

[johng]

14 hours ago, DanFromHawaii said:

I'm bringing my new large Samsung TV

The TV  most likely won't  be able to tune to terrestrial Thai TV   as  the US uses the ATSC  digital standard as opposed to DVB-T2 used in Thailand

so different tuners..you could of course use a stand alone DVB-T2  set top box connected to the TV via HDMI.

http://en.dtvstatus.net/

[Odin Norway]

7 hours ago, fruitman said:

They can be found but the oven will be electric...never seen a gas oven here.

Home pro sell gas owens.Very close to the one on the picture.Got one a couple of years ago.around 20k.They also have electrolux.Yes gas in the owen also,not only on the top.

[ThomasThBKK]

I wouldnt bring a TV, i would sell it in the US and buy a TCL 65 inch or 75 inch instead here.

 

I just bought a TCL 65k Inch for 25k at powerbuy, it's supposed to be one of the best 65 inch tvs in terms of value/money - and beats many samsung screen in picture quality.

 

In other words - this stuff isnt worht bringing over as you will pay a lot of import duty most likely. You get an equal TV for 25k THB here with 3 years warranty...

[bankruatsteve]

On the chance the OP is open to alternatives... Consider buying what you want here (in Thailand).  And, consider buying the burner/range/HOB whatever you call it separate from the oven.  That can be LPG and there are 100's of configurations to choose from all of which will fit into a cutout in the countertop with the LPG bottle in the cabinet space below.  Put the electric oven in an enclosure that is at countertop.  Why they put ovens at floor level is just insane to me.  It makes it difficult to check on things and the blast of heat in the face when you bend over to take something out is not fun.  I built my own box and put the oven at countertop high and that's been perfect.