Water Heater AGAIN! Any Ideas?

[Pedrogaz 3,960]

240V I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. Call a plumber, a motor mechanic or a gardener

[bankruatsteve 1,805]

21 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

4 hours ago, bodga said:

I had to rewire  my entire  house after the electrician had done  it  in all the wrong  colours about 8 years  ago

Same here!

You re-wired just to change the wire color?  Ooh kay.

[Matzzon 13,663]

4 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

You re-wired just to change the wire color?  Ooh kay.

That´s one of the reasons I did it. I wish to know how things are in a house, and be able to explain in a safe way if her family asks something. However, there are many other reasons, like use of to small dimension of cable for the automatic safety cuts as well as trying to make everything without connection boxes. That´s just a few examples on the sloppy work that was done.

On the other hand, I would probably have re-wired only for the colors anyway. That´s just how I roll, and we don´t need an Ooh kay for that.

[ThailandRyan 16,868]

3 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

That´s one of the reasons I did it. I wish to know how things are in a house, and be able to explain in a safe way if her family asks something. However, there are many other reasons, like use of to small dimension of cable for the automatic safety cuts as well as trying to make everything without connection boxes. That´s just a few examples on the sloppy work that was done.

On the other hand, I would probably have re-wired only for the colors anyway. That´s just how I roll, and we don´t need an Ooh kay for that.

Yes wiring size and a lack of insulation on some of the cables is always a concern. Wish I could find Romex wiring here.  Next time I do a remodel on my condo unit, I will also be trying to run everything in Conduit and put true electrical boxes in.  Wish I had all my tools over here, have not been able to find decent hand tools here that do not break.  

[millymoopoo 133]

Another solution may be solar hot water, almost nil to run (nil if you don't use electric booster) but expensive to buy.

[Matzzon 13,663]

8 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Yes wiring size and a lack of insulation on some of the cables is always a concern. Wish I could find Romex wiring here.  Next time I do a remodel on my condo unit, I will also be trying to run everything in Conduit and put true electrical boxes in.  Wish I had all my tools over here, have not been able to find decent hand tools here that do not break.  

Yeah, good tools is a problem. However, I have been able to find quite much in Global lately. We will also soon fix the electricity in our new house that should be ready in about 2 months. There I will put in automatic voice switches and sound as well as light cells. Hopefully my last building project in Thailand.  

[Dickp 7]

About 14 years ago when remodeling our house I had a solar water heater installed. Have hot water in all four bath rooms and kitchen sinks and out side washing machine, and out side maids sink. Best thing I have purchase in my 29 + years living Thailand cost was not that much and it's paid for it self many times over. Only replaced one fitting a few years ago. all piping in side the walls no exposé pipes.

[Seeall 350]

18 hours ago, Formaleins said:

That is what I am finding here, whites tied to neutral on parts of the switches, browns tied to blues, whites tied to blues, reds tied to blacks!

It is a real hotch potch, if I can get a good spark to take a look and if he understands he can have the job. No way am I taking anything to Niyom Panich again. If I have to do it it means removing the heater again and spending hours trying to trace every wire, and the 8kW heater has a totally different setup from the 10kW, wires that go directly to the elements on one go through flow switches on the 10kW...I am not in the mood to electrocute myself or anyone else.

Get another one, is it worth the risk messing around? 

[Crossy 27,213]

I don't often hide posts in this forum, but a post offering potentially extremely hazardous advice has been removed. 

 

By the way. Thailand is 220V (230V in Bangkok), 3-phase, 4-wire, single-phase supplies come off one phase and neutral.

 

 

 

[DonaldBattles 1,020]

6 hours ago, sezze said:

I also got a gas water heater , and i have to agree on the efficiency part . Gas water heaters got the power without needing big electric power .

With the gas heater I agree that it is less efficient but you have instant hot water. I use one tank of gas per year. I took my electric heaters out and gave them to the Thai neighbors. The gas is instant and great. I like the quick response. I would never go back to an electric water heater.

 

[Crossy 27,213]

7 minutes ago, DonaldBattles said:

With the gas heater I agree that it is less efficient but you have instant hot water. I use one tank of gas per year. I took my electric heaters out and gave them to the Thai neighbors. The gas is instant and great. I like the quick response. I would never go back to an electric water heater.

 

Would you mind sharing details of your heaters?

 

Many of us like loads of hot water and are on weak electrical supplies (is there any other kind here?).

 

Gas is a good way forwards if this is you.

[The Theory 663]

22 hours ago, Formaleins said:

so virtually no safety left other than the 98C trips on the boilers! Fantastic!

I believe that I suggested buying a new one. Water heater is not something that you want to die with. I guess the recent repair was a good example. 
 

[Seeall 350]

57 minutes ago, DonaldBattles said:

With the gas heater I agree that it is less efficient but you have instant hot water. I use one tank of gas per year. I took my electric heaters out and gave them to the Thai neighbors. The gas is instant and great. I like the quick response. I would never go back to an electric water heater.

 

you know there are electric instant heaters now right?

[mikecha 173]

Buy a new heater   and install from shop job done no  danger

[Formaleins 1,428]

13 hours ago, Crossy said:

Ah yes, another job by Bodge-it, Bu99er-it and Scarper Engineering ltd.

 

The two diagrams are sufficiently similar that you ought to be able to make it work with the 10k element and the 8k diagram.

 

That thermostat arrangement sounds iffy though, can you get one that fits (Amorn possibly)?

 

Task "A" would be to trace and draw out what you have (you'll have to take the heater off the wall agin I think). If the cables aren't colour-coded affix tape tags and label them.

 

With luck it will become apparent what they've done wrong.

 

Am I correct in reading you have a dead 10kW unit too? Is it a failed element you could swap with the new 10kW element (that's in the 8kW unit)?

 

Alternatively you could just go and buy a new unit

Thanks everyone!

Well, after drawing it out and measuring as much as I could, it looks like a simple swap out of two of feeds to the three way rotary switch is the answer. I traced it through and if you look at the wiring diagrams from Panasonic, there are 2 x 16A switches and 1 x 21 Amp switches, and using logic (which Niyom seem to have neglected) I basically switched the feed from the 3.0 KW boiler (which the dip<deleted>s had connected to the 21 Amp switch) with the 4.0 KW feed that they had on the 16 A switch. Just a list of bad practice here. (Wrong boiler element, bodges thermostat, wrongly wired, 98C thermal out on one boiler not screwed down, and incorrect flow control switch setup)

 

Seems like they just wired in the 10KW boiler unit with the same wiring as the 8KW, which is not the same!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, the swap out that you suggested Crossy was going to be my next step, but last time I did something like that I ended up with a small dripping leak as the Panasonic relies on two spring clips to retain the in and out flow from the water supply and these are not that good if you try to re use them.