Is the monkey trying to kill me?

Plumbers are in, and the pump/heater in the bathroom needs to be relocated. They are about to place it directly above the shower.

Doesn't sound too bright to me, as each time the shower is used condensation will form and rise directly at the unit, and over time corrode the metal box and also find its way inside the unit and parts. Not sure if they've considered that water + electric is not a healthy combo.

Now, there is a false ceiling in the bathroom, and I'm pretty sure of the answers but will ask anyway:

a) should the unit be placed above the false ceiling, where it will be isolated by a standard sheet of that polywhatever stuff they use because it's cheap?
b) does placing the unit above the false ceiling lead to new issues or other concerns I should have?

Once above the false ceiling, it seems to me that a length of pipe could be used for added safety to move the unit even further away from being directly above the shower.

tia

Stupid place to put any electrical unit.

The light, heat lamp and ventilator in my bathroom were located on the ceiling just to one side of the glass enclosed shower stall, and one cold day while showering the lot shorted from condensation, frazzled the light bulb and socket.

Not sure about the right way to do things but I do know you have to fight for what you want. Don't accept any bs because if you do you will have to live with it and eventually have to shell out more cash to fix the problem. My house has so many faults due to the family and other villagers doing it. It was the first newer house in my area and it's a good record of how bad their knowledge was at the time. Since then they have done better and better with each house they build.

You should visit one of the better properties you know of and see how they did it if you don't get a good idea here. Seems like a lot of hotel bathrooms are built with a false ceiling as you say. I've seen the heater often put under the bathroom sink too but then again I am not staying in the better or newer hotels most of the time. Good luck with it. You deserve the best.

Meh, that's nothing. My last house here had an electrical socket directly under the shower.

Why not put it under the sink ? That's where I see it in a lot of hotels.
I'd also suggest a fan to cut down on moisture build-up.

Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leemo

the pump/heater in the bathroom needs to be relocated. They are about to place it directly above the shower.

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Living in rented accom for most of the last 10 years, I just leave Somchai and Somsak to do what they want, maybe the missus will order them this way or that, but between them, they always get it wrong - it's as if stupid is the right way.

Now, I could be kind and say that right and wrong are just social conventions, but when it means locating an electric power outlet next to the shower, I tend to think that stupid is stupid. So many examples of stupity it's beyond belief... They are lazy, badly trained and stupid. Of course, you do sometimes come across an old fella working for himself that takes his time and does a good job - gold dust!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevefarang

Why not put it under the sink ? That's where I see it in a lot of hotels.
I'd also suggest a fan to cut down on moisture build-up.

Steve

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That's where it was, but a leak turned out to be a rusted steel pipe which runs under the floor (tiles), so to replace it means ripping up the entire bathroom floor and parts of the living area. Best was to move it, even though no more hot water for the sink.

Good news that they understand why it should be above the false ceiling.

There is a fan, for what good it does even after a good clean.

This is Thailand, don't worry, most of them survive even on their motorcycles :-)

Then you have the other side to the story. My water heater is a bit different in that its instant heat but at the same time you can use your initial plumbing so the wife can have a bath and I take my showers. The old one had gotten to be 15 years old without me even thinking about it.

The other day I was showering and it gave me a light shock. I thought, I must check the grounding. The next day it gave me a doozy of a shock a couple of times. So I called the old Chang who has looked after this house since we moved in and put in the original box.

"Ai-Yah," this thing has to come out, all the rubber gaskets were rotted out, the fuse in it was blown and it was a death trap according to him. I can see it as it heated at a shit load of BTU;s, combine that with me in the water and boom.

He helped as find a new much better one and put it in. Its a bit like a new car in how much better it is.

Yup you find shit work here at times, but if you find someone good he will work for you and be your friend. No OT hours, no Weekend charges. It broke and he was here diagnosing the problem, told us what to buy and where, and put it in. It took him about an hour and fifteen minutes to get the old one out the new one it and test it:). 500 baht and the job is done clean as a whistle. That is all he would take.

You're lucky you're alive.

Here is a pic from my house, with mains switch for heater opposite side of wall

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...%28Copy%29.jpg

I recently had both insta-hot water modules re-done under my sink instead of next to the shower head, and haven't had any problem with them so far (6+months).

Sadly, the ground wire was attached but when I traced the solid copper wire from the main breaker box back to the side of the condo I noticed the ground rod seemed "wobbly". I tugged on it and it came right out in my hand! It was just 2 feet long. When I asked the exterior maintenance man about it, he said when they were trying to sink the 8ft solid copper ground rod, they hit some thick cement not too far under the first foundation, so they just cut it off...

He said, "Don't worry, we use plastic water line in Thailand not copper like the US, you can't get a shock from it. I didn't bother to tell him it was the water which carried the electricity NOT the fricking plastic line...