Thread: Replacing a water unit

My current water unit went bad and started burning after it was faulty installed or the electrical components went bad

it was a FUJIKA, I decided to replace it with a PANASONIC

First I need to turn off the water and the electricity, then take out the cover of the unit obviously

This is how it looked like,

then I unscrewed slowly the hoses,



and then removed the unit



nasty piece of work

first testing the pipe extension for leaks after they had had to be redone



no leaks were detected, so I can proceed with the unit

first the wiring, that was a bitch because the cable was very hard to bent, so I had to manage with what I could

after wrestling with the damn wires for 30min, I finally came up with that

a closer look at the Live and Neutral wiring, I hope I got it right



now connecting the unit to the new hoses, without the extra sealing tape

now turning on the water and the electricity, nothing leak

I couldn't place it straight, so it does look like it was done by a Thai guy (oh the irony)

but to my defense, I had no choice because the wires were in the way and I did not want to be forcing them behind the unit like they were once, hopefully making the setup more secure

et voila !!!



The End

Butterfly, you need to push the black wire further into the terminal strip. And right, it does look like it was done by the village handyman

If it works, well done. The leaning heater of pisa.

Originally Posted by Norton

If it works, well done. The leaning heater of pisa.

NO! There is much more to these than just making them work; that's the Thai attitude.
Very few things in this World frighten me, but these things do only because water and electricity are a lethal combination. I know they're supposed to have a GFR switch within the unit, but it would not hurt to install an external one. Also, I see you have a grounding wire, the grey one, what is that ground wire attached to attached to on the other end?

PS: My comment above implies no criticism of you or your work, I took a year of electronics in college and still I would not be comfortable installing one of these. Even the American military had a few soldiers injured or killed by these heaters last year.

Originally Posted by Bung

Looking again it is better you got the new one in, that old one is a shitty unit anyway.

yep, I could have fixed it but didn't want to bother. I will eventually and give it away to someone who needs it.

It's a shitty unit, typically Thai built. The Panasonic is far better,

where do I find those ceramic thing to replace ? HomePro couldn't help but again they are usually clueless about everything they have

Originally Posted by Norton

Typically folks who do it daily for a living from where it was purchased.

that's actually the problem, they fucked it up last time

those you find at HomePro are basically worthless,

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by BobR

NO! There is much more to these than just making them work

Agree. Been down that road on his initial "problem" thread. All stongly recommending he have it installed by experienced installer. Typically folks who do it daily for a living from where it was purchased. Butters being Butters decided he could do a better job than the "monkeys" so what more can be said.

He's done it so he will have to live with it.

it was a replacement, not a full installation, so at the end anyone could do it, even me

et voila !!!

You have got to be kidding!

Originally Posted by Butterfly

anyone could do it, even me

The pictures tell a different story.

Terrible workmanship! what did you do for a living before your sight began to fail?

you farang are idiots, why does everything has to be straight ? nothing wrong with a small inclination, it's the local trademark

I thought Butterfly leans a bit to the left anyway!

Looks like the original failed due to over heating in terminals, this is caused by poor connection and the resistance causes heating, hence it burnt out. Possibly they where never tightened properly in the first place.

Also there should not be any tape on the connections for the hoses, they have washers to do the sealing and the tape simply causes problems. The tape is made for joining pipes with a tapered thread not the kind with a parallel thread and a washer.

Reminds me of the dickhead that came out from Global to install a water filter at his insistence. He had problems with leaks and the pump on the unit, so he put the power board it is plugged into on the floor in the middle of a big pool of water. he could not understand why I had a problem with this, especially with our 18 month old son running around not far from this.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Originally Posted by Bung

Looking again it is better you got the new one in, that old one is a shitty unit anyway.

yep, I could have fixed it but didn't want to bother. I will eventually and give it away to someone who needs it.

It's a shitty unit, typically Thai built. The Panasonic is far better,

where do I find those ceramic thing to replace ? HomePro couldn't help but again they are usually clueless about everything they have

Do you have Global near you? They have a lot bigger range and are cheaper.

Piss poor job that, electrocution on the cards there.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

where do I find those ceramic thing to replace ? HomePro couldn't help but again they are usually clueless about everything they have

This is not that helpful, but like many things I cannot get in thailand. I get them when I am in HK from time to time. There's loads of electrical shops on Apliu Street, Hong Kong and quite a number sell this kind of ceramic connector.

I would recommend that you either consult with the manufacture to find out what the design restrictions on mounting angle are, or make the thing a little more vertical. These heaters have lot of energy being used in a small place and if they are not used properly you can get some very nasty bangs.

And as others have advised you need to verify the earth is real! and install a RCB breaker outside the wet room, they only cost 450B from home pro and will make the difference between being alive or dead if theres a serious electrical fault in the future. Don't forget this thing is going to sink 15-20 amps of electricity.