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few questions about solar power....

It does operate on the batteries for 2-3 hours but that. Could just be the power I'm putting into the batteries while I charge them overnight, any way to know if I'm actually using solar power or not ?
 
well you all wiseend up and abandonned this thread, no harm :)
i appreciate the help so far.. i learned so much...
take care and remember.. Canada is awesome
 
Hey corporal canada just thought id let you know as im also in asia and many of the houses are constructed similarly in concrete, if the house has concrete beams on the corners you can take a ground from a screw driven into the steelwork supporting the roof above, these steel beams are normally welded to rebar at the top of the beams that extends from the roof down into the dirt.
 
ThaiTaffy said:
Hey corporal canada just thought id let you know as im also in asia and many of the houses are constructed similarly in concrete, if the house has concrete beams on the corners you can take a ground from a screw driven into the steelwork supporting the roof above, these steel beams are normally welded to rebar at the top of the beams that extends from the roof down into the dirt.
Click to expand...
thank you.. if there is rebar anywhere in the pillar.. id have to go digging for it.. my tiny 1br apt was slapped on top of the landlords existing house...
i have no "pillar" visible unless you mean outside the 4 corners..
 
corporal_Canada said:
thank you.. if there is rebar anywhere in the pillar.. id have to go digging for it.. my tiny 1br apt was slapped on top of the landlords existing house...
i have no "pillar" visible unless you mean outside the 4 corners..
Click to expand...
Is your appartment the top floor? what type of ceiling do you have? normally you will find a box steel frame supporting the roof this is welded to the rebar protruding from the pillars.
If you do indeed live on the top floor and have an accessable void above you, any of the steel beams above would be grounded via the pillars. A small self tapping screw driven into the steel with cable from that should surfice as your ground and most definatly be better than nothing.
 
just thought id mention that i booted a GFCI plug into the wall.. all by mysel.. OMG i love being smart.... although worth mentioning there was a 1 second buzzing the first time i pressed the red "reset" button... it never reproduced...
 
ThaiTaffy said:
Is your appartment the top floor? what type of ceiling do you have? normally you will find a box steel frame supporting the roof this is welded to the rebar protruding from the pillars.
If you do indeed live on the top floor and have an accessable void above you, any of the steel beams above would be grounded via the pillars. A small self tapping screw driven into the steel with cable from that should surfice as your ground and most definatly be better than nothing.
Click to expand...
you are correct. there is a beam going from 1 wall to the other.. i did tap it.. it sounded like hollow metal... ... i have my cheapo ceiling fan attached to that..using a sticker hook.. no holes..

if you are suggesting that that hollow beam is connected to the ground somehow.. i will actually die laughing sorry.. doesnt electricity take the shortest route to the earth ? this voyage up the ceiling seems lengthy.

hapoonkap since you reside in Thailand...
 
corporal_Canada said:
just thought id mention that i booted a GFCI plug into the wall.. all by mysel.. OMG i love being smart.... although worth mentioning there was a 1 second buzzing the first time i pressed the red "reset" button... it never reproduced...
Click to expand...

Does the GFCI pass self-test, trip when "Test" button pushed?

I installed GFCI outlets in a house where most circuits are ungrounded.
Eaton brand would not reset because it checks wiring, needs ground.
Leviton brand does reset and works.

Self test can't function if ground is left floating.
Could be tested with a resistive load that draws 6 mA from Line to earth somewhere.
If a plug is connected and ground pin is wired to earth somewhere, self-test should work.

My concern is that the buzz was self-immolation of your GFCI, and it is not providing protection.


By the way, I read a tale where an electrician decided to wire N to G of the GFCI he was installing to fool the inspector into thinking it was connected correctly. It worked, the GFCI displayed LED and self-tested like it should.
It also fooled the plumber, who was found electrocuted in the wet basement. He plugged a droplight into the outlet, and because L and N were reversed on the circuit, chassis of droplight was hot.
 
corporal_Canada said:
you are correct. there is a beam going from 1 wall to the other.. i did tap it.. it sounded like hollow metal... ... i have my cheapo ceiling fan attached to that..using a sticker hook.. no holes..

if you are suggesting that that hollow beam is connected to the ground somehow.. i will actually die laughing sorry.. doesnt electricity take the shortest route to the earth ? this voyage up the ceiling seems lengthy.

hapoonkap since you reside in Thailand...
Click to expand...
yes electricity does take the shortest route but in resistive terms.
Its not going to go directly down, through concrete when theres a grounded steel frame above you.

I am indeed suggesting that that hollow steel beam is welded to the rebar in the concrete pillars that supports the whole house which normally are embedded atleast a meter into the dirt( yes cheap asian houses have terrible foundations)

If you have a meter you can check, most of asia is TN-C-S so if you set the meter to ac volts put the positive lead on the homes hot the negative on the metal beam you should get very close to your supply voltage. Anything not close means the beam isnt grounded (yes i know its a hillybilly test) make sure you scratch off any paint or rust on the beam before connecting the probe.
 
Hedges said:
Does the GFCI pass self-test, trip when "Test" button pushed?

I installed GFCI outlets in a house where most circuits are ungrounded.
Eaton brand would not reset because it checks wiring, needs ground.
Leviton brand does reset and works.

Self test can't function if ground is left floating.
Could be tested with a resistive load that draws 6 mA from Line to earth somewhere.
If a plug is connected and ground pin is wired to earth somewhere, self-test should work.

My concern is that the buzz was self-immolation of your GFCI, and it is not providing protection.


By the way, I read a tale where an electrician decided to wire N to G of the GFCI he was installing to fool the inspector into thinking it was connected correctly. It worked, the GFCI displayed LED and self-tested like it should.
It also fooled the plumber, who was found electrocuted in the wet basement. He plugged a droplight into the outlet, and because L and N were reversed on the circuit, chassis of droplight was hot.
Click to expand...
there is a tiny green led, yes confirmed.. i just pressed the black button.. it sounded like the red button popped out..
and i cannot turn the outlet back on.. pressing the red or black button doesnt do anything....
 
ThaiTaffy said:
yes electricity does take the shortest route but in resistive terms.
Its not going to go directly down, through concrete when theres a grounded steel frame above you.

I am indeed suggesting that that hollow steel beam is welded to the rebar in the concrete pillars that supports the whole house which normally are embedded atleast a meter into the dirt( yes cheap asian houses have terrible foundations)

If you have a meter you can check, most of asia is TN-C-S so if you set the meter to ac volts put the positive lead on the homes hot the negative on the metal beam you should get very close to your supply voltage. Anything not close means the beam isnt grounded (yes i know its a hillybilly test) make sure you scratch off any paint or rust on the beam before connecting the probe.
Click to expand...
okay. i can do that.. i connect multimeter to what and what ?
 
Multimeter set to AC volts, red lead to socket live terminal, black lead to bare metal on the beam.
But first I would test the voltage at the socket, (black lead to socket neutral terminal) 220v should be the standard but standards and asian standards differ greatly take a note of the voltage at the socket, then when you test the beam it should be very close to that if it's a good ground.
If it is then I would run a cable from that to your GFCI socket also, the thing might actually work then.
 
Is ground available to the outlet?
Some can't be reset unless there is. Others can.
 
That may be why it doesn't reset.
As I posted earlier, Leviton brand worked on my ungrounded outlets, Eaton did not.

With a resistor you may be able to trip it by provide 5 ~ 10 mA with a resistor from line to ground (metal pipe, if ground is out of reach.)
Note that physically small resistors aren't meant to have so much voltage across them.
 
Don't start adding unknown Chinese resistors to an Asian grid supply your likely to get yourself or someone else killed.
I've had voltage spikes of 900v plus when something has happened to the grid here, either find a ground on the building or add your own( ask landlord permission to place grounding rods).
 
ThaiTaffy said:
Don't start adding unknown Chinese resistors to an Asian grid supply your likely to get yourself or someone else killed.
I've had voltage spikes of 900v plus when something has happened to the grid here, either find a ground on the building or add your own( ask landlord permission to place grounding rods).
Click to expand...
landlord already prohibits a copper rod into her land.. having permission to replace 1 outlet was a miracle..
 
Hedges said:
That may be why it doesn't reset.
As I posted earlier, Leviton brand worked on my ungrounded outlets, Eaton did not.

With a resistor you may be able to trip it by provide 5 ~ 10 mA with a resistor from line to ground (metal pipe, if ground is out of reach.)
Note that physically small resistors aren't meant to have so much voltage across them.
Click to expand...
can i wire a cable to the metal beam on my ceiling like the guy in Thailand suggested ? isnt much but it is something.. if he is correct.. that beam is connected to the earth through rebar...
i just need to know if the gauge of a regular extention cable will do ?
 
I was thinking of the ground to test if GFCI was working.
If you have an extension cord able to reach the ground from the outlet, you could test leakage there. Or test a connection from ground pin to moist earth, then push self-test button.

We also have portable GFCI power strips. Used for construction sites, etc. That doesn't require changing existing outlet. Might need 3-prong adapter.
 
Hedges said:
I was thinking of the ground to test if GFCI was working.
If you have an extension cord able to reach the ground from the outlet, you could test leakage there. Or test a connection from ground pin to moist earth, then push self-test button.

We also have portable GFCI power strips. Used for construction sites, etc. That doesn't require changing existing outlet. Might need 3-prong adapter.
Click to expand...
i am easily 5 meters above any kind of earth...
i am aware of a gfci power strip.. however i cannot find one on lazada, shopee or tikok shop...
 
Earth leakage breakers are more common here for mains power as they don't require an earth, you find alot of shops sell rubber extension sockets with them fitted. Most of the GFCI stuff just comes from china and isn't really designed for the Asian market it's more pointed towards the western market but they still sell it here.
 
ThaiTaffy said:
Earth leakage breakers are more common here for mains power as they don't require an earth, you find alot of shops sell rubber extension sockets with them fitted. Most of the GFCI stuff just comes from china and isn't really designed for the Asian market it's more pointed towards the western market but they still sell it here.
Click to expand...
rumble.com

June 8, 2024

metal beam ?
rumble.com rumble.com
 
corporal_Canada said:
rumble.com

June 8, 2024

metal beam ?
rumble.com rumble.com
Click to expand...
I doubt very much that it's metal more likely it's gypsum board that's being used to hide metal or poorly finished concrete and I doubt the home owner would want you to go cutting big holes from it.

Sorry no idea what else to suggest, sadly Asian ignorance of safety is widespread the likelihood of your apartment even being wired by a professional is slim.
As a retired electrician everything worries me here, they only recently made it law that overhead cables had to be secured properly because too many were falling and decapitating motorcyclists.
 
ThaiTaffy said:
I doubt very much that it's metal more likely it's gypsum board that's being used to hide metal or poorly finished concrete and I doubt the home owner would want you to go cutting big holes from it.

Sorry no idea what else to suggest, sadly Asian ignorance of safety is widespread the likelihood of your apartment even being wired by a professional is slim.
As a retired electrician everything worries me here, they only recently made it law that overhead cables had to be secured properly because too many were falling and decapitating motorcyclists.
Click to expand...
yup and handyman informed me that there is no connection between that beam and the ground whatsoever....
 
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