Is there an electrician in the house?

[Chas]

OK I just blew a fuse ( the electrical kind) while wiring up an aquarium light.

Lucky it was just the kitchen fuse and not the main fuse for the rest of the house so an extension cord to the refrige and we are back in business until I can get to Homepro.

Ok I opened the fuse "box" thing that has a handle you pull down or up and I see two thick wire strips connected by screws one of which is obviously burnt out/broken.

The box says 30A600V so I guess I need to buy a 30A fuse replacement.

Question: can I just screw out the old one and screw in the new?
(I am used to those round fuses that you just screw in.) Or do I need to hire a Thai someone to remove two screws, take out the broken "bar thing" and put in the new one?

[Norseman]

Isn't what you describe a automatic fuse?
Try to push it up, it should work, as long as you disconnect your aquarium light first of course.

[STEVE G]

If it isn’t, what Chas is describing there sounds like one of the old style cut-offs for isolating the whole supply from the mains. I would hate to give any advice that might leave you frazzled like a character in Tom and Jerry, so I would say find an electrician.

[dr dave soul monsta]

Or do I need to hire a Thai someone to remove two screws, take out the broken "bar thing" and put in the new one?

Hi My name is blue flash electrics co ltd


really, if you are not sure about these things get someone else to do for you with the standard of the electrical systems here on older properties it worth getting a guy in in a pair of green wellington boots and a pair of huge rubber gloves to deal with the situation, be safe let someone else get a shock !

[johnnyk]

Isn't what you describe a automatic fuse?
Try to push it up, it should work, as long as you disconnect your aquarium light first of course.

AKA circuit breaker

[VincentD]

OK I just blew a fuse ( the electrical kind) while wiring up an aquarium light.

You'll want to recheck your circuit before turning it on again. An aquarium light *should not* blow a 30A fuse unless there's a short somewhere.

Ok I opened the fuse "box" thing that has a handle you pull down or up and I see two thick wire strips connected by screws one of which is obviously burnt out/broken.

You can buy those strips at any local hardware shop. The Thais call them 'few' and 'cut-out'. I think they come in 10A and 30A.

... to remove two screws, take out the broken "bar thing" and put in the new one?

Yes, you'll have to do just that. When the lever is down there is no power (assuming it is correctly wired in the first place) going through that bit.
Buy a cheap 'test pen' to test beforehand, you don't need anything fancy. (you know, the type of screwdriver with a neon in the handle, used to check for mains voltage).

If this is a rented place, I'd suggest buying additional fuses, but you probably don't need 30 amps. However if you've bought it, I'd suggest upgrading to a circuit-breaker type installation with an ELCB (earth leakage) built in.

[Chas]

Unfortunately I wired the aquarium switch in wrong. . .the electrical hardware here takes some getting used to.

I am not an electrician, but I have wired my own home back in the US( under an electrician's supervision. . and even then I wouldn't/ wont touch anything on the main circuit board) I have wired in switches and sockets and lights etc here, but this was a new looking on/off switch to me.

It worked just great and the light was on until I hit the on/off switch and. . blew the house fuse. Dramatic! Usually with something like this when I am wary, I plug the thing into a power strip and blow that fuse. .but I didn't this time. It seemed so simple!

Vincent, you know exactly what I am talking about and describe it correctly but it is ON when the handle is up. I have another right next to it, the main switch for the house and that handle is up now.

Anyway, we are getting an electrician from the hotel to come over and do it. I bought the fuses ( after a lot of gesturing at Home pro clerks in electrical. .they wanted to sell me a whole new switch at first.

I will buy one of those testers too for future use. Good idea

Yes I have bought the place. It is about 17 years old and we already replaced the old electrical boxes ( ancient really) with the current switches/fuse boxes. When we get the new addition wired next year, I will then see if the whole main board/circuit breaker deal can be upgraded.. .and get a REAL electrician in to do it!

[VincentD]

... it is ON when the handle is up.

Yes. They were never installed at my house (I supervised the wiring during the building and specified heavy-duty wiring and additional points with a view to the future). These breakers were in the house I rented before that and they were a major pain.

...and get a REAL electrician in to do it!

If you're going to completely rewire, get them to do the three-wire cores and install earthing rods. The latest houses now have to conform to this standard; my wife's sister just bought a shophouse in the provinces and it is wired this way, albeit only to the circuit breaker box.
Also make sure the wiring is below the ceiling level where you can see it. Rats can play havoc with hidden wiring.

[Nereus]

... it is ON when the handle is up.

Yes. They were never installed at my house (I supervised the wiring during the building and specified heavy-duty wiring and additional points with a view to the future). These breakers were in the house I rented before that and they were a major pain.

...and get a REAL electrician in to do it!

Also make sure the wiring is below the ceiling level where you can see it. Rats can play havoc with hidden wiring.

A bit drastic there with the wiring below the ceiling mate! Do you really like to see the wiring tacked across the ceiling, and down the wall?????

The RATS that you really need to watch out for are the 2 legged ones carrying a srewdriver! And you will not find a REAL electrician here as they cannot get work permits!

[STEVE G]

A bit drastic there with the wiring below the ceiling mate! Do you really like to see the wiring tacked across the ceiling, and down the wall?????

Mine is; it nostalgically reminds me of when I used to live on warships!

[VincentD]

Do you really like to see the wiring tacked across the ceiling, and down the wall?????

Strangely enough, yes. You can always use trunking if you don't want to see exposed wires.

One of the main reasons for this is that you can see the complete wiring run, there is no guesswork. This is not so with concealed wiring.

An example of this was when the wife's sisters moved into their house, no one knew which switch operated one overhead ceiling fan and the outside light. The previous owner had modified the wiring slightly to include a fan speed regulator, and it was a headache trying to figure out where things went after the wires disappeared up through the ceiling. This is the type of construction where they do the wiring first, then nail the gypsum board ceiling to the rafters. You'd have to wreck the ceiling to find out where they went.

I could extend my dislike of concealed wiring to buried-under-the-floor PVC water pipes, as I've had to destroy some very nice marble flooring to get at a leak. But I digress.