Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yaya]

The weather in Korea at this time of year is usually considerably colder than it has been over the past week or so.

I'm a bit afraid that the cold might come to Korea next month with a vengeance, and the Korean government is afraid of that, too, and the massive power shortages that could occur if too many people crank up their electric heaters.

[ajuma]

Adventurer: If you go to any Emart or HomePlus, they'll have a section with weather stripping and sealant.

[globalgourmand]

Does anyone know how to use the reservation/timer setting on the Kiturami CTR-5700?

A version of this one: http://www.nanokem.co.kr/english/products/products_view_m7s6.php

I don't really understand these two reservation labels: 예약가동 and 예약정지. My best impression is that 예약가동 means that the boiler operation in minutes and 예약정지 means boiler suspension in hours?

I can see there is a minute and hour setting, but what the heck does it mean? Will it will go ON in that many minutes and OFF in that many hours; or it will go ON for that many minutes and OFF for that many hours; or ON for that many minutes every so many hours? Which is it?

Also... I can't really understand the intention of the different season settings beyond assuming that if its on "Summer" it will not run the ondol whatsoever. Any insight to the season settings?

[globalgourmand]

For the record I have decoded and figured out this entire unit and organized and English language user's cheat sheet/guide for my own reference and the benefit of future GETs.

My previous GET was very thoughtful and put together and entire binder of helpful information before she departed. It had everything to what to do with compost and recycling, where the local English-speaking doctors are in my neighborhood, how much a taxi would cost to the train station, how to get to school, what the lunch situation is at my school, etc, etc, etc. I will now add my thermostat guide (among other things I've accumulated) to her guide and leave if for the next GET who takes my place.

If you are also interested in the .doc of this guide. PM me your email and I will send it.

[rdb13]

Can you PM me the user guide for the Kiturami CTR 5700. I can't for the life of me figure out how to use it!

Thanks in advance!

(I can't send pms yet, I haven't reached the 25 minimum post requirement...)

[globalgourmand]

Of course! But apparently I haven't yet the 25-post requirement either! Send an email to ttturner at gmail dot com. And I'll forward you my doc.

[globalgourmand]

People continue to request my Kiturami guide. Its still available if people want to email me. I don't mind.

But IS there a way to post .docs into a thread? It would be nice to not have to respond to the individual emails. Still, feel free.

[Liancourtwhat]

Is the guide still available? I was looking for directions for my CTR 5700, but this post is a few years old.

[faeriehazel]

It's 문풍지 - the stuff you put on between the door edge and the frame so wind doesn't leak in. You can also get film for your windows to improve your insulation - 방풍비닐.

We live in a place with very high ceilings. Our first month here (in January) our heating bill was over 200 bucks. It was a huge shock since our last place was tiny, and the highest heating bill we ever got was around 100. We managed to cut our bill by almost half by getting thick curtains, insulation strips, and keeping the room temp at about 18-20C.

Instead of turning your heating off when you're out, there should be a setting called 외출. If you put it at this setting, the heating will burn very low but not turn itself off completely. This also helps keep the pipes from possibly freezing and bursting during the very cold months.

[Weigookin74]

[maximmm]

I would say that it all very much depends on the place you live in - the current place I live in is cheap - it's just as big as the previous officetels, but the utility cost is around 3 times less. Also, the heating at the current place works, whereas in the previous places, you had to pay 300K won per month and even at that cost, the ondol would be just about lukewarm even during the coldest days.

Another thing to note - at the previous officetels, even if you weren't home for a month, you'd still have to pay the same exact amount for utilities as the other tenants in apartments of similar size - the reason being is that they utilized some sort of shared payment system. So the end result was, you paid 300K won a month for utilities that barely functioned (only during winter - AC did not have such problems during summer), and you had to pay this amount even if you were away for a few months. It's an interesting system that combines communism and capitalism, strips off all of the good bits from each system, leaving all the crappy ones and viola.

The good thing is, not every officetel operates the same way - just a vast majority.

Aside from that , someone suggested getting 문풍지 to insulate windows and doors - I second that. Lack of proper insulation in Korean buildings is rather common.

[maximmm]

In other news -

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2013/11/123_146522.html

'The government said Tuesday it will raise electricity rates by an average 5.4 percent starting Thursday in an attempt to preempt a seasonal surge in demand.'

[Weigookin74]

[Weigookin74]

[young_clinton]

My apartment wasn't particularly insulated. It was like a concrete bunker that was made attractive in the interior and exterior. It was also Ondal and was heated with heating oil. I had to sleep on the floor with a heavy quilt. I generally kept the temperature at 52 F to save heating oil. That was the coldest I could tolerate.