|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:19 am Post subject: piss poor wiring and electronics |
 |
|
My building is an outwardly decent looking slum. There's been tons of trouble with wiring and ondol in the past, and in the last two weeks, the breakers for my apartment have decided to go on strike at random moments.
I flipped them all on when I came back from vacation this afternoon, but a few minutes ago, one flipped itself off again. The landlord and school are unlikely to do anything about it anytime soon. Surely this is going to damage the electronics in the apartment over time?
What, if anything, can I do to deal with this? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Hobophobic
Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Location: Sinjeong negorie mokdong oh ga ri samgyup sal fighting
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
Get some decent power bars...(and try not to overload any wall sockets) that will stop surges from harming electronics in most cases..
..at my school everytime the heat kicked in and I was simultaneously boiling water in my class, the power went out...
...normally I wouldn't care, but it fried my harddrive with ALL my files, lesson plans, worksheets...etccccccccc  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tweeterdj
Joined: 21 Oct 2005
Location: Gwangju
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Get some decent power bars...(and try not to overload any wall sockets) that will stop surges from harming electronics in most cases.. |
Actually (to be more specific) if you're worried about surges, a regular power bar will do nothing. You need a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) built in to the powerbar for that.
You could try keeping track of how many amps you are loading into each circuit breaker. Check for the number on the outside of the breaker switch (probably a 10, or at least that's common), and read the ampage used by each thing you plug into the same breaker. You'd also have to figure out what wall sockets are on what breaker, but that's easy enough, just shut off the breaker and try plugging things into them. if you go too close to 10 amps on the breaker it will shut off.
if you already knew all this, then just ignore me...  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| tweeterdj wrote: |
You could try keeping track of how many amps you are loading into each circuit breaker. Check for the number on the outside of the breaker switch (probably a 10, or at least that's common), and read the ampage used by each thing you plug into the same breaker. You'd also have to figure out what wall sockets are on what breaker, but that's easy enough, just shut off the breaker and try plugging things into them. if you go too close to 10 amps on the breaker it will shut off.
if you already knew all this, then just ignore me... |
Fine if the amperage is indicated, but I'll bet it's not. Unless she's added new appliances, it sounds like it's short-circuiting. That's fairly common if there are plumbing or rainwater leaks somewhere in the building.
What can you do? You need electricity in your home, and "we'll to try find someone next week" obviously won't do. So whether your landlord or your school want to hear about it or not, I'd call them anyway. If they won't send an electrician over soon, tell them not to worry: 'I'll hire one on my own, and you can just pay him directly when he's done. I'll give him your name, number & address'.
In any case, have an electrician at least look at it and give you an opinion & an estimate. If it's a few mahn won and the school's been decent with you, I'd just pay it myself. However, if they've made a career out of nickel & diming you at every turn, I'd make them uncomfortable. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Like I said, the wiring here is screwy. I've got a biggish apartment, and all the outlets except the one for my AC, are tied to one circuit breaker.
The breaker tripped last night, and refused to trip back, so the school sent a guy over. The repair only took about five minutes, so for now, I'm keeping anything non essential unplugged.
Are electricians wages so low here that repairs might cost so little? I used to date one in Canada, and I know he charged quite a lot- my father mourned when we broke up. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
| peppermint wrote: |
Like I said, the wiring here is screwy. I've got a biggish apartment, and all the outlets except the one for my AC, are tied to one circuit breaker.
The breaker tripped last night, and refused to trip back, so the school sent a guy over. The repair only took about five minutes, so for now, I'm keeping anything non essential unplugged. |
You've got only one single circuit-breaker? And a second (separate) one just for the AC? What does the breaker box look like? Just two breakers? 
Service panels in Korea typically look like this one, with main breaker to the left, the breakers for individual rooms or areas to the right:
That one's in my house, and I installed another just like it, plus a third for machinery which runs on a different voltage. But even officetels will probably have at least that many circuit-breakers. I'd be interested to see what yours looks like if you can post a photo. What about other units in your building, are they the same? Has anyone else been having problems? I really thought it might be shorting somewhere due to leaky plumbing, but now I don't know.
It's undiplomatic to say so, but a lot of construction here looks good on paper, even looks good to the eye, but too frequently it gets done by people who don't know what they're doing.
| Quote: |
| Are electricians wages so low here that repairs might cost so little? |
Yes, but there are little repairs and big time- & material-intensive ones. Whatever the case, Korea is cheap by Western standards. Some guys will charge whatever they think they can get, but you can shop around. And don't be afraid to just have them look and then get an estimate. (yeah, lots of fun, I know.) Cheap they are... if only they were all as skilled and knowlegeable.
| Quote: |
| my father mourned when we broke up. |
You really shouldn't have been dating your father in the first place.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:21 am Post subject: |
|
|
Here's the one for my floor- I don't have one in my apartment.
There are 3 apartments on the floor, and mine is quite a bit larger than either of the others, so I'm not sure what all the other breakers are for. Each one says 20A, which doesn't sound like a lot for 8 outlets.
No one on my floor has had any trouble but me ( surprise!) but the people on the floor below had similar trouble last summer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| peppermint wrote: |
| Are electricians' wages so low here that repairs might cost so little? I used to date one in Canada, and I know he charged quite a lot- my father mourned when we broke up. |
One tip -- don't call or let your school call a general handyman -- they are often used for electrical repairs and in my experience they know nothing about home electrical systems -- but it doesn't stop them from messing around with them. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
