- Thread starter Cdn_Gringo
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The Gringo Report - Jan. 20 2015
park it in the living room
it'll start itself
see the 'Back to the Future' series.... starring Calvin Klein
it'll start itself
see the 'Back to the Future' series.... starring Calvin Klein
Technically, if I turned on my living room lights, you could have charged your car at any Delancer junction box between here and where ever the signal comes from.
That problem seems to be fixed now. The end of day two for this project and we are making progress. Most of the downstairs has been rewired. Tomorrow I think we'll tackle the upstairs. On Thursday it'll be getting the 220V equipment on actual 220V circuits and breakers. I think we're going to need another pony panel for that. Then the icing on the cake...a functioning ground that should allow all of my UPSs and line conditioners to come to life without immediately shutting down. That's the plan, it won't all go so smoothly though. We have to trace just about every wire in this place to see if it is actually hooked up to what it should be. I wish I had one of those doo-hickys that sends a pulse down a wire that can then be received at the other end - would make tracing this mess so much easier. Thus far, we have found only one switch that didn't need to be rewired. Every single outlet is wrong. Some 110V outlets are actually getting 220V. Glad I didn't use those for anything.
Needless to say my dreams are none too pleasant these nights.
Every dry cleaner uses them, I have thrown away hundreds over the years
and i need more...perchas
The mere fact that a significant number of posters who bothered to reply to this thread indicate that what I am seeing is normal here in the DR is demonstrative of a significant problem. The acceptance of this situation as "normal" is unconscionable.
I get it. Many labourers in the DR can't read and write (very well). There are few if any regulations in place that spell out exactly to what standards certain activities must achieve. I don't think it is an unreasonable expectation for someone who hires a contractor to supervise the construction of a new home, to move into a home that won't kill them, or cook their new 84 inch plasma TV.
It doesn't matter if we are talking about plumping or electrical systems. For the time being, it would appear that if one wants these systems to function to a high level of functionality and safety, then one needs to hire someone who has in the past been expected to perform their jobs to these high standards and best practices. That would mean an experience gringo plumber/electrician. It's not fair to expect Pablo from down the street to know about or understand the need for consistent wiring practices or anything else. He was taught by someone who didn't know as were they and back it goes.
Electricity is dangerous. Electricity and water is deadly. Anytime you see an outlet within 6 feet of a sink or bathtub that isn't a GFI outlet, the potential for an accident exists. It's like a firearm analogy. If there are no bullets in the house, a gun can't kill anyone. If there are bullets in the house, someone might get shot. If the bullets are in the magazine, the chances of someone getting shot increase. If there is a bullet in the chamber, then the chances increase even more. Without a working ground wire, even a GFI won't protect you.
The solution is for a regulating body to identify the problem. Write down a set of rules for how all people working with electrical systems must perform the work. Educate the workers, license them to perform jobs up to their level of training and inspect their work to ensure compliance with the rules.
This doesn't appear to be a priority in the DR at this time so it's up to each individual to look out for their own safety. Some of the problems in mi casa have existed existed since the very first wire was run from where the breaker box would be installed to that very first outlet where an appliance would be plugged in. Every single circuit installed in this place at the time it was built was done wrong. Not just wrong, but completely wrong. The wire gauge selected was wrong, the circuit breaker size was wrong, the length of wire was wrong, the colour of the wire was wrong and the way it was connected was wrong. The same guy made the same mistakes on everything he touched. Had their been a set of standards in place and an inspector who showed up to look at things before they get covered over by mortar, this wouldn't happen.
The basic problems are made even worse and more dangerous every time some additional electrical work is done. It would appear than when you want a new outlet installed or an A/C or a pump or water heater etc the person doing the installation rather than knowing that a new circuit needs to be created, opts to tap into an existing circuit and proceeds from there. This lack of knowledge and I am sure, an attempt to reduce costs and the amount of work needed, makes for a real mess later on when one needs to figure how stuff was done. Add a backup inversor and direct current to the mix and it's like playing Russian roulette with 5 in the cylinder.
As I mentioned in my original post, this house could have killed someone who had never even stepped foot inside if the right set of circumstances aligned. I can't convey my sense of amazement that someone inside this place hasn't been killed yet. My electrical system is so far beyond bad and dangerous that it is totally incomprehensible. It's as if the contractor drove along Hwy 5 and picked up the first 6 year old he came across, handed that kid some wire and a screwdriver and told him to "have at it".
I can't fix all of the problems without ripping down walls and running new wires everywhere. I don't know where the red wire in the breaker box changes to a black wire that then connects to the outlet or switch, nor do I know just how much electrical tape is protecting that splice but something like that should never happen; especially inside a wall where it is not accessible.
Some have asked why I have gone to all this trouble and expense in a rental? All of my other issues relating to the operation of this house were relatively easy and for the most part pretty cheap to fix. This electrical problem made me consider moving. I know that others have lived here before me and someone will move in after I leave. Ignorance is bliss. Knowing what I know there is no way I could live with myself if I ever read a DV8 post about a gringo or their kid getting fried when they jumped into the pool or turned on the TV. I cannot allow the potential to exist where some hapless cable worker hooking up a new customer doesn't get to go home to their family at the end of the day because this house and the incompetence of those who created this situation, killed them. i wouldn't continue live here under these circumstances and I can't allow someone else to move in not knowing that just turning on the lights or opening the refrigerator could be the last thing they ever do. You should never receive a shock in your home. If you do and accept that as being normal, give your head a shake. That acceptance of what is "normal" is what allows these unsafe conditions and practices to continue and perpetuate. In "my house" the buck stops here. I don't want to die and I really don't like getting shocked.
With the help of the owner, my knowledge and experience in recognizing the serious problems and a very good electrician, we will make this villa a safe place to live (as safe as possible that is). When I'm done, move? No way! Judging by the comments of normalcy, this will probably be the safest place on the North Coast to live. Needless to say, my landlord is none-too-pleased with me these days.
He understand though, that this has to be fixed. He doesn't want to kill anybody either. Bad for getting the rent paid. Back to the original question, when you build a house here, you get up in the morning and arrive at the construction site before any other worker. You watch every screw being turned, every pipe connected and every wire that is run. You are the last person to leave the site at the end of the day. If you don't know enough to do this yourself, you hire a foreigner who does. Their sole function is to be on site watching and CHECKING everything that is done by people who just don't know any better.
Gringo,
Someone here will dig up some facts that support exactly what you say.
1/ we had a pool death in this area a while back... electricity in the water.
to this day, the house manager turns off the fuse in every pool she manages when she rents.
2/ a new school was built in RD and outfitted with a complete computer room (not sure how many)
the room exploded in fire and severely damaged the school..... wonder why?
Electricity is a big problem here..
read up on towels on fridge handles..... still happens, believe it or not
Someone here will dig up some facts that support exactly what you say.
1/ we had a pool death in this area a while back... electricity in the water.
to this day, the house manager turns off the fuse in every pool she manages when she rents.
2/ a new school was built in RD and outfitted with a complete computer room (not sure how many)
the room exploded in fire and severely damaged the school..... wonder why?
Electricity is a big problem here..
read up on towels on fridge handles..... still happens, believe it or not
Because I have OCD. I like to have a plan and a backup plan for evrything substantial that I do. I needed to have a list of a few properties to look at when my wife and I came down to sign a lease. I just had to have a lease in place before I left Canada. I would have been uncomfortable coming here without a place to live and having to stay in a hotel until long term accommodation was found.
My email correspondence with the real estate agents that I found was fraught with delays, language issues and a cavalier attitude that just did not inspire much confidence. Many of the listings on internet rental sites were not available despite being listed. Listings go up but don't come down.
Our requirements were pretty specific. The number of properties that met the majority of these were few and far between. I was assured that this property was exactly what we were looking for and were surprised by the conditions that we found when we flew down for a look. The management company and the owner are wonderful and continue to this day to be responsive and understanding. Sometimes not to the degree that I would like, but I too have to be prepared to compromise. From being a home owner to a tenant is an adjustment that I sometimes struggle with.
I did the best I could with what I had to work with. You never really know a place until you move in and live there day after day. Apart from performing a complete home inspection to NA standards, I would have been able to identify the electrical problems here. Who does that on a rental viewing?
So true. The learning moment of this parable, is that one need not and must not compromise one's very safety by accepting the reality of "normal". Allowing the problem to perpetuate one customer at a time will not bring about change fast enough. We often hear the phrase, "...if it saves just one life...".
Just because something is, does not mean you have to accept it as is. Acceptance of that which is not right, is the foundation upon which all heartache is built.
Try a twelve volt battery and some jumper wires at the breaker box and a meter out in the field.
I, as well like to have a plan A, plan B, and if I have the time plan C. After inspecting and fixing aircraft for many years, where lack of attention to detail and proper procedures can and will result in the lose of life, I am very anal retentive when it comes to thinks being done correctly.
Having said that I agree with you, you notice things after a few days or weeks that you miss when initially looking. I have had a house, a small apartment building, and a school built here- two different contractors and two different architects, and I'm only mildly please. My house was wired by an electrical engineer and it is done well, but the plumbing is crap. The school is safe and well built but there are some issues, fortunately minor. I have had several houses built for me in Canada and used to work in construction myself and I can tell you the real DIFFERENCE IS THE INSPECTION that is required.