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Ks Toh

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Everything posted by Ks Toh

  1. Ks Toh
    The following are videos taken after I placed a few drops of the ant killer gel along the ant trail. The ant trails disappeared the next day. Ants in Dining Area (on top of door frame) Ants at the corner of my Kitchen (notice they totally ignore my Combat bait)
  2. Ks Toh
    My colleague recommended me this shop at Ubi Ave 2 which is basically a DIY Pest Control Shop. Very interesting shop. Sells all kinds of DIY pest control stuff. Website: http://www.enta.com.sg I was recommended this ant killer gel. Cost $25. Instructions say results will be seen after one week but by the next day, most of the ants had disappeared!
  3. Ks Toh
    Ants, Ants and More Ants I have a problem which I think most of you (especially those with new homes) would not have. I can spill a few drops of juice on the table, and within 20 mins, there will be a swarm of ants, ants and more ants. To get an idea of the amount of ants, just look at the videos below. The last time I had a durian party, I left some durians (some were ripe and therefore slightly open) on a table at the roof terrace. 20 mins later, the fruits were full of crawling durians. It was so frustrating. I used many of those "advance" ant baits purchased from the supermarket. But after using them for some time, I conclude that they are quite useless. After a while, the ants all go around it. Actually, I have never seen any ant go in. But eventually, I found a solution which I would like to share. If you are unfortunate enough to have an ant problem, you can consider this solution.
  4. Ks Toh
    I am using a combination of 2 Daikins (old) and the rest Mitsubishi Electric (new). The following are my views, as stated in my blog: Daikin - Always reliable. But relatively expensive and seems like design is not as modern. Carrier - Reliable but now I do not know.. Toshiba - Originally not so bad but now the construction so plasticky (my cover hinge broke and I had to sue masking tape to secure it) and the remote not impressive Panasonic - Design impressive but performance fail. Noisy. Mitsubishi Electric - Design and performance good. I am currently using them. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - I have no experience but sounds like more "industrial" to me. ME and MHI are both part of the Mitsubishi group, but this group is a very loose entity. Members of the group do sell similar products and in the case of air-con, ME and MHI actually compete against one another! In Singapore, ME is represented by Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd while MHI is represented by the Wo Kee Hong group. If your MItsubishi Heavy Industries air-con breaks down, don't go running to Mitsubishi Electric Singapore, their competitor!
  5. Ks Toh
    Not sure whether you appreciated what Luxexplorer said, but Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Electric are from two totally different companies. Totally different equipment and distributor in Singapore. Whilst some people may say Mitsubishi HE is better, general consensus seems to be that Mitsubishi Electric is better and slightly more expensive.
  6. Ks Toh
    This view alone would have sold the flat for me!
  7. Ks Toh
    Congrats! Maybe that is a ploy to get you to go back to buy more?
  8. Ks Toh
    Not sure about furniture fair but Expo this weekend has Philips Carnival. Some of the stuff are really cheap. Bought air fryer and table lamps. Lamps about half price. Air fryer 1/3 off plus free gifts.
  9. Ks Toh
    In 2014, there were 1.2m households in Singapore and 360 reported cases of housebreaking and related crimes. The chance of a burglar breaking into your house is therefore 3 in 10,000. I would think the chance of your helper or dogs doing something funny would be far greater. In fact, the presence of a camera may be sufficient to deter your helper from doing something funny. By the way, some models allow two way communication. Not sure if you can remotely give voice commands to your dog!
  10. Ks Toh
    Hi Luxeplorer At my blog, we were discussing webcams. I looked at your layout. Am I correct that your unit is the one on the left and the front door is at the bottom right? If so, one possible installation location would be the bottom right or left corner of the living room. A fixed camera in this location would be able to capture the entire living room plus main door and entrances to your two rooms and kitchen. Normally, the webcam is fixed at the ceiling level. So if you are serious about the webcam, you can consider making provisions by having a power point (or run a wire) there. Then for internet, a wired access there is preferred but strong WiFi signal there will suffice. On breaking in, I was told that we are all barking at the wrong tree. We spent lots of time and money securing our main door, both wooden and grille. Actually, the thief also knows that. He knows you got double or triple locks plus security camera there. So, most thieves will not spend so much time trying to access the main door. Instead, they will climb in through your balcony, toilet opening etc.
  11. Ks Toh
    I am not familiar with the Eubiq but I read up a little on it. The specifications state that the track is rated at 40A and each plug or adapter is 13A. You can have as many plugs or adapter on the track as you want (subject to physical limitation) but at any one moment, you should not draw more than 40A from the track. So, taking as an example my appliances: Eubiq Track: 40A Oven: 11.5A Washer: 10A Dryer: 11.25A Iron: 12A Nespresso: 7.5A Others: ??? It seems like at any one point in time, whichever combination you choose, you should try not to exceed 40A. It's funny, it seems like a puzzle you need to solve every time. If you are using the track for small counter top appliances like rice cooker, kettle, toaster, juicer etc., you probably need to check the power consumption of those devices. I think they should not be too high in power consumption. I did not consider using Eubiq because I think it is not cheap. I just made sure that I had more than sufficient power points.
  12. Ks Toh
    Size is misleading. My 640L side by side refrigerator requires only 2.4A (185 to 615W of power), if you believe the specifications. My chest freezer apparently consumes only 1.1A. On the other hand, my ordinary Philips iron apparently consumes up to 2,800W, which works out to around 12A. If you have been plugging your iron to a socket that is already used by your washer, please stop doing it. Or use only one appliance at one time. Sometimes, you may not be aware that you are overloading the circuit. I heard of someone whose washing machine somehow caught fire and the entire brand new condominium unit was gutted. The actual cause of fire is unknown. But it is reported that due to lack of space in the kitchen (or perhaps because he really likes coffee), he put his Nespresso machine on top of his washing machine and both washer and Nespresso were plugged into the same 13A power point using a multi-socket adapter. The other day, I checked the power rating of my Nespresso. At 1,710W, this works out to around 7.5A. Add this to the 10A for my washer, and the 13A for the power point would have been exceeded.
  13. Ks Toh
    In case you think you should be fine because you do not have an induction cooker hob or built-in oven, think again. I have an ordinary 7 kg Electrolux washer and a dryer. The washer is rated at 2,000W, 10A. The dryer is rated at 2,250W so it should be around 11.25A. Obviously, you should not plug both washer and dryer into the same 13A power point but I am sure some people do.
  14. Ks Toh
    However, it is a totally different story when it comes to the kitchen or yard. My built-in convection oven has a rated power of 2,635W. This means it requires a current of 11.5A, which means if it is plugged into a 13A power point, there is not much current left for another appliance. The induction cooker hob is even worse. According to the specifications, its power rating is 7,200W and it requires a dedicated 32A power point. I noticed there are some 2 zone induction hobs that require a 16A power point. Maybe a 15A power point will suffice for these.
  15. Ks Toh
    Although too much usage of such multi-socket adapters and extension cords is discouraged, it is generally safe for electrical appliances in the living room and study, provided of course you use properly tested and approved equipment. Common audio visual electrical appliances consume very little power. The following are some of the electrical appliances in my living room / bedroom: My Philips 46" TV in the hall consumes only 75 to 150W. Using the formula I = P/V, this works out to less than 1A. My older LG 32" TV in my room is stated to be only 1.1A. My LG DVD recorder is stated to be 30W. This works out to less than 1A. Your iPhone charger is 1A. Your iPad charger is 2.1A. Basically, you can plug many of these appliances into a single 13A socket and there is still spare capacity. Not that I advise you to!
  16. Ks Toh
    Electrical Overloading qitan asked why the salesman said the power point at the kitchen is insufficient for some models of induction hobs. That got me thinking. Many of us, myself included, can be quite careless when it comes to plugging electrical appliances in to the power points. In today's modern living, few fires are caused by someone accidentally kicking over a kerosene lamp. Many fires are electrical in nature, often caused by electrical overloading. Some insurers may refuse to pay if they investigate and conclude that you had caused the fire by overloading the circuit or switch. Many people under-provide for electrical points, so they end up using multi-socket adapters and extension cords. How many of you are guilty of this? Disclaimer: I am not an electrical engineer and whatever I write is based purely on my general knowledge. Hence, I disclaim all responsibility. Please consult your electrical consultant or websites such as this for reliable information: http://www.dmse.nus.edu.sg/safety/DMSE_Safety_Website/Electrical.htm The basic formula is Power (P) in watts (W) = Voltage (V) in volts (V) x Current (I) in amperes (A) Singapore voltage is 230V. The normal 3 pin power socket is only 13A.
  17. Ks Toh
    Advantage of digital peephole viewer is that you can see outside with the door closed. Unless you fix your IP Camera outside your door (which may not be allowed by HDB/MCST), your camera will not be able to see through the door. Advantage of camera is that you can see anyone within the house. Usually, the camera is fixed in one corner which can capture most of the interior plus entrance. Apart from security, a more important use of cameras is to monitor activities within the house, particularly when you have a pet, young children, old people and/or a helper at home. For digital peephole viewer, I believe it cannot do this. I am not sure how the digital peephole viewer recording function works. But with the IP camera, you can set it to always record or based on motion or sound activation. I set mine to record if motion is detected. With a 32GB micro SD card, it stores about 1 month's worth of recording. I can remotely access the camera to view live images or retrieve recordings, from my mobile phone or any computer.
  18. Ks Toh
    This is not just a filtration system but an alkaline water dispenser. You do not need a separate water tap. Most people just tap off the existing water tap. I installed one in my house. If you want to find out more information, you can check here.
  19. Ks Toh
    I agree 300%. You need to put in some green plants. Get those plants in "self-irrigation" pots. I have some in my house. Love them.
  20. Ks Toh
    [back to Table of Contents] Setting up a D-Link IP camera is not too difficult, as long as you can follow instructions. All you need is to identify a location to install the IP camera. This place must have power supply and internet access (wired preferred but wireless acceptable). You connect this camera to your network, register a D-Link account, and register this camera (by its serial number) to your account. You can now access this camera from your mobile phone anywhere. The cameras registered to your account need not be in the same network. One could be at your office, the rest at home. If you are interested in a D-Link camera and can wait, you might want to wait for Sitex 2015 in December. D-Link normally sells their cameras up to $100 cheaper at the fair. The following is part of their brochure at the September Comex fair. Based on my experience, I recommend the DCS-5222L but if you do not need the pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) function, then maybe the DCS-942L or DCS-2132L. Prices have dropped tremendously. I think I paid $349 for my DCS-522L. Now the price is less than half what I paid. Remember to buy a 32MB Micro-SD card too. The bigger the capacity, the more videos it can store.
  21. Ks Toh
    The cabinets are normal wooden customised cabinets. However, instead of using laminate on the panels, some type of very thin clear crystal glass is used. Mine is from OPSH. Their crystal glass is really very clear. You can also get from other contractors but the glass may appear a bit greenish. It's very nice. But in my opinion, impractical. My friend took out a wine glass accidentally hit the edge of the door, glass now has a tiny chip at the corner. While putting my water bottle, I accidentally hit the edge, another tiny crack line at the edge. My better half likes things perfect. But it is costly to change the entire panel just because of one tiny chip (which you normally cannot notice if I don't tell you but if I tell you, you will be irritated by it every day). [back to Table of Contents]
  22. Ks Toh
    Indeed the only way to really solve the waterproofing is from upstairs. This means hacking up the floor and lower parts of the wall, and re-waterproofing it. But I had just renovated and moved in, so I was not willing to hack up my master bedroom toilet granite floor. So for me, jet grouting from the bedroom below will suffice. Luckily, it is my own inter-floor seepage. In your case, you may have no choice. Yes, supervisor local, all other workers foreign. I think you will be hard pressed to find any local worker in this industry. They are all foreign. Only the supervisor is local and even he may be Malaysian. The workers were quite responsible.
  23. Ks Toh
    Hard to tell. The leak at the yard has stopped, but only after the contractor came back 2 to 3 times after it continued to leak. The leak in the room has stopped, but it should be noted that it can take a long time (a year or two) before the leak surfaces. Quite importantly, the contractor was willing to come back to attend the problem after the first round of repairs, and I had paid up.
  24. Ks Toh
    Cooker Hood in Recycling Mode The normal arrangement is to use the Cooker Hood in Recycling Mode. The exhaust is sucked in by the hood, cleaned by the filters, and discharged at the top of the hood. So basically, the exhaust is discharged back to your kitchen. Some house owners box up the top, such that the discharge goes nowhere but somewhere in the cupboard. I think in such cases, the air flow will be impeded, and the hood will not function as well as it should.
  25. Ks Toh
    For my bomb shelter, I place priority on load carrying capacity rather than aesthetics since it is in the storeroom. Mine from Yee Sin can carry 200 to 250 kg uniformly distributed load per panel. Not sure about those from Ikea.
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