Building a Home in Davao

[Jack Peterson]

On 10/3/2020 at 3:02 PM, Tommy T. said:

I was like a kid running around turning on all the lights and playing with the aircons. This was one of the best days yet.

 Tom, Good to hear you are testing now But a little piece of Advice on your gate, To my Horror in Spain I did not listen to some advice given me, I hope you heed this piece, Make sure that when you order your Motor and gearBox for the Gate, make sure that there is a manual Neutral in the gear box because it will not work in Brownouts and you will be stuck either in or out ( Your Car I mean)  by operating the Manual Neutral the gate can be slid Open. The Motor will command  large voltage and a Generator may not be up to the Pull required. Just some remembered thoughts of years gone by 

[Tommy T.]

11 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Tom, Good to hear you are testing now But a little piece of Advice on your gate, To my Horror in Spain I did not listen to some advice given me, I hope you heed this piece, Make sure that when you order your Motor and gearBox for the Gate, make sure that there is a manual Neutral in the gear box because it will not work in Brownouts and you will be stuck either in or out ( Your Car I mean)  by operating the Manual Neutral the gate can be slid Open. The Motor will command  large voltage and a Generator may not be up to the Pull required. Just some remembered thoughts of years gone by 

Thanks much for the advice, Jack.

After reviewing the literature regarding the gate motors from Altech, they seem to include a manual override in their equipment. But I will recheck to be sure. That is an absolute must due to the sometimes unreliability of the power system here. And, at least for now, we will not have a backup generator right away either due to budgetary restraints.

But, I guess if I have to be stuck... I would prefer it to be inside...

[Tommy T.]

@intrepid

I have not finished the deal for the gate opener, but I wanted to thank you for the recommendation. Altech seems very accommodating and helpful right from the get-go. I feel confidant that we will have a good, quality opener and a quality installer... at least from what I am hearing from my conversations with them.

You are more than welcome to drink my beer and pee on our fence...any time!

[intrepid]

3 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

@intrepid

I have not finished the deal for the gate opener, but I wanted to thank you for the recommendation. Altech seems very accommodating and helpful right from the get-go. I feel confidant that we will have a good, quality opener and a quality installer... at least from what I am hearing from my conversations with them.

You are more than welcome to drink my beer and pee on our fence...any time!

Tommy, A few back Jack mentioned the electrical for the gate.  I'm not sure what system you will be choosing but in any case if you have not already done so, you may want to have your electrician run a lice where you expect the motor to be located.  It should be on its own breaker.  My system only required a 10 amp breaker.   As I mentioned my system has two openers and they are low voltage DC, converted in the power supply control box.  I suppose that is why the low amp breaker is needed.  Also Jack suggested to make sure the system you choose has a manual override.  That is wise here in the Philippines.  I do think all the units Altech sells have that feature.  Just ask for sure.  Enjoy it.  Nothing like setting in the car during a poring rain, pushing a button and driving into the shelter without getting soaked.

[Tommy T.]

10 hours ago, intrepid said:

Tommy, A few back Jack mentioned the electrical for the gate.  I'm not sure what system you will be choosing but in any case if you have not already done so, you may want to have your electrician run a lice where you expect the motor to be located.  It should be on its own breaker.  My system only required a 10 amp breaker.   As I mentioned my system has two openers and they are low voltage DC, converted in the power supply control box.  I suppose that is why the low amp breaker is needed.  Also Jack suggested to make sure the system you choose has a manual override.  That is wise here in the Philippines.  I do think all the units Altech sells have that feature.  Just ask for sure.  Enjoy it.  Nothing like setting in the car during a poring rain, pushing a button and driving into the shelter without getting soaked.

Yes... I appreciate Jack's advice and took it to heart.

I did not check to see that the opener has it's own breaker, but I am headed out to the home today and the sparky said he would meet me there. We have several minor issues to resolve. I do know for sure that he ran dedicated power lines for the gate already - they are inside conduit and run under the driveway cement. He has also run intercom, lights, CCTV and doorbell lines.

I sent another e-mail to Altech this afternoon with the specs of the gate and also specifically asking about the manual override. I expect I will hear back soon. Once I know the system I need, I will place my online order with Lazada and contact whoever they suggest as an installer.

[Tommy T.]

So now I have this image in my mind of many older guys with beer guts guzzling beer inside the compound then wandering outside to pee on our fence. Of course, I will be one of them!

I can only hope it will rain heavily soon thereafter to rinse it all away or else we will have to move out for a while!

[GeoffH]

5 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

So now I have this image in my mind of many older guys with beer guts guzzling beer inside the compound then wandering outside to pee on our fence.

 

There might be Tanduay drinkers wandering outside to pee on your fence too  

[Tommy T.]

On 10/5/2020 at 5:03 PM, intrepid said:

Tommy, A few back Jack mentioned the electrical for the gate.  I'm not sure what system you will be choosing but in any case if you have not already done so, you may want to have your electrician run a lice where you expect the motor to be located.  It should be on its own breaker.  My system only required a 10 amp breaker.   As I mentioned my system has two openers and they are low voltage DC, converted in the power supply control box.  I suppose that is why the low amp breaker is needed.  Also Jack suggested to make sure the system you choose has a manual override.  That is wise here in the Philippines.  I do think all the units Altech sells have that feature.  Just ask for sure.  Enjoy it.  Nothing like setting in the car during a poring rain, pushing a button and driving into the shelter without getting soaked.

 

On 10/4/2020 at 5:45 PM, Jack Peterson said:

 Tom, Good to hear you are testing now But a little piece of Advice on your gate, To my Horror in Spain I did not listen to some advice given me, I hope you heed this piece, Make sure that when you order your Motor and gearBox for the Gate, make sure that there is a manual Neutral in the gear box because it will not work in Brownouts and you will be stuck either in or out ( Your Car I mean)  by operating the Manual Neutral the gate can be slid Open. The Motor will command  large voltage and a Generator may not be up to the Pull required. Just some remembered thoughts of years gone by 

I just received an e-mailed reply to my questions about the gate opener.

According to Iota, the customer service rep I am in contact with, all Altech gate openers have a manual override. Certain models also can work with a battery backup, but I don't think that will be necessary.

But I do have a few questions for you Intrepid... Does the basic unit include car remote controls? And if so, how many? Does it come with an in-house remote control? The info on the Lazada website is not so clear on what is included and what is not. I am also thinking of ordering the steel track instead of nylon. Nylon does break down over time in sunlight and becomes brittle... It would likely be quieter when operating, but I don't really care about that.

What I reckon I need from perusing the website is the opener unit (I will go for the 800kg version - 220 volt), one house wireless remote and then 5 meters of the steel track. Does that sound about right to you?

I don't thing I need laser or infrared sensors and I certainly don't want any flashing lights!!!!

Edited October 7, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Tommy T.]

I visited solo yesterday. No photos this time!

The temporary internet cable that the installer strung up in a mango tree broke in heavy wind two days ago. He wen to fix it yesterday (by connecting to the underground cable this time) but said there is a "high loss" problem. So he will work on that, he says.

The kid who is the painter seems stuck with using stain on all wood and is very heavy handed with it. It's obvious he has little to no experience with wood and didn't get the idea of just letting the natural grain of the stairs and railings show. So he will be busy with some sandpaper for a while...

I discussed a few things with the sparky and he will take care of them.

The aircon guy was there again and the master bedroom unit is fixed and functioning, but he ran out of R22 before he could charge it up completely, so it is not yet right. But I camped out in the library for a while with the aircon running and it worked great. Gotta get that bar refrigerator in there soon!

Good news today from the glass company. They apparently will pick up the hardware needed to install the bug screens today. We'll see... But, meanwhile, I spoke with one of the reps and repeated our complaints about poor service yet high prices. But L gave me a great suggestion a couple days ago... Instead of asking for more discount on their price, would they make that up by supplying and installing two glass shower "walls" for free?

The rep agreed to that today. I had already priced these out at another company and each would run about P10-15k for tempered glass, installation parts, caulking, etc... So that sounded like a good deal to me. It saves them from having to issue a discount and saves us a lot of money on some glass we needed.

This is the idea we want. We have stayed in some hotels that had this design and I have personal friends who have something like this too. Simple and elegant - and really easy to clean, no moving parts either!

Tomorrow we will venture forth again and see how things are going.

We already warned the foreman that Mandaue Foam will be delivering some things to the guest bedroom, so it must be cleaned out and prepared - a double bed and a futon bed - with pillows!!!

[Tommy T.]

@intrepid

I just wanted to mention that, so far, I am already super impressed with Altech.

I placed my order online with Lazada maybe an hour ago. The site was a bit confusing for me regarding track thickness for the sliding gate. So I apparently ordered two different thicknesses.

I had a phone call less than 30 minutes after placing that order from a rep from Altech asking me about that to confirm what I really wanted. I was actually shocked by this customer service. She assured me she would fix the order to make it right. She also confirmed that, if I just have the contractor do the install (instead of a suggested installer), that they have tech staff available during business hours week days to assist, if necessary. Furthermore, she said the system will come with a comprehensive installation guide.

This is better service than I am accustomed to in USA!

Thanks again for your great recommendation!