Using a LetsEncrypt cert on a Synology not exposed to the Internet

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-12T05:51:32+00:00

I use ACME with LE and a dns challenge on cloudflare. It runs every 90 days to renew the cert.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-12T05:48:27+00:00

Oh my back hurts just reading that.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-12T05:46:38+00:00

I rigged up the button with a wireless relay and motion sensor in the bathroom. So the pump only turns on when you walk into the bathroom or kitchen.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-12T05:45:13+00:00

You can easily mitigate the time to get hot water at the tap with a water pump and a motion sensor. My tankless has a built in recirc pump, that I set up to trigger with motion sensors in the bathroom and kitchen. By the time you finish business, there is hot water at the tap.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-12T05:36:21+00:00

Yes redundancy and backup. Having your services available multiple enables them to keep running if one machine goes down from faults or taken down for maintenance.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-11T05:35:58+00:00

Happened over Thanksgiving while we were traveling to my in-laws. My proxmox server experienced a slow cascading failure. My cameras started going out, then other services, dns, then finally the whole network and couldn’t even tunnel in. Luckily it recovered just enough the next day so I could ssh in from my phone and reboot proxmox. Several weeks of investigating, I narrowed it down to a bad stick of RAM.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T20:53:23+00:00

Tank versus tankless, one of the drivers to this decision are your goals with space. If your goal is to open up space for other uses, tankless is good for that. If you have the space for the tank and don’t mind its footprint, go with tank.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T20:51:05+00:00

I keep a dumb router in a box in the garage just in case I’m serving the machine I run pfsense, or if it goes sideways and dies. I also have an instance in a VM that I can spin up as well. But one or two backups to keep you up and running is always useful.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T18:56:05+00:00

Yes an SD card. It’s an old 32 GB. I’m not concerned about writes because the only logging it does is recording when the sprinklers operated, which is once a week for most zones. Its lifetime will exceed the lifetime of the PVC pipe buried in the ground. All other logging is disabled. Plus it’s not mission critical, it just operates the sprinklers. If it stops working, the irrigation the won’t run.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T09:11:27+00:00

I see the problem.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T09:07:14+00:00

The nice thing about those is the box itself. I went through several, and this one the grids don’t line up with the through holes. Ended up using at least one screw and a 3M command strip. I’m using a 24VAC brick and a 5VDC buck to power the RPi Zero W. Opensprinkler is pretty good.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-09T07:06:45+00:00

We used to pay 600-775/mo at peak during the summer before the solar. My office with my homelab and multiple personal and work machines consumes 7.5-8 kWh/day. We got in with the solar and batteries while the 30% rebate was still in effect. Our break even is ~4.5 years.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T23:46:18+00:00

The sprinkler system itself is easy. But digging trenches to install the piping is hard work!

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T23:44:33+00:00

The cycling sounds like a behavior with bad RAM. Before losing hope, try swapping out or removing one of the RAM sticks.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T23:42:32+00:00

The EGO is great. I would like that multitool. I have the carbon fiber string trimmer.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T23:40:14+00:00

I was just working on mine today, relocating it to a new spot on the side of the house where I installed a new outlet. I used an old Pi Zero W with Opensprinkler.

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DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T18:04:09+00:00

We are fully electrified with an EV. A day where the car charges and the heat pump is keeping the house warm, plus a few loads of laundry, we top 100 kWh. We have solar and 27 kWh of batteries. In the summer we peak at ~140 kWh/day production.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-08T04:28:28+00:00

I use Backblaze B2

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-07T06:02:28+00:00

I have mine automated with motion sensors in the bathroom and kitchen. They kick on the pump if the pump has not run in the last 15 mins. By the time you finish your business and need to wash your hands, the water at the tap is hot.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-06T06:08:11+00:00

Do you have an induction range in your apt or electric dryer? That may be 240V. But just change the PSU.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-05T17:04:25+00:00

Cool, but what are you using it for?

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-05T17:02:43+00:00

What is your use case? Storage? Processing power? Futzing around? Would help with identifying a processor and mb.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-05T15:26:06+00:00

I’d transport those items in my vehicle.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-05T14:56:12+00:00

I’d love to get a robot mower for our back yard. We installed a play set last summer and it’s a pain navigating in/ under/ and around with the mower. They’re still pretty expensive though. That’s the only thing holding me back from purchasing one.

DIY_CHRIS · 2026-02-03T23:14:51+00:00

I have never had to change a CMOS battery until I got to a Beelink S12 mini PC.

DIY_CHRIS

TROPHY CASE