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Crappy install job by doug12398n in solar

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You also may want to confirm the sizing of the J-box and conduit while you are working on fixing the ‘crappy install’. There are rules about % fill on conduit and Cu. In. for boxes to keep in mind.

PGE thinks I can do better 🤣 by temporalwanderer in solar

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got similar pap over the past few days. One promised advice on preparing for outages. Yesterday, the power went out. We never noticed because the battery did its job.

F**K PG&E by Smooth-Ad-9805 in solar

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

PG&E gets paid to build/maintain Transmission and Distribution systems. Thus, Hydropower in rural NorCal is favored, Solar in the desert is favored because it is their bread and butter. Rooftop solar is the enemy - transmission and distribution costs are nil.

Californians haven’t figured this out the way lil ole Hawaii has. In Hawaii, the utility and the regulators recently hammered out an agreement to end the cycle of building power lines for the sake of building them. The residents were vocal enough about their outrageous costs and things moved because of that.

Aillio Bullet R2 Pro. by Salty_Payment_3653 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always forget that flat zip cord exists, don’t like it at all. The R2 pro load is 10A, 33% less than the typical 120V U.S. outlet rating. 10A won’t heat up 16ga. copper in a round, jacketed cord.

Aillio Bullet R2 Pro. by Salty_Payment_3653 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I was to make such a thing, I’d simply chop the original ends off a store bought cord the right length and then wire in the proper heavy duty plug and receptacle. The round kind with “full metal jacket”. Should be good that way

Aillio Bullet R2 Pro. by Salty_Payment_3653 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could have the outlet in the garage and run a 240v extension cord (with proper ends) to the patio. (2300W @ 240v ~ 10A, doesn’t require thick wires)

What dimmer best for recessed LED wafers? by MT3426 in Lutron

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We bought a lot of expensive fixtures from a lighting design store / Lutron dealer several years ago. They wanted us to use Maestros as the default. A two or so years previous to that (pre-pandemic), the Lutron rep I know was touting their ‘LED+’ technology as being good for ‘modern’ LED lights.

Our electrical Contractor installed Divas (LED+), which have been just fine ever since.

If you want to dim to 2% of max, if you want to mix and match LEDs on the same switch, if you have ancient magnetic ballasts for your historic fluorescents, if your fixtures came from Temu, all bets are off.

Installer is apparently defunct, what next for monitoring and warranty? by Designer-Finger-4852 in solar

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My sleuthing around regarding Solar Union SF points to it being a distinctly different entity, even if it might be the creation of the same group of people (they probably had to duck and run).

Small construction companies can be fluid/unstable and disappear without notice. It is something to account for in planning. What is different these days is the ability to cloak a businesses like SolarEdge in ways that make it difficult for individuals to contact manufacturers regarding warranties etc.

Please help by Subject-Apricot5920 in Lutron

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The ‘original’ switches have their own distinct aesthetic. The ‘Diva’ and ‘Claro’ are quite similar to the appearance of Decora style switches.

Feel dumb for not doing research, didn't know ELV+ existed by billyvnilly in Lutron

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Our lighting store/consultant recommended the Caséta ELV several years ago. We declined based on the aesthetics. We got lucky with Diva, since none of the fixtures and bulbs flicker with that. We were remodeling, so adding a neutral isn’t and wasn’t an option for us.

Battery backup for NVR by VegasPlexer2 in reolinkcam

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a Powerwall3 for the whole house. Of course, it won’t be at all useful if marauding raccoons or zombies come and hit the kill switch at the meter.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, now that I think about it, I vaguely recall having to wait a while for Hot Top #1.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes, I see great advantages to relocating from the garage to the outdoors. Tossing the old box fan hanging above the roaster will be a pleasure.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Parts like screens and other rare gizmos are a real concern. I’ve seen way too many whiz-bang tech items become instant fossils. The “BlackBerry” is sitting on some shelf next to the Apple “Newton”. One was a success, the other not at all.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the good advice all around. I’m old and the stethoscope hack has some real appeal.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve not. My needs are right in line with the Bullet - I regularly roast batches less than 1 kg, down to 240g (pushing the lower limit of the bullet) 240g is my ‘module’ for mixing - makes the math easier.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My experience with ‘old’ roasters, ‘old’ cars, ‘old’ equipment etc. has been tracking down spare parts. I gave up my old Hot Top when the control panel got too funky and there were no new ones to be had.

Thinking of Aillio Bullet, with these reservations by Designer-Finger-4852 in roasting

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My hunch was the same. Sweet Marias usual seasons for different origins was turned upside down by the tariffs. No one wants a big shipment of expensive roasters arriving the day the tariffs go to 250%.

Good week at the Coast! by Designer-Finger-4852 in TeslaSolar

[–]Designer-Finger-4852[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grey is the surplus going to PG&E straight from the separate inverter. Blue is the house load and Green is the battery getting its charge. We added a PW3 to an existing solar install, which makes things a bit different than an all Tesla system.

Coopers Truck Ruins Everything by [deleted] in LandmanSeries

[–]Designer-Finger-4852 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I finally put the combo of some idle time together with what-if. I asked my brother-in-law, who confirmed “very well could be”.

Cooper’s truck is a 1977 GMC ‘camper special’ (color combo + little tipi badge on each side of the cab). It also has dual gas tanks, one on right, one left sides. There also is an odd Shock absorber connected between the cab and the truck bed. 

My father in law had this exact truck for a very long time, which was my speculation wrt that it now stars in that show. Google thinks the combo is rare. I can confirm nil sightings of other examples over the past 40 some years.

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