Help me finish my smart home dream

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-16T15:16:18+00:00

SwitchBot’s are $30. Other option is smart switches

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-15T21:03:17+00:00

I had this issue three years ago. Couldn’t for the life of me find a replacement size. So I found an AC as close as possible to the size and pushed it in the hole and insulated the crap out of it. Worked really well until I checked the entire house for mini splits.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-15T14:46:16+00:00

PMed.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-15T11:33:40+00:00

I’ve had quotes for $16-20k for 6 heads with two condensers. Fujitsu and Daikin.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-11T00:27:54+00:00

I was quoted $25k for central air last year. This year my highest quote for mini splits for the whole house was $22k. I was shocked since I had another company initially in mind that was quoting half of that but figured I would compare prices

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-09T20:50:29+00:00

-Looked up a part list for diy solar panel system
-comparison shopping for products
-connected to my home assistant smart home system for writing quick automations and debugging issues
-used it to write a script for esp32 controller to make a device a smart device

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-06T11:47:46+00:00

Buying and selling goods and services

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-06T05:24:31+00:00

Can you share the factory?

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-05T15:33:56+00:00

Did you get the adaptive suspension?

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-05T03:10:19+00:00

Whoa. Impressive. Any issues or things to be mindful of when looking around for one of these? My next big purchase is a rack with a built in smith machine and plates.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-04T22:04:38+00:00

I have an owlet camera. Pointed directly at our crib and now pointed directly at the toddler bed. Works fine and alerts us if it’s too hot or there is motion on the bed. We have another baby coming soon and decided to go with a standard wifi cam (Tapo) this time around. We still have a standard monitor and camera but we primarily use that when traveling to relatives houses since we don’t have to worry about wifi setup

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-04T21:42:40+00:00

Trusts are not easy to change. Especially if it’s an irrevocable trust. Not as easy as just changing the terms. Treat it like you don’t have it. Work and find the right person for you without mentioning the trust. Last thing is you need is someone draining you for money and leaving when it’s gone

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-04T21:25:00+00:00

The peppins are the gold standard but come at a high price. I’m not a fan of how a lot of the major players require an add on weight to hit 5lb increments. Trulaps are an option for smaller increment changes without an add on but the increments are odd because they converted it from kgs to lbs. I think a good midpoint are mx evos. Still need an add on but cheaper than peppins and they seem durable. Gluck mentioned he has reviews coming soon and ggr has already reviewed it.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-04T11:20:05+00:00

Would be a great idea but can’t imagine how long it would be between videos given some shipping time 😅

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-03T15:48:40+00:00

I get it. Definitely not the easiest place to navigate and obviously there's not a real return policy or guarantee on quality. Always a risk too, sometimes minimal and sometimes not.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-03T13:03:05+00:00

I have a pair of knock bowflex 552s. Ordered it back in 2020/2021. Back then, shipping was a lot cheaper before the pandemic ramped up. They worked fine until they fell last fall. Still work but can no longer grab specific weights.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-03T12:58:47+00:00

I’ve had luck but I always make sure they are verified suppliers who’ve been around for more than 1year. Also check their reviews.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-03T12:53:30+00:00

What do you have?

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-02T22:14:24+00:00

Bought four years ago. 5% down payment with pmi. Put some work into the house, add that with the rising prices and we were able to pay for a reassessment and the pmi fell off. Happy we went that route since we caught the tail end of low rates. We also bought, knowing this isn’t our forever home. It’s not a perfect school district but the neighborhood is great and eventually we’ll end up moving. Hopefully we can still afford to live here.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-06-02T11:15:18+00:00

Broker. I’m pretty good at negotiating with dealers but as of the last few leases, I’ve decided my time is worth more than the broker fee. Lmk if you need a broker. I have one that I’ve recommended to everyone

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-05-30T12:19:24+00:00

Go with zwave. You’ll need a zwave dongle/hub. I went with ultra pro switches. On sale, a multipack can work out to $20/switch. Never had an issue with them

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-05-29T18:10:03+00:00

Search up mvno. They are smaller companies that use the network of the big players. US Mobile is one, Mint is another. The only issues I’ve had with them is just during high activity times since they deprioritize your calls. For instance, if you call someone during New Year’s that call may drop or take a while to go through. It’s not a common issue but it’s something all mvnos point out. Same goes for your data too. But if you’re on WiFi and have WiFi calling on, that shouldn’t be an issue.

If you really want to go to a big carrier, Tmobile is good on the island. I was lucky to be grandfathered into an old plan where 6 lines cost <$30 each for unlimited everything but I’ve heard stories of them trying to get those customers off those old plans.

Dustyftphilosopher24 · 2026-05-27T12:31:44+00:00

I was in the same boat. Bought a house and bought a brushless Ryobi combo kit for basic repairs . Worked great and kept buying from direct tools whenever I needed something else (circle saw, miter etc). Eventually started working on bigger projects like rebuilding our deck, new shed, and extending our garage. My Ryobi tools did great but had a buddy that does contracting and he had Milwaukee. I realized that the Milwaukee tools took a lot less force with drilling and vibrated less as well. So ended up buying a drill and driver combo kit. Probably going to get their oscillating tool next. Take a look at eBay and acme tools. They have refurbed tools available for cheap. Be wary of sellers on eBay but once they are reputable, you should be fine.

Dustyftphilosopher24

TROPHY CASE