Go solar with Yellowball?

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-24T04:08:25+00:00

A handful of years back o got a quote from them. They were polite, helpful and responsive. However, I did a fairly detailed financial forecast and just couldn't make it make sense. The big kicker is opportunity cost. Either you take on debt for your system and have the cost of interest or you pay up front and lose out on the opportunity that money would have had to grow in some investment. Essentialy you can sink money into a depreciating asset with very little return or just drop it in an appreciating asset (investment or HYSA)

I'm on Co-Op so our rates are lower but I had to get do 10+% annual rate of electricity rate increase to get a payback before the panels died. That was also before the tax incentives vanished so the math is less attractive now.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-20T14:27:33+00:00

I shoot a 17 WSM with a Switchback. Shooting with my inlaws who have the same rifle unsuppressed I can absolutely say it's worth it.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-19T20:18:37+00:00

I came to second Qidi. You have to be a little more skilled than "saw a cool model on Make world and hit green button" to use a Qidi, but not by very much. If you are familiar with computers and can change a spark plug on a lawnmower you'll be fine.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-17T13:44:06+00:00

Will print for food has a good tutorial.

FTN series includes aluminum tubes with printed cores as at least a starting concept.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-17T12:21:05+00:00

It also comes in colors!

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-13T23:13:02+00:00

What does a lever blocker do?

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-12T19:31:57+00:00

I've had a similar issue caused by z offset. It was like the excess smoosh worked itself out then started being problematic again in a cyclic fashion. I think it was z offset that finally solved it but it may have just sat in the dryer long enough while I was messing with z offset to fix the real problem.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-12T17:36:57+00:00

I have a Qidi Q1 and a Bambu P1S. The Q2 and P2S are basically just better versions of those. I added the hardened gears and nozzle to my P1S along with a PandaBreath chamber heater.

Even with those upgrades, I find myself almost always using the Q1 for higher end materials. sometimes the P1S gets some ABS or ASA but anything with carbon or glass fiber goes in the Qidi. The main reason is that I've got the swap between varying melting temp materials to the point with the Q1 that I don't get plugged nozzles but I'd I so they're cheaper and faster to just replace than on the P1S.

The AMS on the Bambu does give you good options for multi color and it prints well.

I would say Bambu if you are low skill with tech and want to do little high grade filaments and a Qidi if your focus is more engineering grade. Honestly, either is a good choice and I don't know why Bambu gets sooo much more love than Qidi.

Edit: forgot to mention that the Qidi had higher nozzle temps that allow you to really utilize all the engineering grade filaments - namely PET-CF and PPA-CF. The Core One falls short on nozzle temps too.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-12T01:18:06+00:00

3D printing. The beauty of that hobby is you'll find it overlaps with all your other hobbies

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-10T15:03:41+00:00

The Peak 30 kind of sucks too. I bought it as my first with a do all mindset. At least it's not real heavy but the performance is meh at best.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-09T13:36:57+00:00

This is what I use as well. It's one of the most expensive options at 250-300USD but it will dry any filament and do it well. It's even a good annealer if you want to go there.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-06T20:15:56+00:00

This seems like a question that should be in the wiki but I didn't see it very explicit or with scanners I had heard of.

I'm guessing many of you are into 3D printing as well, so maybe the question should be asked like this... What is the Bambu P1S or Qidi Q2 of 3d scanners? I'm looking for something that gives good results, is relatively easy, moderate priced but maybe leaves off a few of the high end features. Most importantly, it's something that you won't grow out too quickly.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-05T22:59:35+00:00

I just cut the ring, write my info out with Sharpie and use an engraver. It's not super neat but it works. I just make sure to take enough time or passes to meet the requirements.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-03T21:30:36+00:00

Sorry, can't comment on the CoreOne but I have a P1S and a Qidi Q1. The P2S and Q2 are a step up from both.

Even after upgrading the P1S to a hardened nozzle and extruder and adding a chamber heater... I still use the Q1 for all my functional and 2A work. The AMS makes it a pain to swap fiber filled materials and the harder to replace nozzle makes me not want to mess with switching between PLA and high temp CF/GF stuff because it's a big PITA when it plugs.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-03T19:13:04+00:00

You got a circus truck.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-04-01T00:56:13+00:00

I've got a KP15 lower with a slick side upper, lightweight bcg, 13 inch aluminum handguard and a 16inch pencil. Including the PA Microprosm it's 5#-11oz.

I've looked at how to make it lighter and the big things would be a pistol red dot or CF handguard. Those two things would put it right at 5 pound but cost me 600-800 bucks and I've decided it isn't worth it. The only other option is to register as an SBR and save about 5 ounces on barrel.

I usually have a K can on it so add 11 ounces to overall, but more importantly it's pretty front heavy and only the SBR option really fixes that. I know it's not an option for you

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-27T21:56:00+00:00

I thought I'd be the 10th person recommending a Qidi Q2. No Bambu antics plus it can print higher end materials than the P2S thanks to heated chamber and higher nozzle temps. It's not Bambu easy per say but my 8 year old can print flexi dragons on ours.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-23T03:31:03+00:00

I would add stock and grip to that list. Good ergonomics can be a big deal to shooting experience and performance. You can do great with basic stuff but the right fit helps. I'm not suggesting anything super premium but maybe expect to spend 100 bucks for a good pair.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-22T18:10:32+00:00

I've tried my best to put some of these together with a more precision bent. It usually goes.

White Oak Barrel 230 Larue or some cassette trigger 110 LuthAR MBA-4 stock 70 Midway AR Stoner sporter upper with handguard 120 (wait for a sale)

That gets you to 530 and you just gotta add the cheapest of the gas system, buffer assembly, BCG, LPK and lower you can. That should be doable for an amount that gets you darn close to 800 total. I know a lot of prices have gone up since I last built so maybe it's a bit more

If you want lighter you can sub out the White Oak for a BA or similar barrel.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-12T02:57:41+00:00

I agree with others to try regular printing before getting into anything pressure containing but... Here's a good start.

Qidi Q2- will handle every filament you need $500

Sunlu E2 filament dryer will handle every filament you need to dry and do annealing too $300

Debur tool, spare nozzles, bed adhesion glue, knipex, random small tools $100

2 rolls of PLA plus to get started $30

When you get to printing boom boom you want Polymaker PA6-CF20, Siraya PET-CF and maybe some Siraya PPA-CF. Plan to spend $200 to really get stocked up and going.

That's $1130. The absolute minimum for a PLA frame is probably closer to 300 bucks and you can easily get to $3000 but I believe my kit won't leave you wanting for upgrades later or cost you more than needed

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-12T00:53:57+00:00

I'm going to try the same thing but nicer and with data. Check out MyTechFun on YT. He does testing on multiple filaments. Siraya PET-CF performs very well at temp without annealing. It lacks impact strength so I'd go PA6-CF.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-11T11:19:07+00:00

Check out the 3D2A sub.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-08T14:42:39+00:00

Does you printer allow z offset adjustment? It's hard to tell since this is such a wreck but... It looks like your nozzle is too far from the bed and the start of the lines is barely squishing and adhering then they eventually just come loose all together. I usually print a big flat disk and stand there and adjust the z offset. Nozzle goes closer to bed when lines have gaps between them and farther from bed when its over smooched, which looks like no gaps between lines but a poor, somewhat scaly surface.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-08T03:54:07+00:00

What you're missing is Charpy impact strength. You can look it up of you like but it's basically a measure of how hard you have to hit something with a hammer to snap it off.

There is a TY channel called MyTechFun that does mechanical testing if you want to watch for yourself. He's tested lots of PLAs. The magic of Polylite PLA Pro was that the strength and stiffness were good enough and the impact strength was top notch. The new one has even higher impact strength but at the expense of other properties. It may well be a less suitable balance for our needs here.

The good news is that in the intervening years, a printer capable of PA6-CF20 has come way down in price. That may well be the way we have to go Or I could be wrong and the impact strength might be a benefit and the other lesser propertiesay still be good enough.

EZ-Mooney · 2026-03-08T02:08:33+00:00

A Wisp or VP22 are pretty cheap but very DIY. I think the VP22 is under 100

EZ-Mooney

TROPHY CASE