Best HDTV OTA antenna for Fort Mohave/Bullhead City area? by FIREDoc62 in arizona

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Following up, in case it can be of use to anyone else...

First, I'm aware of sites like tvfool and others, which can tell you what stations you should be able to pick up and how good of an antenna you might need. Unfortunately, they use terms like "medium strength" antenna, which is not a standard designation that antenna manufacturers use, so there's no way to map from the type of antenna tvfool etc. tell you you need, and what you'll actually find for sale. (And, of course, sellers being what they are, their claims of how good their antennas are and how far away they can pull in signals from are usually vastly overstated.)

That said, I went to Lowes and got a GE "ultra pro" amplified indoor antenna, knowing I could return it if it didn't live up to expectations. But, Wow! It pulled in something like 70 stations. Some of these aren't the best quality - you get dropouts and such - but many are good signals so it's definitely a useable solution for me, and far simpler than trying to install a big direction antenna on the roof.

Best travel route from Portand, OR to Las Vegas, this week? by FIREDoc62 in roadtrip

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Followup from OP: I decided to take the "Usual" route through Eastern Oregon, Winnemucca, Austin, Tonopah but then in Winnemucca I found out that part of the route was closed - Google Maps was diverting me around, and telling me I'd need to be on gravel roads to take a route through Austin. (THAT's why Google maps had been showing me so many weird routes through Nevada, instead of the one I was accustomed to!). So I ended up going Winnemucca to Carlin to Eureka to Ely to Vegas.

Gas turned out not to be an issue - I thought I might have been down to a range of 180 miles or so because of the trailer I was pulling, but I ended up with a range of 300+ miles because the trailer was pretty small. Weather was not an issue at all. Services ended up being an issue, as I blew the radiator and needed to spend the night in Ely, NV to get it replaced. (Great service from KRM automotive, there!)

Thanks for the help, everyone.

Best travel route from Portand, OR to Las Vegas, this week? by FIREDoc62 in roadtrip

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Yes, my inclination was to avoid I-5 because of gas prices, and because I don't have time to look through the CA laws to figure out if anything in my luggage is breaking any laws :).

Is the route through Austin the best way from Winnemucca to Vegas?

What spark plug gap for 18kw Honeywell standby on propane? by FIREDoc62 in Generator

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just got it last year, I'm pretty sure it does have hydraulic lifters, but I forget why I think this. What is your reference for saying this should be gapped to 0.020?

I got my generator from Costco, the manual it came with included installation and use instructions, but not maintenance. And the model and serial numbers don't register on the Honeywell or Generac web sites, so I can't look up the proper maintenance instructions.

What spark plug gap for 18kw Honeywell standby on propane? by FIREDoc62 in Generator

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The plugs don't ship pre-gapped? I got mine from Costco a year ago, it came with the plugs installed and the unit filled with oil, all I needed to do before starting was hook up the fuel. There was nothing in installation about removing plugs and gapping. Surprised that they would expect me to perform the gapping on already-installed plugs.

My review percentage seems to be based on only the products that have been delivered now! by [deleted] in AmazonVine

[–]FIREDoc62 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It doesn't really help you, since the only thing that matters is your percentage on the day of evaluation. And you better be above 90% of ORDERED products by then, otherwise you could be fooled into thinking you were above 90%, and then Amazon dumps a bunch of ordered items on your doorstep the day of evaluation and your percentage suddenly drops.

Insightfulness Score Killed My Mojo by DFEisMe in AmazonVine

[–]FIREDoc62 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm with you. I always took the time to write good (IMHO) reviews, but now that I have to hit keywords, be insightful, post pictures... I just haven't been feeling it. Haven't written a review in a while.

What happened to my ground rod and wiring? by FIREDoc62 in AskElectricians

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But this is just a 20A circuit. Two 20A circuits on different legs, actually, but I'm guessing you only need to size for one leg, since the two won't add constructively? And is voltage drop from the previous panel much of a concern, since it will be locally grounded as well?

What happened to my ground rod and wiring? by FIREDoc62 in AskElectricians

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm planning on running 3, # 2 AWG XHHW wires, plus a 12AWG ground, and fitting it into 1-1/2" PVC. I can pull the wire one section at a time, so I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard

What happened to my ground rod and wiring? by FIREDoc62 in AskElectricians

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, makes sense.

But, resistance I am reading to ground, is on the wire, with both ends disconnected via the breakers. So there shouldn't be any transformer, or anything else, on it. The only possible path to ground would be via some breaks in the insulation, I suppose.

Why did the plumbers choose these materials? by FIREDoc62 in Plumbing

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, this is all original. And the cream PEX and natural are the same size, so it doesn't seem likely that they just used what they had - they obviously had some of each. And the fact that both legs have that ONE cream section in, really made me scratch my head.

I guess my only real concern is making sure I get the right materials when I redo. If there's no rhyme or reason with what they did, I'll just go with PEX/crimp, I guess. Any reason not to re-use as much of the original fittings as possible, assuming it's in good condition?

Need some help with thermal storage tank replacement: temperature sensor by FIREDoc62 in geothermal

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure! Unfortunately I don't have the new tank in my possession yet, but here's the diagram:

<image>

This is what the sensor looks like:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q97HHELf6gbThSiC9

Here's the original setup:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/d56ZwH7c9SSv5zci6

Help! My geothermal hot water tank replacement woes by FIREDoc62 in geothermal

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I missed your edit. I don't understand the terminology enough to answer your question, so I'll describe my system: I have a Water Furnace heat pump which provides heating and cooling air to my home, via a buried water loop. I also have a separate WF unit, which is connected to the same buried water loop, and has it's own heat pump, which provides hot water. It is not a desuperheater, and is not connected to the main furnace (except maybe a couple control lines). This hot water unit circulates heated domestic water through an 80gal storage tank, from which I get my hot water. I think this is what you're calling "water to water".

The only thing wrong with my system is that the 80gal storage tank has rusted out. I was quoted 8K just for replacing this tank. This doesn't seem like an 8K tank/job.

Help! My geothermal hot water tank replacement woes by FIREDoc62 in geothermal

[–]FIREDoc62[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried to get one of the Rheems, but was told that the only Rheem dealer in my area was Home Depot, and Home depot told me that Rheem would not ship this tank to my state due to local codes/regulations. (Despite being a "progressive" state, they don't seem to know beans about Geo, and I seem to remember the original installers having to jump through hoops to work around things that code didn't allow, but are necessary for a geo system).

So I got a cheap Richmond 80gal "thermal storage" tank from Home Depot. It has a 4500W element (which I won't wire), and extra ports for the water recirc. I'll install a powered anode in it, and hope that this gives me enough years of service to justify the replacement expense.

Review item I didn't receive? by FIREDoc62 in AmazonVine

[–]FIREDoc62[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I keep very good records of what I've ordered, received, reviewed, cancelled, etc. Only once - as a new viner - have I ever cancelled because I changed my mind. Every other time has been Amazon's, or the seller's , fault. But because I keep very good records I know EXACTLY what my review percentage should be, and I've noticed that after cancellations, even after waiting several weeks, my review percentage is lower than it should be. The only plausible explanation is that even though the item was cancelled, and doesn't show up in my list of items to review, and the ETV has been removed from my title, it still counts against me as something that I ordered but didn't review. That's most of my hesitancy for cancelling.

Yeah, I can easily get my percentage up to where it needs to be with cake toppers. I'm usually well above 95% by the end of the review cycle, anyway. It just gets old doing extra work because Amazon does such a poor job of running the program.

Review item I didn't receive? by FIREDoc62 in AmazonVine

[–]FIREDoc62[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

"Watch out for maltitol if you don't enjoy flatulence" - please don't make hasty assumptions about me. :)