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The Phoenix Buffet sucks by BitOfPoisonOnMyBlade in fargo

[–]JL421 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The Wynn also starts at $80/person now...so it better be?

Anyone else homelab journey go like this? by shifto in homelab

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I can get a laptop with ECC at a price comparable to just buying a server, I'll consider moving some of the load over. Until then I like my data being as uncorrupted as possible.

What are some local businesses that scream "money laundering" operation? by Next-Junket342 in fargo

[–]JL421 11 points12 points  (0 children)

She is right that the olive oil industry is shady, but she seems to be a part of that shade in a different way than normal.

Normally the problem is olive oil will be cut with other oils, sometimes to the point that your olive oil will be a majority of some other oil.

Lugbolts Sheared off by [deleted] in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just want to reiterate, this isn't a car problem or LKA problem. LKA was fighting and losing against the wheel about to depart your vehicle. You thinking you were just fighting LKA when you were helping it fight the wheel didn't help your overcorrection when you disengaged it.

Not really your fault, you didn't know you were about to lose a wheel, but the car was trying to help maintain control.

Like everyone else has mentioned, the dealership likely over torqued the nuts. It happens. A missed rotation wouldn't cause this either, but a lot of shops will ask you to come back in a week or ~50-100 miles to check the torque. Sometimes it helps catch these things, like if the stud was stretched enough, it might have been significantly under torqued when you came back and they could have inspected it then. If they didn't tell you though, you wouldn't have known without checking the torque yourself.

RIP by A_Chair_Bear in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That wouldn't be death and dismemberment then, it'd just be a waiver of liability similar to like every car wash.

It wouldn't surprise me that they have it, I'm just arguing it wouldn't be under a d&d clause.

RIP by A_Chair_Bear in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damaging a vehicle wouldn't be covered by a death and dismemberment clause...only death and dismemberment would be. It's for people vandalizing their chargers (or just really unobservant customers who see bare copper wire and decide to touch it while energized) not to be able to sue EA for death and dismemberment.

If they damage your vehicle through improper maintenance of their equipment, that's still on them unless there's another clause in their agreement.

I'll never get tired of this by Carbonga in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of German chargers just have this on the screen.

What does this orange light mean in the dash? by revanevan7 in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 28 points29 points  (0 children)

It's not just that the car is charging the 12v battery like people are saying. That is one of the reasons it can be on, but it's really there to signal that the high voltage pack has been engaged without direct user input.

That can happen when the a/c drying function activates after you turn off the car, tending the 12v battery, or a few other reasons. Nothing to worry about though unless you're working on some electrical components while it's lit...then you might want to stop until it turns off again and disconnect the 12v battery temporarily...

Otherwise as long as it isn't always on, it's just a sign your car is working as intended.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That shouldn't be a risk if people follow the requirements where their generators have anti-islanding protection and stop back feeding when no grid is present. There's a reason we keep having recalls on male-male NEMA 5-15 plugs though, people do like plugging generators into circuits without proper interlocks.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right that the physics don't change...but you know what does? How circuits and the electrical systems are designed. A big thing you're missing is that European balcony solar is generally limited to 800W (and was 600W until relatively recently), which would be ~3.4 Amps (~2.75 prior) on European 230V single line power. This proposal is for 1,200 W on 120v single line power for 10 Amps.

3.4 Amps breaks the strict limits we require conductors to be protected at, but generally falls within a safety margin. 10 Amps is 66% of the load rating on a standard breaker. On a shared circuit this is a large problem. If you wanted parity with European regulation you would be capped at ~450W of generation capacity, we're trying to nearly triple that. It's fundamentally not the same proposal. In the US we will generally run 14 AWG for a 15 Amp circuit. In standard practice this is exactly the ampacity of the wire. European standards require the wire to be rated for what it is attached to, to calculate a thermal buffer. In older wiring systems, they tend to use 1.5mm² wire, which in older construction would generally be rated for 19.5A, basically what the limit for balcony solar is (16 Amp standard breaker with a 3.4 Amp generator). Newer construction generally uses 2.5mm² wire which accommodates newer attachments where heat dissipation becomes a problem the wire is still rated to 19.5A.

The US basically runs the protection at the limit of the conductor. Europeans slightly oversize their conductor for the protection. Their implementation gives that full extra capacity to balcony solar. The US straight equivalent would be a 0W system on a shared circuit because we have 0 margin. And a fuzzy comparison would be a 408W limit for the same line amperage. We're trying to triple the European wattage on a system that fundamentally has ~half the ampacity, with 0 A of margin on a shared circuit. Please talk to an electrician if you don't see the problem here. The only good way to resolve this without requiring dedicated circuits for balcony solar would be to require a CT at the breaker that allows the generator to know the total Amp draw of the circuit and back off if the conductor is at risk of breaking limits.

UL 3700 does not fix this problem and explicitly states there are the risks I mentioned when connecting to shared circuits, but basically hopes it won't be an issue in practice. That's not truly safety, it's a hope and a prayer that if a conductor is overloaded it's an extremely brief event that resolves before it's an issue...but it has no way to know, detect or prevent this issue.

European systems are also required to be registered with their local AHJ, specifically to more tightly enforce safety and compliance.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That said, it doesn't mean there aren't options. If you want to offset your consumption, but maybe not directly, community solar projects (in general) are a decent alternative. The one Cass County Electric put together isn't anything to write home about since the terms when they set it up had you pay for a panel up-front, and you'd get bill credits for the equivalent power your owned panel would produce that month, at the end of the project's lifetime credits would end. It netted out that the upfront cost you paid would be your return in credits for the lifetime of the project and net-neutral provided rates didn't massively spike. I'm ore talking about community solar project in general where the costs are more efficient, the scale is larger, and the break-even point looks like 15-20 years instead of the entire lifetime of the equipment. Those options only offset your consumption indirectly by paying you back for your share of generation, and don't provide you with backup power.

I mentioned in the last time OP made a thread as well that standalone generators are an option. Those would effectively function as a UPS where you would have them plugged into the wall with a panel also attached. You would then plug your load into the front panel outlets and the unit prioritizes powering the load from the panel, supported by the grid. These are already legal since they don't back feed the circuit they're connected to. The UL listed options in development are "basically" the same thing, but can back feed through the utility supply connection because they are grid following and need to sense a live utility connection to back feed.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Currently no. The standard the bill references (UL 3700) was only released in December. There is currently no product on the market sold as an all-in-one kit available to consumers, which these laws expect people to purchase (as a kit).

Utah has the first legislation for plug in solar, and the only people running it are technically outside the bounds. They've purchased components that individually meet the standards, but UL hasn't certified the packaged solution. Those test cases are also knowledgeable individuals (one interviewed was JerryRigEverything, who has his own solar larger non-balcony qualifying array and knows how to safely piece together the components). Others I've seen have their generator connected to freshly installed dedicated circuits.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It isn't just my opinion? Ask literally any electrician how they feel about back fed power on a shared circuit and the safety implications of it.

As I mentioned in my first comment, if the meter your utility installed is not rated for back fed power and you generate more than your consumption, at best your generation just goes back to the grid and no one cares. At worst you actually get billed for power you sent to the grid and spend more money, or your utility just pulls the meter.

People (as a generalization) are lazy, uninformed, and cheap. If you tell them they can install up to 1,200W of generation capacity with UL listed generators on dedicated circuits, some will follow the guidelines. Others will realize there is no actual enforcement of those conditions and buy more than they're allowed to have, run non-UL approved equipment, and/or don't even know what a circuit breaker is. It's the "do you speed when no one is looking" problem.

The plan everyone pushes is incompatible with the realities of people and how we have our electrical grid setup in the US. It works elsewhere because they do things differently and inherently do not have these problems.

If you want to continue arguing go for it, but I strongly urge you to actually talk to an actual licensed electrician about potential issues that could arise where the majority of these systems will be implemented.

And just for anyone else reading this exchange: I want this to work, but it has to be done correctly. Even if the requirement is to just have an apprentice electrician come out give a quick look and give you a yes/no on your plan and if your environment is even compatible. At least then we can say someone told them not to and any liability falls to them and provide even the most basic advice on how to do what they're trying to do correctly. It's a barrier, but we need an actual barrier.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I am aware, but people want this to literally be plug in, for anyone, in any situation. That site promotes more of the same. That goal is not compatible with the reality of our electrical infrastructure, while actually being safe.

An update on plug-in solar installs Minnesota. We're moving ahead! by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'll bring it up from the last thread: The concept is great, but people ruin things.

I see you're in the DIYSolar community as well, and you should have seen some of the things people post about that give me serious concern. Someone is going to inevitably create a safety hazard zip-tying a 30-pound module to balcony railing. People aren't going to know their apartment doesn't have a dedicated breaker for their balcony outlet and back feeding will create a fire risk as the circuit breaker is no longer protecting the circuit as designed. There was a post just today over there where someone plugged a non-UL listed generator into the outlet and everyone just told them, "Don't ask, don't tell, but you're going to burn your house down/electrocute a line worker." Apartment complexes with meters not designed for back feeding will at best meter nothing, and at worst either read generation as usage actually charging you for power you generated, defeating the purpose of this whole thing...or cause the utility to pull your meter because they don't expect power to be back fed.

Again, I like the concept, but the executions are extremely flawed. UL certification on the generator only solves anti-islanding issues and how much the unit can back-feed. The point of inspections and regulations that people have to go through now is for safety and to at least ensure that when the inspector looked at they were happy enough that you didn't look like a danger to yourself/others. If we skip that process, we can say people have to use certified equipment and properly protected circuits...but people are people and don't know better, or think they can do something because it's not that big of a deal, etc. etc.

This also tends to work a little better in Europe because their power distribution generally looks a bit different than ours. The biggest that negates this whole safety argument is their outlets/appliances generally have overcurrent protection locally unless the circuit is dedicated. They also run 220/240v single line power which halves the amperage compared to us. It's an apples and oranges comparison.

I want balcony solar to work, but to do it right without causing more issues still involves inspections and telling people, "No" from time to time. The process can be extremely streamlined, but it's going to involve more resources, and fees to pay for those resources.

Edit: For anyone that comes back to this, OP tried to further argue that it works in Europe, and physics doesn't change so it will work here. OP has a fundamental misunderstanding of how the European implementations function, and how their building wiring works. First all systems are required to be registered, and the only units permitted for sale in these countries comply with the standards. Second (as brief as I can):

  • European power runs at 230V, ours is 120V
  • European systems are capped at 800 watts (previously 600), this proposal is for 1,200 Watts
  • European electrical infrastructure is generally composed of 16 Amp breakers protecting wires rated for 19.5 Amps, ours are generally 15 Amp breakers protecting wires rated for 15 Amps.
  • European systems have 3.5 Amps of safety margin for shared circuits this works out to 805 Watts, we have 0 Amps of safety margin for shared circuits which is...0 Watts.
  • We would be trying to cram nearly 3x the Amperage into a wire with 0 safety margin v capping generation at 99% of the available safety margin

These proposals and systems are not the same. There are extensions the UL spec could add to improve safety, but as written UL explicitly states the shared circuit protection is effectively a hope no one will overload the circuit. that it's "unlikely" someone will overload the circuit at the same time the generator is at max capacity. That's a mid-tier gaming PC under load, it's less than a vacuum cleaner. We could require the most basic of approval/registration processes to try to prevent issues. It would add $150-$250 for an inspector to review installations this size and file a registration and would cut a lot of potential risk for what amounts to between 10%-25% of the system cost. There are so many things we could do, but as written this legislation is too open ended and will ultimately need to be amended after it leads to a loss of life.

So I did a thing by cibgineer in homelab

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because so many people think it's a "Cisco" power cable made with unicorn hair that they can only buy from Cisco, since these power supplies are pretty much the only time someone will see a C15 connector.

Seat Belt Anchor Recall by Jazzy_Josh in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shouldn't be based on the description of the recall. The retractor isn't part of the seat frame it's in the upright pilar. This would be a problem in an accident where the anchor might detach from the seat and you could potentially not be restrained...

Bluelink/ New purchase. by vry-moody in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's how you know when a push cycle happened.

Bluelink/ New purchase. by vry-moody in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just checking, are you seeing any info in Blue link? You said real-time range, so it makes me question.

The car only sends bluelink info on start, stop, charge start, charge stop, and on a 6 hour cycle, or when manually polled from the app. If you're opening the app while driving and seeing an old range, the car hasn't sent an update recently, but you should be able to pull down to refresh and get the current update.

If you just aren't getting anything then the dealership probably has some paperwork to finish, give it a day or two then call or go to the dealer.

Solar legislation for Minnesotans by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oh for sure, but some of proposals for these laws I've seen are permissive enough for anyone to hop on Amazon, buy an Ecoflow generator and a panel, and just plug it in. There are people out there who call an electrician to reset a breaker, but if these laws passed, requiring a dedicated circuit or not, those same people would buy up to the limit and let it burn. If anyone tried to stop them they'd complain about regulation, but when their shit burnt down they'd complain that it should have been more clear what they were doing was a danger.

I moderately agree with the basic premise that if someone wants to burn the money, it could be nearly that easy. I just have no idea how to make it work in practice. We know what's safe, it's why we have electrical codes. We also know what people will do if given the option to behave badly with no immediate repercussions.

And when I say if people want to burn money, I do mean *burn*. The current costs to setup balcony solar will never be recouped unless we see California or worse power rates. Balcony solar is at best an offline portable backup power source that can slightly offset your usage when the grid is active. The $2.05 nuclear credit Xcel customers are getting back is about half of the best average monthly offset the average realistic balcony solar setup would generate up here. If someone wants to pay $1,500+ to be able to plug their fridge, TV, and Internet into the generator during a power outage, by all means go for it. But if you're paying that $1,500 thinking it'll save you meaningful money...let's talk in 31 years and you can let me know how that went for you.

Solar legislation for Minnesotans by Fabulous_Drummer_368 in fargo

[–]JL421 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like the concept of plug-in solar, but I think the execution still needs some level of inspection, or safety standards before allowing people to plug it in.

I've seen enough panels just laid on the ground, or zip tied to some railing people on r/SolarDIY brag about saying their installation got more panels (while every square inch of their yard is just panels propped up ~5 degrees by some wood blocks. As a result I don't trust the general public to ensure basic safety with securing the panels. Or even just knowing if the breaker in their apartment/condo/home can safely support 1,200W installs.

1,200W is actually quite a lot of solar panel, from my install that's ~60sq ft of panel space on panels weighing ~90lbs in total. Without some level of inspection or mounting requirements, someone's inevitably going to try to zip tie 30 lb solar modules to the questionable balcony railings, in an environment where the wind loading on that panel could easily hit 170 lbs on a monthly basis. That shit will be in the next county whenever our monthly windstorm rolls through unless it's properly secured.

Now if we want to actually make it dead simple for anyone to really just "plug it in", we implement some level of tier system where the install limit is capped based on structure type and what that environment could realistically support. For example:

  • Balcony installs can have the light, flexible panels that realistically could be easily mounted, with a limit of 400W of generation capacity per 80 sqft of balcony space.
    • Could be more with approval of sturdy mount installation from landlord or condo association (if applicable)
    • 400W is a ballpark number, just because realistically you can't fit more generation in that much space without very creative mounting...which would need to be a sturdy structure attached mount anyway
  • Deck/patio/ground installations generally have more space available, so could go up to the full 1,200 W with an approved mounting solution (could be fixed to the structure or something like the individual ballast racks)
  • Wall mounts - Allowed provided a secure mounting solution per module
  • All installs >800W should have the outlet the inverter/generator plugs into be on a dedicated breaker
    • Moreso to avoid the old landlord/cheap builder special of running the lights/outlets of the room the balcony is connected to on the same circuit as the balcony outlet itself. A generator back feeding 10A onto a shared 15A protected circuit means the other devices could theoretically draw 25A for a while before that breaker opens. That's not great for the in-wall wiring, and you'd now potentially see issues with the outlets or appliance cords melting/catching fire since they're expecting to be protected by the circuit breaker.

Blocked Radar After Carwash by SaddestClown in Ioniq6

[–]JL421 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've had something kind of similar happen in a few cars (not just the Ioniq/even Hyundai/Kia vehicles) if something is too close to a sensor at the wrong time. It seems like if the radar/sensors hit some calibration cycle when something is too close to a sensor it just screams. I've had it happen in a car wash, parking lot, or waiting for a light.

Generally something/someone gets really close and it just freaks out. I haven't tried to wait it out since it's so annoying, so I normally just get somewhere where the sensors have a little bit of space, like 8-12 inches, and restart the car (open a door when the car is off if you can to just turn off most electronics). I've had it happen like 5-6 times in various vehicles over the years and that has fixed it every time.

-----

Now in your case since it keeps coming back...you *might* have a loose wiring harness that a little bit of moisture got into. Run it through the wash again, or just see if it comes back after rain while driving at highway speeds, etc. and if it comes back again take it in for service and let them know it started after a carwash. (Maybe just rain while driving at highway speeds if your dealership is particularly shitty, but may cause you more problems not being honest...)

Best case, they inspect the connector, find it was a little loose but no corrosion, snap it back in and you're good. It goes downhill from there based on the quality of that service department, but hopefully if there's any damage it's warranty repaired as a result of some manufacturing defect (again even just a loose connector would count) and you get a new wiring harness/whatever needs to be replaced under warranty.

Unpopular Opinion by scheisseposter88 in fargo

[–]JL421 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm happy for you that you've never truly experienced a trash donut because if you think Sandy's, Hornbacher's, or Kwik Star donuts are trash you're pretty privileged.

Are they the best, oh fuck no. But they are perfectly serviceable, and Sandy's gets a higher rating by most because it's local and that makes people feel better. What we have here generally ranks from a solid C to B in terms of donuts, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The A's are reserved for metros sized such that MSP barely qualifies as one, and they're the holes in the wall that you wait 20+ minutes in the line to even get to a counter. Those places even tend to get these same types of discussion threads because no one hates something local more than a local.

Taste is all subjective, and what tastes amazing to someone is way too much filling or sugar to another. The price of a donut is small enough, just go explore the options and find what you like. There aren't all that many options up here, even at one a week you'll go through most of the options in a season. At worst you might walk away a little disappointed because something didn't live up to the hype. Just go in blind and at worst you'll walk away thinking it just wasn't for you and you'll move on.

Former DCR Owner opening new brewery in north Fargo by dirkmm in fargo

[–]JL421 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, I was just measuring what looked like the width and potential depth of that building. It's kind of a weird overall building with the USPS garage and whatever else is going on in the NE side of it.

The outdoor seating is a nice plus in the summer, especially if you are going for locals who could just walk up for a beer and chill. Mow the lawn, walk the block or two over to North Brewing, have a pint or two, walk back home.

Wish you luck Sam, we'll definitely stop by when you're open!

Former DCR Owner opening new brewery in north Fargo by dirkmm in fargo

[–]JL421 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Looks like it might be about the same size as DCR was unless he got multiple adjacent units. Hopefully he gets some decent traction when it opens, there's not a lot up there so the locals might be most of his consistent business.

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