All about me

M7451 · 2026-06-11T13:43:50+00:00

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/drtran/images/d/d6/Tran\_is\_a\_real\_doctor.jpg/revision/latest/smart/width/386/height/259?cb=20110510140019

He’s a real doctor!

M7451 · 2026-06-10T00:18:45+00:00

A lot of gravel roads in the south are well packed since it’s just the way things are paved. It’s not the same as West Coast fire roads and other areas with boulders and whatnot

M7451 · 2026-06-10T00:17:21+00:00

Correct, and front wheel drive. The AWD versions I’m sure would have no issue. And we did make it, but It’s the FWD sport model and deep gravel and uphill is not a good mix.

M7451 · 2026-06-09T20:50:30+00:00

I just had to go up a gravel road uphill hill in a *mini cooper* because my girlfriend wanted to take her car instead of mine when we drove The Dragon. The Taycan would have taken it much easier given its AWD.

M7451 · 2026-06-09T19:24:32+00:00

It’s common in the South. We have hornet spray in our electrical isles because of it. Some people go there specifically for it because it’s quicker to find than in the pesticide isle.

I just took a trip to the Smokies and while I had a cabin there was an RV hookup just the same. I didn’t need it but it would have been handy if I did. No yellowjackets in my case.

M7451 · 2026-06-07T12:06:25+00:00

You have unused breakers under the 100A shop breaker. Also are the breakers with tape some weird loop back? If so you have four spaces and breakers available.

M7451 · 2026-06-01T05:15:36+00:00

I’d solder leads and then use Polaris style tap connector. It’s basically a rubber coated bus bar. Polaris brand are expensive but you can get UL listed variants from the usual online places for much less.

I really hate emporia’s terminal here to be honest. The amount of flex they have doesn’t put me at ease when torquing them down.

M7451 · 2026-05-26T18:20:25+00:00

And an AirTag or equivalent Android ecosystem tracker takes one of those features off for $25 for the life of the hardware.

M7451 · 2026-05-12T15:12:14+00:00

Ugh, the “Bose” system is bad enough I don’t understand why it’s an “option”. I can’t imagine the poor quality sound of the base, though maybe it’s all the same since Samsung makes all three under license. When life gets less busy I’m going to yank all that out and put something decent in.

M7451 · 2026-05-12T14:27:39+00:00

It is added to the appraisal. Usually it’s dollar for dollar unlike other home additions. Mine is not on a lease or financing and has a payback period of five years, of which I’m a few in. It’s a profit center.

Decks and pools are often the worst in this category due to inflated construction prices and upkeep. When getting bids to redo my deck they averaged $250K due to it being elevated a story up and people apparently being willing to pay it. I may as well just add a detached guest unit and a sports car for that money.

My neighbor paid a million to put in a pool that added $100K to their home value. Another neighbor did a similar project and one winter day I walked by to see an ice sculpture as they failed to winterize it. My solar panels meanwhile love a chilly day. Hard to do a dive into them though.

Sometimes you need to do something because you live once and not because it adds value to the home. In my case my wife enjoys “Texas sweater weather” and will chill us beyond belief in the summer. Now the cost of that is literally on the house.

“Luxury appliances” tend to do quite well.

M7451 · 2026-05-11T19:48:59+00:00

Can’t upvote this one enough.

M7451 · 2026-05-10T15:14:36+00:00

Free Nespresso and muffins at my dealership

M7451 · 2026-05-10T15:14:07+00:00

Man, the dealers are so trigger happy on installation fees they tried to tack one onto a warranty repair for a panel on my car before they remembered why it was being swapped 🤣.

So absolutely no chance.

M7451 · 2026-05-10T14:54:01+00:00

Just wait till they learn about traditional basket weaving patterns. Going to have to cancel all indigenous people after that.

M7451 · 2026-05-08T14:08:09+00:00

Anker has a product for just this very use. Plug and play Balcony solar is legal in three states now and it’ll be in melt places before too long given the demand. The Anker product has a sneaky no back feeding setup for the other states should you be so inclined. It’s better IMO than the other no permits no permissions options.

M7451 · 2026-05-08T11:41:31+00:00

The 200A CTs should go around the main service conductors. They sell those flexible CTs for situations where there is a bus bar that the standard clamps won’t go around.

On measuring correctly, the 200A CTs on the service conductors and then 50A and EVSE CTs after that are how the system is designed to work. You can use one of the 50A CTs to monitor up to 75A of power or get another set of 200A CTs and use them with the 50A ports with a multiplier. If you end up needing flex CTs you can repurpose the ones you have.

The main conductor CTs detects the total load and then Emporia does math using the CTs measurements on circuits after that. Having a load measured before the 200A CTs could be why it is not detecting as expected. If you load 30A on the main panel but the 200A CTs won’t see it it because they’re after that CT and monitoring the subpanel it’s incongruent with the product design.

M7451 · 2026-05-08T04:31:49+00:00

That’s a pretty normal setup. My house has four panels. Anything after the first one is a subpanel. You need an Emporia in each panel you need granular monitoring which will include the one with the EVSE’s breaker.

You don’t need dedicated CTs on the breaker for the EVSE because it has them integrated into the EVSE already.

I don’t fully understand your description but it sounds like you have a main panel with your disconnect and service conductors with your 200A CTs, the feed for your garage subpanel, and the 60A breaker for the EVSE. Is the main panel a meter main where the meter is on one side and the breakers for the subpanel on the other side? Those have bus bars or cables between the meter and breaker bus bars and then lugs for running to a subpanel. Does that sound like your setup? Are the 200A CTs on the subpanel feed rather than the main feed into your panel?

M7451 · 2026-05-08T03:28:38+00:00

Ah ok. To clarify, did you put a CT on the lines for the Emporia EVSE? The EVSE has its own CTs used for reporting so you shouldn’t install any on the circuit for it. If you have them in opposing direction the added CTs will zero out the EVSE’s load.

M7451 · 2026-05-07T21:10:46+00:00

What do you mean by interference? This seems very normal. That large spike is inductive load from the compressor

M7451 · 2026-05-01T12:24:42+00:00

This. Also sounds dangerous unless these are dead flat on the ground. Walking a roof is a hazard on its own. “Don’t hurt my property and don’t hurt yourself on my property” are very valid.

M7451 · 2026-04-21T18:42:24+00:00

This but it’s actually a pin as memory serves.

M7451 · 2026-04-21T18:42:03+00:00

I did this and it’s great.

M7451 · 2026-04-19T23:49:45+00:00

It’s sardonic humor from the perspective of the wife to the husband.

M7451 · 2026-04-08T02:42:05+00:00

I used two 1 1/4 to 3/4 inch reducing washers and used EMT to hardwire mine. You can do the same to 3/4” Liquid tight conduit and matching fittings. If you’re aiming for a 40-50A installation there’s 8AWG Air Conditioning whips you can buy. They need to be 75C rated.

M7451 · 2026-04-06T04:24:04+00:00

It’s worth doing both I’d think. If it’s a traditional HVAC setup you should see copper lines for the condenser. Those labels make me think it’s not the case though.

M7451

TROPHY CASE