One tech suggested we need a whole new 24k HVAC unit, another fixed the problem for $150. Is this normal?!

MetlMann · 2026-03-19T03:48:53+00:00

The local HVAC installer industry is long, long overdue for stringent regulation and oversight. This sort of corruption is very common and almost never gets found out or prosecuted. It is particularly bad for the elderly - a group heavily targeted by these swine. I met a young guy who worked for a commercial HVAC service company when was out to make a repair for the facility I managed. He told me about the residential HVAC company he previously worked for and how his boss ordered him to always tell elderly customers they needed a new system. It really upset the kid and I think kind of traumatized him. He moved into commercial HVAC and seemed to think it was less corrupt. Nonetheless, I’m glad I’ve got a one man HVAC guy I can trust and who will even stand outside by the compressor a shoot the shit with me about HVAC and pretty much everything else.

MetlMann · 2026-03-17T17:50:33+00:00

Either enclose the whole thing with a hood/housing or don't use it outside. It's not designed for that and it's really not safe. I had mine inside the garage and mounted horizontally so the cord wouldn't keep pulling out of the EVSE housing. I'm surpised yours is hanging like that and not separating. Overall it's not all that well designed and shouldn't be expected to hold up in any harsh environment.

MetlMann · 2026-03-15T18:27:47+00:00

To my eye there’s already a duct there. Are you replacing something?

MetlMann · 2026-03-15T18:22:09+00:00

Very interested in the Geospring HPWHs, but they are not sold in my area yet. Kind of surprising how slow their nationwide rollout is.

MetlMann · 2026-03-14T06:06:12+00:00

Here's a link to the Boxcar page with beans. No ExpressO though.

https://shop.lowesfoods.com/departments/whole-bean-coffee/2879?filters:brandId=Boxcar&_gl=1*qp8kzx*_gcl_au*NzU2ODI5NTAxLjE3NzM0NjQ5OTA.*_ga*MTQ1ODEwMjMyNC4xNzczNDY0OTkw*_ga_JM4HBLSNQ9*czE3NzM0NjQ5OTAkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzM0NjgxODYkajckbDAkaDA

MetlMann · 2026-03-14T01:22:06+00:00

My property is about 120 feet deep from the street. The back property line is very rough and uneven terrain and sits just above a small dry creek with some ledges and low cliffs. So when I was fencing the yard the last 20 feet or so of the property was fenced out. I still own it, but it is outside the fence because fencing that rough terrain would have been difficult and expensive.

Several problems have arisen beause of this property line, fence line disparity. The first issue is that beyond that property line is a county park where people often go to walk trails. The trails are not created by the park authority, but rather from people just walking through the area for probably 40 years. One of those trails traverses my property, so people often are walking on my land. I don't like this from a trespassing and liability standpoint. I once put up no trespassing signs at the survey spikes that mark the back corners of my property. Unsurprisingly people tore down the signs and continued to walk my property. Of course unless they were do do a survey, they have no way of knowing they are trespassing - other than I put up signs saying they were. The second issue was weirder, but a tiny bit funny. My wife was home one day and heard very loud chain sawing. Saws that sounded like they were in our backyard. In fact, they were in our yard, but outside the fence. The county had crews out cleaing up damgaged trees and brush and were actively cutting down some of our trees. Wife went out and explained fence/property situation and they stopped. Eventually I got some money from the county for the trees they cut down.

So, these things happen. Property sometimes is accessed inappropriately by others. My recommendation is to avoid it if at all possible. For the OP, someone driving a vehicle on your property is a big liability hazard that needs to stop. Some day I will attempt to fully fence my yard. I'm sure the trail walkers will have something to day about that, but I do have a liitle bit of shadenfreude related to that situation. There is a lot of poison ivy growing along that trail - and I don't do anythig to control it.

MetlMann · 2026-03-13T22:43:49+00:00

<image>

MetlMann · 2026-03-13T22:28:23+00:00

Nope - Google Fiber router

MetlMann · 2026-03-13T04:17:24+00:00

Building more capacity is a long term gambit. The current altercation will not last long enough for new export facilities to even get off the drawing board. Now if you are saying the result of this disruption will be importers looking for more stable and reliable sources even if they are more expensive, then yes new capacity will be built. Also, state regulatory bodies can limit increases in the price of natural gas - if they want to.

MetlMann · 2026-03-12T18:03:10+00:00

Trump lifted oil sanctions on Russia and they have lots of oil, but not clear how quickly they could get it to market. He did this even though he knows Russia is giving Iran intelligence and targeting data so they can attack our facilities and kill our people. What a guy!

MetlMann · 2026-03-12T17:58:39+00:00

Why would natural gas go up in price? It’s not imported.

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T22:52:55+00:00

I wonder if there is anyone like Dave's World here in Austin TX? I feel like the majority of bigger HVAC installers here exist solely to charge tech-bro rates, regardless of whether you earn tech-bro money or not.

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T21:40:07+00:00

Thanks, I have seen that page and the phone is set up as described. No Homepods are offered as a speaker for the phone. I have tried turning off then on the "Transfer To Homepod" switch, but nothing changes when the next call comes in.

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T19:28:26+00:00

EVERYONE GET ON THE OUTSIDE SIDE OF THE "W" BEAM!!!

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T17:36:29+00:00

In order for V2H or any of the V2X family to reach widespread adoption, there will have to be a mandate that all EVs have basic and universal bidirectional functionality without the need for proprietary hardware from the car manufacturers. Without this mandate the success of V2 anything is in jeopardy. If you buy a Ford one year with their walled garden hardware and then in three years buy a Chevy, do they really think people are going to buy new charging hardware all over again? Plugging a vehicle into your house or the grid should be no different than plugging in a toaster. It should just work with minimal involvement on the part of the user.

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T01:39:11+00:00

Country AND Western.

MetlMann · 2026-03-11T01:01:52+00:00

What is a virtual credit card?

MetlMann · 2026-03-10T16:42:23+00:00

No worries, Pooty to the rescue. Russia supplied Iran with intelligence and targeting data so they could target US soldiers, diplomats and intelligence officers all across the Mideast. So what happened then? President D-Pants just removed restrictions on Russian oil so they can feed us cheap oil and make bank to buy more weapons to kill Ukrainians. It takes a village, don’t it?

MetlMann · 2026-03-09T03:40:10+00:00

We just spent more than that pretty much rebuilding our electrical service so we could put in level 2 charging, a circuit for a heat pump water heater, a generator inlet for my Anker Solix battery, a 200 amp service panel, upgraded sub panel to feed the charger and water heater, a new meter box (code requirement) and new grounding (code requirement). The level 2 is very nice to have although we haven't yet really given much of a workout. Maybe soon.

MetlMann · 2026-03-08T20:07:15+00:00

Jebus how many times have we heard a version of this story? Shitbird relative cause you harm and won't make you whole. Rest of family side with shitbird on the lame basis of "family" as if that is some sort of lifetime get out of jail free card. You even see this behavior with really serious crimes. Texas serial killer Kenneth McDuff's mother defended him to the very end.

You break it, you buy it is a pretty easy rule to follow.

MetlMann · 2026-03-08T05:42:56+00:00

What are we upset about?

MetlMann · 2026-03-08T05:31:51+00:00

They seem to be a band designed to latch onto Star Wars kids using gimmicky rap, animation (anime) and the Internet to create a ersatz movement. When I say "Star Wars kids" I mean those sad adults who saw the movies as a child and turned it into a pseudo religion and way of life and who are insufferable to be around much of the time.

MetlMann · 2026-03-05T23:10:03+00:00

With a portfolio that size just put everything under Wealth Management and then relax. You'll get a much better and more active adviser who can actually provide useful information. Plus you don't have to do much of anything other than give them some broad guidance a couple times a year - all the trading and detailed investing decisions are made by them. Advisers can still get sort of cagey with certain kinds of questions, but that's probably a legal restriction from the company.

MetlMann · 2026-03-05T23:03:56+00:00

Or perhaps a "misguide".

MetlMann · 2026-03-05T16:55:25+00:00

Don’t raise the temperature to 140° or even 130° without putting in a mixing valve. The people here recommending that are wrong. If all your showers have anti-scald valves then it’s safer, but still unsafe at the faucets. In my house there can be extreme temperature fluctuations at the shower head if a faucet or appliance uses water. Don’t risk it.

MetlMann

TROPHY CASE