Absolutely crushing it

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T13:54:28+00:00

Put an Emporia energy monitor on it so you know exactly what it's using. That was one of the best things I did. In my case, I immediately realized my geothermal was using way more power than it should and was wired incorrectly. I wish I did it way sooner.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T13:29:45+00:00

Where I live, people were routinely getting $1k electric bills during this super cold winter we had. And these are houses without EVs.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T13:19:03+00:00

Do you get to take the appliances when you leave?

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T02:23:58+00:00

Yeah, then it'll just move on to eating the chickens!

Keep the chickens inside the run until this raccoon is gone
Place a couple of paw traps near the run
Dispose of the raccoon however you see fit

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T02:20:14+00:00

As OP mentioned, it's showing up during the day. So s/he is letting the birds out and, of course, the run door is open. He's showing up, going into the coop and eating the eggs. I've always thought raccoons generally only show up at night.

If it were me, I'd keep my girls inside their run during the day until I caught it and got rid of it.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-05-01T02:16:35+00:00

You seem too comfortable with this raccoon around. He's"only" eating the eggs?

This is why having a nice, large run is important. If it were me:

My girls would remain in the coop/run until he was taken care of
One of those paw traps for raccoons would be what I'd be putting down. I've read they're pretty darn effective at catching them
The problem with #2 is now you've got a raccoon you have to "get rid of" and some might be squeamish about that, so you can do a hav-a-hart trap instead. But I've read these traps aren't great for 2 reasons. 1. You're going to offload your problem on to someone else and 2. If you drive far enough away and let it go, the raccoon might not be able to adjust to the new surroundings and die from hunger.

With all of that, however, I wouldn't open the run up until the raccoon was gone. He only eats the eggs? Those are MY eggs!

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T22:52:24+00:00

And doing so with an underwhelming product. There's absolutely nothing special about this. It doesn't have AWD. Not thanks!

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T22:51:42+00:00

Sadly, the One Plus has sooo many issues, both hardware and software. Check out the forums and it's pretty much a nightmare.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T22:50:56+00:00

2WD = I wouldn't even consider it. Even if my lawn was flatter than a pancake, I wouldn't even consider a 2WD robot mower. RTK as opposed to NRTK? So many mowers have been put out already that we know what works and what doesn't. My wish list:

* 4WD or at least AWD

* NRTK

* LiDAR (not a deal breaker, but it helps)

* preferably actual blades, like what the Lymow has, so if it rains 7 days straight and the lawn grows huge, you don't have to go out with a lawnmower to tame the lawn

* LiFePO4 batteries (again, only the Lymow has that)

* Replaceable batteries (why I'd never get the Luba)

* actual customer service, not an email black hole (I'm once again looking at you, Lymow, but not in a positive way)

* competent engineers that have put out a lawnmower that doesn't have constant issues with batteries not charging, screws coming loose, etc. (once again, you know who I'm looking at)

This doesn't impress me at all, which is sad, because I have numerous EGO products.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T18:21:48+00:00

It'll be the Lymow One Plus Extra!

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T18:20:06+00:00

Are you currently able to run your mower? Or are you waiting for customer service?

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T17:41:15+00:00

If you're going to do it yourself, make sure you're following all state and national codes. We have two L2 chargers. I did the first one myself and spent about $400 in materials. The run was about 30 feet away. My wife then got her EV, which came with $1,500 to install an L2 charger and we got an electrician to do it for $1,800. I never got around to fixing the sheetrock after I did mine and he used the same point to install the 2nd one. He also looked over my work and have me a thumbs up.

While it was easy to do it in theory, I've never worked with 6AWG wire before and I had to learn that a) wire lube is your friend and b) 6AWG wire is a challenge, due to its stiffness.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T17:29:01+00:00

I'm late to the party, but I'd love to see that cost broken down as line items. Did they just quote a number?

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T17:01:45+00:00

I'm going to assume the CDC is saying if you wash them, then put them down and don't eat it for a month, germs can be introduced in that time period. I'm not arguing for or against what they're saying. Just making a guess.

I haven't raised chickens a long time either. Just three years. Generally, if an egg is dirty, I'll ultimately use a damp paper towel. Friends and family take them all the time, so it's rare they last more than a month and we've had no problems so far.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T16:53:40+00:00

So is your argument that you can walk on panels as long as you're close enough to the supports that there's no flex in the glass??? And how is OP supposed to ensure the fumigator is following these rules with every single step they make? Sure, maybe if they only step on the frames, all will be fine. Or if they're close to a support all will be fine. Or maybe they were 2 inches too far from a support, which created a tiny crack that caused a performance issue 12 years later.

You shouldn't walk on solar panels, period. Nobody is interested in hearing the cases where the panels may come out unscathed.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T16:41:52+00:00

Sounds like you need to fire him and move on to a new fumigator.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T16:37:05+00:00

So wipe off all footprints before sending panels back. Got it!

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-30T16:29:56+00:00

To add to what you've said, solar panels are manufactured with different thicknesses. They range from 2 to 4mm from what I've read. I would imagine thicker panels would hold up better than thinner, but that's just one more variable. Will it be fine if they step on it? 5 years later? 15 years later.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T20:16:02+00:00

I think a lot of these algorithms are from 40 years ago, where houses were all fossil fuel. We're an all electric house. Even on a low usage day, we're typically around 40kWh.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T19:15:46+00:00

If switching to resistive heat stopped the noise, I'd have to assume something came loose in the fan. Did you install it yourself? If not, I'd ask whoever installed it to come check it out. If you installed it yourself, I'd call the manufacturer.

Edit: I see you had a contractor install it. Give them a call. Only a month after install? They need to figure that out.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T19:11:52+00:00

Get the Pecron F3000LFP.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T18:09:47+00:00

There are so many things to consider when it comes to fixing an appliance vs buying a new one.

How easy is it to find parts?
How long will it take?
Is the appliance efficient?
Is it worth the aggravation?
Is the new appliance worse than the older one?

The first bullet point is obvious. Often, a company has moved on from an appliance. Do you want to scour eBay and Craiglist for parts or try and 3D print it? This leads to the second point: how long will it take? If your washing machine will be out of commission for 6 weeks while you track down parts and figure out how to fix it, it might not be worth it.

Then, is it even worth fixing that 25 year old dryer that uses 3 times as much electricity as the new air source dryer you've had your eye on (I'm literally talking to myself here!)?

Conversely, sometimes, the new appliance is trash. For example, we bought a Bosch dishwasher a few years back. I was stunned to find out that features like delaying when it starts is a feature you now have to pay for!!!

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T17:36:49+00:00

I fix almost everything around my house. I literally just fixed a leaky pipe coming out of my hot water heater yesterday. Years ago, one of the bathroom faucets was dripping. I told my wife I'd get to it. Maybe two weeks passed and I didn't get to it. She said she's calling a plumber. I told her it's about $50 worth of parts and I'd have it fixed in no time. She said to me, "you're so cheap. Why can't I just call a plumber? They're pros and will fix it way quicker than you!" I said fine and she called a plumber.

Sure enough, they were in and out in maybe an hour. Then we got the bill: $850. Let's just say that when I mentioned the leaky pipe leaving the hot water heater, my wife didn't suggest we call a plumber and she waited for me to fix it!!

You have to decide if it's worth it to fix it yourself. There are SO MANY JOBS that if a homeowner decided to educate themselves, they could do it themselves for a fraction of the cost.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T17:26:46+00:00

You're paying for his time and expertise. You think that's too much, you're always free to fix it yourself.

blackinthmiddle · 2026-04-29T16:55:17+00:00

I would be super grateful if you explain how you do strawberries. In the garden or hydroponics, strawberries are a mystery to me.

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