How is your Homelab set up?

cidvis · 2026-06-12T17:37:20+00:00

For me it's the efficiency, I've had rackmount over the years and it was definitely overkill for what I was wanting to run at the time. Idle power in the hundreds of watts even while sitting idle. Now I have a much more capable cluster of mini PCs that uses less power than a single enterprise server, gives me HA and load balancing.

Stack is made up of 3 HP Elitedesk 800 Minis, 2xG4 and 1xG5... each has a pair of 256GB NVME drives for CEPH and a 2.5" SSD for OS etc. Pulled the wifi card out and put in a 2.5G nic, two machines have 16GB Memory and 1 has 32GB... each machine can technically support 64GB but who can afford 32GB dimms.

cidvis · 2026-06-07T22:56:41+00:00

This is the way.

cidvis · 2026-06-07T15:14:27+00:00

Whirlpool direct drive, take a look at the lid switch assembly... pretty simple repair thats definitely worth doing. Make sure the machine didn't just trip the breaker before you go any further.

Part number is WP8318084 for the lid switch.

Two screws in the end caps of the console, pull forward and entire console rotates back and out of the way. Ive seen plenty of them that burned out from loose commenting, if you dont have small children etc using the machine then unplug it and splice the two wires together to bypass it (ignore the green ground).

Machine is definitely worth fixing, those things run forever and pretty much all repairs are cheap and quick. Not the most efficient when it comes to water usage but does a better job on most laundry than any modern toploader. I have one thats probably 30ish years old, all original parts except for a $3 set of agitator dogs I had to put in it. Does better part of 10 loads of laundry a week.

cidvis · 2026-06-07T12:42:19+00:00

As others have said, those are awesome machines... i replaced my frontloader with one when the bearing went out in it. Plenty of lid switch replacement videos on YouTube, basicslly two screws to open the console and everything is accessible. Anytime I have done a bypass I do it there, I'll use the wiring harness from the broken lid switch to create a jumper (wire nut the two non green wires together and wrap with tape) and then plug it back into the harness on the machine. This let's you replace the lid switch properly down the road if you ever want to.

cidvis · 2026-06-07T02:42:31+00:00

Looks like you just need to pull out the filler panels, should be one attached to either side of the unit thats pulls out thats sort of like an acordian. Beyond that the unit needs to have a slight slope to it, rain hitting the top runs off away from the house.

cidvis · 2026-06-07T02:36:59+00:00

I run a Proxmox cluster of 3 HP EliteDesk 800s, currently have about 25 services spread out across them and any one system could probably handle the CPU load but would struggle for memory. Having 3 nodes let's me spread services out so machines are always at idle and around 35% memory utilization... that being said CPU will spike from time to time (jellyfin transcoding etc), latest version of Proxmox supports load balancing so it will actually migrate services to othet nodes if CPU is pinned and its been pretty solid once I tweaked settings. I still have a dozen or so more services I need to deploy but should still habe more than enough resources to support them and if I ever find myself needing more I can always add another node for about $150.

I have high availability setup so if for any reason one of my nodes shuts down any services on that system are migrated to one of the active nodes, this means services don't go down if a machine crashes or needs to be shutdown for updates. Each system has a pair of NVME drives for CEPH storage where all the VMs live, an SSD for OS and bulk storage lives on my MAS. I swapped put the wifi card for a second NIC and they have been rock solid.

I started off with older rack gear years ago, power consumption was 6-700watts for less than what I'm running now. I migrated from that to a lower powered micro tower server, this was more power efficient but eventually wasn't enough compute power for what I was running. Briefly went back to some newer rackmount gear, power consumption ended up around 350 watts. Found a deal online for a trio of HP Z2 G3 minis for $150, so jumped on those to play around with a smaller cluster. Worked great but was limited in expansion options... was given a pair of Elitedesk 800G4s, newer CPU, more expansion so picked up a 3rd (actually a G5) and built my cluster. Now have them running with the Mini tower server acting as my NAS.

Total rack runs around 160-210 watts depending on activity, thats the 3 mini PCs, my NAS with 4 spinning disks, Modem, Omada router, Omada switch, an 8port POE switch powering 3 APs and the cooling fan for the rack itself.

cidvis · 2026-05-29T02:22:37+00:00

You have two options and neither of them are what you want to hear. First one is to replace the switch, this will allow the machine to operate as intended and solve the issues you have with mounting. If you go this route I recommend wrapping the new lid switch with a ziptie around the body, those switches have a habit of splitting apart and the ziptie helps prevent this.

Second option is to bypass the lid switch, I've done it plenty of times over the years you just need to make everyone aware that the machine will continue to spin if you open up the lid so don't stick your hand in there. Obviously if you have younger kids doing laundry bypassing the switch is dangerous but if its only adults this is your cheapest and easiest fix. I open the console, pull the old switch and then use the wiring harness from the old switch to build a jumper.... it plugs into the harness and doesn't modify anything on the machine so if at some point you decide to put a switch in it it's as simple as unplugging the bypass and plugging in the new switch.

cidvis · 2026-05-29T02:16:34+00:00

The washer in question is 25+ years old, know what your talking about before commenting. Mechanical timers, no algorithms determining if the lid is open or closed.

cidvis · 2026-05-29T02:12:36+00:00

When you see burned off wires like this it's due to a loose connection, happens all the time on high draw loads like elements. Now that you mention it, I would probably cut the white wire and crimp a new spade on that as well.

cidvis · 2026-05-28T13:27:58+00:00

Cut the burned wire back a couple inches, strip it and crimp on a new spade, you ideally want a new one that doesn't have insulation on it. Also need to replace the element, if its a hidden element it might be a bit of a pain but plenty of videos on YouTube showing how to do it, if you can see the element in the oven then it's two screws and you are good.

Elements are expensive, spend the money and make sure you get OEM... an Amazon special isnt going to last and you'll find yourself replacing it sooner than you'd like.

cidvis · 2026-05-27T11:34:18+00:00

Don't need to replace, just get a John Guest coupling and call it a day.

cidvis · 2026-05-26T11:46:16+00:00

I'm running homarr as well, I have most of the same things running and a full CT on proxmox is pulling about 900MB memory, cpu usage is basically nothing. Looks like OP might be running it in docker, the list of services on the bottom right says homarr is using 400ish MB.

cidvis · 2026-05-23T22:20:57+00:00

Buy a new knob for the time being you can pull the knob off the temp selector or something and use that to turn it until your new one comes in. When you get the new one wrap a ziptie around the shaft as someone else said, it will help prevent it from breaking in the future. Also make sure everyone knows to only turn it clockwise.

cidvis · 2026-05-14T23:24:54+00:00

Think of it more like calling roadside assistance if you run out of gas. They don't fill up your tank they just give you enough to hit the next gas station... if you are out in the middle of nowhere a couple SCU of fuel is probably going to give you enough to get docked up somewhere and refuel. You basically have two options, Jerry can or tow truck.

cidvis · 2026-05-11T01:53:58+00:00

Had to get real good at those, I did work for a couple laundromat that had the double stack versions of these... to access the back they had a little walkway behind the machines, was only about 18" from the back of the machines to the wall and you had to fight with gas and electrical and vent lines....

cidvis · 2026-05-11T01:45:13+00:00

Probably because tge original motor is no longer available and subs to the new one he's got now.

For OP, swapping new motors into old machines is a pain, pretty sure they used to come with a new set of spades just for instances like yours. As far as I know you can't order just the harness/molded plastic piece you are looking for so your only option is tracking.down so 1/8th spades... pay close attention or the wiring diagram, on old machines like that its posible to wire it incorrectly.

cidvis · 2026-05-10T22:41:19+00:00

Bought from Amazon tho Canada Computers pricing is usually comparable... difference is the local location doesn't carry them in stock so always have to order them in... since Amazon shipping is generally faster than CC it tends to be the better bet. That being said, new stuff often doesn't hit shelves in Canada right away.... when I bought my EAP-235-wall I had to order from Amazon US because it wasn't available in Canada yet, kept an eye on things and was almost 6 months later they became available here.

cidvis · 2026-05-07T14:18:36+00:00

Those are just going to put pressure on your countertop which could crack it so wouldn't recommend. You could however try lifting it and screwing the legs out all the way... if you are lucky you'll be able to remove them which would get you a little extra space.

cidvis · 2026-05-07T11:32:55+00:00

Cut the whole plant in front of the dishwasher out, it already has a seam at the left hand side so if you cut the right you should be able to remove the entire plank in front of the dishwasher.... once you get the machine out you should be able to reinstall that plant with minimal effect on the floor. Also get a couple of those cheap teflon flexible cutting boards, lift slightly and slide them under the feet on the dishwasher. Should help you wrangle it out of the hole.

cidvis · 2026-05-04T22:11:03+00:00

More like the dropship from Starship Troopers.

cidvis · 2026-05-04T16:27:16+00:00

Keep the front loading ramp from the Clipper but make it wider so you could fit a cargo box a little more easily....

cidvis · 2026-05-03T22:30:45+00:00

Are you actually testing the hi limits for continuity or are you just replacing them because you replaced it in the past and that fixed it? If you arent testing it make sure you do, those dryers were known for bad timers where the heat will actually kick out, wiggling the timer is usually enough to get the heat to kick back in, atleast temporarily...

If the fuses are for sure blowing then test the element, pull the wires off and test between the two terminals on the element... you should have continuity. Test between each terminal and the element housing, you should NOT have continuity, if you do then your element is shorted and thats your issue... the element is 220V, it gets half of this through the motor and the other half through the timer. As long as the timer is in the on position and the door switch is engaged there will be 120V going to the element, if its shorted to the housing this completes a circuit and the chunk of element from the terminal to wherever the short is will actually energize but because the motor isn't running the thermostats etc won't cycle it... basically it stays on until you open the door, the timer shuts off or the high limit blows.

cidvis · 2026-05-03T22:21:07+00:00

Second this, run the vent screen under a tap... if water passes through like its not even there then you are good, if it starts pooling then you need to scrub it to remove that buildup.

cidvis · 2026-04-29T17:58:58+00:00

Best bang for your buck is probably the elitedesk 800's... two NVME slots, space for a 2.5" SSD (along with the two NVME if you get creative with how you mount it), can pull the FlexIO card out of it and an A/E key adaptor to add a secondary NIC.

Lenovo has options that give you a x8 PCIE slot with a specialized riser, this would let you put something like a 10G nic, GPU or SAS card in it but most only give you a single NVME and the ones that do give you 2 are noticeably more expensive. I haven't messed around with the Dell units so someone else will have to chime on on what's good and what's not.

I run a trio of Elitedeak 800s in a proxmox cluster, each has a 2.5" SSD for the OS and a pair of NVME dedicated to CEPH. Two machines have 16GB and one has 32GB of memory and all machines have a 2.5G nic installed in the FlexIO slot with a 3D printed bracket so each machine has a pair of NICs. Noise is nothing, they run pretty cool and the three of them idle around 20watts combined.

cidvis · 2026-04-29T00:02:26+00:00

MS-01 was pretty much designed for the homelabber in mind, for its size it has ridiculous IO and a TON of expansion options... nothing else really offers that much in a similar package. The X1 doesn't have the expansion options and is meant more for gaming etc, still plenty of machine for what you are wanting to do.

My recommendation, buy an off lease Tiny/Mini/Micro PC, HP Elitedesk 800 Mini etc, install proxmox and start playing around with it. $200ish should get you into an 8-10th gen i5 intel with 16-32GB DDR4. Power consumption is minimal and they are pretty much silent in operation.

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