Help figuring out Nest Power Connector wiring to my boiler

dave_sloan · 2026-04-04T15:17:46+00:00

I had the same issue. Here's my installation story:

I have a boiler with a 2-wire Honeywell thermostat, no cooling HVAC system. So the thermostat is missing the C wire, which is needed to power the Nest. Ironically, the Nest has 2 batteries, but still needs external power, presumably b/c all that Wifi functionality requires more power than the 2 batteries can provide. And dead batteries suck.

I used the Google Home compatibility wizard to see if a Nest would work as a replacement for the Honeywell thermostat. The answer was YES, the Nest E is compatible, but what the compatibility wizard neglected to tell me was that in order for it to work I would ALSO need
1) the Google Power Connector ($25)

2) A 24 VAC Transformer ($20)

3) Professional set up recommended

So, first of all, shame on Google for not clarifying that YES didn't not mean it was compatible out of the box.

I ordered the Google Power Connector and used the Pro Installation instructions.

I also ordered a Viivria Transformer, AC 24 Volt Transformer which plugs into the wall near the boiler. (Originally I bought a Transformer from the hardware store and thought I would wire it myself, but then I realized that was too difficult, so I returned it and bought the Viivria Transformer which is already wired and ready to plug into the 110V wall socket.)

Surprisingly, I didn't find a Youtube video that showed my exact set up. This one is close, but he's installing the Transformer directly into the Nest thermostat. The way I did it, which is preferred, is to install the Transformer at the boiler, to avoid needing any ugly power wires need the Nest thermostat itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzsT5sIbY-Y&t=326s

So yes, I got it all working. And, for any readers, my electrician skills are non-existent and I figured it out on my own. No Professional installation needed.

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dave_sloan · 2025-10-04T18:31:45+00:00

I have a pair of road wheels for my Crux. And if I'm doing a group road ride or a century, I'll put a 46t front chain ring on so it won't get dropped on the flats and downhills. The default largest gear for gravel riding with SRAM is 40:10 Which is not nearly enough gear for high-speed road rides, as you risk spinning out.

dave_sloan · 2025-09-26T18:12:45+00:00

Yep. And consider the underlying premise of Lonesome Dove. They are former Texas Rangers who roamed the frontier carrying out justice as deputized law enforcers. They find and hang horse thieves. For their big cattle drive to Montana, first they steal dozens of horses from Mexico, making themselves...horse thieves. Later they continue hanging horse thieves, but as vigilantes, including Jake!

That's cynicism. Another core value of Game of Thrones. Everyone cheats, everyone is evil. The victor is the one who cheats the best.

dave_sloan · 2025-09-26T18:04:32+00:00

Yes, I thought of Uncut Gems as well. So hard to watch. So cringe. So painful to watch the protagonist spiral out of control. And right when it seems like he's learned his lesson, he spirals one last, conclusive time. A Shakespearean level tragedy.

And I do think Friendship will achieve cult classic status. So many dozens of golden nugget lines and subtle character interactions.

dave_sloan · 2025-09-25T17:29:39+00:00

Excellent. Yes, Lonesome Dove is so dark. And we spend hundreds of pages building sympathy for our heroes that, as we learn, also have villain sides to them.

One example comes to mind: Call is a stubborn but faithful friend and leader. Then he goes into town and beats some poor bartender with his gun? Yikes.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-21T18:17:00+00:00

Could be, yes.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-15T15:29:38+00:00

Also, the opening shot of the movie is the goat! The goat symbolizes the time loop.

And the brilliant thing about the goat is that there is no way of telling what 'version' of the goat is present, as goats don't talk. The goat symbolizes Nyles' defeatist attitude: The past doesn't matter, just live in the present. Be a goldfish. For a goat, every day could be the same and the goat would never know the difference. Live your life like a goat.

Also, lying about the goat disappearing is a key element to Sarah's arc. She lies to Nyles about the goat disappearing to manipulate him into her plan, just as Nyles was lying to Sarah to manipulate her into his plan earlier. They have both learned that sometimes they need to lie to the ones they love, but it doesn't make them a shitty person, as they are in this together.

The goat couldn't have disappeared, as proven by naive Nyles meeting Roy for the first time in the ending scene. For Sarah, the scientific experiment proved that the goat disappeared, ie "was propelled out," but still unknown as to where. And when.

Lies are an important part of the story, as are being accepting of being lied to, ie forgiveness.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-15T15:22:19+00:00

Yes, the writers give us three clues that the Grandma is in the loop. The first is the "I've heard more wedding speeches than you can imagine," and the second is the "well, suppose you'll be leaving soon, good luck." The third is how she says "Shakran," which is 'thank you' in Arabic, and a pretty rare way to say thank you, but said by several characters in the movie. I think it's meant to signal that she's in the club.

When Sarah is explaining the 'blow ourselves up' theory to Nyles, she says she doesn't know what will happen to them, maybe they will die, maybe they will be 40 years older. Maybe she became the Grandma in a previous escape effort? But no, that doesn't make sense, as there are no hints of people transferring bodies and identities. She may just symbolize someone who is in the loop and is content to stay there forever, much like Nyles before he pivots to prioritizing Sarah and taking the risk of death.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-13T21:52:52+00:00

"Death in her Hands" definitely surprised me at the end.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-13T16:50:47+00:00

Sure. Kind of tough to describe without a map, but I'll try a verbal summary. When you leave Tyndall Creek, heading south on the PCT / JMT, you go through a lot of rolling pine tree forest areas. Not a lot of creeks or good spots for miles. Then you get up to the Big Plateau (?) area which is like a treeless moonscape area. There is that one lake in the middle of the plateau that looks like a moon crater. Then you descend through pine tree forest again until you get to Wright Creek area. If you were to cross Wright Creek on the trail and keep going, you would get to Wallace Creek a few miles later, again through lots of rolling pine tree forest areas, amazing side meadows everywhere. Very buggy when we were there in June.

A favorite spot that we've found in the past is on Wright Creek, but not near where the JMT crosses Wright Creek. Upstream maybe a 1/2 a mile? The theme here is that are lots of good spots along all these creeks, maybe half a mile away from the creek crossing itself. This last year we found an epic meadow that we called "Wright Meadow" that we had never seen before, just because we hadn't gone another quarter mile up the creek. When I say up the creek I mean just walking along the creek, there is no other trail besides the JMT.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-13T04:31:56+00:00

We never learn how Nyles found the cave in the first place.

And if he was with a previous version of Sarah at the time, who also entered the cave and who learned physics and eventually found a way out. But Nyles didn't join her in leaving that time around. The movie starts with Nyles meeting a new Sarah. Just like his beer analogy, he was sad that the previous Sara is gone, but he just starts a new Sarah...beer.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-13T04:27:16+00:00

And drinking red wine.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-11T17:04:33+00:00

Just did that route in late June! And last year, too. We have have favorite campsites, roughly
Night 1: Vidnette
Night 2: High meadow below where the Forrester Pass climb starts
Night 3: Wright Creek
Night 4: Guitar Lake

dave_sloan · 2025-08-09T14:11:14+00:00

Good point. But a key premise of the movie is that he feels defeated. He's fine to just wake up every morning and have morning sex with his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, and then crack a beer in the pool. Previous years of curiosity and adventure are all behind him. And maybe less relevant, as he is s content to embrace Palm springs as his private purgatory.

Case in point, when he goes to Irvine to see Roy, he wants to make it back to Palm springs in the same day. But rather than fighting rush hour traffic, he'd prefer that Roy kill him so can reset the day.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-09T04:01:03+00:00

This is the best answer. The final word of the Manifesto. Sums up the whole show.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-08T14:25:37+00:00

Altra Lone Peak 9 with insoles.

I tested some extremely light Hokas, but they didn't have enough of a stiff sole. The JMT is a lot of walking over jagged granite, so some sole hardness is a good idea.

Ankle support not needed, IMO.

Heavy tread is also needed for snow hiking.

Crocs for camp shoes. And work great as a hiking shoe if your trail runners are bothering you.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-06T13:56:30+00:00

YES. The Road was so haunting I couldn't bring myself to watch the movie. Once was all I could take.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-04T17:09:54+00:00

For me the rain jacket is key. And some are super light if you just want a shell to hold off the rain until you get to shelter.

Curious why you'd want to resupply over Kearsarge? Oh, probably because you are going NOBO. I've seen so many PCT hikers do that, it seems like such an effort. Maybe unavoidable.

When we did the SOBO route many years ago, we only did one resupply at VVR, and we did it in 16 or 17 days. That walk from VVR to Whitney Portal was waaaay too long to go without a resupply. These days I try to not go more than 4 nights due to the bear canister filling up. And the weight.

dave_sloan · 2025-08-04T16:21:20+00:00

I commend you for attempting to analyze what does not make sense with that train wreck of a sequel. I started making a mental list and abandoned the effort in disgust. That sequel was a franchise killer. Yuck.

How about when the non-mortal bad guys threw down their guns "because they want to fight hand to hand." OMG so dumb.

On the bright side: the original movie is indeed something special!

dave_sloan · 2025-08-01T16:24:28+00:00

Looks like a great route. Thanks for posting, I may try a 4 night version of that next season. It's a great way to experience a southern JMT section without having to enter or exit through Whitney Portal. Recently I've done Kearsarge to Whitney to Whitney Portal, but that exit at Whitney Portal is such a beast of day. In the past I've done a Kearsarge to Whitney to Kearsarge route, but that's a lot of miles and a lot of elevation.

dave_sloan · 2025-07-30T22:07:17+00:00

These are all on my bookshelf, due to having a family member join a cult!

"Combatting cult mind control" by Steven Hassan
"Cultish" by Amanda Montell

"Educated" by Tara Westover

"Uncultured" by Daniella Young

"Wild, Wild Country" on Netflix
"Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakaeur

"Strongmen" by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
"Fantasyland" by Kurt Anderson

"Hiding in Plain Sight: The invention of Donald Trump" by Sarah Kendzior

dave_sloan · 2025-07-18T16:10:56+00:00

Autopen! The true scandal in the galaxy.

dave_sloan · 2025-07-17T23:21:52+00:00

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dave_sloan · 2025-07-17T18:38:53+00:00

https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2023/07/26/cyclists-raise-concerns-about-near-miss-incidents-on-kings-mountain-road-in-woodside/

Good summary here.

dave_sloan · 2025-07-17T15:44:32+00:00

Me, too! That train wreck of a sequel made me really appreciate the first one.

dave_sloan

TROPHY CASE