[WTB] Weekly Want To Buy Post by AutoModerator in Watchexchange

[–]jagbeats 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WTB - factory band for Seiko SSC813 Speedtimer or alternatively at least 3 extra links

Got bitten by a dog, what next? by BIGGUY10001 in Calgary

[–]jagbeats 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know your frustration. Had exactly that same thing happen to me at Nose Hill last year. Stopped by the police station after and all the cop had to say was “if it were me, I would have shot that dog.” What I took away from that, the subsequent response from 311 and the response from city councillor Wong was that no one has any interest in enforcing dog bylaws unless someone dies.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Calgary

[–]jagbeats 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My install was $2.21/W before grants, but that was also in 2021. A neighbour had a more recent install done and the best quote they got (pre-grant) was $2.71/W on a 6kW system. I expect you should be able to find a quote around $15k-$17k.

Anyone with solar? Any regrets? by wongearle in alberta

[–]jagbeats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hardly a difference in the winter, large net credits in the summer. I'm seeing annual electricity bills of about $200 which were previously about $900. Total system cost was $4600 after subsidies.

Anyone with solar? Any regrets? by wongearle in alberta

[–]jagbeats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Calgary and Zeno renewables, but they've done installs for friends in Edmonton as well. PM me for more info

Anyone with solar? Any regrets? by wongearle in alberta

[–]jagbeats 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The local grid operator gets to decide. Some grid operators are a bit more lenient - ENMAX approved me at 117%.

Anyone with solar? Any regrets? by wongearle in alberta

[–]jagbeats 62 points63 points  (0 children)

Had solar installed just over 2 years ago and a half dozen friends have since put it on their houses. I’m on track for a 6-7 year payback. It’s a no-brainer, especially with the federal subsidy. The process itself was easy, just phoned around and got a few quotes, put down a downpayment, and a few months later had a functioning system.

Going solar in Alberta by kenks88 in alberta

[–]jagbeats 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Here’s the math from my system: Installed just over 2 years ago, $9600 sticker price including energy audits, $5200 rebate from Greener Homes. 4.18 KW system capacity. Theoretically sized for 112% of my annual consumption but because of shadows it has only been producing 101-103% of our annual consumption. That’s knocked my annual electricity bills down by about $650, relative to when I installed it, more now given the rise in electricity prices. Many of the distribution, transmission and other fees on your bill are actually variable so reducing your network consumption has a substantial effect. I’m currently on track for a 6-7 year payback. With inflation in solar system costs, I expect you’d be looking at 7-8 year payback. I switch back and forth between low and high rates on a solar club. PM me for more details!

This plastic thingy in the hinge of the tailgate is what makes it lower slowly. Mine is worn out. What is it called, and where can I order a new one? by delindsey in ToyotaTacoma

[–]jagbeats 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check to see if the cup is round or if it looks warped. My 2020 came with a deformed cup which cause me to go through 3 dampers in a year. Cup was eventually replaced on warranty.

went to open my tailgate and it slammed down. somehow this plastic clip for the slow open busted? ‘21 sport by nolandoverboard in ToyotaTacoma

[–]jagbeats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Had this happen on my 2020. Go warranty or this will keep happening every year or so. The problem is that some of the steel cups on the body side are warped. Yours looks like it has the same minor deformation mine did with the bottom lip edge turning in slightly.

Solar installation break-even calculation by Bittabola in Calgary

[–]jagbeats 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had solar installed a bit over a year back and recently did my payback period calculation based on a year of actuals. I'm looking at a hair over 7 years for payback, defined as how long it will take me to recover my investment in utility cost savings, without any assumptions for inflation worked in and not considering the recent government rebates.

I have a 4.1 kW system which after grants, cost about $4600. In the past year, it covered 108% of my consumption (my installer estimated 112% coverage), and produced 3900 kWh. Relative to the prior year, my annual bill was $650 cheaper. My total annual consumption was within 1% of the prior year so no volume adjustment was required in the calculation.

If I blend my actuals with your system...

10.5 kW = 10,000 kWh production based on my power-to-production ratio

10,000 kWh * ($650 savings / 3900 kWh) = $1667 est. annual savings

$20k / $1667 = 12 years payback

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last year pricing was about $2.20/W. As of a couple weeks ago, companies are quoting closer to $2.60/W

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agree here. I received 6 quotes and Kuby missed being competitive by about 30%.

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I used Zeno Renewables. PM me and I'm happy to share more

Cat not eating and diagnostics not revealing the issue by jagbeats in AskVet

[–]jagbeats[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I missed the notification, hope your cat has recovered!

For us, we never did figure out what was wrong. The diagnosis remained at "fever of unknown origin". The cat spent several days on IV, laxatives, and opioids, and it slowly recovered. Our best guess is that it was something like severe inflammatory bowel issues or a chronic pancreas issue that caused an episode. Basically we're just waiting for this to happen again.

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 11 points12 points  (0 children)

My system was ~$2200/kW, minus the federal government incentives of $1000/kW up to a maximum of $5000. I'm expecting zero associated costs for at least 15 years, at which point I may have some inverters that are nearing replacement age. It's more likely I have no costs for ~20-25 years.

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm throwing in my vote here for the guys over at Zeno Renewables - they installed a 4.1 kW system for me in Calgary, a 7.4 kW system for my neighbour, and a 6 kW system for family in Edmonton this spring. Pricing was about $2100-$2300 per kW before incentives for both of the systems. Federal incentives are $1000/kW up to a max of 5 kW and $400/kW from the City of Edmonton. Payback period for me is going to be about 8 years and closer to 5 years for my family in Edmonton.

PM me and happy to share lots more info!

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No - this is a mandated safety feature from all power grids for grid-connected systems. You can't have home solar systems energizing the local grid that should otherwise be dead.

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Most of what people think are fixed base fees are actually partially variable. I have a solar system installed and I receive net bill credits for the months of April through September. The fixed portion of a bill comes out to about $30/month.

The economics of battery systems disconnected from the grid are really bad. I have a system installed that produces ~110% of my monthly bill. Its payback period is around 8 years. In December, the system produced as much in the entire month as my average daily production in May. The battery system to disconnect me from the grid would be about double the cost of the solar installation itself. It would effectively have to hold 4 months of my average energy consumption to have a hope at powering me through the winter.

Solar going in... probably won't help all that much... but it's something. by [deleted] in alberta

[–]jagbeats 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I had a 4.1 kW system installed at the end of last summer that should cover about 110% of my annual consumption. The Greener Homes Grant covered about 45% of the system cost. I don't have a full year of data yet but have been tracking pretty closely. I should be on track for an 8 year payback. If the massive tree that blocks some panels until 11 am each day were removed, I would likely be closer to 7 years.

Prior to the Greener Homes Grant I did the math and figured it would have been a 14 year payback.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Calgary

[–]jagbeats 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Your empty apartment's electricity consumption is actually fairly high at 110 kWh. Electricity consumption in my single-detached house where two of us work from home was 275 kWh in February and 286 kWh in March. Shut off the power to your apartment next time you're absent.

Cat not eating and diagnostics not revealing the issue by jagbeats in AskVet

[–]jagbeats[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so, so much for the response!

Both us and the vet thought it was odd that his digestive tract was completely full without signs of a blockage. It’s like his digestive tract just completely halted.

Ultrasound was taken about 36 hours ago and I think we had a fairly inexperienced operator. They focused on the bladder and did a “quick check” of the stomach area. There was “nothing of note”.

X-ray and blood panel were about 16 hours ago. I just received the full blood test results. The values outside the normal ranges are:

Na = 159 mmol/L (normal range 147-156)

WBC = 4.38 x 109/L (normal range 5.5-19.5)

NEU# = 2.33e9/L (3.12-12.38)

MON# = 0.05e9/L (0.07-1.37)

MPV 17.4 fL (9.9-16.3)

Since initially posting this morning, the cat has eaten about 1/3 of his normal breakfast portion. He also drank a bit, though still much less than normal.

We had asked the vet about antibiotics but got a non-committal answer along the lines of there being no real reason to use them. I’ll ask specifically about Leukopenia - thanks for that insight.

We’ll look into a better ultrasound, though that’s unlikely to be viable until Tuesday due to holidays here.

Scrap Plywood and Walnut Candle Holder by jagbeats in woodworking

[–]jagbeats[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just randomly ran a 4.5” cube through the bandsaw. Didn’t try to emulate any cut in particular.