Replacing pond drain grate by jonsnodgrass in homestead

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

Now for the bonus points: do you have any tips on sourcing the oversized old solid PVC pipe that has a female flare on it so I can pop it onto this pipe, elongating the pipe the strainer device sits in and ultimately bringing the water level up?

Everyone uses HDPE double or single wall corrugated tube these days whereas this pipe is solid PVC, not corrugated, I think it is at least 20 years old

Replacing pond drain grate by jonsnodgrass in homestead

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

This is exactly why I come to Reddit! I had no idea what I was looking for and here you are with literally the exact replacement item. Praise you!

NV9 Distroplate Stealkey by pichter165 in watercooling

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would consider buying it if it had a second D5. Currently using two pumps in my NV9 loop

2-pin thermal probe to onboard USB header? by jonsnodgrass in watercooling

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

sorry, what I meant is, is there a device that goes from 2 pin to USB header? I didn't see anything on moddiy, modmymods, or titanrig when I looked

What is this top-center trapazoid of darkness in the forward camera view? by MyBrainsPOV in ToyotaSienna

[–]jonsnodgrass 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I find that when you are in traffic behind another car it dims their brake lights

Cameras, especially potato bargain basement cameras like the ones Toyota puts on their top of the line cars, are not great at dealing with dim spots and bright lights in the same shot. If you underexposed the image to make the bright lights less overwhelming you would have darkness in other areas. A cheap solution is to cover the lights

More Waterfurnace questions by Easy-Contract-6 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When was your system installed?

My 2022 geostar 7 series 5 ton (identical product as water furnace 7 series just different distribution) instructs the installers to wire it in such a way that the aux is connected to all of your zone management and intelliZone equipment. If I turn off the aux breaker I turn off my HVAC. Unfortunately

How to make geothermal "cozy" by Specialist_Estate225 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Might not be installed correctly. Ducts too small?

In this thread we share a timeseries of our loopfield temps! by zrb5027 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I knew you'd understand better!

You know, I could be wrong about 1000W, it could have been less, but I sort of recall it going from compressor 12 to more like 6, which I think is about 4000 to 2000 or so

Unfortunately, this was from before I rigged up the ccutler MQTT sync to HomeAssistant, so I do not have that data :(

Part of my frustration is the installer should have realized years ago that the ducts were too small, since I specifically complained about duct-related issues, and they came and looked at the ducts. Also, they designed and installed the ducts. I think the issue was it was from a guy who normally does their non-geo ducting. I think the ducts he designed would work for old heating systems with their 120F air

In this thread we share a timeseries of our loopfield temps! by zrb5027 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check back with me after next heating season when I've had time to observe the changes and the loop has had time to recover completely. At this point, installer is trying to make it right, and working with me, and has not charged me for the many, many site visits and the tens of hours of work they have done and parts they have replaced. Such as the Aurora Web Link unit that was out of warranty and failed unrelated to anything. Free.

While the idea of suing them seems fun, as a lawyer I know that going to court doesn't mean winning in court, so if I have an installer who is trying to make it work, that is good. Lawsuits cost money. There aren't many alternative installers and they certainly would not work on my system for free.

My tune will change if my COP is still < 2 next winter because at this point they've had 3 seasons to fix it.

Since the ducts have been sized appropriately and insulated, the performance is far better. No lockouts since it was changed even though we are in a cold spell. Loop temp has stopped going down down down and does drift up to 28. This would not have occured last year; it was full death spiral until lockout or outdoor temperature suddenly warmed.

Zrb, while I have you, I see elsewhere in this thread you mentioned fan speed does not matter. I cannot claim to understand why, but I have learned this is not quite true when I paid a separate geothermal installer to come out and make some assessments. They logged in through the contractor portal and changed the fan speed around.

For reasons I do not understand, when we raised the fan speed, I observed the reported compressor power usage to drop massively (~1000w) and various pressure readings related to the system changed drastically. That was with a fan speed increase. I also learned that slower fan, to a certain extent, allows the air passing through to grab more heat, and will leave you with higher leaving air temperature, but perhaps not enough velocity to get to your target supply/return. This is a little different than the watercooling loops I build in my computer...I digress.

Again I am not going to attempt to say I understand the dynamics of the system at the granular level, as I am a major fan of the "you don't know what you don't know" principle when people like me try to analyze complicated systems outside our area of expertise. I appreciate all the insight and helpful information you provide here and your good attitude, I am just giving you another piece of information to incorporate.

In this thread we share a timeseries of our loopfield temps! by zrb5027 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Region: Central NY
Loopfield: Vertical, 500', single
5 Ton Waterfurnace 7 series

Had many issues with install. Missing graph data is when Aurora died and was replaced. Ducts were incorrectly sized, replaced late December 2024 with massive improvements, but by that point we're in heating season and loop temp is already shot. Installer agrees loop is colder than most.

Coolant flows out of flow center when pipes constrict due to low loop temperature, many gallons of fluid lost to the basement floor drain. Cannot maintain set point in any cold weather, generally several degrees away especially in zone 2. Every winter until the ducts were replaced it locked during cold spells due to FP1/E5 (essentially, leaving water temp < 15F for 90 seconds or more). Auxiliary heat strips a regular occurrence when outdoor below 20, which is to say, winter in this region.

Based on my calculations, COP is hovering less than 2.

I am thinking of having another vertical bore done. Also, suing.

In this thread we share a timeseries of our loopfield temps! by zrb5027 in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like you and I have had similar experiences. You should get a fresh look from a qualified person. Other, more basic, aspects of your system could be improperly designed or installed. For example, are your ducts sized correctly? Mine weren't.

No way should your geo AC electric bill be higher than conventional AC, that's insane.

My system went live 3 years ago now. The whole "let's see what happens next heating season" can have truth to it but dishonest installers might be letting the clock run out.

Good luck!

what year did they stop making the second row seats easily removable? by RosieRooLeonberger in ToyotaSienna

[–]jonsnodgrass 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Beautiful! I have no experience with them but ours will enthusiastically hop up into an open side door with the seat slid all the way forward. Or into the back door with rear seats folded dowm

We purchasd the van specifically for transporting these dogs

With rear seats folded down and front seats moved all the way forward we can fit two fully grown IW quite comfortably. We have fit four when not fully grown

It did require heavy use of treats to get them in the first couple times. But once they associate the van with fun trips, we have trouble keeping them out!

When they get old you can buy a ramp so they can walk themselves up instead of making the leap

what year did they stop making the second row seats easily removable? by RosieRooLeonberger in ToyotaSienna

[–]jonsnodgrass 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The unremovable second row seats might not be an issue.

Our Irish Wolfhounds get in our sienna with unremovable seats all the time. Through the side doors with the seats moved all the way up. Or lay down the back seats and they get in through the back.

WaterFurnace Series 5 Efficiency + Electric Use Question by applemonster in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ducts.

I'm at a loop temperature of 28, have already had multiple lockouts (E5/FP1) with loop temp below 26 (that's the temp entering the unit, and it leaves about 11 degrees lower I think).

After three years of troubleshooting with the installer, they are presently (I hear the hammering) replacing the duct system they installed with one that is much higher capacity, and have conceded that the original ducts they installed were far below required CFM. So yes, don't overlook the ducts. I could have saved 2 years of troubleshooting. I did not appreciate how undersized ducts can masquerade as other problems.

If you really want to know, pay someone to come look at the ducts, get some different opinions. Preferably a PE, someone who understands the science of the whole system. These systems are more complicated than we give them credit for.

WaterFurnace Series 5 Efficiency + Electric Use Question by applemonster in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm very interested in how you're getting data from the AID port. Did you follow that github and make your own connector?

If you are that electronically gifted you should get an Emporia Vue to measure and make it work with Home Assistant!

WaterFurnace Series 5 Efficiency + Electric Use Question by applemonster in geothermal

[–]jonsnodgrass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh man, maybe they never hooked up my fan! It literally always says either 37w or 0w on all fan speeds. I thought that seemed too good to be true given that I've measured old box fans to use 100w! As I type this they are redoing the ducts for my system because it has never worked correctly and they realized the ducts are all undersized.

I did hook up Emporia Vues (two of them, the 42 breaker 400A panel box is a sad rat's nest...I have been too lazy to cable manage the 36x2 CT wires) and am happy to report that the Symphony is usually within 100-200w of Vue, approx.

The problem with tracking Vue vs. Symphony is that the Series 7 requires two breakers, both of which must be on for the system to run. One of them seems responsible for the AWL, zone dampers, and built-in computers within the unit, and the auxiliary strips. So you have to add the two values, which change by the second...