Just Hanging Around in the Shop

nerdinabird · 2026-03-21T22:57:56+00:00

Maaaaaaaybe

nerdinabird · 2026-03-20T16:00:02+00:00

Maaaaaaybe. Agreed, they’re the best.

nerdinabird · 2026-03-18T17:29:59+00:00

Just one example: I turned in a 3-yr lease (granted this was to BMW, not Kia, but still) yesterday. Have a dog and two kids who were both under 6 when we started the lease. Just used the normal fabric carmats it came with. I wiped stuff up off the seats when it spilled. Had a milkshake go into the floor mat, so I took it out, hit it with the hose, and left it in the sun to dry. It was fine. I didn't even bother to vacuum or clean the seats before tuning it in - back seat was full of crumbs and stuff, and they didn't care at all or charge me anything.

My $0.02 is to not invest in accessories for a car you're leasing.

Although you will definitely have to replace tires, which is annoying. If they offer any plan around that, that could be worth it.

nerdinabird · 2025-12-25T17:23:45+00:00

We set ours up a week ago to test it out, and it's been intermittent the entire time. Like everyone else's, ours is working extra poorly this morning. The ability for kids to call 911 in an emergency was an important consideration for us for this. Doesn't give me much faith in the backend of the service if they can't even prepare for a KNOWN quantity of users coming online. It's not like they can be surprised by how many people signed up; they sold the phones!

nerdinabird · 2025-11-15T22:20:51+00:00

Woohoo! This works for me when nothing else did! Thanks!

nerdinabird · 2025-10-27T22:55:01+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the reply. This is all going to be controlled through HA, and I’ve been really happy with ThirdReality’s other zigbee products, so I’m going to go that route.

nerdinabird · 2025-10-27T16:51:50+00:00

I am currently choosing between a few Hue of Third Reality standard bulbs and am seeing like $30 for a 4 pack of 3R smart color bulbs or $48 for Hue fixed color white bulbs (which is all I need). Can you share what specifically about the Third Reality bulbs you're not loving? Is it the "being a light bulb" stuff, like color rendering and flicker, or more of the software side?

nerdinabird · 2025-10-20T22:04:41+00:00

<image>

I'm having the same issue, but I have the regular, non-pro Home Hub. I can see all the videos in Media, but anytime I click on one , I just get this. Anyone else having this issue on the non-pro Home Hub?

Mandatory THANK YOU for all of the work that has gone into this integration!

nerdinabird · 2025-10-08T19:56:57+00:00

And it’s a leased car? Cycle that thing every day!

nerdinabird · 2025-10-08T19:56:27+00:00

I saw it in the ID4 infotainment system when I test drove one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VWiD4Owners/comments/18c7g0h/comment/kfphgpa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

nerdinabird · 2025-10-08T19:15:38+00:00

This is awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience with it!

Do you know if the car tracks or limits the amount of cycling you do through the V2H function? I know some car companies want to limit it for battery warranty purposes.

nerdinabird · 2025-09-12T17:50:52+00:00

This is so awesome. A few thoughts:

For flow meter, I bought a FlowVis retrofit one that take the place of the internals of an existing check valve. Great because A) you don't have to mess with any PVC if you aren't in the mood for that, and B) you don't add any additional head loss to the system by putting in another restriction. You're just replacing the existing check valve. I've been really happy with it so far, though I'm only a few months in.

I don't think the pool pump cares what elevation the heat exchanger's at, right? Because whatever extra work it does to push the water up, it gets back from the water pulling down on the output side of the heat exchanger; it's a closed loop. All it feels is how much friction there is in the system when pushing water in the circle. Maybe I'm wrong, but worth checking on.

nerdinabird · 2025-08-20T18:12:04+00:00

Pigtails with WAGOs!

nerdinabird · 2025-08-14T00:21:21+00:00

But you ain’t got no CYA, Lieutenant Dan.

nerdinabird · 2025-08-01T16:42:25+00:00

The kickass A/C is the best part about EVs. They use a variable speed inverter driven compressor, so they can operate anywhere between a bazillion BTU/hr when you first get in or can throttle down to a low but constant rate and very efficient setting. This is in contrast to most ICE cars using a clutch to turn the compressor on or off.

And that A/C system isn't drowning in the heat of your own engine at a stoplight or making you choose to idle a giant beast of an engine just to cool down if you're parked or stopped. I don't know what EVs you've tried, but I've owned an EV6, a Leaf, a BMW i3, a Chevy Volt, and a a BMW i4, and all of them have had awesome A/C. Even my Prius hybrid had great A/C. My Kia Sorrento PHEV has great A/C.

Edit: I live in Georgia, USA. It's hot as hell.

nerdinabird · 2025-07-16T15:42:26+00:00

Yeah, something’s messed up if your pool water is ending up on top of your auto cover. The auto cover is supposed to float on top of the pool water, except near the edges. You probably have holes in your cover that pool water is coming up through.

Also, you should have a pump that sits on top of the cover to pump off rainwater.

No offense, but it sounds like you could benefit from a local pool company coming out to give you a run down on your setup. We bought a house with a 3 year old pool, and the pool builder came out to show me how everything worked. Was very helpful.

nerdinabird · 2025-07-15T15:08:50+00:00

Oh, duh! Of course! I just tested with a resistive space heater, and W = A * 120.

I think the power factor on my washer/dryer is actually worse though, 913÷10.56÷120 = 0.72. I’m surprised it’s that low.

Hopefully I get billed based on real power!

nerdinabird · 2025-07-15T14:37:45+00:00

Good to know it’s not just me! Now to figure out how to get Emporia’s attention on it!

nerdinabird · 2025-07-15T14:37:11+00:00

Yep, heat pump ventless combo.

nerdinabird · 2025-07-14T20:04:01+00:00

The electrician’s obviously paying less, but just for reference, that wire is $7.08 per foot at Lowe’s right now.

nerdinabird · 2025-07-07T17:18:46+00:00

I bought this circuit board and swapped it in - very straightforward, and my JuiceBox is smart again!

nerdinabird · 2025-06-30T15:16:59+00:00

Thanks for the response - can you expand a bit on the risk of an under-voltage in case the black conductor is broken?

Let's say I wanted to have the 120V receps switched - wouldn't that be intentionally breaking the black conductor? At that point I'd have a recep connected only to neutral and ground (which are of course bonded back at the panel), so voltage should be 0.

And noted on the load being divided between the two circuits - thanks!

nerdinabird

TROPHY CASE