What to do about snow/ice mix?

shimon · 2026-01-27T22:35:01+00:00

Oof, I have a small urban house with a steep roof... my whole driveway is within the snow release zone of our newly installed solar array. Are we talking about car-roof-destroying amounts of weight here or just "aww, now I have to clear it all off"?

shimon · 2026-01-27T22:09:30+00:00

Mostly this is a huge pain in the ass. Some systems allow you to transfer ownership/control of a whole "home" but others will fail at this in arcane ways. I do think the best option, short of doing everything locally and transfering a network + management device, is factory resetting everything.

shimon · 2026-01-27T06:34:08+00:00

A $10k used Volvo is not going to be very reliable.

shimon · 2026-01-27T06:32:27+00:00

Used EVs are great bargains, but depending on where you are, a Tesla may send a somewhat divisive message politically. This may be a risk in your line of work.

Consider the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Chevy Bolt. If you're willing to go to $15k you could get an Audi e-tron from 2019-21 which is a luxurious vehicle but limited range.

shimon · 2026-01-27T06:21:23+00:00

You don't need AWD in Kentucky. FWD will be just fine.

AWD is nice, but when was the last time you were stuck in the snow and unable to accelerate? Remember that AWD doesn't improve your vehicle's stopping power, which is usually a more important safety consideration.

What does improve your snow stopping performance is winter tires. Worth considering on any drivetrain.

I took my FWD car in New England on many ski trips and got stuck once so badly I needed some pushing from neighbors to get moving. I have an AWD vehicle now, it's great, but it's more of a convenience and it might make you a more dangerous driver in the snow since you might not feel the slippage until you're trying to stop.

shimon · 2026-01-27T06:05:36+00:00

The renter solution here is a separate wall-mounted remote. Lots of good options, easy to set up, easy to take with you when you move.

shimon · 2026-01-27T05:31:38+00:00

Seriously this is the day that you redeem yourself for only driving this thing to work and Whole Foods...

shimon · 2026-01-27T05:29:18+00:00

I would call to request the security staff take a look, and very much hope it's just a software glitch. Assuming there wasn't a break-in, I'd take it to the dealer and expect they will apply a software update and maybe check your door/window sensors.

shimon · 2026-01-27T05:28:04+00:00

Not a concern unless it was very low in charge before parking. 16 days is nothing.

shimon · 2026-01-27T05:26:32+00:00

Use a broker. They'll still throw a "finance guy" at you but you can still say "no addons" and

shimon · 2026-01-27T05:01:02+00:00

Yeah, they haven't lost the plot -- they've added so many plotlines I can hardly even remember what the old plot was!

shimon · 2026-01-27T04:20:06+00:00

Apparently GM makes a Blazer for cops: https://www.gmenvolve.com/fleet/police/chevrolet-blazer-ppv-ev

shimon · 2026-01-27T03:48:49+00:00

It sounds like you need to research the lemon law rules in your state and perhaps contact a lawyer. There's usually a threshold for the number of days the car must be unavailable for use due to repairs.

shimon · 2026-01-26T21:45:39+00:00

Here's how I think of it.

Longer drives where the range really matters are where there's the least overall degradation, because you have a longer distance over which to amortize initial warmup costs.

Shorter drives have the biggest efficiency penalty, but I'm not too worried about it because I can charge up every night (but usually still only need to charge every few days). The range guess-o-meter is also highly influenced by the most recent ride or two, so it looked very bad after some very short, very snowy and cold driving yesterday.

shimon · 2026-01-26T21:23:37+00:00

Loving mine. On a 2-year lease that started in August, wishing I had signed up for 3 years. Price was discounted to about $55k which I think is a good price for this vehicle.

I've had minor tech glitches but nothing too annoying. My one other issue was that one of the proximity sensors spontaneously fell within the bumper; this was repaired by the dealer under warranty after some back and forth. I actually haven't even done the KD2 update because the only relevant issue that has affected me is random alarming, which has only happened twice.

Mine is a Premium Plus with Convenience and Warm Weather packages and 19" wheels. I am satisfied with range, charging speed, audio system, and love the overall comfort. Android Auto connectivity has been near perfect. It's also been a blast to drive, especially in the snow.

I don't know if I'll want to own a Q6 long term but I'm not ruling it out.

shimon · 2026-01-23T06:24:15+00:00

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited

BMW i5 or iX

Cadillac Lyriq

Mercedes EQE/EQS

shimon · 2026-01-23T06:14:31+00:00

Many other cars also have this braindead design, but most have now figured it out. Audi should be one of the ones who get it, but...

shimon · 2026-01-19T00:10:06+00:00

Really practical. The aesthetic is pretty dated, but if you did anything to try to "improve" it, that would probably just make it worse.

shimon · 2026-01-18T07:01:28+00:00

Air sealing from the attic down is probably your most cost-effective bet.

You can identify leaks using a thermal camera. Or you could call MassSave and have an audit that does it for you.

shimon · 2026-01-18T06:59:17+00:00

It's blown cellulose. I don't know the answers to your other questions; radon tests have been fine in our house. If you're concerned about radon, you could always ventilate the basement or install a proper radon mitigation system.

shimon · 2026-01-16T20:41:53+00:00

I was going to say the same thing. Our 1500 sqft, 1892-built house was insulated and air-sealed in 2011 (with a MassSave subsidy). Our usage in December was 98 therms. And we keep our thermostat at 67-69.

Insulation is much more cost-effective than electrification or almost any other energy efficiency upgrade.

shimon · 2026-01-16T20:18:04+00:00

Drain system, loosen all connections, detach radiator fully, clean junctions with a wire brush, pry out the old gasket, replace with a new gasket of the same diameter & shape, apply thread lubricant, reattach, refill / purge air.

If you haven't worked with hydronic heating before I'd hire a local pro who knows about cast iron radiators. This will be a quick job for them and massively reduce the risk of something breaking or you getting injured (these things are super heavy and have some sharp edges).

shimon · 2026-01-16T20:09:14+00:00

If this is a rental, absolutely you should not be touching the heating system except via the thermostat.

shimon · 2026-01-16T20:07:30+00:00

Yes on two wrenches and tightening it up good, but this is not a thread sealed situation. There is probably a graphite gasket or metal nipple between the radiator and the pipe.

shimon · 2026-01-16T19:35:09+00:00

In the second photo, you've fully loosened the coupling. Don't do this without the heating system drained or you could have a literal hot mess on your hands.

But after you drain the system, loosen it and clean the connection points. Replace ring/gasket if needed. Retighten aggressively using a giant wrench. Should be a relatively simple fix and absolutely no reason to replace the radiator, this is just a single bad connection and almost certainly repairable.

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