Good morning!!!!

RedNeckGeek · Feb 13, 2019

Workin' on the third inch of rain since 9:30PM yesterday. No sign of it lettin' up anytime soon, but the rate may drop off. No flooding on this hill, but hard to say what's happening on the way out to the main road. There was enough wind last night and this morning to topple trees, especially those weakened by the fire.

Not a good start to the morning: No water pressure when I went to brush my teeth. Turned out to be a clogged filter, so I pulled it out and will pick up a couple more in town tomorrow. Also found out the fuse is blown in the gate opener again when I went up to open up for the solar salesman. Too wet to work on it now, so I just disconnected it. Still need to go up and close/lock the gate, but I'll let the rain die down a little first.

The young man had done his homework, and came up with what I thought was a very affordable proposal. He was able to answer all my questions, except the battery ones, mostly because they mostly have sold grid tied systems so far. The CEO lost a home in Paradise that had the new Lithium technology they're proposing, so there's not much to learn there, but another system with the same batteries is already having problems with one of the two batteries it uses. I gave him some homework to verify that whatever inverter/charger they're proposing will also work with tried-and-true lead acid batteries, and gave myself an assignment to read some reviews to find a good brand. And to also look into David's recommendation for a carbon battery, though I really want to stick with proven tech, as I consider this upgrade a safety system since my fire suppression system will depend heavily upon it in an emergency.

Hope everyone is staying warm'n'dry...

Thomas · Feb 13, 2019

jbrumberg
$13,000 estimate for all the discussed tree work here. Considering all the tree trunks already under load, the tangle of wild grapes, winter berry, autumn olives, and hung up widow makers in that thicket this seems reasonable, but I/We need to evaluate the entire project. Any opinions/experiences would be appreciated. Should I save a “Specimen Ash” tree? The chemicals used to minimize emerald ash tree borer damage is expensive and needs application every two years. I did not know this, but now OSHA advises against climbing any ash tree dead/dying from emerald ash borer damage due to risk posed by the trunk splitting.
....................................
Was the quota from Lic. tree company,was stump grinding also in the price?
Our area about thousand dollar tree down and clean up w/out stump grinding.

riptides · Feb 13, 2019

Thomas said:
Was the quota from Lic. tree company,was stump grinding also in the price?
Our area about thousand dollar tree down and clean up w/out stump grinding.

About 1500 per tree here. I usually end up taking one down a year. Around the farm house and cottage. Have six left that are in need of yearly trimming and inspections.

Thomas · Feb 13, 2019

This was indeed PITA storm little over 7"

but everything shovel snow blown plow and the next nasty mess arrives Friday

...kinda looking forward tomorrow for some rest.

Don't forget tomorrow Val,Day.

Now watching mother Doe and her 2 young slowly making there way to feeder...interesting.
Dinner about an hours watch little tv plan on hitting pillow around 9pm.

Enjoy the evening all.

Thomas · Feb 13, 2019

riptides
About 1500 per tree here. I usually end up taking one down a year. Around the farm house and cottage. Have six left that are in need of yearly trimming and inspections.
......................
If tree good enough for log/logs or fire wood do you get discount?

riptides · Feb 13, 2019

Thomas said:
......................
If tree good enough for log/logs or fire wood do you get discount?

Unfortunately no. These are silver maple types. We do get payment plans since we are a long-term customer. LOL.

I do use the wood for the fireplace, but again, it is Silver Maple. More like kindling.

lostcreekranch · Feb 13, 2019

Steppenwolfe said:
Most LED lights need their own drivers, some can be built in, others are separate. There is no need for ballasts on LED's. It's a new world when it comes to lighting today.

ALL LED's require drivers or DC power supplies. The Plug n' Play tubes have an internal driver. Some, more expensive lights have external drivers to power multiple LED Lights.

Some of the replacement LED tubes are powered by 120 Volts AC, 60 Hz. applied to the two terminals on one end of the tube. The other end simply mechanically secures the tube. These tubes would have a distinct "power end".

Others require "hot" to one end and "neutral" to opposite end. This is most likely the style of the Costco replacement tubes.

The question is, when using the Plug n' Play tubes, is whether to disconnect the ballast and connect the tombstones directly to the 120 VAC incoming power.

The ballast (electronic or magnetic), if used to power the LED's has significantly higher power consumption than the LED's direct connected to 120 VAC, reducing the lower power benefit of LED lights. Some LED tubes may not even work with some old "magnetic" ballast in older fixtures.

Another issue, for consideration, is that at "power on" the ballast output can be 300 volts or more, to "fire" the fluorescent tube. Then the ballast output drops to 90-100 volts to keep fluorescent tube lit. Powering the LED tubes at 90-100 volts will reduce light output almost proportionally. Reducing the voltage from 120 VAC to 100 VAC would reduce output by about 20%.

A fixture using 2 x 1700 lumen tubes or 3400 lumens total would be reduced to an output of 2720 lumens at 100 volts.

LED's are rated in lumens per watt and seems most of the plug n' play tubes are about 100 lumens / watt. Increase watts .... increase lumens.

I also suspect that hitting the LED driver / DC power supply with 300+ volts every time you turn it on could / reduce the life of the driver?

lostcreekranch · Feb 13, 2019

RedNeckGeek said:
I just pulled the tubes and stuck in the FEIT LEDs on mine. I can confirm the fast on and much improved brightness, but I didn't do any before and after comparisons on power consumption with the ballasts still in there. I suppose the other liability is that if the ballast quits, you need to replace it with another ballast? Clearly, you should do summore research for us, Rick!:laughing:

I have RNG. See my response to Mr. Steppenwolfe.

300UGUY · Feb 13, 2019

riptides said:
About 1500 per tree here. I usually end up taking one down a year. Around the farm house and cottage. Have six left that are in need of yearly trimming and inspections.

Wow. I had 5 trees taken out this year for $1500. 70+ feet tall, a couple of them multi trunk trees. All of them too close to my house and garage for me to do it myself. They chipped all the small stuff, under about 4 inches. Everything else was cut into 5 to 8 ft sections. No climbing, all bucket work. I’ll turn the trunks into firewood over the next few months. I guess things are just cheaper here.

sodamo · Feb 13, 2019

Had to take a couple of rain breaks and no painting, but progress

sodamo · Feb 13, 2019

RedNeckGeek said:
Workin' on the third inch of rain since 9:30PM yesterday. No sign of it lettin' up anytime soon, but the rate may drop off. No flooding on this hill, but hard to say what's happening on the way out to the main road. There was enough wind last night and this morning to topple trees, especially those weakened by the fire.

Not a good start to the morning: No water pressure when I went to brush my teeth. Turned out to be a clogged filter, so I pulled it out and will pick up a couple more in town tomorrow. Also found out the fuse is blown in the gate opener again when I went up to open up for the solar salesman. Too wet to work on it now, so I just disconnected it. Still need to go up and close/lock the gate, but I'll let the rain die down a little first.

The young man had done his homework, and came up with what I thought was a very affordable proposal. He was able to answer all my questions, except the battery ones, mostly because they mostly have sold grid tied systems so far. The CEO lost a home in Paradise that had the new Lithium technology they're proposing, so there's not much to learn there, but another system with the same batteries is already having problems with one of the two batteries it uses. I gave him some homework to verify that whatever inverter/charger they're proposing will also work with tried-and-true lead acid batteries, and gave myself an assignment to read some reviews to find a good brand. And to also look into David's recommendation for a carbon battery, though I really want to stick with proven tech, as I consider this upgrade a safety system since my fire suppression system will depend heavily upon it in an emergency.

Hope everyone is staying warm'n'dry...

Might want to look at Outback offerings.
While they were the goto source for off grid years ago, it seems most of the products are dual function, maybe even an emphasis on grid tied.

Energy Storage - OutBack Power Inc

Might want to explore their forum as well.

Jim Shooz · Feb 13, 2019

ronjhall said:
Kissing Gates.:confused2:
Not what I expected. :laughing:

How am I going to get my bike through that ??

txdon · Feb 13, 2019

JB about $1200 per large tree here with no stump grinding and they take the firewood for free or leave it in large long chunks in your designated place. They are insured but were hesitant to contact their insurance when they broke a fence saying they could repair it and come out ahead because of their deductible. They did a good job. Remember that stump that took me three days to remove with a BH, That was the size of tree.

mostly_gas · Feb 13, 2019

Good evening all. 34F for the start, clear, light breeze. Wind started to pick about 10, sky began to cloud up in the afternoon and high temp about 62F. Men's meeting in the morning, bike shortly after, After lunch and nap change oil in van and glue running board cover in place. Dog walk rounds out the day.
Stay safe y'all.
prayers for all.

RedNeckGeek · Feb 14, 2019

rlgustafson said:
I have RNG. See my response to Mr. Steppenwolfe.

I see lots of questions in that response. More helpful would be links that explained how the magic LED tubes can work without disconnecting the ballasts, and whether or not the ballast still consumes energy.

I'm sorry I'm too busy chasing electrical gremlins that seem to be coming out of the woodwork, probably due to the rains, to be much help flushing out the answers to these burning questions. I'm just happy that my garage lights still come on, but then I've probably just jinxed myself, and tomorrow morning I'll get to find out why they no longer work...:confused2:

RedNeckGeek · Feb 14, 2019

sodamo said:
Might want to look at Outback offerings.
While they were the goto source for off grid years ago, it seems most of the products are dual function, maybe even an emphasis on grid tied.

Energy Storage - OutBack Power Inc

Might want to explore their forum as well.

Thanks, David. I've seen Outback ads, and articles about homes that used Outback hardware, for years in the now defunct Home Power magazine. They have a very good reputation.

The fella that visited today admitted he was pretty much a salesman, and was very good on the ROI type stuff, but it's clear this outfit really only has depth of experience with grid tied systems. Tomorrow I'll start digging for a local solar outfit that has years of battery backed experience because I get the feeling the company I'm dealing with is looking for a project to learn on, and that's definitely not me.:shocked:

RoyJackson · Feb 14, 2019

2019-02-14, 0324

23 right now...high in the low 30's

This is a quote from a post I wrote in another thread:

I was hitting my neighbor's drive with the snow blower and BANG! Well, I figured it was a shear pin...and, probably is. There was an old entryway rug (the thick kind) under the snow....now it's entangled in the auger and fan. I can see what I'll be doing this weekend.
The Frontier snow blower has, IIRC, two shear pins...one is on the PTO shaft and I think the other one is on the auger drive shaft. I'll look it up in the manual later.
Not sure how I'm going to get that rug out...but it surely ain't gonna be in one piece

Looking4new · Feb 14, 2019

0 and going to a high of 23°F. Wind NW 13 mph. 70% chance of snow.

The inch we were supposed to get last night didn't happen. That will give me a chance to clean up here today.

Clean up the snow piles and then a town run and that will be my day, shot.

Have a good day all

daugen · Feb 14, 2019

Roy, your story made me cringe. They sure do get wedged in there...reminds me of hitting the Sunday papers folks did not pick up just before a snow; here I was helping them with their driveways and then I spent literally hours digging a soggy yet totally jammed newpaper out of the Gravely's auger. Grrrrrrr.

Good morning all. 31 going up to 63 today, and 73 tomorrow.

picking up house for housecleaners, then waiting for Massey dealer to come get my tractor. Good time for them to fix it, the ground is wet enough I'm just leaving tracks all over the fields. When it gets back I'll put the finish mower on the rear and then it will be time to mow roadsides again.

Putting finishing touches on my powerpoint presentation to the local garden club tomorrow morning. Feeding The Hungry, Part One. Sure has been a long time since I did a powerpoint. Picked up a little laser pointer, allegedly it advances the PP slide but that part didn't work.

But it was Plug and Play so it has to work, right?

Yeah, like all quick hitches actually line up or
ethanol gas can't be bad for you if the government is behind it.
Un huh.