Good morning!!!!

[sodamo]

Good luck with Sears Bird.
We have almost all Sears/Kenmore and the warranty plan. Not sure if I get the value, but at this point suspect as soon as I don’t renew I’ll have multiple failures as the major units are going on 14yo.

 

[kenmbz]

David MFW -In MA where my uncle used to live the lumberjacks are all out of work from stripping out the old hardwoods. The lumber companies planted crappy pine, which will spread fire and burn hotter than the old growth. Be careful what you wish for in logging. Controlled burns and fire breaks seem to work best. It's what the Native Americans used to do and the Parks are trying to adopt it now. After seeing the blight in Yosemite from not letting the burns happening, they finally figured out clearcutting was not working and neither was fire suppression.
We now get most of our hard woods from asia since so little left in the US. Paper goods are expensive for a reason.

RNG - I hope this means that the fire is getting under control. I know a lot of people who got through camp fire with only the clothes they were wearing.

 

[sodamo]

Glad to hear you survived the night RNG and things appear more positive.

Your trips to and from generator can be programed in. Then again maybe just a bit like me, I physical walk out to my system every morning and record readings in Numbers. Of course I could just adjust and get same info off OpticRE and just adjust to midnight vs when I get out there in morning. I justify by saying the watt meter aren’t connected.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG - I hope this means that the fire is getting under control. I know a lot of people who got through camp fire with only the clothes they were wearing.

I had four hours to pack before evacuating from the Camp Fire, Ken. Then I wasn't allowed to return to my property for almost a month, even though the house was intact and had power. Since then I've made enough improvements that I've maybe fooled myself into thinking I can survive the next fire when it gets here. Regardless, I have no intention of evacuating next time.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Glad to hear you survived the night RNG and things appear more positive.

Your trips to and from generator can be programed in. Then again maybe just a bit like me, I physical walk out to my system every morning and record readings in Numbers. Of course I could just adjust and get same info off OpticRE and just adjust to midnight vs when I get out there in morning. I justify by saying the watt meter aren’t connected.

I'd like to avoid trips out to the garage to start the generator, David, but haven't figured out how to do it yet through OpticsRE. The low sunlight we're seeing now is something of an anomaly, and I'm not sure what kind of programming would be used as a work around.

But since the battery bank has been carrying the loads overnight, I'm paying a lot more attention to its voltage level. And I'm also seeing that grid power is being used to charge them during the day when there seems to be plenty of juice available from the panels to do it. Probably because the A/C unit draws more power than the panels can provide at times, but even then, that short time load should be met with current from the battery, not the grid.

As for tweaking the system, I don't know enough about how to do that in a constructive fashion yet. Besides, until the contractor has finished his punch list, I don't want my meddling to be used as an excuse for something not working the way it should.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good morning, no sun today, however it is dry and with plenty of wind on the way, that is all we need until the grass which was cut yesterday is ready for baling.

RNG, your pictures and writing really bring home what a dire situation the people in your area are in when one of those fires gets out of hand. Take extra care until this is over and do think twice if you need to attempt anything that you haven't already planned and practiced. Good luck.

LS, September Snow !

BEF, thanks for the explanation, I was struggling as all the quilts I think of are 3 dimensional soft squishy things like bed covers or cushions. So these barn quilts are really a 2d, all weather celebration of the traditional sewing skills that used to go into quilt making, before the craft got hijacked by people who prefer to paint ? Sorry artists, only kidding ! :laughing:

A lady friend that just passed away used to hand stitch all her quilts, none done by machine. Using a machine on a quilt was an insult to her.

 

[sodamo]

I'd like to avoid trips out to the garage to start the generator, David, but haven't figured out how to do it yet through OpticsRE. The low sunlight we're seeing now is something of an anomaly, and I'm not sure what kind of programming would be used as a work around.

But since the battery bank has been carrying the loads overnight, I'm paying a lot more attention to its voltage level. And I'm also seeing that grid power is being used to charge them during the day when there seems to be plenty of juice available from the panels to do it. Probably because the A/C unit draws more power than the panels can provide at times, but even then, that short time load should be met with current from the battery, not the grid.

As for tweaking the system, I don't know enough about how to do that in a constructive fashion yet. Besides, until the contractor has finished his punch list, I don't want my meddling to be used as an excuse for something not working the way it should.

Actually pretty easy in OpticsRE
Open your OpticsRE, see Wheel symbol top right corner


Can also do via Devices, Mate3, AGS, but more steps.

Sorry, can’t help with the grid charging issue, but I’ll wager someone on Outback Forum knows exactly. As for the sun, I see a significant change between seasons but don’t adjust any settings. For off grid it would only be battery charging parameters but never seen any advocating doing so. Once charging parameters are met the system takes care of itself be it 11AM or 2PM. I know there are days I waste sunshine, but honestly don’t care. Now days in deficit, I really care.

As for “meddling” I’d be tempted to put onus back on them.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Good luck with Sears Bird.
We have almost all Sears/Kenmore and the warranty plan. Not sure if I get the value, but at this point suspect as soon as I don’t renew I’ll have multiple failures as the major units are going on 14yo.

I’m not a fan of appliance warranties. So far I still use the dishwasher and stove bought new with my house 23 yrs ago. The fridge lasted almost 20 yrs. as long as parts are available most are pretty easy to fix.

 

[sodamo]

Dennis, Basically I‘m not a fan either but after a couple of calls under the original warranties and reading that the washer and dryer were prone to problems I bit the bullet. At this point the beer cooler and dishwasher are only items never needing repair, but I have availed self of the annual PM check. I guess $50/month for 10 appliances isn’t that onerous, but when I renew for 2 years it does cause me to think.

 

[kenmbz]

I have my (old) oil burner/wood burner and my AC under contract. I fix everything else or buy when wife makes me.
Have fixed refrigerators, dish washers, and just recently replace motor and inverter board on my washing machine.
It matters how much effort you want to spend on fixing vs.calling and cost of repair.
Washing machine over $200
Fridge - about $30 every 2 years for hinges and other wear items
Dish Washer - $30 for new solenoid.

So made money fridge and dish washer, broke even on Washing machine for what it would cost for extended warranties.
Time is also a big issue, and if you will lose money by spending time fixing things, that needs to weigh in, I just use spare time so little cost to me.
I also like fixing things (as long as it's something within my ability) for the rest, I pay someone that can do it better

David-$50/month sounds very reasonable. Do they charge you any service fees ?