Twinsprings Research Institute

EG4 Solar Powered Mini Split

Posted on August 25, 2025 by ellen

It’s been awhile since I got excited and motivated to install an upgrade to the house.
We are in the process of adding solar to the front overhang because we had stored 12 panels from our original solar installation that my son thought he might use but didn’t. I looked into having them installed in the back yard on a rack but the cost was prohibitive. Almost as much as our original roof install. Instead I decided to bolt them to our south overhang. While hooking them up to the inverter is not finished, we could only fit 10 panels across the front of the house. So 2 panels were left over. I tested one in full sun and it was delivering 65 volts.

I had heard of the EG4 solar powered mini splits so I looked up the cost. Originally they were over $2000 but must not be selling well. Signature Solar carries them and the 12,000 btu 115 volt version was on sale for $1499 plus shipping. It took some email communication before the order went through. Shipping is quoted separately.

I bought the 12,000 Btu unit that came as a kit with DIY hoses. We needed extra cooling in the back hallway. And the crawlspace fan included a convenient chase for the refrigerant hoses and signal cable. The chase access is in the master bedroom closet just behind the rear hallway.

Vent pipe opening in closet allowed chase for mini split hoses and signal cable — Vent pipe opening in closet allowed a chase for mini split hoses and signal cable

I just had to descend into the crawlspace and drill a hole through the outside perimeter joist. I had to cut it from both sides to penetrate the whole board.

I was worried that the refrigerant hoses would not be long enough but they just made the distance.

The electrical hookup is direct from the panels to the compressor. I read that in order to be safe I should cover the panels.

The panels are wired in series and connect to a 20 amp circuit breaker. The EG4 needs at least 90 volts to run so two panels can provide at least that much. The minisplit also has 110 volt backup power that I connected to an outside outlet without other feeds.

The AC wire is in conduit but the DC is exposed. They are connected through waterproof lugs at the emergency shutoff and the compressor. The panels are also grounded with an 8 ft grounding pole. Sinking that pole was a challenge. We used the trickle of water method. At one point I rented a power hammer but the size that I could handle didn’t work well.

The refrigerant hose connections were made and tested with a digital gas detection meter. These are DIY hoses with valves trapping the refrigerant until they are screwed in fully.

Unfortunately even though there was a template for the hole in the wall for the pipes, the pipes could not be stuffed under the evaporator inside unit. I think if I lower the unit just a bit the pipes will fit completely.

Drilled hole is a bit too high. — Drilled hole is a bit too low.

The IOS software app is pretty robust. I spent some time analyzing some of the program settings. I’m impressed by how “smart” the system settings are. The unit has available settings but the app’s general settings also allows variables such as weather and solar input to control how the each connected unit performs. I can set it to turn on if solar input is a certain amount or turn off if the weather report is cloudy. It can be programmed to limit the amount of AC power used and to reset this feature every time it turns on following a schedule. I have it set to run from 11 to 5 when the sun is strongest and the temps are highest. It will not try to if there is not enough solar or if the regional weather says it’s cloudy.
Although the evaporator is hung a little too high. I have yet to bother with lowering it.

The unit has been working about a month and it keeps the rear bedrooms about 78 degrees mostly with sunshine. I set it at 78° as that just takes the edge off 100° days.
I had to extend the back stair to protect the hoses. I built them on the first cloudy 80 degree day after a stretch of really hot sunny weather when working outside was too miserable.

The first level is higher than the old step and fastened to 2×4’s like the original back step.

The second layer is secured to two heavy post ends that have been near the back door for some time. The refrigerant hoses, cable and drain are off to the side and protected.

We are enjoying one cool spot in the house since our Mr Cool minisplit stopped cooling at about the same time as this upgrade. This hybrid approach seems to be a wonderful way to keep cool!

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Victron RV Upgrades

Posted on March 28, 2025 by ellen

I have been using Victron solar and battery meter equipment in the RV since we installed solar. The Victron Cerbo allows access to the equipment through WiFi.
The WiFi access is available through phone apps. But it’s not easy to set up from the iPhone and some equipment can’t be configured. So for Christmas I asked for and received the GX-50 monitor. This I installed in the entry under the inverter remote. This is a wired remote so there was an extra hole to drill inside the refrigerator compartment and wire to snake through where others run.
Our black water tank sensor no longer reads its contents so I was intrigued that I could set up a Bluetooth tank sensor that the Cerbo can read. It’s a Mopeka Pro. This is the newer version that can be read by the Cerbo

It was just a matter of cleaning the black tank surface well and applying the ring that holds the device. No wiring required. The device does use a coin battery. This device can be set to be read from the Cerbo or from its own app. But it’s Bluetooth so have to be close to it to read it on the app. I tested it on a trip to the sand dunes last week and the cerbo read it as 100% full while the Bluetooth app read it as 20% full. So I have to remeasure it for size and set it up again in the Cerbo.
Much more difficult was the install of the AC energy meter also from Victron. I found a good photo of an RV installation and tried to copy it. But I had a difficult time finding the components. The meter requires a circuit breaker and .5 amp fuse. But the photo recommended a full size fuse holder. This larger fuse in .5 amp format was almost impossible to find. Plenty of 1 and 10 amp options. I finally found a package of five on Amazon and I believe they shipped directly from China because acquiring them took a month. (Fast Blow Ceramic Fuse 10x38mm Fuse 500V 0.5A)
I mounted the new meter on a short rail as on the photo but then I had no wall in the water compartment to mount it to. I tried screwing it into the compartment frame but it broke off the power connection to the cerbo when the screen house bumped it. I then had to figure out what connection was being used to plug it in. Luckily I was able to pull out the broken part and reinsert the new one.

Sample wiring for energy meter with .5 ma fuse and circuit breaker — Sample wiring for energy meter with .5 amp fuse and circuit breaker

Energy meter, fuse, circuit breaker, Cerbo

I decided the best place to connect the energy meter for all AC power was in the transfer switch. I had used romex to wire the Electrical Management system to the transfer switch but apparently in an RV I should have used flexible marine wire. So to start this project wiring I had to go all the way back to the EMS wiring and switch the romex to transfer switch wiring to flexible wire.

Progressive Industries Electrical Management System

The next error in the transfer switch was the use of twist nuts to secure the wires. Also not recommended for RV’s although I have them elsewhere I decided to fix these. The switch came with Wago connectors and I took out all the twist connectors and installed Wagos. The first order was wrong and for much tinier wire. They come in more than one size. So I returned them and bought larger wire sizes. I also bought both 2 and 3 wire versions so I could eliminate the jumper wires.

I was finally ready to install the new meter. I used the Canbus on the Cerbo (the other possibility is through a Ethernet switch) which is connected to the Cerbo with RJ 45 wire and end connectors. This is very similar to the old Apple network devices. I have several old RJ 45 cables but when I was having issues connecting to the Cerbo I bought a special Victron cable. That wasn’t the problem but that’s what I’m using.

Victron Cerbo and new Energy meter wired

The small green plug on the far right of the second photo is the one I had to replace. This is a Phoenix Type Connector 3.5mm 2Pin that I ordered from Digi Key and also found on Amazon.

I notice that here the end connector for the Canbus is not yet installed. The directions say insert the end connector but does not mention both sides. I had to realize that was necessary on my own. But I quickly understood it. The small black wire goes to the wire clamp on the AC feed to the breaker box. The meter came with three clamps in case it’s used on 3 phase wiring. I broke two of them before I successfully used the remaining one. The latches are very delicate.
Finally the energy meter showed up on the GX device. This is why the GX is superior to the WiFi. It has more information in easier to read screens and more configuration capability.

Energy meter discovered VM-3P75VT-above the blue highlight

I had one final problem though. I had set the meter to read AC load as that is what I wanted to display. I could not figure out why it wasn’t showing the AC loads on the display page. So I turned to my wonderful vendor where I bought the meter. It turns out the meter will only read grid usage. That is actually the same measurement because I have it installed to read all AC going through the transfer switch whether inverter or generator or shore power. The technician from NAZ Solar and Wind logged in for me and found the issue and reset the configuration to read grid power instead of AC load. This is the kind of vendor support that makes using a specialty company worthwhile.

Real time WiFi connection to RV power system

I don’t get all the possible data because I did not invest in one critical piece of equipment that provides it. The Victron multiplus inverter/ charger is a much larger piece of equipment and much more expensive than I wanted to invest. I’m happy I can read all AC power use whether from shore, inverter or generator although not each one separately.
As is often the case this project turned out to be much more involved than I expected. But I’m glad it’s done and done better than I had connected the switch originally. I still don’t have a place to mount this equipment but the bar keeps it all together in the water tank compartment. For now it’s working.

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New Well Pump

Posted on March 5, 2025 by ellen

We bought the house with an existing well pump system that had been installed in June of 2000. It was still working fine in February of 2025. However we had plugged in the circuit breaker incorrectly so that it was only on one 120v leg. Since I had power at the well circuit box, I thought it was just fine for power but we had no water pressure and I could not get the lever on the pressure switch to restore water to the pressure tank. So we called the number on the well tank and asked for service.

The company that had originally installed the system had been bought by another but luckily the phone number still contacted a well company in Boulder/Longmont. After some preliminary diagnosis they found the misinstalled circuit breaker and moved it. But they confirmed that the well pump had been installed in 2000 and it had never been replaced according to the state records. I asked if we should replace it before it wore out and they offered a new type of system run by a Grundfos pump.

I did some research on the new system and read about constant pressure systems. It is more efficient that the old variable pressure systems. “Grundfos SQE constant pressure pump is uniquely designed with an intelligent built-in variable speed motor which can speed up or slow down depending upon the amount of water consumed. As more water is required, the pump will increase its speed and likewise as less water is required, will slow down. This allows the home owner to comfortably use for example, the shower, washing machine and irrigation sprinklers all at the same time, and unlike conventional pumps, there will be no loss of water pressure.”

This new system is the same horsepower but runs constantly when the water is running. The pressure tank is constantly refilled instead of filling to a certain pressure and then using the stored water until the pressure drops as in the old system. The benefit of the large tank was that if the power went off the pressure in the tank would hold for some use before we were out of water. That is not true of the new system. However, having solar battery backup should help with any power outages we experience.

As usual watching the installation was interesting. The truck they brought had a large crane extension that allowed them to pull the pvc well pipe out in full 20 foot sections. The pipe runs the entire 300 ft down the well. They just used two large pipe wrenches to separate the pipe sections. After the first pipe was pulled the second and third were stained brown with the iron and manganese in our well water. That staining shows how well our filter system works.

The inside installation just consisted of a new shut off switch, a new controller, and the small pressure tank. The rest of our system was hooked to that. They also installed a new well cap, redid the wire all the way to the pump and added a new outdoor spigot. Our old spigot stopped working about a year ago so having outdoor water again will be great.

Indoors we added space to the utility room but not enough space to add another big tank if we needed one for a different hot water heating system. That was kind of a disappointment. But one of the installers said we could always use the garage. I guess if we could figure out how the pipe from the tank would get to the utility room that would be true. From the old well pipe to the new pressure tank, they used 1″ Pex with an expansion type of connector. The water is routed to the MangOx filter, then to the whole house filter, then to the pressure tank and on to our house systems. The new pressure is quite a bit higher than we had in the house with the old system. We are surprised by how the faucets deliver water now, especially the shower. Wow!

Old well pipe to new 1" Pex — Old well pipe to new 1″ Pex

Although we gained space, the old space seemed to store just as much stuff as the new! I set up a new shelf system and bought wire baskets for the new and the old shelving systems. I just had to take down the old shoe storage for cleaning supplies and move them to the new shelves. It really does look organized now though.

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Nuisance GFCI

Posted on March 5, 2025 by ellen

Today I replaced a GFCI breaker with a regular breaker. After our rewiring in 2016 we had all GFCI outlets installed in the bathrooms but the GFCI breakers were not replaced in the panel. One tripped in the middle of the night. I tried to turn it back on and it sparked and turned off. So I thought no big deal we have circuits left over from some they removed. So I proceeded to disconnect the GFCI to replace it.
The Emporia Vue Energy system that I installed to monitor our electrical use made a mess of our power box. I can’t fit the cover on. But it helps to monitor the electricity us of the 16 circuits it covers. Other circuits are monitored by the Efergy system.

The leftover regular 20 amp circuit was an easy install. I just had to extract the two white and one black GFCI wires from this tangle and replace with just one black and white.

Unfortunately the circuit breaker was difficult for me to plug back into the box. As I was doing it another breaker popped out. That one happened to be the well 220 circuit. I had to call Dave to plug them back in for me because no matter how much I tried I could not get them to plug in.

Dave got it right away but made a small error. That led to a much bigger project!

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Challenges and Successes in 2024

Posted on February 20, 2025 by ellen

In a year so many things are created and break and have to be fixed! My big hobby this year was using the Cricut cutter to make several projects. I ran into a Cricut guru on the Internet that I really liked and followed along with the inspired projects. Here are some of the Cricut creations.

Updated the New Energy Colorado shelter cover — Sublimation mug by Wolfy

For Christmas I received a new printer to convert to sublimation using Hippo ink. I set it up and have a new hobby to add to the Cricut designs. Sublimation transfers the ink to a polyester material–also anything treated with sublimation spray or underlying iron on vinyl. Can transfer detailed photos instead of shapes like iron on vinyl.

New hobby--sublimation printer — New hobby–sublimation printer

The RV had several updates and issues.

RV water valve connections leaking — RV water valve connections repaired

Valve for winterization doesn't work — Valve for winterization doesn’t work

Plumbing repair in RV didn't work--still leaking — Plumbing repair in RV didn’t work–still leaking

Broken compartment screwed back in and taped

Since the RV is winterized I cannot tell if the repairs to the plumbing near the valves will work. I also repaired the broken latches using large stainless steel washers and new latches. No idea why the winterization valve doesn’t work!

Other broken stuff:

Pole and shelf fell down--repaired — Pole and shelf fell down–repaired

Mini split issue with draining — Mini split issue with drain pump–doesn’t work!

Hot tub repair stops leaking on high jets

Cannot keep radon below 4 in winter–No solution yet.

High dissolved solids (TDS) Time to change the water. Company for this sensor replaced the unit electronics. Even included shipping from France!

Heater is a pizza warmer with an inexpensive hamper inside. Using two food warmers to provide heat. Takes awhile to heat up the towels and ponchos but they do feel good when it’s really cold out and time to get out of the hot tub.

More repairs and upgrades to come. Also more crafts.

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A New Year- 2025

Posted on January 7, 2025 by ellen

We are slowing way down on adding improvements to our passive solar home. Some projects have ended in utter failure and some just can’t find an installer or building to further our dreams. But its a new year and maybe there will be more action!

2024 in retrospect was about travel.

In March we visited my brother and cousin in Florida and with our grandson who was staying with us at the time, we all went to San Marcos Island and visited the Everglades National Park.

In April we enjoyed Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs and visited the beautiful Garden of the Gods with our son’s in-laws.

We had the privilege of joining the Baek family for a wedding in Seoul South Korea. We visited several famous sites in the city, then we traveled to Jeju Island for a weeks’ vacation.

We bought a Tesla Y Long Range and decided to take it to Indiana to join some friends there for their 50th anniversary party. We visited friends along the way and back and set up the Tesla for camping.

We returned to Indiana in late summer in our RV on our way to visit our son and his wife in Virginia stopping at Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Falling Water house and on our return visiting Dave’s brother and wife and my brother and cousin and then camping out at the Indiana Dunes with a reunion get-together with my high school friends.

In November I went to California to visit my sister and my nieces.

Finally in December we were blessed with visits from my son’s in-laws Cheung-Baek and were happy to join the family to open presents and enjoy Christmas dinner together. I used the Cricut machine and transfer vinyl to create get-together t-shirts for all fourteen of us. We celebrated the New Year together. Then everyone left and 2025 began.

The tree at my son's house — The tree at my son’s house

Family together--with crafted t-shirts — Family together–with crafted t-shirts

T-Shirts image is a mountain with snow and a stream and the saying is “Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Family is Here, Happy New Year!

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Birthday Camping

Posted on January 3, 2025 by ellen

I like to go camping with the family for my birthday weekend every year. This year we tried Eleven Mile State Park for the first time. There is a small reservoir and a marina and a few electric sites for RVs but lots of tent sites in several campgrounds.

We had reasonably good weather for mid May at 8500 ft. elevation. It was cool and sunny and stormed in the afternoon and overnight. There was a lot of wind and times and the gusts threatened to blow away our shelter but it stakes out very well from the middle hubs.

It was a typical idyllic camping weekend in Colorado.

We had the grandkids with us and my son and his wife drove up for an overnight. They tried sleeping in the Tesla but didn’t inflate the mattress so were really uncomfortable. I should have helped them!

The kids love the fire and roasting marshmallows and of course s’mores which have to be part of at least one night of a camping trip. The kids always find something to do.

The elevation was a bit high for the older folks at over 10,000 ft. So we spent some time relaxing inside the RV. Driving to see the reservoir was lovely too.

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Major RV Roof Leak During Hail Storm

Posted on May 7, 2024 by ellen

It was actually the vent not the roof. We were camping overnight with the grandkids to break up the weekend when their parents were taking a birthday trip to New York City. The campground was also a shorter drive to their Saturday Korean school than from our house.

We visited Chatfield Farms, a second site for the Denver Botanic Garden. These gardens have a more rural influence and they grow vegetables and have an orchard there. The treehouse was a kid favorite and the non-honey bee hotel was built by a girl scout troop. We also talked about Ben Franklin and lightning rods and the kids liked the flooded creek.

The Chatfield Lake State Park is near the gardens and we camped overnight. It was amazing to see the weather shift from gorgeous in the afternoon to cold and cloudy at dinnertime.

Then it grew really stormy with thunder and lightning and it began to hail heavily. I caught it on video. It was hard to hear the movie!

Loud hail storm

Pretty soon the hail was piling up like snow. And the roof vent over the rear bed began to leak badly.

We quickly moved the bedding and put a bucket under the leak. I tried to dry it out but it was coming in fast. I went outside in the terrible weather and climbed to the roof to see that the hail had dammed up around the vent sides. I had a rag that I used to sweep the hail off around the vent. By later that evening the leak subsided although it was too damp to use that bed.

After we got home I found the problem. One of the bolts holding the vent cover on over the lid had fallen out leaving a 1/8″ hole in the side of the vent. The damming of the hail held water against the vent and allowed it to flow through the hole.

New vent lid and caulked cover connections

The vent lid was old, yellowed and cracked anyway and I had a replacement I had been planning to install. The new vent lid was a little difficult to put on because I could not lay it flat due to the solar panel installation. But I got it to attach. Then I reinstalled the connectors for the vent cover and made sure to caulk all the bolts well. I bolted the vent cover on and noticed the front grill had some chips from the hail. But I checked the rest of the roof and there did not appear to be more damage, especially to the solar panels. The area benefitted from a good cleaning too.

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New Tesla Y Long Range EV

Posted on March 22, 2024 by ellen

Unfortunately I backed into my son’s brand new EV in our driveway. My rear fender was dislocated and my son’s aluminum trunk was bent.

I called to get an estimate then I called to find out what a trade in would pay me. Then I looked at a new Tesla! With the February special and the self referral because I am an existing customer I asked for a trade in. That was $1000 more than other offers and sealed the deal. I really liked the Volt but it was getting old and a perfect trade in with less than 50000 miles and the Tesla came with the $7500 federal tax rebate.

Set mirrors to fold as I get to the house

There are many settings for the car. It unlocks and drives using the paired app on my iPhone. Its range is 300 miles at full charge but of course that completely depends on driving conditions. I am using the 24 amp Juice Box charger we had for the Volt.

To charge from about 60% to 80% took over three hours. But I will install a 48 amp Tesla charger. I traded a 9000 point bonus to have one shipped to us. It will charge that in about two hours.
I’ve only driven the car just over 100 miles. Mostly to the dealer and back to pick up the garage door opener we left in the Volt. But it’s a fun car to learn. The accelerator controls both speeding up and slowing down. Don’t even have to use the brake unless going too fast at a stop. The car also dings when a stoplight turns green. Eventually I’ll discover more of its capability. In the meantime another use for our solar system!

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RV Pressure Tank

Posted on March 22, 2024 by ellen

I installed a pressure tank during the camping season last year. In the fall I didn’t winterize for the first cold snap but ran electric heaters and the furnace as backup. When I got around to winterizing I used the low point drains and blew out the pipes with a compressor. But when I tried to suck rv antifeeeze into the system the pump would not run. I just left it winterized like that.
My son and his family asked to borrow the RV for a spring break trip. I had brought the water pump inside for the winter intending to test it with my 12 volt trolling motor battery pack. I set up a water transfer bowl and empty milk jug to run it.

Since the pump worked I suspected a leak near the low point drains. I saw a bit of water near there when I drained it.

I connected the pipes without the pump or pressure tank installed. Then ran water through the system with the city water connection. I could not find a leak.
Next step was to reinstall the pump. The way this pump is set up the water input is on the right or outer side and the output is on the left. The pink rv antifreeze valve is on the pipe going into the pump and the tee that held the pressure tank is on the left side of the pump. I had decided to move the pressure tank from the tee through a side hose. It does not matter where the pressure tank is on the water system and I saw examples where the tank was installed off to the side.
To make the new placement of the tee work I had to cut back the existing pex and install an exact amount of pipe connection to make it leak proof. I had to try several combinations but finally got a leak proof connection.

Unfortunately the next day I realized the hose I used to link the pressure tank was leaking so I replaced it with a stainless hose I ran to the store for the morning that the kids were borrowing the RV. Disconnecting the tank creates a heavy spurt of water so I also bought a ball valve so the tank can be removed without spraying all over.

The RV antifreeze valve is also reinstalled and I hope next time I need to, it will suck the antifreeze out and into the plumbing to avoid all chances of freezing.

I was fortunate that there were no other leaks in the plumbing system!

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Pool Shelter Kite

Posted on March 10, 2024 by ellen

Unfortunately we found that once the ground thawed the stakes no longer held tight in the ground and we woke up the other morning to see the pool shelter completely blown over.

Depending how you look at this accident the shelter was in surprisingly good shape. Several bent poles and one big tear in a window side but seems like it could have been worse. The steps were also knocked over but they did not break.

The weather was luckily balmy the next day so I was able to detach the roof and sides and roll them up and put them in storage. Then I disassembled the pipe frame.

Then I separated the bent poles from the undamaged poles. Seven bent poles is not too bad.

The connecting poles are the same width as 1 1/4 EMT conduit. So replacing 7 poles with 4 ten footers would cost about $120. A new shelter with no time spent in repairs would cost about $300. I’ll think about it.

Now that it’s spring we don’t need the shelter to enjoy the spa.

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Spa Pipe Weakness

Posted on March 9, 2024 by ellen

I repaired a leak in the hot tub pipes just last month. Because I used several Fernco connectors when I initially replaced the cracked jet body last fall, a weakness in this repair keeps happening.

Since the repair we were reluctant to turn the high jets back on but today with my grandson we could not resist. Just like last time the Fernco let loose and started to leak. This time I didn’t wait to look at it and retighten it. The problem seems to be that these two pipes have separated enough the the connector no longer sits completely on the bottom pipe. I loosen both clamps and slide it down and retighten and that works but water streams out while I’m doing it. I had to add water again and run the heater. Even heating a partial refill took a lot of power.

I downloaded the total spa use of electricity today and it’s a shocking 98.97 kWh!

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Not Again! Spa Leak!

Posted on March 9, 2024 by ellen

We have used the spa a lot this winter. The kids love going out with me to swim and jump in.
My granddaughter and I were enjoying the high jets in the spa. The jets on high create a strong current to exercise against. But all of a sudden the tub turned off. I thought the jet just needed to rest but the next day the water had obviously been leaking.
I opened the equipment side and saw the culprit was a clamped Fernco connector that had loosened. It seemed as if the pipes had also separated a bit and by the time I opened the clamp and made sure it was snug on the bottom pipe and then retightened it about half the water had leaked out of the spa.

I had been disappointed that the water was so cloudy and no treatment seemed to be clearing it up. So I decided since the weather would be in the 40’s the next few days to drain it all the way. I used a sump pump to drain most of the water.

It is connected to a garden hose and runs a steady stream of water out onto the nearby shrubs and tree.

After the tub was emptied it had to be scrubbed clean again.

It took a full day and night to heat the water back up again. I used a lot of electricity. But the sparkling new water was worth it.

We were able to get right back to enjoying the tub in winter.

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New TV in the RV

Posted on February 11, 2024 by ellen

The TV in the front of our RV was damaged when we bought the RV.
It had a DC transformer that no longer worked and a streak of damaged pixels.

We just didn’t use it and instead I installed a 24” 12 volt TV and DVD combination in the back bed area. That worked great until the grandkids started getting big and the older grandkids visited and the bed couldn’t hold all of us. So I decided to replace the front tv.

The TV is handy in bad weather or for a movie just before bedtime. But the family likes to watch together. That called for a new TV in the front.
The old TV was 32” but I measured and decided a 40” TV would fit. (Actual 35.5” wide) the first TV I ordered was 22” tall though and it didn’t fit with the top mattress we use on the cab bed. I returned it and looked for a shorter version. The Impecca TV is “frameless” and only 20” tall. It has the advantage of being a low power user too. It is a “smart” TV but the settings are limited. So I installed a Fire TV stick I already had.

The tv arm mount that came in the RV is not long enough to pull the TV all the way out over the bed to display to those sitting in the lounge area. I bought a longer arm but it did not spread the weight across the wall and seemed way too heavy for the RV. Instead I reinstalled the original arm and bought a lightweight arm to bolt on and extend it. Unfortunately the arm was not quite long enough so I used a small tilt mount to extend it a few more inches. That tilt mount was pulled down by the heavy extended arm so I had to bolt it to keep it upright.

Together the arms are long enough to face the dinette and couch below and the tv will tilt enough for comfortable viewing. The larger screen is nice and it fits fine against the wall although folding all the arm segments is tricky.
I have to install a new DVD player and extend the hdmi cable and RCA cables to reach the extended arm. But that’s for another day. This double arm swings out over the edge of the bed and tilts to the correct angle.

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Meters, Meters, Everywhere

Posted on January 24, 2024 by ellen

Perhaps you noticed the graphs in my last post. One side effect of creating an energy saving house is being watchful regarding our use of energy and any other measure that affects the home environment. I particularly like WiFi connected devices to check in on conditions even if we are not home.

These are the WiFi meters I currently use in our house.

Airthings Air Quality Meter
Bluebot water use Meter
Efergy Electric Use monitors (2)
We-Mo outlet meters (touchy)
Acurite home weather station
Acurite room sensors
Juice Box Car Charger
X-Sense Smart Carbon Monoxide Detector
ICO Ondilo Pool Water Monitor
Acura Spa WiFi Control
RainPoint WiFi Soil Moisture Meter with water meter and hub (summer only)
BroadLink roller shade controller (summer).
Ring Video Doorbell
The last few devices have already had posts explaining the functions so just refer to those.
Nest and Ecobee Thermostats
MOCREO temperature sensors on the Trombe wall
Tesla Solar

in winter when the house is shut up the radon gets a little high but nothing like the original reading of 27. Both radon fans run 24/7 as does the Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) so a small increase is not something I can improve without opening windows in the cold.
We also monitor water use. For that we use a Bluebot which is also WiFi connected and attached to the incoming well pipe.

This device is set to send an email if we use over 200 gallons in a day. Once a toilet was running and we used 900 gallons so I set up the alert.

I just added a second Efergy electric monitor. This brand only measures five sources. I had one on the well, oven, spa, mini-split and the entire garage sub panel. When I added one to measure the new RV 30 amp outlet I had to delete the mini-split. In order to use a second set I needed a second account so I will be switching back and forth. I can measure more circuits with the new Emporia set I ordered for the garage utility box. It has 16 lugs, and I will be installing that soon. I will continue to use Efergy on the remote power circuits.

I have several We-Mo outlet control/ power meters. I gifted several to my son in law and he bought some which he left with me when they moved to Germany. That was five years ago and we have gradually unplugged these when they lost connection. I still have a few plugged in but only two are operational and one still works despite the fact that the app can’t find it. These are lights that go on at night and turn off automatically in the morning. The power consumption data does not seem accurate for the pottery lamp either and the others can’t be downloaded because the app does not detect them.

Our weather station has held up well over the years-nine so far. At one point I had to upgrade the internet hub and occasionally the spa temperature sensor goes offline. I just bring it inside next to the hub and it is rediscovered. I have had no disconnects for the main station mounted on the roof and I have only charged the batteries twice. Over the years I have added a second weather monitor as well aa an indoor monitor for the room sensors and I check the WiFi app daily. I can switch between temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure.

I installed a 40 amp Juice Box car charger about five years ago for our hybrid Chevy Volt. It works basically without thinking about it. We return from an errand and plug the car back in. We have not paid any attention to time of use because we want to keep the car fully charged so the batteries are ready for the next trip.
The app used to be so much more user friendly. About a year or so ago they switched to an app designed to sell their network of power stations and subscriptions for more data. Very disappointing to lose services although the app and the use data are at no extra charge. This app swipes to display percent charged and total miles added.

The boiler has been experiencing some issues with carbon monoxide back flow. Once we woke to the alarms ringing and had to open the French doors to air out the house. The alarms continue until the carbon monoxide level goes down. I purchased a separate WiFi alarm so I could monitor if low levels of the gas were in the utility room. At first in December, every few days there was 110 ppm reading. Then after I took off the boiler cover to monitor the fan there were no readings in over a month. I ordered a new fan because the fan is 10 years old and they supposedly last 7-10 years. Just last night there was another reading for emissions.

History of CO incidents. — History of CO incidents

The newest meter we’ve had only about a month. It is a pool water quality meter for the spa.

It’s great to have the spa water quality information at my fingertips. But it may not simplify my life. I’m having an issue with the Bluetooth connectivity. It was fine to set it up so I know it worked at one point but trying to update the software it disconnected. Also the rechargeable battery needed recharging after just three weeks and the documentation led me to expect twice as much time between charges. I’ve run through the Bluetooth recommendations more than once and it still does not connect. I charged it for the recommended 10 hours. Actually for 12 and it was only 70% charged. I have it plugged in now. The meter sends recommended type and amount of sanitizer and other chemicals to keep the water at ideal conditions.

The spa also has a WiFi interface to the control panel. I installed it in 2019 and it’s still operating as expected. It reads and can set the spa temperature and it can start a filtration cycle.

Our ash trees need coddling due to the Emerald Ash Borer’s attack on the species. I also planted an herb border in front of the house. In order for these to get enough water I bought a Rainpoint WiFi automatic hose control for the drip hoses and a moisture meter that monitors the soil.

The roller shades to block summer sun are RF controlled but there is also a WiFi interface that is set up using the RF signals. Each shade comes with an individual control but there is an optional one that will control up to 15 shades. The Broadlink interface is a device that supports RF controls. I had experimented with the system but soon I was out of time and summer and fall were over. I’ll reattach the shades in the summer to prepare for when the sun starts overheating the house.

We have had a video doorbell for several years. The battery on our old one wore out so quickly I was changing it almost every week. The software had more information than the Ring and didn’t charge extra for it. I don’t pay for the software so I don’t get historical data. We can see the front of the house whenever we want and the device has a solar boost for the battery so we seldom have to charge it.

It might be nice to have a system that assembles all this data on one set of screens. But I’m enough of a data person that I enjoy looking at each app.

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Below Zero

Posted on January 18, 2024 by ellen

Our house is built and insulated for cold weather here in Colorado. That’s why these below zero temperature spells are so rewarding.
I have a pair of MCCREO WiFi temperature meters on the Trombe wall. One is outside under the glass and the other inside in a convenient hole drilled into the wall. Although on our coldest day when it did not get above zero, the outside only reached 50, the inside radiated 64.

For more common cold weather, on a sunny day the temperature against the outside wall rises several degrees higher than the inside wall. Then the inside wall maintains a warm temperature through the night.
The 14th was mostly sunny so our passive solar took over in the afternoon hours.

A sunny day uses fewer hours of heat from the boiler. The family room is on the north side of the house benefits less from the passive solar. These are our Nest thermostat use displays. I have the 13th showing the total for the day and the 14th showing the time of day use.

The rear bedrooms have an Ecobee thermostat and a zone sensor because at the time the Nest did not have extra sensors. We now have a Nest sensor in our primary bathroom connected to the primary bedroom thermostat so that zone’s temperature is determined by either. The ecobee sensor is in the second rear bedroom and either controls the thermostat. The rear bedrooms also have less solar exposure and have the old radiators instead of under floor heat. So the duration of the call for heat is longer. Even so, the by afternoon it was warm enough and didn’t resume until after sunset.

The next day the high temperatures were higher and the lows lower and it snowed most of the day so no sun.

The effect on the room temperatures are obvious. The sun is not adding as much heat to the rooms. But the high mass of the house also loses heat slowly. The North rooms are affected the most. Notice the family room run time.

It was a perfect day to supplement the gas boiler with wood boiler heat. For this I turned up the heat in the dining room to distribute some heat to that floor. Most of the time the rear bedrooms were calling for heat too. Although there are some short stretches of adequate set temperatures in these bedrooms.

The wood boiler puts out about 30,000 btu’s of warmed water that circulates in the radiant system. The red zone is the family room, the blue is the dining room, green is the living room, gold and purple are on the same zone, primary bedroom and bath. the rear bedrooms do not have in floor radiant.

The fire lends a lovely ambient glow to the room.

While most homes need to run the furnace/boiler all day and night our system runs far less even on the coldest days. The cover to the boiler is off because the aging fan needs observation but the zone controller shows only green and no red dots showing call for heat.

The manual J design used 0° as a low design temperature. But the systems (solar, boiler, wood boiler) together work very well in extreme cold spells.

Posted in -Recent Posts, Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Fireplace Boiler, Monitoring, Trombe Wall | Comments Off

A Birthday Thank You

Posted on January 4, 2024 by ellen

My son-in-law Robert Felty works for Automattic, the company that produces WordPress, the sophisticated website software I use for this blog. This was a challenging summer for Rob and his family. While on a business trip to Montenegro he fainted and his head hit the pavement. Due to the quick thinking and advocacy of his colleagues he was admitted to the hospital with two brain bleeds for which he had two craniotomies in two successive days. My daughter flew to be with him, travel arranged by Automattic, and manage his care and she was limited to two hours of visiting on only two days a week. But Rob was in bad shape. Not able to speak for more than a few words or feed himself. Took a week to get back on his feet but amazingly he made great progress and was able to return home with Clare in a couple of weeks.
True to Rob’s nature he pushed himself to recover physically and made excellent progress through long walks and pushups, his favorite exercise. His injuries were sufficient for doctors to recommend inpatient rehab. He spent a little over three weeks participating in therapy with other patients, some of whom had similar issues due to long covid. He actually bonded with other patients and made friends.
But his normal work pattern was hugely disrupted by this accident. Automattic was amazing with support for him and Clare. My daughter emphasizes how it could have been so much worse had Automattic not been so caring and supportive. Imagine hospitalization in a foreign country with such a serious accident. But he was also fortunate that the hospital had an experienced surgeon to stop the brain bleeding. And for his colleagues who kept the emergency room from releasing him prematurely.
He has continued to work as much as he can during his recovery, also typical of Rob. But the company seems to emphasize that he is on medical leave with pay.
As a follow-up to the accident he had undergone many medical tests with little result until a “tilt table” test that shocked his heart rhythm so that it stopped completely. He revived in about 20 seconds. That means his blood pressure can get so low his heart will stop. A kind of cardiac arrest. A pacemaker will be implanted to guard against a future event. It will monitor and create a regular rhythm if it slows.
Needless to say it’s a shock to everyone that our most healthy and fit son-in-law is subject to a condition that could have killed him.
For his birthday the Automattic CEO asked for examples of blogs linked to his birthday post. It’s heartening to know how their work has spread through the world enhancing personal and business communication. But it’s a more impressive feat to have created a unique distributed worker company that values caring as well as profit. I wish the company and its staff a wonderful new year and a rewarding birthday to their CEO Matt Mullenweg.

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Shelter Over The Spa

Posted on November 27, 2023 by ellen

Our exposed skin was too cold in the water since the spa was fixed this fall. We have used it in the winter before but noticed the little ones got cold fast and could not stay in long. I was reading a Facebook group and got the idea to erect a shelter over it.
I wanted a simple pop up and ordered a 10×15 but it came with a very thin canopy and walls. I didn’t think it would hold up in the wind. Then I also realized I needed more height inside to open the cover. I found a reasonably priced carport that had leg extensions to make it 11 ft. tall outside. So I returned the pop up and bought the carport. The walls are plastic tarps that are 180 gsm which translates into 8 mil. That’s a decent mid weight.

The shelter was easy to put together. The instructions were good and after I assembled the roof, Dave helped lift it on top of the spa.

The day was windless so had no trouble attaching the sides and roof with the bungee balls that come with it. The shelter was delivered about noon and by 4:30 pm I had it together with the walls attached.

Actually the rear door wall was not on but I was done for the day. Overnight it got a little windy but it was staked down good enough. I had stakes in all the leg posts and the wind was mild. The next day I worked to put in more stakes. At the poles I ran the included cording down the poles to the stakes that twisted into the ground. I put up the rear door and staked the middle of the door walls with extra polyester cord that I bought. The polyester is the highest rated for outdoor use and stability. It does not stretch like nylon.

The wind had knocked the cross brace above the spa off kilter but it self corrected after I installed more stakes.

It took me another day to order more outside stakes. I bought some very heavy duty stakes that were drilled into the ground and some lighter weight stakes. The drilled stakes hold the outside corners and the polyester cord should stay tighter and be more weatherproof than the included cord. I also trimmed the side panel against the wall to fit. I had to cut one pole to sit on the wall because there was no room between the wall and the spa.

I pulled as much of the excess wall material down between the wall and the spa as I could and tried to straighten it.
Yesterday and last night the wind was recorded at 19mph but it did not seem to affect the shelter. We get higher winds but that was a good one to be the initial test.

I’m not finished with buttoning down the shelter. I’m adding grommets and stakes to the walls around the perimeter.

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Another Spa Fix

Posted on October 24, 2023 by ellen

The spa has not been working for over a year. In April of 2020 I wrote about installing a new spa pack and controller. In June of 2022 while starting up the spa we burned through the spa heater! So another whole spa pack was ordered. I didn’t want to take the chance that the control board was blown. I installed it but the spa was leaking water in two major areas. At the time I opted not to buy a new controller because it appeared the existing one was working. It was displaying the water temperature and the buttons were responding. Joe at Acura said are you sure? It’s cheaper to get the controller with the spa pack. So I said I’ll order one if it doesn’t work.
In the meantime the spa had the problem with leaking. I had a difficult time fixing it and the job languished for several months. Finally as we were expecting our granddaughter’s visit I got to work and figured out a fix for the leaking spa jet. I found that the glass tubes inside the ozone generator also from Acura had shattered so I removed it completely. As soon as the leaks were fixed I fiddled with the old controller and it didn’t set everything like it was supposed to. Oh no a bad controller! I wrote Acura requesting a new controller a couple of times with no response. The order forms on the website are no longer working. I hate to think something has happened to Joe. He was such a great guy. Did Covid get him? Then I turned to Amazon to see if I could replace the controller with a Balboa. I looked on EBay and to my surprise the very controller I needed was listed! It was an auction but had no bids so I won it! Then the sender was the woman who used to do sales responses at Acura!
The website is still up but most of the equipment says out of stock. It makes me so sad. This was a small business since the early 80’s. They hand built all their equipment. I guess forty some years was its limit.
In the meantime I decided to warm the spa water thinking we could use it if I set up an outside filter. I bought an inexpensive immersion heater that was very low cost and put it in the tub. In a matter of days the temperature of the water went up to 100°! I unplugged it!

I put off installing the new controller until I could check the power to the hot tub. I was going to check the motor for resistance etc. but the controls on the motor were too difficult to reach. So I decided to plug in the new controller. When I set the user option to pump always on I was startled to hear it start up!

That was all it needed! I had to clean up all the old silicone but I’m getting to be pretty good at that. Then wash away the isopropyl alcohol with soapy water, I use 90% solution. I still need to silicone the new controller in place. I’m also going to reinstall the WiFi controller. It was so convenient to set the water temperature a little lower then raise it when needed from inside.
The water had a grainy film on top. I wondered if it was from the regular pool shock I put in to keep the water from going green while I figured out the pump issues. Normally I use bromine in the hot tub. I scooped it off the top and we got in and used the tub. So much fun with the kids! I could feel lots of the grainy stuff on the bottom so I kept scooping it up and tossing it over the side. Some of the walls also felt grainy.
I tested the water an hour or so before we got in and the chlorine levels were low so I added a bit more pool shock. But the Ph level was very high! After we used the tub I put in Ph Down and stabilizer and I think the filter should have been on constantly. I read that very high alkalinity can precipitate out scale on the walls and make the water cloudy. The water was cloudy but did not irritate our skin or eyes.

Next morning I tested again and the ph and chlorine levels are good but hardness and alkalinity still high. Stabilizer was also good. So I’m not sure about fixing alkalinity if Ph is about right. I have a few diffferent bottles of test strips so I used a different strip and the ph read high. It takes some time for the ph low chemical to work.

After years of pool and spa ownership I’m still occasionally confused by pool chemicals.

Now I need to reinsulate and close up the side panel. I’m just hoping it keeps working for another couple of years with no further damage. If the equipment again gets broken then it might be the end for this excellent spa. 2009 to ? Right now it’s 14 years old. It should last at least 20. It’s suffered from my learning curve.

Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Spa | Comments Off

Home 30 Amp RV Outlet

Posted on October 20, 2023 by ellen

We had friends arriving in September who would “Moochdock” in our driveway. They needed 30 amp power because they had to run the air conditioner and other power at the same time. I had always wanted to install a 30 amp outlet for our RV and their visit was my opportunity.

I bought outdoor #8 power cord to install the circuit and a 30 amp GFCI. I also bought 30 amp 110 breakers to have on hand for future extension of the outdoor electrical system. Unfortunately I realized I bought the wrong kind of 30 amp GFCI but I had the other breakers. I also bought the wrong kind of wire. It is outdoor wire but is made for extension cords not permanent wiring.

I looked into my stash of wire and I already had #8 2 wire sheathed wire and extra 1/2″ conduit and connectors from the remote controlled shade project. We were able to insert the wire into the 1/2″ conduit but had to leave the ground wire out. The conduit was too small for three wires. My solution was to run the ground separately. Of course this looks amateurish but it is actually all to code. NEC permits a separate ground wire that does not have to run with the power cable and it allows up to three #8 wires in 1/2″ conduit.

We really enjoyed the visit from our friends. We hung out and played the Trekking the National Parks board game and had a great side trip to the Garden of the Gods and the Pikes Peak railway. It was a perfect day trip and a perfect visit.

Stop at Red Rocks Trading Post and lovely drive through the park

Sad to see friends leave--nice rig — Sad to see friends leave–nice rig

Posted in Electrical, Friends and Family, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off