Because that isn't always the correct answer? Maybe the dog tripped the motion sensor while you were at work. It's certainly not for everything, but far from useless.
Advice The Home Improvement/Automation Thread
- Thread starter Duke
- Start date
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
Paid somebody to bypass a leaky section of my sprinkler system underneath my Japanese Maple in the front. It's good to not have any leaks in the system again.
It's all perfectly symmetrical and pretty, too.
| Garage heat (2 pole breaker) | Porch heat (2 pole breaker) |
| Garage heat (2 pole breaker) | Porch heat (2 pole breaker) |
| Garage lights | Porch lights |
| Garage outlets | Porch outlets |
Except the porch heat never gets used (it's a little 5x5 foot box of a room that connects the porch and garage), there's one porch outlet that I don't think I've ever used either, and there's 1 porch light. I s'pose I could get rid of that whole half of the panel if I wanted - just tie the light circuit and outlet circuits together and get rid of the porch heater.
At least they were nice enough to feed it with 100A from the house. Which is funny, it's fed from a 100A breaker in a 100A panel...
ive been working on mine. Theres a section i may have to resleeve from the valve. Luckily 3/4 inch outdoor pex fits perfectly inside the 1 inch black poly thats there.
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
Yeah, if only I were that lucky.
This used to be the anti-drainback valve that fed the sprinklers in the yard.
It's surrounded by concrete and tree.
Fortunately, there's another branch off that same circuit (fed by the same valve) that runs some bubblers on the other side of that path, so the guy found the pipe that fed the yard, drove a PVC pipe under the sidewalk, and tapped into the line that feeds the bubblers, up away from all that nonsense.
I may dig up the valve box and see if there's a convenient place to cap that line better and whack the whole assembly out of there (e.g. just hook it to a truck and drag it out). In fact, I should probably do that and trench for a drip system on a separate circuit up front at some point in the future before the oak tree sapling fucks me over for trenching.
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
Hey @Valve1138, keep an eye on your DeWalt charger(s), man.
This was apparently the result of someone who just stored his batteries on the charging rack:
This was apparently the result of someone who just stored his batteries on the charging rack:
Hopefully you have more modern smart chargers that know when to take a nap. I bought a rechargable "SunJo" mini tiller for the wife - ffs, it has a dumb charger and their warnings read like "keep charged, but not fully charged. don't let it go dead, but almost dead." But no way to gauge any of that.That's where I store mine!
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
Wheel out your engine hoist and use that, assuming you don't have an engine hanging off yours.
Probably a bit less entertaining than having a truck tear out half your lawn, though.
Mean Mr. Mustard
Always shouts out something obscene
We have one of those bullshit "automatic" sprinkler systems put in when we bought the place thats never worked right
Ive contemplated hiring someone come to rip out the "automatic" parts and just install me some ball valves, 1 per zone, that I can just go turn on and off myself
But I shudder to think what thatll cost me.
automatic valves are stupid simple, its probably just a shitty controller?
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
Mean Mr. Mustard
Always shouts out something obscene
nah, that part works fine, its the controller thats a pile of garbage
Has a weather station attached thats supposed to keep it from coming on during or right after rain an some other features
Plus its shitty to try and program, bearing in mind its over 10 years old
Also Im curmudgeonly and dislike things that make me have to think about it too much
Jehannum
Puts the "pro" in procrastination
I'm in the market, but only passively looking, since my Hunter 6 zone thinger seems to work fine.
I would like to add automatic fertilization to the system, which the Hunter doesn't do.
I could also roll my own in OpenHab2, but that seems like a lot of squeeze for a little juice.
