YouTube of the day

[bill_bly_ca]

Some random guy reviews the new electric delivery van for Amazon, built by Rivian

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Well that pretty well sums up crypto

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Chico walks some Tico beaches

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All of Martin's visitors have headed home - Looks like nothing new from him until the winter visit in an or Feb

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So much for my plans to be a Scottish Lord

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Alex drops the underground schitk and switches to a tree house that a friend built

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Bush Radical builds another Cabin

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Young Will reviews an AC unit that can run 100% on solar. I would really like one of these in Masaya - While the price is about (as best I can tell) 2X a traditional mini split, I bet the payback would be pretty close to 12 to 18 months keeping a couple rooms at 25 to 26C

[bill_bly_ca]

An insane tunnel being built in the EU

[bill_bly_ca]

Cowboy Kent whips up some crag cakes.

[KeyWestPirate]

Pretty slick!

I've installed a few of these (not the AC/DC version).
They are quiet,, clean, efficient.
They run steadily, unlike a conventional furnace or big AC unit,, so the temp is more comfortable.
They are much more quiet outside as well.

For a multiple room house,, they are not going to work as there is no ducting.



The DC addition is curious: I would put the solar panels on the east side of my roof (rest of panels are on west).

We really don't need much in the way of AC,, although I do have one that I harvest distilled water from. A bit of heat in the morning,, and they would dry out the house.
We get usable power from the existing panels as early as 7AM,, so we might be a few minutes earlier from some mounted on the east side of the roof.

AC wholesalers discount the conventional heat pumps 40%, so some smart shopping might drop the price from the $1299 I found online.
As far as solar panels go,,,


https://www.ebay.com/itm/26492664002...wAAOSwwVZfpHo2

Ten might be just about the right number.
You won't exceed the 380V upper limit, and wired in series,, it won't take much sun to get the 80V the mppt controller needs to start the unit running.


If you can find something local that you can pickup,, you will save a lot too.

In terms of installation,, you can get get the vacuum pump,, gauge set,,and an electronic leak detector at Harbor Freight.
The 410a fitting is a bit different,, but there are adapters available.

Attention to the quality of the flare connection is important,, but these help eliminate leaks:

https://www.google.com/search?client...-d&q=flaretite


If you do it right,, you hardly know that the unit is there.

[bill_bly_ca]

Dustin shows some of the beauty of the BC interior and then proceeds on his new truck. His Dad gave him an old 12 Valve Cummins that Dustin is making into a mini tourer.

[bill_bly_ca]

This is the story on the Truck Dustin was going over in the last video

[bill_bly_ca]

A really cool Lincoln town car

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Chico had a visitor - A Russian fellow ( Ukrainian mother, Russian father, born in the Netherlands, who now lives in Columbia) tour managua for a day

[bill_bly_ca]

Andrew services a dozer..

[bill_bly_ca]

It will be interesting to see how a mostly unvaccinated population (Sinovax has no real effectiveness against current strains) holds up against the current strain.

DW was showing the packed ECU halls and lines to to clinics.

It may eventually prove to be one of the most significant events of the decade

[KeyWestPirate]

The most important part is the last two minutes: China manufacturing goes offline .


Losing a few million Chinese is no big deal.

But at the micro level, the Chinese,, as we did,, might think differently.

[bill_bly_ca]

Doug reviews the Amazon van the other fellow showed us a week or two back - Some brilliant engineering going on here...

[KeyWestPirate]

Now THAT is my idea of a wheel puller.

I checked Harbor Freight,, nothing like that in stock.
(Thank God,, or I might have bought it)

One never knows when one might acquire a dozer.

[KeyWestPirate]

Doug reviews the Amazon van the other fellow showed us a week or two back - Some brilliant engineering going on here...

Just like all the CNG vehicles,, this service is perfect for an electric vehicle.
Vehicles that work during the day and then sit all night can easily be re-charged overnight.

Delivery vehicles,, trash pick up trucks,, school buses.
Interestingly,, when the incentives ended for CNG vehicles,, many went back to diesel.

Tucson has two public CNG stations,, Waste Management has their own which is not open to the public.

If one goes down,, which is rare, granted,, It's a huge inconvenience.
CNG "gas" gauges are notoriously unreliable,, it's a gauge that reads tank pressure, so CNG vehicles are generally refilled daily on GP.

CNG delivered at the pump is no cheaper than diesel,, so that is an issue as well.

[bill_bly_ca]

Camping with Steve spends the night in the treehouse

[bill_bly_ca]

Another from Martin at teh cabin in northern Minnesota

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Alex puts a new hand built fireplace into the sunken Cabin

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Sask bush boy gets his truck stuck in the bush