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Grimas

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Everything posted by Grimas

  1. Wow - Just checked the prices and it's closer to 120 Euro/night in June... Damn Covid...
  2. Dug through my emails after I posted and it was closer to $250 a night but here's the place we went to south of Florence: https://www.letorri.com/ It's been a few years but the site above gives you lots of options... Details: I confirm you with this e-mail, availability for 4 nights from 13th of December to 17th , in a three-room 4 people, at the total price of Euro 252,00. Apartment without extra charge, included final cleaning, taxes, weekly linen (not towels for pool), gas, electricity and heating in the price. DESCRIPTION THREE-ROOM 4 PEOPLE. In the three room-apartments there is a living room-kitchen, a master bedroom with double bed and bathroom, and another bedroom with two single beds, and a bathroom, for a total 80mt2. IN THE HEART OF TUSCANY. Le Torri Villa is about 20 km. from Florence, 30 Km from San Gimignano, 50 km from Siena, 60 km. from Pisa and 230 km from Rome. The kilometers are more or less equal to the time you'll take to reach each city. Bus service connection with Florence City. At your arrival full information and details maps Oh, typo - not 93 rooms but 3...
  3. I haven't seen this mentioned but do a search for agriturismo's in the Tuscany region if you are looking for cool places to stay (agriturismo.it) - we did it a few years ago when we lived in Europe and had a blast. They are basically family farms/vinyards where they have converted part of it to apartments and you usually get meals with the family and other guests if you want... Near Rome, we stayed at a ranch that was inside the caldera of a volcano and had a huge apartment 93 rooms and a kitchen and living room) 20 minutes south of Florence that was something like $150/night for 4 of us...
  4. Have you heard your outside condenser make a large noise when it turns on? This the the "hard start" that sucks a lot of energy to get the unit going. Once it starts, the load drops off. The soft start basically ramps up the power draw until the compressor kicks in and thus you don't get this "peak load". I had my A/C guy install it when I had my bi-annual service call for 150-200. I had it installed a few years ago as it's supposed to lengthen the life of your compressor. Not having these on your A/C is one reason they tell you to set your A/C down to 60 when you are running on the generator to keep it from cycling on and off and getting the power draw every time.
  5. I got 2 of these off Amazon - $60/each https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FWAZEIU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 My modem and router don't use much energy and I think I got 4-5 hours out of it before the battery died.
  6. No plumbing needed on the current setup as I just use propane tanks. The estimated $15k cost of the big Generac was something like $7k for the unit and another 7K for the pad, the transfer switch, running about 300' of plumbing as the gas main is on the other side of the house from the electrical panel and the install. Neighbors without the same gas issue have been paying 10-11k for there cast including install.
  7. My journey down this path is because I already have a 3200W Champion Inverter (it can't be paired) I haul out to the deer lease but sits in my garage the rest of the time. Last year, I lost power at home 3-4 time for a few hours and usually after about an hour, I would pull the generator out and run a bunch of extension cables into the house to power some lights, the fridges/freezer, a tv and the wifi. (I've since added UPS to my wifi so I didn't have to run the cable up the stairs to the modem/router.) While I have gas heat, I realized during the recent freeze that doesn't matter if you don't have electricity, the thermostats and blower don't work... For less than $2000, I can now flip a few switches and live a bit more comfortably for a few days if needed. If it's longer than that, we'll be bugging out to stay with family in other parts of the state until power is restored...
  8. Icepick, catch pan, neighbor's truck... https://www.amazon.com/GasTapper-Gasoline-Transfer-Equipment-Vehicles/dp/B00QSPU0NS/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7pKFBhDUARIsAFUoMDYdHnw3Ue-ur3XOyb9f8_9IN-oFa6xsLifheeIUYIde2lL_oqDZP78aApjPEALw_wcB&hvadid=177583837850&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9027720&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11253720922796573218&hvtargid=kwd-132670641425&hydadcr=7478_9586273&keywords=gas+tapper&qid=1621431882&sr=8-2
  9. I forgot to add - a propane tank should last 8-10 hours if not on max load. If it looks like it's going to be a longer outage like post hurricane or zombie attack, I'll probably not keep in on all the time - run for a bit to cool house down, charge of the UPS's and devices and to keep the fridges cold. Backup plan is to siphon and use the 50+ gallons of gas in car tanks...
  10. I have a covered patio/bike storage area on one side of the house. I'll just leave it there (chained down and under a roof and an extra cover) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q1DLKBG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It weighs 200# and I wouldn't want to be lifting it up into the back of my truck myself but it moves pretty easily on the wheels if I wanted to keep it in the garage and just roll it out when needed. I may pull the wheels off of it to keep it walking away in the middle of the night... I went with a "proper" install as I wanted my wife/kids to be able to also get the house turned on if I'm not here. The other thing to consider is if you want to go with a 30A or 50A connector as you can only feed a max of 7200W into a 30A connector so having a larger generator than the 30A connection can handle is a waste of $$. As 50A connector can handle 12000W. (More info posted on page 8 of the "Next grid failure" discussion).
  11. I just got my "whole house" generator connected today. The original quote for a 22Kw Generac was about $15K installed (gas on total opposite side of the house and would need to plumbed quite a distance and under driveway and other slab). I went with a portable, dual fuel 12,500kw generator and it was around $1000 for the generator and another $700 for the lockout switch, 50A inlet and 20' of 50A cable plus labor. Tested it today and can run both the 5ton and 3ton A/C's (with soft start kits), 3 fridges/freezers, multiple TV's, VSP pool pumps, WIFi and lights in every room (most with LED bulbs) in a 4,000 sq. ft. house. Only downside is I have to manually turn the system on/off - turn off all breakers, turn off main power, plug in cable from generator to the external outlet, fire up generator with the remote, engage lockout and then turn breakers back on to areas that are needed... (I don't see drying clothes as a must have during a power outage). Genny will mainly run on 20# propane tanks - I usually have 4 full ones on hand for the grills) and can use gasoline from the SUV's as a backup if I run out of propane - I don't want to deal with old gas and carburetor issues... Sure it isn't instant on but I can have the whole house up and running in 3-5 minutes for a 1/7th of the cost (and can take the generator with me if I move)... Just something to consider...
  12. See if someone will share their "corporate rate" ID code with you. My Hertz card account is still tied to my previous employer and when I put in my gold card number, I got a weekly rental at the corporate price... (I'd share but the code tied to my account no longer works when I just plug in the corporate discount code without my card...) I guess the are honoring the corporate discounts and they are charging whatever they want to non-corporate renters...
  13. Have you looked at an alternative to plywood floor? Either a sheet of expanded steel mesh or even hog fencing if you are just going to be putting boxes up there... (looks good as is by the way...) Or make a pergola in the garage and lay down 1"x4" slats or even narrower ones..
  14. Why aren't you going from the elevated stairs on the right? Just knock out that existing section of handrail and add a few steps there...
  15. Has anyone reserved a car and not gotten the rental? I am a Hertz Gold member and booked a car on a weekly rate out of MIA next month with plans on driving to the Keys. Not getting a car would put a serious damper on the plans... I did book a backup reservation with another location (Sixt) at double the rate just in case but in both cases, I have no money down and am pretty screwed if I show up at the airport and there isn't a car available... (Backup plan 3 and 4 is an Uber or the Greyhound bus if needed but either of those would suck...)
  16. I need some assistance on finding an app or software to block internet access on an elderly person's account who has been scammed 2x on some social media sites. The original plan was to get on the router at their house and to block various sites but you've got to add the sites one by one as opposed to blocking everything and then allowing access to only a few sites like YoutubeTV, Netflix and Uber/Lyft. Any suggestions on apps or software that can be installed on a phone and tablet that tracks actual usage and then allows for remote monitoring and the ability to block sites? I've seen "Bark" and "Save Kids" apps but they are geared for kids and not seniors and the websites aren't really clear how much control and monitoring you have available...
  17. Got my kid the new Oculus Quest 2 the other day and thought I'd bump this thread to see what people are playing. Damn cool device (except it requires a FB account...)
  18. Renting an exotic car to get on a highway that is basically one lane for several hours doesn’t sound like the best investment especially if it’s hot out and many of those don’t have a/c and you are at the mercy of the slowest car on the road... Save that bucket list item and fly into Germany and hit the autobahn on another trip... (150+ mph in an X5 with family onboard will cause a pucker that I won’t do again...)
  19. No sales tax on certain emergency supplies this weekend. Picked up a 12,000 watt dual fuel generator yesterday...
  20. Stupid me thinking I could find the best rates for car rental online... Punched in my corporate card and got a week of a large sedan for $290 (from the airport as the local place on S. Beach is closed on Sunday) all in... Thanks!
  21. I ended up booking the Islander Resort on Islamorada for 5 nights. After digging through recent reviews the past day, it seems Covid has really messed up all the resorts in general in the Keys with crappy (or no) housekeeping as most of them have complaints of having dirty rooms seem to be the common thread. Bummer that stone crab season ends in May and damn, what happened to rental car prices?!!? $88/day out of Miami for an intermediate?
  22. It's $60 not $35 for the yearly renewal and I've got my own kids college to fund...
  23. Going down to Miami Beach in June with wife and 15 year old boys. Was looking at a few days in the Keys as well but any preference to Key West over Marathon over Key Largo? Goal is to do nothing but eat, fish, snorkel and sit by pool/water with a drink in hand. With the teens in tow, the bar/nightlife and wife shopping scene not as important (we'll get that on Miami Beach). Looks like more and slightly cheaper housing/hotels in KL and it looks like a car rental is a must to get down to either.... I'm trying to talk myself out of the drive all the way out to KW...
  24. I only renew my membership when I come in for a game to get into the Ex center to make a few laps or when I buy a new car to replace the window Texas Ex sticker... Got a new car - anyone got an extra sticker they haven't used and are willing to part with?
  25. Radio link... https://texassports.com/sports/2014/11/19/GEN_1119144623.aspx
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