Search found 1587 matches

by seawolf21
Tue Feb 06, 2024 7:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?
Replies: 40
Views: 4170

Re: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Feb 03, 2024 9:06 am
seawolf21 wrote: Sat Feb 03, 2024 8:42 am
This can be done DIY with sharkbite. You need pipe cutter, teflon tape, pipe dope, two wrenches, marker, sandpaper, ruler, and two sharkbite male adapters.
I've always been very skeptical of Sharkbites, especially if this is on the main water line. I also don't think this would work since the insurance company will send someone out to inspect that it is installed according to manufacturer guidelines, otherwise I don't get the credit.
FWIW Sharkbite is up to code if not sealed behind wall.
by seawolf21
Sat Feb 03, 2024 8:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?
Replies: 40
Views: 4170

Re: Automatic Water Shutoff Valves: brands, installation, experiences?

Our insurer would like us to get a whole home auto water shutoff value, which apparently lowers our premium a few hundred dollars a year. I figure it's probably not a bad idea considering water losses are one of the biggest sources of claims. My insurer's "approved" devices are Flo by Moen, LeakDefense by Watts, Phyn, and FloLogic. The Flo device is sold online and is around $500 if you buy on Amazon or from an online plumbing supply store. Same with Phyn. LeakDefense looks way more complicated and they send you an estimate, but it appears that it would cost around $2-3k. FloLogic is about $2,500. Anyone have experience with these devices? Any pitfalls or issues? I previously looked at getting a Flo device, but if you go through ...
by seawolf21
Fri Jan 19, 2024 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best cookware to buy
Replies: 143
Views: 13728

Re: Best cookware to buy

Andymoler58 wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2024 7:18 pm Does anyone have any thoughts on the best cookware to purchase?

My Budget is about 1-2k for a set but would prefer to spend less if quality difference isn’t that noticeable.

I don’t cook that much but want it to look good
Just buy a set for display only.
by seawolf21
Wed Jan 17, 2024 7:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Global Entry Application turnaround times?
Replies: 57
Views: 8068

Re: Global Entry Application turnaround times?

Four new applications filed in October were conditionally approved in 3 days.
by seawolf21
Sun Dec 17, 2023 12:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023
Replies: 434
Views: 153858

Re: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023

Tracker968 wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2023 10:44 pm I have several accounts totaling in the low 6 figures. I don't do much much trading but have auto rolling T-bills and use the CMA account to pay my bills. Got the TT offer yesterday and downloaded and installed it with no problem. During check out it had the $105 price lined out and replaced with $5. I don't work with an advisor but get a call once a year or so to ask if I need anything.
Do you have an advisor assigned (listed in upper right corner) ok All Accounts Sunmary page?
by seawolf21
Sun Dec 17, 2023 12:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023
Replies: 434
Views: 153858

Re: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023

For those who have it and not active trader, do you have an advisor? Had this offer >5 years. No offer last year and this year. Also lost my advisor 2 summers ago. Had more accounts/assets with Fidelity the same period. From past years, there is anecdotal evidence that having a rep makes it more likely to get the offer, especially if you are a Private Client Group customer (since PCG should always get it). There are people who post that they don't have a rep and still get the offer, so just like everything with this offer, there's no absolute answer. Got an advisor assigned on Thursday after spouse and I sat down with one for an hour going over retirement/college on Wednesday. The advisor now shows up under my login while spouse still show...
by seawolf21
Wed Dec 13, 2023 4:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023
Replies: 434
Views: 153858

Re: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023

For those who have it and not active trader, do you have an advisor? Had this offer >5 years. No offer last year and this year. Also lost my advisor 2 summers ago. Had more accounts/assets with Fidelity the same period. From past years, there is anecdotal evidence that having a rep makes it more likely to get the offer, especially if you are a Private Client Group customer. There are people who post that they don't have a rep and still get the offer, so just like everything with this offer, there's no absolute answer. Thanks. I have schedule an appointment at local branch and let's see if I get an advisor assigned. Otherwise I already signed up for Black Friday TaxAct as well as $17 H&R Block software. What was the TaxAct Black Friday ...
by seawolf21
Tue Dec 12, 2023 10:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023
Replies: 434
Views: 153858

Re: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023

MisterBill wrote: Tue Dec 12, 2023 10:44 pm
seawolf21 wrote: Tue Dec 12, 2023 10:34 pm For those who have it and not active trader, do you have an advisor? Had this offer >5 years. No offer last year and this year. Also lost my advisor 2 summers ago. Had more accounts/assets with Fidelity the same period.
From past years, there is anecdotal evidence that having a rep makes it more likely to get the offer, especially if you are a Private Client Group customer. There are people who post that they don't have a rep and still get the offer, so just like everything with this offer, there's no absolute answer.
Thanks. I have schedule an appointment at local branch and let's see if I get an advisor assigned. Otherwise I already signed up for Black Friday TaxAct as well as $17 H&R Block software.
by seawolf21
Tue Dec 12, 2023 10:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023
Replies: 434
Views: 153858

Re: Fidelity free Turbotax 2023

For those who have it and not active trader, do you have an advisor? Had this offer >5 years. No offer last year and this year. Also lost my advisor 2 summers ago. Had more accounts/assets with Fidelity the same period.
by seawolf21
Sun Dec 10, 2023 4:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Booking hotels through credit card travel site : separating myths and facts?
Replies: 8
Views: 1010

Re: Booking hotels through credit card travel site : separating myths and facts?

You lose out on earning hotel loyalty points/elite status benefits by going thru portal as most of the rates are not eligible.
by seawolf21
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Set of Tires
Replies: 77
Views: 8568

Re: New Set of Tires

TireRack, TireBuyer, Costco
by seawolf21
Tue Dec 05, 2023 9:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cheap Passport Photos
Replies: 93
Views: 10751

Re: Cheap Passport Photos

Anyone used any of these sites or apps successfully to take a baby passport photo? Maybe I'm being too nit-picky with it, but I'm having a hard time. I think our intake center doesn't even require masks anymore, so we want to minimize time baby is there (they do offer photos for $10, plus I think baby will be crying if they are taking it). Just find a white background (we used our wall) and take a bunch of pictures. Find the best one and used a website like this one (https://www.idphoto4you.com/) to crop the photo to the proper size. You can either use your own photo printer, or take the photo on a thumb drive and print it out at any number of retailers that offer photo printing (pharmacies, etc.). I tried doing this and there were always ...
by seawolf21
Wed Nov 29, 2023 11:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: USPS labels: cover with clear tape or not?
Replies: 32
Views: 3979

Re: USPS labels: cover with clear tape or not?

I never tape over the label. No problems either.
by seawolf21
Sat Nov 25, 2023 8:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Reverse Osmosis vs. Ultrafiltration
Replies: 24
Views: 3257

Re: Reverse Osmosis vs. Ultrafiltration

The Brita pitcher is an ultrafilter. If that works for you, then the other ultrafiltration system should work too. Brita doesn't have a membrane at all. It's activated carbon and ion exchange (effectively a water softener), and is advertised to reject particles down to 1 micron. Even the single-stage ultrafilters (which I'm not looking at) are rated for 100x that, 0.01 micron. At any rate, I ordered this tankless RO system and will give it a shot. Just be aware a tankless R/O is going to be slower flow than a tank system for many applications. We had an RO at our previous house for a decade and loved it. But now with our new house my wife didn’t want one because it wastes too much water and we pay for every drop. But we can’t stand the tas...
by seawolf21
Mon Nov 20, 2023 12:33 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: ChatGPT just wrote me a POA that is better than the attorney's
Replies: 150
Views: 21091

Re: ChatGPT just wrote me a POA that is better than the attorney's

What about this idea? 1. Have ChatGPT write up the legal document, then 2. You review it for obvious errors, then if it looks good, 3. You have an attorney review and edit it (without telling the lawyer that it was AI-generated to avoid prejudice). 4. You do a final review. It takes more time for an attorney to review someone else's document than to generate their own. The problem is that an attorney can't trust an outside document -- he or she has to review every single line. By contrast, the attorney will already know his or her own form, almost by heart. +1 to bolded section. Similar to mortgage refinancing during the historical low rates. Refinanced a couple of times and didn't really have to spend time going over the dozen pages of st...
by seawolf21
Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity Rewards CC WITHOUT a CMA/Brokerage?
Replies: 24
Views: 3137

Re: Fidelity Rewards CC WITHOUT a CMA/Brokerage?

If zero Fx fee is not a must have, open a PayPal MC. 2% back on all transactions; 3% on PayPal transactions including some PayPal initiated bill pay. My utility charges charges convenience fee if using credit card thru them but if I initiate payment from PayPal site, not only no convenience fee, I get 3% back. Fortunately enough my property tax is a supported PayPal bill payee. And then finally if you make Fed income tax payments… the 3% back exceeds the transaction cost of IRS payment partners. Okay, dumb question, would the Fed estimated tax payment be at 2%? I've never used PayPal before, just trying to figure out how one know which transactions are 3% cash back....... Anything charged on the card directly (as a Mastercard transaction) ...
by seawolf21
Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:37 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Fidelity Rewards CC WITHOUT a CMA/Brokerage?
Replies: 24
Views: 3137

Re: Fidelity Rewards CC WITHOUT a CMA/Brokerage?

If zero Fx fee is not a must have, open a PayPal MC. 2% back on all transactions; 3% on PayPal transactions including some PayPal initiated bill pay.

My utility charges charges convenience fee if using credit card thru them but if I initiate payment from PayPal site, not only no convenience fee, I get 3% back.

Fortunately enough my property tax is a supported PayPal bill payee.

And then finally if you make Fed income tax payments… the 3% back exceeds the transaction cost of IRS payment partners.
by seawolf21
Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:28 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dimensions for carry-on luggage
Replies: 42
Views: 3657

Re: Dimensions for carry-on luggage

Our grandchildren are of the age where they could visit us on their own, and we want to buy them carry-on luggage. Flights to us will be on Southwest, which allows carry-on dimensions of 24 x 16 x10. However, American, United and Delta all indicate that the maximum carry-on size is smaller, 22 x 14 x 9. When I look at carry-on luggage at sites such as Samsonite and TravelPro, dimensions are typically something like 23.5 x 14.5 x 9. These appear to be too large for all but Southwest. My question is: What really happens at the airport? Will these cases, being advertised as standard carry-on's, be allowed on board the airlines where they appear to be too large? I don't want the kids to end up standing on the gangway waiting for luggage checke...
by seawolf21
Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:22 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Amazon Returns: Default to Staples not UPS?
Replies: 13
Views: 1587

Re: Amazon Returns: Default to Staples not UPS?

Seems to me it defaults to closest location. It defaults to Whole Foods for me.
by seawolf21
Tue Nov 07, 2023 11:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 529 Plan Options - NJ or NY?
Replies: 26
Views: 8456

Re: 529 Plan Options - NJ or NY?

So, is it safe to say the income limit for NJ 529 tax deduction is $200k for married filing jointly? Yes. And checking the instructions for the New Jersey 2022 Form 1040, on page 24: Lines 37a–37c – New Jersey College Affordability Deductions If your gross income was $200,000 or less, you may be eligible to deduct certain educational expenses. Line 37a – You can deduct up to $10,000 of contributions made during the year into an NJBEST (New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust) account. Line 37b – You can deduct up to $2,500 of principal and interest paid during the year on an NJCLASS (New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students) loan. Line 37c – If you, your spouse, or your dependent enroll in or attend a New Jersey institution of...
by seawolf21
Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cancel credit card
Replies: 9
Views: 957

Re: Cancel credit card

I've always cancelled credit cards that I did not want to keep by zero'ing out the balances before canceling them. My question is this - IF I cancel a credit card and there is a balance on the card does interest on that balance start accruing immediately and when is payment due. I am assuming that the card will close to new transactions but the statement closing date and payment due date will remain unchanged? Is my assumption correct? Edit - the reason I want to do this is because my Sapphire card annual fee hits soon and I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep it, I am thinking of shifting to the Venture X so I may cancel this one. If I pay out the annual fee and the refund hits as well my balance will go negative then they have to se...
by seawolf21
Sun Oct 29, 2023 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cab pickup at JFK T8
Replies: 3
Views: 398

Re: Cab pickup at JFK T8

+1

Black car service if you want to be met inside. No cab/Uber/Lyft driver is going to park their vehicle and meet you at baggage claim.
by seawolf21
Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Health insurance guide resources / books
Replies: 19
Views: 2030

Re: Health insurance guide resources / books

Depends on your age, so what is your age? Perhaps also depends on your income (is your income under the poverty level?) And what is your citizenship and what country do you live in? 34 yo, married, 22% tax bracket, US citizen. Get it from your job? Get it from your spouse's job? Get it from the state/federal ACA exchange? Get a job and get it? Getting it from group insurance thru my employer. I might have sounded vague. What I looking for is a “smart” guide how to deal with insurance and medical providers in our broken US healthcare system. I so far have seen them only in negative light. Obviously providers care about $ and insurance companies are there to make $. In other words, consumers have no much power. I have been spending hours wit...
by seawolf21
Sat Oct 28, 2023 9:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recommendation for tankless reverse osmosis filter
Replies: 4
Views: 799

Re: Recommendation for tankless reverse osmosis filter

I would like to purchase a tankless reverse osmosis filter. I want tankless as I do not want to have to deal with cleaning the tank. I am considering the following two systems. APEC ROTL-AIO and iSpring RO500AK. APEC has a longer history, but I am worried about the effectiveness of just one filter. I may add the UV light and mineralized cartridges as well. Cost is not a factor. Any thoughts on these two systems or other that you prefer? Thanks very much. Thanks FWIW a tankless is guaranteed to be slower flow than a traditional system. Cleaning a tank is a once a year task vs dealing with slow flow multiple times per day. Cleaning the tank is something I haven’t done in 5 years but if you want to do it, it’s just emptying the tank and dropp...
by seawolf21
Sun Oct 22, 2023 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Hardcopy Prescriptions Needed for Travel to Other Countries?
Replies: 23
Views: 2449

Re: Hardcopy Prescriptions Needed for Travel to Other Countries?

I will be traveling to Costa Rica in a little over a month. It has been a while since I traveled outside the US, and have only traveled to Mexico and Canada. My wife says she read on the State Department website that, in almost all countries, you are required to have hardcopy prescriptions for any prescription medications you want to carry into the other country. Maybe customs would confiscate them otherwise? I'm not sure. I've been trying to get these from my doctors, but the results have ben mixed. One says I don't need the prescriptions. She says I just need to carry them in the original containers. Another gave me a computer printout of the information concerning one of my prescriptions. There is no signature or Rx number. The third do...
by seawolf21
Sun Oct 08, 2023 10:18 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which stores have FREE delivery and NO minimum order?
Replies: 13
Views: 1705

Re: Which stores have FREE delivery and NO minimum order?

Temu advertises as no minimum and no delivery fee; the orders take at least 5 business days and all products are Chinese made, not name brand. https://time.com/6243738/temu-app-complaints/ Temu is getting a rep. I guess they violate tariffs and do not get the proper inspections, among other issues I’m not following your comment. The words tariff and inspection could not be found in the linked article. Temu is the opposite of Amazon in terms of delivery . You are trading super slow delivery for lower price. The shipment/delivery times should be taken with a grain of salt. Temu is not good news for a lot of ethical and privacy reasons: https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/06/05/temu-shopping-app-scam-china-spyware/ Unrelatedly, REI has free ship...
by seawolf21
Sun Oct 08, 2023 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Waterpik --cordless or corded?
Replies: 17
Views: 2745

Re: Waterpik --cordless or corded?

Corded. Cordless is just better than nothing (when traveling light); less powerful less water capacity.
by seawolf21
Thu Oct 05, 2023 10:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cell phone plans
Replies: 17
Views: 2282

Re: Cell phone plans

So my wife and I had a shared Verizon plan for many years, total with fees was about $120/mo for up to 8GB of shared data. Recently switched to Visible and for $50/mo. we both get unlimited data. Only caveat is that speeds can be slowed down during times of high congestion (have not had an issue so far but I suppose it could be a problem... don't really stream video over mobile and probably 90% of my data usage is on wifi networks anyway. Odd thing is, Visible is owned by Verizon. Same network. Why would anyone not switch? Is there some benefit to Verizon that I'm missing? And why would Verizon undercut their own prices by offering a substantially lower-priced product on the same network? Because people like the idea of a "free" ...
by seawolf21
Thu Oct 05, 2023 10:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: DIY attic insulation removal
Replies: 21
Views: 3139

Re: DIY attic insulation removal

carolinaman wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:31 am
bradinsky wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:54 am FWIW, you can rent an insulation removal vacuum at places like Sunbelt. Disgusting job that I would pay someone to do.
+1. I totally agree. I would not want to breath all that insulation dust which might result in respiratory issues. Well worth paying someone to do.
+1

Job is simple but you really should out source the health risk to professionals.
by seawolf21
Mon Oct 02, 2023 1:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Brand New Washer is tripping the GFCI
Replies: 36
Views: 6804

Re: Brand New Washer is tripping the GFCI

Sparkyinpa wrote: Mon Oct 02, 2023 12:55 pm October 2, 2023 and Speed Queen has not fixed the problem at the factory. Just took delivery of a new Speed Queen and it trips GFCI receptacles on various circuits. Now I must wait for factory service to fix my new washer. Speed Queen management must be really screwed up. Not a company I would recommend or want to invest with!!!
Wow that's crazy. According to the youtube video above, the part 205333 involves changing the coasters the washer is on. Does that mean it leaks a bit of current to begin with causing the GFCI to trip?
by seawolf21
Fri Sep 22, 2023 10:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your View Of the Fidelity 2% Cash Back Visa Credit Card
Replies: 78
Views: 12244

Re: What's Your View Of the Fidelity 2% Cash Back Visa Credit Card

No foreign exchange transaction fee starting September 1, 2023.

https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060 ... emoved.pdf

Mentioned on Reddit couple of weeks ago and can confirm no fx fee on trip to Canada last week.
by seawolf21
Mon Sep 18, 2023 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Carry on luggage
Replies: 40
Views: 6692

Re: Carry on luggage

I have a much loved Náutica soft sided carry on bag that I bought at TJ Maxx 8 yrs ago and have used multiple times a year for travel. I hate checking my bags and always carry on. I never have a problem bringing the bag on board in the US but in other countries like Europe for example they take one look at it and announce it won’t fit in carry on bins even though I had no problem doing so on the exact plane a week ago. So they make me check it. So, I need a bag that has max space but looks slim 🤣 not a backpack because I already carry an Osprey day pack on my travels. Maybe something hard sided? Straps to cinch it down to minimize bulge? I don’t have a wheel preference. Thank you! Carry on size on some non-US/Can airlines are smaller.
by seawolf21
Sat Sep 16, 2023 10:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Forced dynamic currency conversion
Replies: 46
Views: 4284

Re: Forced dynamic currency conversion

Last few days in Switzerland, landed at my hotel in Zurich this morning and had an incident. The charge was just a few francs 7.5 CHF for the city tax as I had already prepaid for my hotel. Guy whips out the machine, it offers me CHF or USD, I choose CHF and the selection is totally ignored and it posts to my bank as USD (with a 4% markup). I tell the guy about it and he proceeds to give me some BS about how my bank is responsible for that amount and their establishment charged only CHF 7.50 (charge posted as 8.83 USD which is 1.177 and the current exchange rate i've been getting in the last 2 weeks consistently has been 1.12 or so). I told him no - it is supposed to honor the CHF and my CC has no markup (Chase Sapphire Reserve) and it has...
by seawolf21
Wed Sep 13, 2023 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tires - replace or wait?
Replies: 115
Views: 7570

Re: Tires - replace or wait?

opus360 wrote: Tue Sep 12, 2023 12:49 pm Costco - free balance, not alignment. I wrote incorrectly that they have free alignment.

Tires were rotated a couple of times, during first couple of years, but not after. I am "cheaping" out there.

Age is from tire (very close to age of car too).

No visible sign of any other wear on tire. In fact, garage shop I did oil change and the front brake pads didn't mention the unusual wear. They did say tire is getting lower on thread (5/32 or 6/32).

Okay, I'll get them replace at Costco with Michelin Cross Climate 2.

Thank you to all.
Since it is not urgent you have luxury to wait for tire rebate offers. Michelin just had one for Labor Day.
by seawolf21
Mon Sep 11, 2023 2:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping
Replies: 47
Views: 3796

Re: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping

Copper longevity is probably the same (copper purity/manufacturing is pretty well established so I doubt that has changed in the last 40 years) I’d also consider a whole house sediment filter - when the city does pipe work/repairs we get a lot of sediment in the lines that can end up in your water heater, etc. (plugged our shower head strainers with rock/sand) most “filters” don’t do that much apart from separate solids out. I don’t know if it’s better installed before or after the softener. If you decide it’s not worth the hassle- you can run it without the filter no problem. I’m not a water engineer or whatever (not being flippant, would have to leave the edit screen on my phone and re read the post) but I am a chemical engineer - I agre...
by seawolf21
Sat Sep 09, 2023 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping
Replies: 47
Views: 3796

Re: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping

Copper longevity is probably the same (copper purity/manufacturing is pretty well established so I doubt that has changed in the last 40 years) I’d also consider a whole house sediment filter - when the city does pipe work/repairs we get a lot of sediment in the lines that can end up in your water heater, etc. (plugged our shower head strainers with rock/sand) most “filters” don’t do that much apart from separate solids out. I don’t know if it’s better installed before or after the softener. If you decide it’s not worth the hassle- you can run it without the filter no problem. I’m not a water engineer or whatever (not being flippant, would have to leave the edit screen on my phone and re read the post) but I am a chemical engineer - I agre...
by seawolf21
Fri Sep 08, 2023 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Snow chains, AWD, or both for winter mountain driving?
Replies: 75
Views: 5414

Re: Snow chains, AWD, or both for winter mountain driving?

Get snow tires. If you don’t want dedicated snow tires that you need to swap out when it is above 40 degrees then the next best thing would be 3PMSF tires like Michelin CrossClimate 2 or Hankook Kinergy 4s2 which can be used year round. Better than traditional all seasons but not as good as snow tires.
by seawolf21
Fri Sep 08, 2023 4:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping
Replies: 47
Views: 3796

Re: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping

I know the RO description about wasting water in the process is true after researching such systems for aquarium use. People with saltwater talks use RO systems to filter the water before they add marine salt, as I understand it. For freshwater systems, which is what I have and what I was looking at filters for, people seem to use some of sort of 3 chamber carbon filters to get out chlorine /chlormine. I will research it further when I get closer to my build. My point is that I believe, based on my limited research that the posters are correct that the system described as not wasting any water is not an RO system. You can get a tankless reverse osmosis system now which wastes much less water. They say 2:1 pure to drain. https://www.amazon....
by seawolf21
Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping
Replies: 47
Views: 3796

Re: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping

There was a whole house reverse osmosis system in our previous house when we moved in. It wasn't very complicated and if you can do normal piping skills in whatever flavor of piping you have, it wouldn't be to hard to DIY it. The only thing as for maintenance once it was set up was to change a filter once in awhile and add salt. Initially I had problems with the tank that has the air diaphragm maintaining the correct pressure. Too much and your supply of water was very limited, too low and it took forever to fill a glass. I finally got a digital air low pressure air gauge to check pressure and which I could bleed off excess pressure precisely to get the exact pressure and from then on, I never had any issues. Are you sure it was a whole ho...
by seawolf21
Thu Sep 07, 2023 10:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping
Replies: 47
Views: 3796

Re: Whole home water filtration/treatment (for hard water) and repiping

There was a whole house reverse osmosis system in our previous house when we moved in. It wasn't very complicated and if you can do normal piping skills in whatever flavor of piping you have, it wouldn't be to hard to DIY it. The only thing as for maintenance once it was set up was to change a filter once in awhile and add salt. Initially I had problems with the tank that has the air diaphragm maintaining the correct pressure. Too much and your supply of water was very limited, too low and it took forever to fill a glass. I finally got a digital air low pressure air gauge to check pressure and which I could bleed off excess pressure precisely to get the exact pressure and from then on, I never had any issues. Are you sure it was a whole ho...
by seawolf21
Mon Aug 28, 2023 12:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Hardly the bottom line and far from it. And to add to the issues, looting and armed robbery are up, and that can easily spill onto tourists. You can Google that yourself or read about it here: [Link removed by admin LadyGeek] Even the HTA suggests that while the island is technically not close to tourism, one should carefully evaluate their travel plans and contact their hotel or rental to see if it is still available. [Link removed by admin LadyGeek] There are thousands of residents living under temporary arrangements in hotels (along with FEMA staff in some of the best resorts). Those arrangements are not sustainable for the long-term that it will take to rebuild. The likely scenario is there will be a transition to get residents into su...
by seawolf21
Sun Aug 27, 2023 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New car extended warranties
Replies: 68
Views: 5250

Re: New car extended warranties

Is there a general Boglehead consensus on new car extended warranties? Hear me out. I understand that in general, extended warranties/insurance are a net profit for the seller and net loss for the consumer. I'll tell you what the dealer told me and you can tell me if it's B.S. or not. He said that while warranties generally do indeed make a profit for the seller, new car warranties are still a good deal for the consumer who keeps his car a long time because the warranty companies make their money off of people who sell to a second owner because most people don't transfer the warranties. So if I buy a $1,200 warranty and keep the car the full 10 years, something goes wrong in that time, I'm covered. I come out ahead. If I buy a $1,200 warra...
by seawolf21
Sat Aug 26, 2023 10:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Don't plan on going. I've heard that short-term rentals are being sopped up as long-term rentals to house FEMA staff and displaced residents. There is a good chance your rental may be cancelled with relatively short notice. When FEMA announced it had secured 1,000 beds, I was aghast when FEMA allocated 500 to FEMA staff and the balance to displaced residents. You'd think FEMA would show up prepared to establish itself without drainging local resources (dorm tents, etc., Ssimilar to fire camps), but then I think back on FEMA's past performances, and while I was still aghast, I was no longer surprised. Please refrain from making generalized recommendation without doing some rudimentary research and providing references. https://www.mauicount...
by seawolf21
Fri Aug 18, 2023 12:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Don't plan on going. I've heard that short-term rentals are being sopped up as long-term rentals to house FEMA staff and displaced residents. There is a good chance your rental may be cancelled with relatively short notice. When FEMA announced it had secured 1,000 beds, I was aghast when FEMA allocated 500 to FEMA staff and the balance to displaced residents. You'd think FEMA would show up prepared to establish itself without drainging local resources (dorm tents, etc., Ssimilar to fire camps), but then I think back on FEMA's past performances, and while I was still aghast, I was no longer surprised. Please refrain from making generalized recommendation without doing some rudimentary research and providing references. https://www.mauicount...
by seawolf21
Fri Aug 18, 2023 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Non Smart TV can I turn it into a smart tv?
Replies: 11
Views: 2021

Re: Non Smart TV can I turn it into a smart tv?

Have you looked into Chromecast/Amazon fire stick?
by seawolf21
Wed Aug 16, 2023 9:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

I am shocked and heartbroken beyond words to see the devastation of the beautiful town of Lahaina, Maui. I love that place, the people, and the aloha culture. I have an upcoming trip planned to Napili (located about 10 miles north of Lahaina, and only accessible through Lahaina) in early September, and I was hoping to get insight from more seasoned travelers as to what planning steps I should take now. This is unchartered for me. Of course I will continue to monitor events. My airfare can be credited for a future flight, so that’s easy. As for my AirBnB rental (already paid) - I have no idea how that works in terms of cancellation/refund. As for a rental car, i have a reservation but consider there will be none available (perhaps they will...
by seawolf21
Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Power Restoration Update AUG 14 4:30PM https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/monday-update-430-pm-crews-restore-about-80-of-customers-on-maui Hawaiian Electric has restored power to about 80% of the customers who have been without electricity since Tuesday. Crews are continuing response efforts to restore about 100 customers in Upcountry and approximately 2,300 customers in West Maui. This estimated outage count has been adjusted downward to account for structures that were damaged or destroyed. In West Maui, the focus continues to be safely restoring areas that provide essential public services as well as facilities serving first responders and the emergency response efforts. This includes services and resources such as water, wastewater, gas ...
by seawolf21
Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Cruise wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 9:35 pm
rkhusky wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 8:03 pm In addition to all the other misery, there are many reports of looting and mugging.
This is absolutely untrue. Press conference on right now refutes this.


That's why I posted one should check official information instead of taking posts at face value. There are lot of misinformation out there especially by some who are anti-tourism even before last week.

They will make all sorts of claims just to get tourists to stay away despite significant portion of the economy dependent on tourism else that segment that is currently not displaced will end up needing public funds.
by seawolf21
Mon Aug 14, 2023 6:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

I recommend checking official sources for information instead of taking information at face value.

State of Hawaii Proclamation
https://governor.hawaii.gov/emergency-proclamations/

County of Maui news releases
https://www.mauicounty.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=12699

Hawaiian Electric power restoration updates
https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/our-re ... -windstorm

Hawaii (includes Maui) traffic cameras
http://goakamai.org/

Claims of roads being overwhelmed can be verified via various traffic cams, google maps, Waze etc.
by seawolf21
Mon Aug 14, 2023 1:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations
Replies: 120
Views: 18101

Re: Maui Visit - Planning Considerations

Governor for Hawaii issued 5th proclamation on Aug 13 listing avoid non-essential travel only to West Maui.

https://governor.hawaii.gov/emergency-proclamations/

West Maui resort hotels to be used to house displaced. Rest of Maui is open for tourism and do need tourism dollars.