Electric panel questions.

[Darren]

@dfloen did you run a cable to your shop or are you using wifi? My shop is 100 feet from the back of my house and the router is in the front of the house. I could move it to the back but still a good distance. And not sure management would like the router as an ornament in the living room. I did not put a pipe in the ground to drag a CAT 5? cable through, unfortunately.

Currently, in my shop, my phone does not see my house wifi

The first part of my 8 year landscaping project was the backyard behind the house. Not wanting to touch it again, i buried two pipes between the house and garden shed. One for the 100A sub panel in the shed, and one for telephone and Cat5e. The shed serves as a hub, and with everything in there, i wouldn't have to dig up my backyard. When i built the small shop in 2014, I ran 60a to it, along with telephone/networking. and then did the same when I built the big shop.

When I got Starlink, I mounted the dish to the shed, and connected it to the gigabit switch in the shed, and everything worked fine. Until this past weekend when it all stopped working. Still not sure exactly what happened.

 

[LeakyCanoe]

I think it was a solar storm that likely messed up your Starlink Darren.

Here's a link to the story:

Solar Storm Knocks 40 SpaceX Satellites Out of Orbit

A solar outburst is increasing atmospheric drag and pulling the satellites back down to Earth

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Susquatch]

The first part of my 8 year landscaping project was the backyard behind the house. Not wanting to touch it again, i buried two pipes between the house and garden shed. One for the 100A sub panel in the shed, and one for telephone and Cat5e. The shed serves as a hub, and with everything in there, i wouldn't have to dig up my backyard. When i built the small shop in 2014, I ran 60a to it, along with telephone/networking. and then did the same when I built the big shop.

When I got Starlink, I mounted the dish to the shed, and connected it to the gigabit switch in the shed, and everything worked fine. Until this past weekend when it all stopped working. Still not sure exactly what happened.

I will assume you rebooted the starlink, router and any switches or hubs with at least 2 minutes off time. 90% fix

I'll also assume you checked for LAN activity on all the connections. 5% fix.

Connections connections connections...... It is winter out there. 3% fix

Can you reverse ping your starlink modem using your phone on carrier data? This will tell you if your starlink is actually connected. 2% fix

If so, can you direct connect a laptop to the starlink using only a wired connection? 1% fix

You get the idea.

That reverse ping is sometimes a toughie. Starlink might have to do it for you if they don't want to give you your router's IP address (which might not be a fixed IP). I like to find all my IPs when things are working so I know what they "probably are" when it isn't working. Anyway, as per @LeakyCanoe thoughts, I like to check if my providers end is working before I do anything on my end. Of course, they will do the reverse. LMAO! When they tell you to reboot everything I just put them on hold and go get a coffee because I already did it...... LOL again!

I NEVER let any body tell me to change my computer settings or access them from their end. I'd rather get poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

[Darren]

Its all working fine now. I was not using the starlink router before. It worked fine for a year like that. i used my Linksys for DHCP, but all of a sudden it didn't like that. I put the Starlink router back in the shed, and set my Linksys routers to bridge mode and everything is now working. I don't know what changed.

 

[Susquatch]

Its all working fine now. I was not using the starlink router before. It worked fine for a year like that. i used my Linksys for DHCP, but all of a sudden it didn't like that. I put the Starlink router back in the shed, and set my Linksys routers to bridge mode and everything is now working. I don't know what changed.

That's funny! I use mine exactly the same way that you used to. I don't like the providers router. Not enough security or flexibity in it for my taste. So I only use it as a modem and pass the signal on to my Asus Router to handle my network. The Asus will handle multiple networks simultaneously, has incredible flexibility for setting priorities, bandwidth allocation, security, and to top it all off has about a half kilometer WiFi range while also supporting mesh wifi networking. Too bad it won't slice through the metal walls out at the shop.

If I were you, I'd accept that your old router is toast, go get a decent mesh router, and go back to using your starlink only as a modem.

 

[Hacker]

Waiting for the inspector.......

View attachment 21121

Things will pick up once the inspection is completed.

 

[Hacker]

A little late, the trench was covered over before the snow arrived

It can still be done. I would re-excavate the trench and drop in the cables in the spring. They don't have to be that deep, 12 inches should be fine.
I ran two sets of cables and use them for the internet, security and to control the heat from the house.

 

[Darren]

It can still be done. I would re-excavate the trench and drop in the cables in the spring. They don't have to be that deep, 12 inches should be fine.
I ran two sets of cables and use them for the internet, security and to control the heat from the house.

I have Honeywell wifi thermostats in the house and shop. They are great. Can be controlled from anywhere. Best invention ever.

 

[Susquatch]

I have Honeywell wifi thermostats in the house and shop. They are great. Can be controlled from anywhere. Best invention ever.

We have nests. Love them too.

Best of all, we took three ugly controls off the wall in the house and replaced them all with one multifunction nest. I'm happy with better control and wife is happy with less ugly.

 

[Darren]

I'm on propane heat in the house and shop, supplemented with wood. I don't burn wood in the shop or propane unless im working. Too expensive. We turn the heat off in the house at 6am, and use the phone app to turn the heat on on the way home. If I'm going to work in the shop I can turn the heat on from my phone. Super conveinient and has saved me a ton of cash.

 

[LeakyCanoe]

The nice thing about the Honeywell wifi thermostats is you pay for the product, you download the app, and it works great thereafter at an acceptable one-time price point. The big value proposition is that there is no ongoing residual charge to pay.

We have one at our vacation property and we can turn the heat up 45 minutes before arrival, correct temperatures later if we forget, etc. and we can check it all remotely when we are not there for no further cost. And it has a humidity reading too, so that gives us peace of mind that there hasn't been a burst pipe or other water-related trauma unfolding unbeknownst to us. Yes, you can get dedicated online moisture detectors but most of them want a residual income from that in the form of an ongoing monthly fee. Recurring revenue is great if you are on the right side of the balance sheet...a bit of a ball and chain on the other side.

 

[Susquatch]

The nice thing about the Honeywell wifi thermostats is you pay for the product, you download the app, and it works great thereafter at an acceptable one-time price point. The big value proposition is that there is no ongoing residual charge to pay.

We have one at our vacation property and we can turn the heat up 45 minutes before arrival, correct temperatures later if we forget, etc. and we can check it all remotely when we are not there for no further cost. And it has a humidity reading too, so that gives us peace of mind that there hasn't been a burst pipe or other water-related trauma unfolding unbeknownst to us. Yes, you can get dedicated online moisture detectors but most of them want a residual income from that in the form of an ongoing monthly fee. Recurring revenue is great if you are on the right side of the balance sheet...a bit of a ball and chain on the other side.

I think it's important to realize that these benefits are not brand/make/model specific. Almost any WiFi style thermostat today has those remote monitoring and control abilities.

The biggest thing to watch out for is whether or not your thermostat wiring supports a smart thermostat (has a power and ground wire) and what kind of thermostat your furnace system uses.

For most of the members here, these are not really a big problem though.

 

[Hacker]

I have Honeywell wifi thermostats in the house and shop. They are great. Can be controlled from anywhere. Best invention ever.

I tried them and it wouldn't work in my shop. That shop is a dead zone for cellphone and wireless. The other part of that is I have an aversion to using wireless for most things. In a previous life I was involved with control security and most wifi devices are not very secure. The ability to monitor the building is a nice feature and I have that with the security system which is also hardwired.

 

[Hacker]

I'm on propane heat in the house and shop, supplemented with wood. I don't burn wood in the shop or propane unless im working. Too expensive. We turn the heat off in the house at 6am, and use the phone app to turn the heat on on the way home. If I'm going to work in the shop I can turn the heat on from my phone. Super conveinient and has saved me a ton of cash.

When I was building my shop I called the insurance company that we use and have it added to the coverage. One of the first questions they asked was what type of heating I was installing. I mentioned that I was thinking of using wood as a secondary source and they told me that they would not insure it if I used wood for heating.

 

[Susquatch]

When I was building my shop I called the insurance company that we use and have it added to the coverage. One of the first questions they asked was what type of heating I was installing. I mentioned that I was thinking of using wood as a secondary source and they told me that they would not insure it if I used wood for heating.

My insurance (a farm mutual) knows I have a wood stove and they are ok with it. I was told it's an individual insurer policy - not universal.

 

[Susquatch]

I tried them and it wouldn't work in my shop. That shop is a dead zone for cellphone and wireless. The other part of that is I have an aversion to using wireless for most things. In a previous life I was involved with control security and most wifi devices are not very secure. The ability to monitor the building is a nice feature and I have that with the security system which is also hardwired.

I hear you on security. I am a crazy man when it comes to security. I always go way overboard. If you have wired internet into your shop, you could install a low powered wireless access point for just inside the shop that no-one outside would even know was there. Just a thought.

 

[Perry]

Well I'm insulating the ceiling today...... I've got a question for you gents....

The roof tapers down to a pretty tight space at the eave. I have the blockers in place to prevent the insulation from blocking the airflow from the soffits.

The R40 insulation is about 11 inches thick. Do you trim this down to a thinner profile to prevent it from becoming compressed? Compressed insulation is not very effective. How would you trim this if in fact I should trim it?

 

[Brent H]

I just peel it back on itself so the thickness is not an issue where it goes over the top plate and between the air flow dams.

 

[Susquatch]

Well I'm insulating the ceiling today...... I've got a question for you gents....

The roof tapers down to a pretty tight space at the eave. I have the blockers in place to prevent the insulation from blocking the airflow from the soffits.

The R40 insulation is about 11 inches thick. Do you trim this down to a thinner profile to prevent it from becoming compressed? Compressed insulation is not very effective. How would you trim this if in fact I should trim it?

Further to Brent's comment, it doesn't hurt if it's too thick and folding it back does just that where it overlaps. A little compression like 10 or even 20% or so isn't really a big deal either. Better a bit of compression than gaps or openings.

 

[Dabbler]

Compression actually increases the r value marginally, but since it is thinner, it is a small loss. consider it a wash.