DIY Geothermal install - Page 8

randen · 01-17-19, 08:45 AM

Pinballlooking

Do you have any performance and operational cost numbers

Everyone loves the return of investment numbers. But strangely less the level of comfort performance

Randen

pinballlooking · 01-17-19, 10:36 AM

I don’t really have good numbers my TED (The energy detective) has not been acting correctly.
I have two other gateways for it but they were at my lake place. I just picked them up from there.
I hope to test them out this weekend and get a good one up and running. It is showing Realtime usage but the totals don’t look right.
I was comparing power bills but the dryer can really mess up the numbers.

I can tell you that stage one can handle to about 35-36 degrees outside below that stage two kicks in.

The lowest outside temp has been about 25 so far.
I really like how constant the temp is in the house.
My wife would heat us out of the living room so she is getting use to a more normal temp controlled whole house.

It has gotten louder maybe because we are using stage one more? I can hear it now it is now loud just in the living room you can tell it is running. In the master bedroom you can not hear it at all. Only in the living room.

I have a couple of insulation projects I need to do to try to keep stage on running longer.
One door I need to replace the door threshold and another door I need to replace the rubber part of the door threshold.
I have the stuff to do it but I have been waiting for a warm day to do it.
I am going to build an attic door insulation box to help keep the cold air up there.
I used my thermal imaging camera to identify some bad spots.

mab · 01-18-19, 07:01 PM

I know very little about either Geothermal or Mini Splits. You said you are keeping the mini splits - is this because they are already there or are you still pleased with the performance? Is the geothermal mainly for heating or cooling or both?

Thanks,
Mike

pinballlooking · 01-19-19, 09:42 AM

Geo is for both heating and cooling. If the Geo system energy has a issue I will have the mini splits as a backup. We are not using them this winter I flipped off the breakers so no one would be tempted.

The summer will be different my wife does not like it as cool as me and my boys. I think we will use the bedroom mini splits some this summer.

pinballlooking · 01-28-19, 11:04 AM

I had two piles of dirt that needed moved to my back pasture. I will be making a shooting range with this dirt.
I rented a dump trailer from Home Depot $115 for a day. I moved 23 loads or 69 cubic yards of dirt.
The dump trailer was pretty powerful it would dump with whatever I filled it up with.
I am now ready for my top soil hopefully I can get it this week.

It would have been nice to have a few large piles of dirt but that would have cost much more than $115.

I don't like to rent stuff but this made scene to rent this used ones are just to expensive and I would not need it very often.

pinballlooking · 04-12-19, 08:51 AM

Next stage try to get grass growing over the trenches.
I moved and spread out 30 tons of top soil yesterday.
Next up will be taking my land plane smoothing out the dirt and planting some grass seed.

pinballlooking · 04-24-19, 01:37 PM

We are now using AC and stage one uses 1.475 Kw not to bad. We have not had hot enough day yet to get to stage two yet. It is 85 degrees out today.

pinballlooking · 05-13-19, 10:29 AM

This is the last stage of the Geo install. I used my DIY rock rake to clean up the rocks in the top soil.
Then planted grass over the weekend. It rained over the last two days. Now it is a wait and see if the grass grows.

pinballlooking · 05-19-19, 06:15 PM

I thought the house was getting hot it is 89 outside. The thermostat was red with a error code saying condensate full.
That is when I thought I put soil around the foundation and over top the condensate drain.
Sure, enough it was plugged with dirt. I unplugged it and reset the system. Back to blowing nice cold AC again.

I need to dig a hole and put some gravel in it for the drain.

pinballlooking · 05-21-19, 05:00 PM

I like this before and after picture. It really does look better.

New grass is starting to grow but it needs rain.

01-17-19, 10:36 AM	#72
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I don’t really have good numbers my TED (The energy detective) has not been acting correctly. I have two other gateways for it but they were at my lake place. I just picked them up from there. I hope to test them out this weekend and get a good one up and running. It is showing Realtime usage but the totals don’t look right. I was comparing power bills but the dryer can really mess up the numbers. I can tell you that stage one can handle to about 35-36 degrees outside below that stage two kicks in. The lowest outside temp has been about 25 so far. I really like how constant the temp is in the house. My wife would heat us out of the living room so she is getting use to a more normal temp controlled whole house. It has gotten louder maybe because we are using stage one more? I can hear it now it is now loud just in the living room you can tell it is running. In the master bedroom you can not hear it at all. Only in the living room. I have a couple of insulation projects I need to do to try to keep stage on running longer. One door I need to replace the door threshold and another door I need to replace the rubber part of the door threshold. I have the stuff to do it but I have been waiting for a warm day to do it. I am going to build an attic door insulation box to help keep the cold air up there. I used my thermal imaging camera to identify some bad spots. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-19-19, 09:42 AM	#74
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Geo is for both heating and cooling. If the Geo system energy has a issue I will have the mini splits as a backup. We are not using them this winter I flipped off the breakers so no one would be tempted. The summer will be different my wife does not like it as cool as me and my boys. I think we will use the bedroom mini splits some this summer. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-28-19, 11:04 AM	#75
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I had two piles of dirt that needed moved to my back pasture. I will be making a shooting range with this dirt. I rented a dump trailer from Home Depot $115 for a day. I moved 23 loads or 69 cubic yards of dirt. The dump trailer was pretty powerful it would dump with whatever I filled it up with. I am now ready for my top soil hopefully I can get it this week. It would have been nice to have a few large piles of dirt but that would have cost much more than $115. I don't like to rent stuff but this made scene to rent this used ones are just to expensive and I would not need it very often. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

04-12-19, 08:51 AM	#76
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Next stage try to get grass growing over the trenches. I moved and spread out 30 tons of top soil yesterday. Next up will be taking my land plane smoothing out the dirt and planting some grass seed. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

04-24-19, 01:37 PM	#77
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	We are now using AC and stage one uses 1.475 Kw not to bad. We have not had hot enough day yet to get to stage two yet. It is 85 degrees out today. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 04-24-19 at 03:51 PM..

01-17-19, 08:45 AM	#71
randen Uber EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Strathroy Ontario Canada Posts: 658 Thanks: 9 Thanked 192 Times in 130 Posts	Pinballlooking Do you have any performance and operational cost numbers Everyone loves the return of investment numbers. But strangely less the level of comfort performance Randen

01-18-19, 07:01 PM	#73
mab Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: East Beauregard Parish, La Posts: 19 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I know very little about either Geothermal or Mini Splits. You said you are keeping the mini splits - is this because they are already there or are you still pleased with the performance? Is the geothermal mainly for heating or cooling or both? Thanks, Mike

05-13-19, 10:29 AM	#78
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	This is the last stage of the Geo install. I used my DIY rock rake to clean up the rocks in the top soil. Then planted grass over the weekend. It rained over the last two days. Now it is a wait and see if the grass grows. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 05-13-19 at 03:07 PM..

05-19-19, 06:15 PM	#79
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I thought the house was getting hot it is 89 outside. The thermostat was red with a error code saying condensate full. That is when I thought I put soil around the foundation and over top the condensate drain. Sure, enough it was plugged with dirt. I unplugged it and reset the system. Back to blowing nice cold AC again. I need to dig a hole and put some gravel in it for the drain. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

05-21-19, 05:00 PM	#80
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I like this before and after picture. It really does look better. New grass is starting to grow but it needs rain. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 05-22-19 at 08:40 AM..