Andrew Welser

As an HVAC tech who has worked with ground-source heat pumps, I see some potential, but let me also give you some points to ponder:

For a closed loop liquid ground-source system, I see design numbers in the range of 300-500+ feet of heat exchange pipe in the ground per ton of AC/heating. Heat moves relatively slowly through earth, so if the volume where you're pulling/dumping heat is too small, by seasons end you'll have a too high/low earth temperature and lose efficiency, or even not be able to run the unit if temps get too extreme.

This seems like an easy situation to get in if you're pulling air from the sewer, the main air source is likely to be your neighbors' vent stacks (assuming you can pull air from your sewer line, and still let your sewage through without pulling air from your own vent stacks), so your effective pipe in the ground distance will be the length of yours and your closest neighbors' sewer feeds plus the distance between feeds of the main sewer line. This has the potential to work, especially if you have some distance the air has to travel down the main sewer line (i.e. not another sewer feed just across from yours). The "fresh" water flowing down the line will greatly expand how much heat you can pull/dump.

That is the big issue I see with using a septic tank: the relatively small volume around the tank, and the relatively small inlet of "fresh" water seems to me to be way too small a source for household heating/cooling. A ton of AC capacity is called that because it's equivalent to the heat absorbed by melting 1 ton of ice in a 24hr period, and (at least here in Texas) a household AC system is often 2-4 tons (and similar sizing is needed for heating). You'd have to calculate the water flow going into the septic system and if you have enough flow to dump/extract heat with a reasonable temperature drop/rise. If not, in a very short time of heating a house in winter weather, the septic system might become a block of ice!

(To do the above calculation a ton of AC capacity is 12,000 BTU's/Hour; the definition of a BTU (British Thermal Unit) is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 pound of water by 1 Deg F).

Another potential issue I see is flowing enough air through the bottleneck of piping designed only to flow water/sewage.

The best option would be getting a heat exchanger in the main sewer line of the neighborhood. The decently large non-recirculating flow of water would be ideal for pulling/dumping heat. A pump and dump ground-source system usually involves multiple gallons per minute of water flow through the heat pump, often sourced from a well; waste water would be a much more sustainable source.

A little like the opposite of "White Coat Syndrome".

I've had similar things happen before, the most recent occurrence was attempting to set up filters on a Google Sheet of Form responses: I was having trouble getting it to do what I wanted, so I sent off an email to a co-worker asking if they could help or knew someone who could. After sending the email I kept googling and trying things, and finally got it responding how I wanted. I hadn't gotten a reply from him yet, so I got to send another email saying "never mind, I got it figured out!" I'm sure I'd have figured it out eventually even if I hadn't emailed, but it felt like asking for help (even without receiving any) was a necessary step in getting it to work!

John F Dean wrote:If you are in a difficult situation and one door closes while another door opens  … your house is probably haunted.

When one door closes, another door opens...

Other than that, it's a pretty good car!

John F Dean wrote:About 50% of the times when “Be careful” is used.  I noticed it earlier this week when I stumbled on something. Someone uttered the phrase after I stumbled.  It would have been far more helpful if they said it beforehand.

When someone would trip or bump against something, a friend would usually say "They just put that there."

He also would often say, when someone would use a 'royal we', "We? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?"

Here in Texas, it's not uncommon to hear/use 'fixing' used in place of going or preparing: I.E. "I'm fixing to go to town."

Gary Numan wrote:"What’s your snow removal strategy?"

April.

I live in Texas (for a reason!) so my strategy is wait a week! AKA:

Deane Adams wrote:My current philosophy, at this stage of life;  I didn't make that mess, I'm not cleaning it up !!!

Andy Ze wrote:Although I haven't seen anybody microwave it yet.

I'll keep leftover coffee in the fridge and microwave it to heat it up in the morning. But to actually make coffee, I'll usually use an electric kettle and french press.

If you need to do "truck things" often, &/or need 4x4 then a small truck makes sense, but if, like me you aren't hauling the majority of the time, may I recommend a hatchback, station wagon, or minivan (much better interior space for hauling vs a sedan) and a trailer. If you need the 4x4 traction you could go with a smaller SUV and a trailer. You want something big enough to handle your normal loads (inside and on a trailer) but no bigger than necessary to minimize fuel usage; rent/borrow for the occasional large load outliers. Or you could have multiple vehicles with different purposes: something small that sips fuel for daily commuting and a larger truck/SUV for occasional hauling.

I'm also partial to Toyota reliability and manual transmissions.

Eric Hanson wrote:
The long-johns that I have are not terribly far from a T-shirt.  I think that they have a soft & fuzzy interior.  They are fairly thin, but I am really surprised by how warm they are given that they don't really have much bulk.  This is a really good feature because it allows for more layering.

were those poly-synthetic long johns that you disliked scratchy and itchy?  Or did they just make you sweat and then not remove the moisture?

Eric

They're not scratchy/itchy, if I remember correctly  I would sweat and it didn't seem to be removing it, but that also could have been an issue with the material of my underwear, and/or over dressing for the temperature. I wore a pair for the first time this winter a couple days ago and didn't have any issues, so it may have been user error in the past; plus I sweat easily when I get overheated.

Also, I checked the tags on a few of the waffly ones, and they're at least 50% poly, not mostly cotton like I had been thinking; but even a low percentage of cotton can be bad in winter clothing?

I have a few different brands of poly long johns, but your description above was a good match to the pair I wore the other day; in retrospect I may have not been expecting the same warmth out of them as the waffly ones, so I was probably overdressing then overheating. I'll experiment more with them this winter.

Eric Hanson wrote:Andrew, did you check the link in the post I made above your question?  I made a specific link to a pair of long-johns that I find to be pretty close to ideal.

https://www.amazon.com/Roadbox-Thermal-Underwear-Men-Thermals/dp/B0D8HZSGP3/ref=pd_ybh_a_d_sccl_73/136-6728180-2216168?pd_rd_w=6VsV2&content-id=amzn1.sym.67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_p=67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_r=2A7RXRM3Q8PJBZFJAYFS&pd_rd_wg=bix8O&pd_rd_r=8ddb264f-a934-40ed-a988-6fc8c13e1ae1&pd_rd_i=B0D8HZSGP3&th=1&psc=1


And if you are referring to those poly-itching waffle type of long johns that seem to be everywhere--yeah, I find those to be next to useless.  The DON'T feel good on the skin.  I don't think that they are especially warm.  I really don't see that they are worth any amount of money.


Eric

I did see your link after I made my last post, I think we were typing/posting at the same time. You said the linked long johns feel fuzzy; the fabric on what I have that I don't like is more like a T-shirt, but poly, not cotton; only the cotton ones I like are waffley. I'll have to give those a try.

And how could I have forgotten the most important layer: a knit cap!

Eric Hanson wrote:Douglass--

I am going to second what you stated about the no-cotton recommendation for the first layer.  I should have included that specification in my post.  Actually, when it comes to *really* dressing for cold, I don't want cotton to be a part of the conversation at all.  I had a little (mostly vicarious) experience with mountain climbing and they swore by the phrase "cotton kills."  Most of those guys (and ladies) would not wear cotton *ANYTHING*!  Cotton goes from being too warm to too wet to too cold too quickly.  Cotton *feels* like a great fabric, and is skin friendly and breathable--as long as one is sitting and not doing anything.  But the moment that one starts moving and exercising, that cotton heats of FAST and leads to a lot of sweat which gets soaked up by the cotton.  This is not good.  The last thing one wants in a cold environment is to have a wet towel draped right next to the skin!  Almost any other fabric is better.

Do y'all have recommendations for non cotton long johns? I much prefer the cotton "waffle knit" ones, but the only other type I've tried have been some kind of thin poly/synthetic that seems to make me more prone to sweat and don't wick it away.