BrianW

Those cans aren't going to do shit to that nest and your just going to get them more angry. You need something they will bring back into the nest. This is what the pros use in the link below and anyone can buy it online as long as your not applying it commercially. There is some loophole where just about every professional insecticide is available online for a fraction of what it would cost to call an exterminator on the below website. Only $32.50 and it would probably last you a decade. You just dust the entrance hole and the whole nest is wiped out in a few days. https://diypestcontrol.com/tempo-dust-cyfluthrin-tempo-dust

What kind of heat pump is it? If its a Mitsubishi Hyperheat they are still insanely efficient even in extreme cold. Switching over at 30 degrees is heat pump tech from the 90's when they couldnt handle cold very. Most hvac people are clueless about modern heat pumps and still think its 1990 and I bet that who is told you that.

Sounds like your neighbors have maybe and undersized system or the house is old and leaky with no insulation. I know over a dozen people that have switched and saved a fortune over oil/propane. Solar just makes heat pumps essentially free to run and has a massive environmental benefit, but even buying electricity from Eversource its still way cheaper right now. Another huge plus is electricity pricing is state regulated and very stable in price. There are 2 prices adjustments a year so your fuel costs is locked in for 6 months. Oil and Propane are on the free market and are not regulated like electricity and natural gas. I just watched a billboard for heating oil go from 3.89 to 4.39 in like a week. Take a look at efficiency Maines fuel cost calculator that is using current actual fuel prices in Maine. The savings with a heat pump are astronomical right now. You would save $3555 over a fuel oil furnace this winter at current prices that are bound to go up once the cold sets in while that electricity fuel rate is locked in. You can adjust the prices of the fuels in the calculator to compare. Just change Maines electricity rate from .21 to .25 which is CT's Eversources current rates. https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/heating-cost-comparison/ CT has some of the best incentives in the nation on heat pumps. The federal rebates are new so not much is known yet but it is widely thought that they will stack on top of the state rebates. CT rebates are over on energizect.com. Up to $10k is available for a heat pump. Sounds like your quote didn't include the rebate. I know someone that just got a $10k system for $4.5k after the rebate. Also, coming from an oil furnace their is basically zero maintenance. No more storing hundred of gallons of fuel that could leak or burn in your basement or ground. No more chimneys and carbon monoxide risk. Say goodbye to yearly furnaces cleanings as well.

DXR, BDR, and HVN reported zero precipitation yesterday.

Where's the rain? Its blue skies and sunny here and to the SW.

That little cell over Long Island has been putting out some intense lighting all morning.

Have you seen the future spot prices on electricity in Europe this winter? It's approaching a record $500 mwh. Here in New England with some of the most expensive electricity in the US our average price of around $50 mwh is a bargain.

Glad we don't live there.

In a newer home and as your propane usage shows its probably not worth converting to save money. But don't forget about the environmental impact of using propane. Extracting oil, converting it to propane at a refinery, putting it on a ship or train , then a truck to deliver it to your house etc. If you have the financial means to convert do it. Just about every state in New England has literally the best incentives in the nation for heat pumps and solar. To me its more than the monetary savings Has anyone been following the federal incentives? Many analysts think these federal rebates on top of the generous New England ones will cover the entire cost of converting.

Yes. You can also get a whole house heat pump if you have ducts. If you don't then a mini split will save you a fortune over propane.

I would probably fill now. Historically prices usually increase as soon as it gets cold. I don't think people realize how much the situation in Ukraine/Europe is going to impact fuel costs here this winter especially New England. The future spot price for electricity in Europe is approaching $500 mwh this coming winter as they have a massive shortage of natural gas in storage for the winter. Here in New England which has sky high electricity costs we average around $50 mwh as a comparison. Even wood pellets are going to be impacted as Europe is importing record pellets mainly from the Southeast. Have you looked into ditching propane and going with a heat pump? Massachusetts has huge rebates for them and their is now a massive federal rebate for them that make them almost essentially free to convert when you combine the 2. Take a look at this efficiency Maine fuel cost calculator. These numbers are based on current fuel costs and the savings are pretty massive. Heat pump $1747 Propane $5053 If I remember correctly Taunton has their own electricity that is way cheaper than the rest of Massachusetts so your costs may actually be lower. https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/heating-cost-comparison/

Looks like this is the display. https://www.scientificsales.com/6351-Vantage-Vue-Console-Receiver-p/6351.htm I would also like to get the station online on wunderground. It looks like this will do it but it's just a circuit board? The weatherlive system says its not available until September due to the chip shortage and it says this is an alternative. https://www.scientificsales.com/WiFi-Logger2-for-Davis-Vantage-Pro2-Vantage-Vue-p/7950.htm Edit: Found out the wifi logger is this system. WiFiLogger is a 3rd party data logger to use with Davis® weather stations consoles. https://wifilogger.net/

It also came with this tide gauge. Made me think of James. Downeaster Mfg Co HARWICH CAPE COD, MA USA

My sister just bought an investment property in Narragansett and the previous owner left this Davis on a pole and an anemometer on the chimney. The wire looks cut coming out the bottom of the conduit on the chimney anemometer. Can that be repaired? What would be needed to test these? Just a display like this? https://www.scientificsales.com/6312-Additional-Console-Display-for-Vantage-Pro2-p/6312.htm

.19 here on Pt Judith in Narragansett. This area is completely torched and has had little to no rain this summer and there are water ban signs everywhere. They even turned off all the showers at the state beaches.

They just flew over Narragansett and circled out over the water a few times. You in Rhode Island? What an epic day. About to get some lunch at Georgies.

Beautiful day out here on Pt Judith.

I pay a $20 monthly connection charge and then $3 a ccf (748 gallons). I only heavily water my fenced in 4000 sqft yard mainly for the dogs. Lawns need about an inch of water a week and that works out to about .6 gallons per sqft. So my 4000 sqft lawn needs about 2400 gallons to get 1 inch of water. That would be a little over 3 ccf or about $10 dollars. My winter bill averages $30-35 a month in the non summer months and around $80 watering in the summer.

Despite the drought in CT not a single reservoir is in drought stage. The August 5th Surface Reservoir Capacity Measurements and Trends has the states reservoirs at 94.3% of normal. https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Drinking-Water/DWS/Reservoir-Data

You need to get on city water. Just soft lush green lawns all summer.

Heads up to those using heating oil. Lots of signs are showing heating oil potentially costing $8+ a gallon this winter. A Storm Brews in Heating Oil: Elements by Javier Blas The US and Europe are running out of time to refill storage tanks. Today’s Take: The Storm Brewing in Heating Oil Heating oil is not what naturally comes to mind in the middle of August — particularly during a heat wave in Europe. Moreover, the market appears calm on the surface, with prices down 30% since March. Dig a bit deeper, though, and there’s a storm brewing. America and Europe ordinarily use the low-demand seasons of spring and summer to rebuild their stocks of middle distillates — heating oil and diesel — for use during the winter. So far, they have largely failed to do so. In the US, middle-distillate inventories typically increase by 20 million barrels from mid-April to mid-September. However, stocks are up by only 2 million barrels this time as refiners concentrate on making gasoline and overseas demand drains local stocks. In Europe, the situation is similar. The US East Coast is of particular concern. The region is home to New York Harbor, the pricing point for US heating oil. It’s also where the demand is: of the roughly 5.3 million households that use heating oil in America, more than 80% are in the Northeast. On a seasonal level, East Coast middle-distillate inventories are the lowest since at least 1992. Typically, stocks start falling there by mid-September, and soon after in the rest of America and Europe, suggesting the industry has all but run out of time to rebuild the buffer. High prices will be needed to force demand down and avoid running out of supply. But even high prices may not dent consumption enough because German industrial companies are switching from gas to oil, using more heating oil and diesel for electricity and steam production. Ironically, Europe is for now relying on Russian diesel to fill the gap, with imports in June and July rebounding to prewar levels. Starting in February, however, Europe won’t be allowed to import Russian diesel as sanctions over the Ukraine invasion take effect. By then, the heating oil market may feel as hot as the weather does now.

If you don't have a coolant or oil leak then its most likely the plastics, vinyl, rubber off gassing from the heat as Monadnocks said. My wife's Subaru with an all black interior did it when it was new the first year a few times in the heat. Opened the door and it was like new car smell times 100. Try cracking the windows or sunroof if you have one. It does help.

Pretty rare for Groton to have the highest max temperature in CT in August with an 86.

DXR +9.2 HVN +7.9 KGON +6.7 MMK +6.9 BDR +5.2

77 for the low. What an impressive stretch of heat down here on the shoreline. HVN is +7.9 for August July was +4.7