DanZemke

I too have a Plan G supplement - with a twist. I have a High Deductible (HD) version. Many insurance companies do not offer High Deductible plans. Why? Usually because they are less profitable. How do I know that? Because commissions on "standard" plans are much higher than HD plans. The mandated Medicare High Deductible amount for 2021 is $2,370 or about $200 per month. So let's do a little sniff test using some actual data for 2021 from the state I live in (Connecticut). Let's up the $200 a month to $250 a month, to account for the time you might have to spend dealing with the first $2,370 of bills. Here's a sniff test: is the monthly premium for your anticipated Plan G minus the lowest cost Plan G HD available to you more than $250 a month? If so, it's probably worth your time to investigate a bit further. Here's an egregious example using actual facts for company X: Plan G monthly rate $551.59 Plan G HD monthly rate $66.65 Difference $485.94 And another for company Y: Plan G monthly rate $428.72 Plan G HD monthly rate $55.00 Difference $373.72 The above two examples show dramatic advantages of going with a HD policy. You're likely to find examples like this in your State too. But most will probably be less obvious. The more subtle question is, what if your expected Medicare eligible health care expenses are well below $2,370 a year? IMO, you should chose a HD plan, and potentially save thousands of dollars for the years you are relatively healthy. I was on a Plan F HD for 5 years until I switched to a Plan G HD this year. I saved over $5,000 by selecting the least expensive Plan F HD compared to the least expensive Plan F (standard) for those 5 years. But what happens if your health starts to fail? You still have the identical coverage as a "standard" Plan G but the very low cost you had enjoyed may be eaten away by the expenses you have to directly pay. In many cases, the Plan G HD (or F HD) + $2,370 will still be less expensive than the standard Plan even though you had to pay the full HD amount. Do the math and find out. -------------------------------------------------------------- 2021 High Deductible amount for 2021 is $2,370 : https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Health-Plans/Medigap/FandJ State of Connecticut available Medicare Supplement Plans for 2021 and their prices: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/CID/1_LifeHealth/Medicare_Supplement_Insurance_Rates.pdf?la=en

Jim, no I wasn't. In retrospect, I should have responded directly to travelinbob's assertion.

But "common sense" is often a group related. What's common sense for some, may not be common sense for others. 1. travelinbob said: "This is not hard to understand. Just buy a new hose every year or two. It's not going to break the bank." 2. An alternate perspective may be: Just get a better hose so you don't have to replace it every year. It's not going to break the bank. More expensive water hoses often have an inner layer that that is opaque to sunlight. So algae growth is not an issue.

Upon rereading the full text of your original post, it appears I misunderstood your intent. Best wishes.

We all accept minor risks in our life. I understand you're technical point - test the full product, not just a component. But lead-free brass, connected to NSF certified hose material is good enough for me. Extending your certification observation a little further, my guess is that there aren't any existing Recreational Vehicles in the US with an NSF certified water system. To me, NSF certification for an RV fresh water hose is not a primary decision factor..

The Water Filter Store doesn't manufacture their hoses - they fabricate them. They buy their NSF certified hose material from Kuri Tec . https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/custom-built-hoses I'm not trying to promote the Water Filter Store. I suspect the vast majority of hoses marketed as RV Water Hoses are NSF certified. Obviously, if the ad for a hose does not make it clear, ask before you purchase.

Real algae is a plant and requires light to grow. I'm certain that the custom hoses, I bought from the Water Filter store many years ago, do not allow enough light inside for algae to grow. I suspect that Glenn is using "algae" as a generic label for the stuff that grew in his past hoses. Similar to folks talking about the algae that grows in their diesel fuel tanks. Real algae does not grow in dark places. Bacteria, mold, fungus ... do.

Rick, you may not have noticed Glenn's latest post, immediately before my previous one. Algae has not been a problem for me either, in my 20 years of using my well as my sole water source. But apparently, it is has been for Glenn.

Neither have I. I haven't grown up on a farm, but I've lived in CA, MD, NM, NY and in CT twice. All of my water was from municipal sources, except my second house in CT, where I currently live. I use my private well and have never seen any algae in any of my hoses. It's often hot (85+ degrees) and humid here in the summer. I trust Glenn's description of his experiences are true. I don't know why he's found algae growth to be a problem with his hoses. The only speculation I can come up with, is that his water sources have more nutrients in them for algae growth than the water from my private well. Glenn - any other ideas?

Hopefully, the failure rate for all of your choices is so small, that there will be few responses. Still, a wise query than could benefit many. Thank you for asking for responses on a public forum.

I currently don't. But the SW typically has much harder water than the state of CT.

The custom length hoses I purchased from the Water Filter Store, a long time ago, are very high quality and I'm pleased with them. IMO, they are less likely to burst (I've never heard of anyone having that problem) and more likely to last a long time (age deterioration, or dragging them on the ground). That said, they are (IMO) less flexible than many (perhaps most) other RV water hoses.

I haven't tried any of the products in Kirk's link except for the "Wet and Forget" product. I based my decision on the following thread and the Amazon ratings for the product.

I've used this on a rubber roofed RV twice, with good results both times, and no detectable damage. No scrubbing needed. You you dilute it 5 to 1 with water and spray it on with a pump sprayer. My old RV had been sitting under trees for several years, so it had lots of mildew and lots of lichens. A week or so later it had killed everything and removed most of the stains. I used a garden hose with a narrow high-pressure pattern to wash it off. The lichens were dead, but as I recall, I had to scrape most of them off. The roof was still stained where the lichens were, so I sprayed again, and after a week or so, and another spray with the garden hose, all was good again. If you don't already have a pump sprayer, they also sell a version that is a sprayer that just connects to a hose. I already had a gallon sprayer similar to the second link below, so I chose to buy the less expensive half gallon bottle of just the liquid. https://www.amazon.com/Forget-800003-Mildew-Algae-Remover/dp/B001GTRBMO https://www.amazon.com/Smith-190285-1-Gallon-Chemical-Cleaning/dp/B002YNSADU/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=1+gallon+sprayer&qid=1601483275&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-10

And the crowd roars with wild applause ☺️ Thank you!

And my speculation was/is that the reason the site is less helpful than it could be, is because some businesses choose not to keep it up to date on vaccine availability for their locations.

Thanks for the clarification. However, my impression is that your quote is only about registering for the site, not subsequently updating information.

That seems reasonable. But after a few minutes of research, and navel gazing, I'm inclined to stick with Dr. Fauci's recommendation. "In adults, studies have not shown a benefit from getting more than one dose of vaccine during the same influenza season, even among elderly persons with weakened immune systems." https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/misconceptions.htm

I just poked around on it for about 10 minutes using a windows laptop and firefox. Looks good!

Yes, similar for me. The dominant in-town pharmacies here are CVS, Wallgreens and Rite Aide, none of which were listed on the search results. I got 13 matches for Flu (65+) within 10 miles. They were supermaket/Walmart pharmacies, a local pharmacy that is not part of a chain, walk-in clinics and a visiting nurses group. This is sheer speculation on my part. I suspect data is entered by the business at their option. A flu shot is probably more a public service than a profit center. So the more established players may have decided, "why bother". Last year, I called CVS, Walgreens and Costco several times before one had 65+ shots in stock. If I had known about this site, I would have tried the local CVS and then this site, and would probably have been on my way after 2 calls and 1 search.

I've also standardized on 14 gauge for low current 12v. Easier for me, than dealing with multiple wire, connector and tool sizes, for low current needs.

I plan to do the same again this year. Last year, it was a minor hassle for me, to find a local provider of a "65 or older" flu vaccine. The linked vaccine finder web site allows you to select providers by various criteria like: distance, your age, and type of vaccine you want. It's appears to be a pure public service site, without any desire to steer you in a particular commercial direction. It does encourage you to get vaccinated. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/16/when-dr-anthony-fauci-gets-his-flu-shot-and-why.html https://www.vaccinefinder.org/

1. Yes 2. No Some content is ill-suited for small screens. In those cases, might the user choose to use a device with a larger screen, or download a PDF version of the content? Or maybe design everything for small screens, augmented by PDF files (even the user has a big screen). Thanks for all you've done for us. Best wishes, Dan

I purchased Racor Diesel Biocide (Parker Hannifin) from Amazon, but they no longer carry it. I think I chose it based on Amazon ratings at the time. Dosage is one ounce per 80 gallons to prevent growth (twice that concentration to "shock" existing growth). I don't know whether it is better or worse than other biocides, but I have no growth in my tanks, and my truck starts easily with diesel that is more than two years old. "Amazon's Choice" is Biobor JF - Diesel Fuel Biocide, which has very good ratings. Each of these brands is priced at about $22 for 16 oz and recommends the same dosage. 16 oz is likely more than you will ever use, but an 8 oz bottle is only $3 less expensive. Maybe you have a friend or neighbor that you could share the excess with.

Derek, It doesn't appear to me that we have a have a substantive disagreement here. Suggestion. Let's move on. Best wishes to you. Dan