Randyretired

I think the only negotiation doctors and hospitals have with Medicare and Medicaid is take the amount paid or do not accept these plans. Our Advantage plan will pay Medicare rates so we can go anywhere Medicare is accepted. I am confused about the amount insurance pays after Medicare. I thought Medicare typically paid 80% and the insurance picked up 20% of Medicare approved charges. The numbers don't reflect that. We don't see a lot of bills so I am not familiar with this.

Glenn, I can't help a lot here because I don't know your setup. I think you are trying to save the 44 idle watts on the big inverter? In operation how many hours a day will you have the big inverter disabled and only on the refrigerator? I find we use our inverter for things other than the refrigerator except while sleeping. Maybe 7 or 8 hours. If you are like we are is that worth it? Another thought is for our home I am planning on multiple parallel inverter/charge/MPPT units. That not only provides redundancy but during light loads I can turn off some of the inverters but still have some power. Hope these ideas aren't just adding nonsense to your plans.

This is always like chasing a moving target. When the dryer isn't running then the L2 is light. Then somebody plugs in an appliance and.... Your best guess then watch it now and again and maybe fine tune it some. We get by with a small inverter and just rotate our loads.

That sucks. Hiring an attorney may be costly for both parties so the attorneys will make money. Your attorney will need to guide you as to if it is worth it.

When you own a small business the owner has to do everything, including accounting. Accounting was my least favorite. For awhile I was the managing partner of a small business and that was worse because the partners always wanted the numbers and sometimes didn't agree with decisions. Thankful to be retired from that!

Glad you are okay. Your choices sound as if you kept anyone from getting hurt. Sorry to hear about your 5er especially after all you did with it. That sucks.

With series configurations it is important to not exceed the maximum voltage of the controller. The calculations should include the increase in voltage panels have in cold environments. I like to leave plenty of head room for this. Most controllers have little if any room to exceed the voltage limits. Most manufactures state that the controllers are most efficient with voltages that are just above what is necessary for the MPPT controller to function. However, the loss at higher voltage is minimal as these controllers are efficient so the savings in wire costs are often the deciding factor. One word of caution, high voltage DC is dangerous and can be deadly. Use extreme caution and safe installation methods. Another problem with high voltage DC is the arcing that occurs when switched. This can and will weld contacts. Use of quality breakers designed for this and avoid switching during high current is essential.

Any business I have been in you can only take a loss if you actually lose money. Of course there is depreciation and other numbers involved. You can't take a loss on receiving less than you wanted unless costs are higher than income. The only thing this means is they received less than they wanted. It is still income minus expense. I liken this to a car dealer putting a large number on a car and giving you a "deal".

I don't understand a lot of the billing but the amount our private insurance paid seemed to be higher than Medicare but they still did the billed/paid nonsense. What seemed like a major rip-off was the out of network costs. We used in network doctors and an in network hospital but they assigned an out of network anesthesiologist So we had some large bills. With Medicare they don't do that.

I occasionally transport my own backhoe and other things with my HDT. When hauling something other than the RV I stop at the way and check stations. Nearly always they want me to come inside with my paper work. I learned on my first visit that I need to be hauling MY personal stuff and not for commerce in any way. I once told them that I had a load of hay to give to my Granddaughter. Big mistake. We went through a lot of questions as to who owned the hay. When I finally showed a receipt for the hay with my name on it I was allowed to go on. He told me it was technically my hay until I gifted it but I need to be sure there wasn't any compensation. I am not sure if it was an attempt to catch me or more of a training session as the DOT officer kind of led me but in any case I learned. My hay for my use period. My backhoe for use on my land period.

This reminds me a some years back when I was thinking about a HDT I called the Colorado State Patrol in Montrose, CO to see if I needed a CDL. The first cop wasn't sure but added a more seasoned veteran. Their final thoughts were it looks like a duck in quacks like a duck..."we will write it up and let the judge decide". It wasn't until I was taking the CDL driving test that I found out a CDL wasn't needed. The Coca-Cola tester knew a CDL wasn't needed. Many are confused about this. In Colorado the standard drivers license says on it up to 26,001 pounds but here that is all that is needed for a recreational HDT. That verbiage is what those cops hung their hat on. I carry documentation on CO CDL requirements but luckily I have never had to use it.

These replies are great and remind me of the words my boss had when I mentioned we purchased a new to us RV. He also was an RVer. He said of most us RVers catch a disease he called 2 footitis. Just 2 more feet he said and went back to work.

Determining wire capacity is a complicated process because so many factors need to be considered. This is one description that helps to explain some of the factors. https://iaeimagazine.org/features/wire-temperature-ratings-and-terminations

My first RV was a homemade camper purchased for hunting and fishing. I was 18. Then came an upgrade to a popup camper then another popup camper. Next we took a 1 ton box van and removed the box and extended the frame some. Built it into a large popup and converted the van to a 4x4. We ice fished some so it was designed so that opening 2 valves drained everything for winterizing. Next came three 5ers. No slide, 1 slide and then 3 slides. Today we have a Teton we purchased 10+ years ago. When this goes that will probably be it. I have been an RVer ever since 18 and a tenter or sleep in a car or wherever before that. We have never full timed but we have stayed in the RV for months and occasionally more than a year.

I wonder if others also notice fewer cars cutting in front of the HDT. Maybe it is just because I know it is easier to stop but it seems I don't have to deal with it as often. Don't get me wrong it still happens but sometimes we actually get to our destination without every thing in the 5er in disarray.

As RV said it depends on what your investments are. The big thing I believe is if you have sound investments selling now or anytime the market is down is a form of trying to time the market. History shows that more often than not that isn't the best approach. Market investments for most of us nonexperts should be a long term commitment to maximize returns. Some even say market investments should have a 10 year horizon. The problem is with inflation as it is most other investments except maybe "I Bonds" means you will have less buying power as time marches on. It seems our choice is guaranteed loss or a chance of a gain. I am diversified in index funds and I am in for the long haul. Come what may. On the side I often gamble on some single stocks with a small portion of my investments. Kind of play money. I have sold most of those with the way things are looking. The market nearly always tends to over react and short term at least I expect some ruff times. My market timing hasn't been real exciting and those stocks have been higher risk. Bottom line I don't believe anyone can consistently call the market short term but over time the market has always made more than it lost.

Just one more thing to consider. Many of us use welding wire which has very high temperature ratings but most terminals unless marked are not rated for high temperatures. To account for this the wire capacity needs to be derated for the terminal temperature rating. Fuses for instance do not play well with high temperatures. Blue Sea has an app that helps to size wire for fuses and other conditions.

Unfortunately not paying insurance claims is a more common problem than many realize. Before Medicare I received a bill for $18,000 for a surgery. We had United Health Care and even though I was out of network they vastly underpaid. Like Vladimir the local insurance commission couldn't help because it was a national employer provided policy. I fought that for 18 months gaining a little help each time. UHC assigned an advocate and she assured me my out of pocket should have been $2,000. In the mean time the hospital wanted paid. After 18 months my out of pocket was down to $4200. Then the advocate quit and I was told I would need to start over with a new advocate. I gave up. In the mean time with the first advocate we checked some of my DW bills and found UHC also shorted on her insurance. Even when the shortage was identified we had to wait for UHC to send the claims through a committee and then management approval, about 2 months before they would pay us what they owed. I think insurance companies do that because "why not?" One of the problems is the national law does not allow the local state insurance commissions to intervene with national provided coverage. It was explained to me that because of that my choice was to work with the insurance company or hire an attorney and sue $$$.

I first heard of the board when there were reports of Musk comments about it. I now see that Fox has a headline on it but I don't know how much detail they have.

Under DHS the Biden administration has created a new board to confront misinformation on the internet. This board was assembled days after Musk and Twitter agreed on his purchase. So maybe the government will decide? This isn't the forum to discuss that but it appears as if there is another player involved.

It seems to me as a business someone will call the shots. Wall Street or a private owner. People's choice will probably be guided by their personal preference.

We have an employer provided UHC Advantage Plan and anytime we have a question or problem UHC has a number to call. They seem to prioritize their advantage plans. They should have a number for someone to answer your questions and assist with what you want. Our plan has this feature but we don't use it. They have been helpful anytime I have called.

Kirk, My wife also gas some mobility issues and I have taken over the daily chores. One of my reasons for solar and lithium is to make sure she is comfortable. We still like to spend time in our RV and specifically like to boondock. As long as I can keep up we hope to do some limited travel. Like you we also are day by day. If that day is sooner rather than later than somebody else will get more use out of the solar unless one of our children want the components.

I have been watching with interest the posts on this. I don't really know enough about MPPT controllers to add anything. I have seen charts that seem to indicate these controllers maximize the panel power but how that relates to optimal battery charging power I am not sure. How all of this manipulation after voltage loss might change things is a mystery to me.