u/1d0wn5up

Finally got around to posting my DIY mini-split setup on our detached garage in New England. It heats and cools an upcoming 1,000 sq ft in-law suite upstairs, and after a full winter with single-digit nights and zero backup heat, this 24k Gree Sapphire has been an absolute beast.

To avoid vibrations transferring into the framing and keep it out of snow drifts, I anchored a DiversiTech offset bracket straight into the poured concrete foundation. Had a electrician fish a dedicated 240V circuit across the garage, then I took over and wired up the disconnect with an AG3000 surge protector (plus Square D HEPD80 surge protector at the actual panels) i ran a liquid-tight whip, and pulled 14/4 shielded tray cable with heat-shrink on the terminals for the communication wire.

Also patched the siding where an old framed-in sleeve A/C sat and moved my propane tanks for clearance. Bending that 5/8" line was a fight —my Harbor Freight bender met its match, so I had to gently warm the pipe to sweep it cleanly without kinking. I Cut the factory flares, re-flared with a NAVAC tool, put a dab of Nylog on the seats, and torqued to spec with a CPS BlackMax wrench.

I Rented a nitrogen tank from airgas and did a pressure test before pulling a deep vacuum and cracking the valves. Whatever you do, don't skip the nitrogen test—plenty of connections hold a vacuum fine but leak under positive pressure and by nitro testing it replicates actual operating pressures. I know many get lucky skipping this step and have no problems but for the cheap peace of mind i feel it’s important for the longevity of your unit to be properly nitrogen tested and be 100% sure that it’s not gonna have a slow leak over time.

On our 18¢/kWh municipal electric rate, running it barely moves the needle on the monthly bill. All in for what I paid for this unit you can’t beat it - I’d put it up against the big dogs like Mitsubishi , Fujitsu , daiken etc. Spec for spec it’s very close for cold weather performance at a fraction of the cost.

Tip: Gree Sapphires and Blueridge S5 units are the exact same hardware under the hood, just rebadged, and you can often find the Blue-ridge for way less. Especially if you check there clearance section at alpine airs website. They also include a DIY warrant and great customer support I’ve heard for help when doing your install.

Happy to help and answer any questions - I spent a lot of time learning in this group and am appreciative of it!

Just wanted to share my first mini-split install to see what you guys think.
Put this 24k Gree Sapphire on my detached garage in New England for an upcoming ~1,000 sq ft in-law suite upstairs. After a full winter, it’s been an absolute beast.

Anchored a DiversiTech offset bracket straight into the poured foundation to keep vibration off the house and clear the snow line. Had an electrician fish a dedicated 240V circuit across the garage, then I wired up the disconnect and added a AG3000 surge protector, ran liquid-tight whip, and pulled 14/4 shielded tray cable with heat shrink on the outdoor terminals for the comm line as well as added the hepd80 surge protector at the panel as well since I had it laying around.

Bending that 5/8" suction line without kinking was a fight as I’m still learning and my POS ratcheting bender wouldn’t do it, but eventually I got it swept cleanly after heating it up just slightly. I cut the factory flares off, re-flared with my Navac, used a bit of Nylog, and torqued the flares to spec.

I borrowed a small nitrogen bottle to pressure test with then pulled down a good vacuum with a harbor frieght pump and a Appion mega flow hose and then felt I was good to crack the valves open. It’s been running well and has held the space through low temps with zero backup heat, and on our 16¢/kWh municipal electric, it barely touches the bill.

Im still learning so I did this first install on my own home and hoping to get better in the trades. Feel free to drop a comment on what you like and didn’t like that could be done better.

Recently added a set of stairs off the back of the detached garage to turn the cantilevered deck into a secondary emergency exit. (Ignore the empty propane tanks—those are getting pulled and relocated to the other side of the garage since I just finished putting in a mini split).

This was my first time ever cutting and hanging stringers. I did a lot of homework beforehand, but hats off to the pros on here who make this look effortless—it definitely took some time and a lot of patience. It’s a long run, so I'm already planning to pour an extra concrete pier for midspan support to take out a bit of flex.

I tried my best to not only build it to be functional but also to be safe. I didn’t have an endless budget so I did what I could within my limits. Let me know what you think, and I welcome any constructive feedback or adjustments!

I’ve looked around and I’m not seeing many people talk about this. Seems it’s a big deal since China is doing a blanket ban on all orphines starting oct 1, 2026. From my understanding this will include all SR compounds. Is there something I’m missing here and a reason why nobody is talking about this? Won’t this disrupt the supply chain since most all SR is being synthesized in China with next to no state side chemist if any at all. Please chime in

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202609/23/WS6ab39a6be4b06d4aa055fce7.html

TL;DR: LiftMaster 1/2 HP chain opener. Original drive sprocket snapped after the chain became extremely tight. I rebuilt/replaced the internal gear/sprocket and everything spun smoothly by hand before reassembly. After reinstalling the chain correctly and leaving it slightly loose, the opener runs normally for ~2–3 seconds/6 inches, then suddenly binds. One side of the chain becomes extremely tight while the other side goes completely slack, and the rail bows slightly. Door is disconnected, so there’s no door load. I reset the chain multiple times with the same result. What could be causing the chain to suddenly bind like this?

I have an older LiftMaster 1/2 HP chain-drive garage door opener. The original drive sprocket/gear failed because the chain apparently put so much force on it that it snapped the original sprocket. When it broke thought the chain was not super tight it seemed to be within spec but the unit is older.

I opened the opener up and replaced/rebuilt the internal drive gear/worm gear assembly. Before putting everything back together, I manually turned the new gear/drive assembly by hand and everything felt smooth and rotated normally.
I reinstalled the chain and initially had the chain routed correctly over the motor sprocket and the idler sprocket. I intentionally left the chain slightly loose rather than overtightening it.

When I first hit the opener, it would run normally for approximately 2–3 seconds / about 6 inches of chain travel, and then suddenly bind.
When it binds:
One side of the chain becomes extremely tight, almost to the point that it feels like it’s going to break something.
The opposite side becomes very loose and sags significantly.
The chain becomes so tight at the motor sprocket that I had to use a flathead screwdriver to pop it off the sprocket. When it released, the chain whiplashed hard because of the stored tension.

I have repeated the chain installation from scratch.
I made sure the chain was properly seated on the teeth of both the motor sprocket and the idler.
I tried leaving the chain slightly looser to make sure I wasn’t overtensioning it.
Same exact problem: it runs smoothly for a few seconds, then suddenly binds and transfers all the tension to one side.
The garage door is currently disconnected from the opener, so the door itself isn’t putting the load on the opener.
The trolley can move back and forth independently when the emergency release is pulled, but I can’t get it to re-engage with the opener because the chain-driven trolley isn’t getting where it needs to go.

I also noticed the rail/bar can bow upward slightly when the chain binds.
The opener motor makes a loud humming sound when it encounters the bind.
I have not continued holding the button when it binds because I don’t want to damage the motor, gearbox, or new sprocket.

One other factor: when I originally removed the chain, I kinked/twisted it quite a bit, and left it thrown in a pile on the garage floor although I straightened all the kinks out before reinstalling it. I’m wondering if I could have damaged a chain link or roller, but the original sprocket failure happened before I ever removed/kinked the chain.

What I’m trying to figure out:
What could cause the chain to run perfectly for a few seconds and then suddenly bind so hard that one side becomes extremely tight and the other side goes completely slack? Could this be a damaged/stiff chain link, a problem with the trolley/idler, something misaligned in the rebuilt gearbox/drive sprocket, or something else?
I can provide pictures/video of the motor sprocket, chain, trolley, and gearbox if needed.

Hey everyone, I’m on the absolute last step of wiring up my detached garage for ethernet and Wi-Fi, and I’ve hit a wall. I’m a DIYer doing this setup myself, so I want to explain my exact physical layout, how everything is connected, and what’s failing.

The Physical Setup & Connection Layout:

1. Main House: Verizon Fios g3100 router sits in the main house. And then off lan 2 port in running my ethernet line to the basement and out to an underground Cat 6 line that ends up in a detached garage 100 ft away with living space upstairs.

2. The underground line enters the garage wall, goes through the studs/fireblocking, and terminates inside a Legrand media enclosure. Inside the enclosure, the line plugs into a TP-Link unmanaged gigabit switch ( Model TL-SG108PE) was purchased refurbished on Amazon.

Incoming cat 6 from main house connected into the switch. Then off the switch I just ran home runs to my computer , my tv and to the access points. The only one I have properly terminated and not just through the walls for now is for the access point. That one plugs directly into a PoE injector port on my switch, which then goes upstairs to my TP-Link Omada Access Point mounted on the wall ( Model ax1800 EAP 613)

The Problem: The LED on the front of the Omada Access Point is slowly blinking blue (about once every 10 seconds). From what I’ve read, this means it’s stuck in "Isolated" or "Disconnected" mode—it has power from the PoE, but no data connection to the gateway.

The Wi-Fi Behavior: My phone sees and try’s to connects to the Omada AP’s 5GHz Wi-Fi as well as 2.4 network fine, but there is no internet access as it just keeps spinning and saying unsecured network.

The IP Address: When I look at my phone's Wi-Fi settings while connected to the AP, it gives me a Self-Assigned IP address (⁠169.254.157.195⁠).

Troubleshooting Completed So Far:

1. Tested the Underground/In-Wall Line: I ran an 8-LED continuity tester on the underground line running between the house and garage. All 8 lights flashed sequentially in order (1 through 8) on both ends, and stayed solid green so the physical wire passed continuity.

2. Re-Checked Color Wiring: Triple-checked both ends of the Cat 6 terminations—both are set to standard T568B (Orange/White, Orange, Green/White, Blue, Blue/White, Green, Brown/White, Brown).

3. Reset Equipment: Power-cycled and reset the TP-Link switch in the garage enclosure as well as the modem and router at the main house multiple times.

Where I Need Help / Questions:

If the long underground Cat 6 line passed a 8-pin continuity test, why would the Omada AP in the garage still act completely isolated from the Fios router in the house?

Could a cable pass a basic pin-by-pin continuity test on a cheap tester but still fail auto-negotiation or drop data packets over a 100ft run?

Could I have knicked one of the lines as I was stapling it to the rafters in the crawl space? or could the Fios router in the house be blocking/not detecting the switch in the garage?

Any advice on what step I should take to isolate whether the issue is the underground line, the switch uplink, or the AP itself would be hugely appreciated! I’m going to later today try plugging a computer directly into the incoming cat 6 line and see if that solves anything to confirm the underground line is truly good. Would all lights be green if there was an issue? I do notice the incoming cat 6 line is solid green but very lightly flickers.

Any help that some of you could offer to one of my questions above or all would be super helpful as this is my first install and tried my best to keep everything hardwired but as far as configuring things I don’t know what to do or try next.

Looking for some advice. I have all my cat 6 wiring ran inside for my detached garage from downstairs up into the living space. I have home runs to the TV , computer , and now need to run one last one for the access point I plan on mounting in the center of the room. Looking for advice on the easiest way to drill through the rafters and get this done. I’m trying to avoid cutting any access holes in the ceiling as I just had it painted.

I know it can be done because the electrician recently did 6 led pods and didn’t have to cut any holes. I have access from the eves as well as you can see in the picture. I plan on drilling out a small hole in the center where I want to mount it. I have long flexible drill bits as well as a inspection camera to make sure there’s no other wiring I’ll hit. Any advice on getting this done cleanly? Should I try to drill it in one swoop from the center of the room down into the eves with the bendable drill bit? Or drill in both direction up from the eve partially and also from the center of the room towards the eves?

Worst case I have read that I could mount it on the slanted part of the ceiling but from what I understand it will give better coverage if I can get it in the center of the room as I’m hoping it will cover the downstairs of this detached garage as well. Any help is appreciated.

Looking for some advice. I have all my cat 6 wiring ran inside for my detached garage from downstairs up into the living space. I have home runs to the TV , computer , and now need to run one last one for the access point I plan on mounting in the center of the room. Looking for advice on the easiest way to drill through the rafters and get this done. I’m trying to avoid cutting any access holes in the ceiling as I just had it painted.

I know it can be done because the electrician recently did 6 led pods and didn’t have to cut any holes. I have access from the eves as well as you can see in the picture. I plan on drilling out a small hole in the center where I want to mount it. I have long flexible drill bits as well as a inspection camera to make sure there’s no other wiring I’ll hit. Any advice on getting this done cleanly? Should I try to drill it in one swoop from the center of the room down into the eves with the bendable drill bit? Or drill in both direction up from the eve partially and also from the center of the room towards the eves?

Worst case I have read that I could mount it on the slanted part of the ceiling but from what I understand it will give better coverage if I can get it in the center of the room as I’m hoping it will cover the downstairs of this detached garage as well. Any help is appreciated.

Looking for some advice. Gonna be my first time dropping some led pods into a vaulted ceiling. I have access to the eves as you can see. I’m trying to avoid having to cut the ceiling open as it was just painted recently and is textured. I do have a camera to check for any wiring before I drill. Any tips? Planning on using a flexible 56”+ inch bit. Should I try to drill it in one shot from the middle of the room over to the eve in the picture? Or go from the eve up partially and then do a second drill from where I’m cutting my hole in the center of the ceiling and then try and use a fish tape to pull the wire? I need to put this led pod right in the center of the room.

Looking for some advice. Gonna be my first time dropping some led pods into a vaulted ceiling. I have access to the eves as you can see. I’m trying to avoid having to cut the ceiling open as it was just painted recently and is textured. I do have a camera to check for any wiring before I drill. Any tips? Planning on using a flexible 56”+ inch bit. Should I try to drill it in one shot from the middle of the room over to the eve in the picture? Or go from the eve up partially and then do a second drill from where I’m cutting my hole in the center of the ceiling and then try and use a fish tape to pull the wire? I need to put this led pod right in the center of the room.

I currently have cat 6 non rated outdoor cable ran in conduit currently from the main house to the detached garage. It’s been sitting there for about 3yrs just terminated to the inside of each building.

I’m now looking to get things running and I want to just do it right with fiber. I’m trying to figure out what kind of fiber optic I need? And what type of converters I’ll need? It’s about a 100 ft run from building to building.

I just ordered a TP-Link EAP613 Wireless Access Point as well as a network switch model # tp link TLSG108Pe. The home house has a g3000 router from Verizon I’ll be connecting the fiber optic too.

My plan out in the garage is to run the fiber to the switch I ordered - and then do home runs using indoor rated cat 6 cables to my desktop computer , my tv as well as the access point.

Am I on the right track so far? Any help is appreciated or if people think the fiber is over kill for right now would I benefit keeping what I have currently ran in cat 6 and add Ethernet surge protectors that get grounded?

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on my recent labs. I’m a 36M dealing with ongoing fatigue and intense muscle ache flare-ups that hit me hard after doing any physical work or manual labor.

My recent results came back but most labs don’t say they are out of range but I know they are on the low end. Here’s some of the results and they did run many other blood tests so just ask if any other info is needed.

• Iron: 59 mcg/dL • Ferritin: 63.9 ng/mL • Vitamin B12: 274 pg/mL • Potassium: 3.8 Mmol/L • Total Testosterone: 300 ng/dL

I’ve asked my doctor for add-on tests, including a full iron panel (for transferrin saturation) and MMA/Homocysteine to check the B12 that’s coming back low - Not sure if those will help but figured it couldn’t hurt.

Has anyone here experienced severe post-exertion muscle pain and crashes with what I’m told is "low-normal" numbers like these, Even with a normal ferritin? Doctor is suggesting to take iron tablets for the next 3 months and says that should resolve things. But still I’m left wondering if the b12 should be looked into more also. Did raising your levels clear up the muscle recovery issues and extreme aches? Thanks

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on my recent labs. I’m a 36M dealing with ongoing fatigue and intense muscle ache flare-ups that hit me hard after doing any physical work or manual labor.

My recent results came back but most labs don’t say they are out of range but I know they are on the low end. Here’s some of the results and they did run many other blood tests so just ask if any other info is needed.

• Iron: 59 mcg/dL • Ferritin: 63.9 ng/mL • Vitamin B12: 274 pg/mL • Total Testosterone: 300 ng/dL

I’ve asked my doctor for add-on tests, including a full iron panel (for transferrin saturation) and MMA/Homocysteine to check the B12 that’s coming back low - Not sure if those will help but figured it couldn’t hurt.

Has anyone here experienced severe post-exertion muscle pain and crashes with what I’m told is "low-normal" numbers like these, Even with a normal ferritin? Doctor is suggesting to take iron tablets for the next 3 months and says that should resolve things. Did raising your levels clear up the muscle recovery issues and extreme aches? Thanks

Should my ceiling paint have been tinted the same as my trim? My painter already completed painting the trim work and it looks awesome he started to cut in on the edges of the ceiling, but I feel like the ceiling looks slightly blue in comparison to the bright white cabinets and trim.

Could it just be from the old paint casting a blue shadow off it towards the ceiling? The trim paint is sherwin Williams extra white and the ceiling is Benjamin moore waterborne ultra flat. I don’t mind getting the primer tinted and paying the painter extra to recut in the ceiling if that’s the way it’s usually done and will look better or if like I said it’s just the rooms walls and lighting playing tricks. Does the trim and ceiling paint usually suppose to match when getting a whole room repainted?

Should my ceiling paint have been tinted the same as my trim? My painter already completed painting the trim work and it looks awesome he started to cut in on the edges of the ceiling, but I feel like the ceiling looks slightly blue in comparison to the bright white cabinets and trim.

Could it just be from the old paint casting a blue shadow off it towards the ceiling? The trim paint is sherwin Williams extra white and the ceiling is Benjamin moore waterborne ultra flat. I don’t mind getting the primer tinted and paying the painter extra to recut in the ceiling if that’s the way it’s usually done and will look better or if like I said it’s just the rooms walls and lighting playing tricks. Does the trim and ceiling paint usually suppose to match when getting a whole room repainted?

Looking for some advice on painting a raw, never-before-painted ceiling. I’m hiring a painter who plans to use Benjamin Moore Waterborne Ceiling Paint. His contract specifies two coats of paint, with any additional coats costing extra.

Since the ceiling is unpainted, I know it’s going to drink up a lot of material. To stay within my budget and get the best result, would I be better off asking him to do one coat of primer and one coat of paint instead of two coats of straight paint?

My thought process is that a dedicated primer would seal the surface, improve adhesion, and prevent the ceiling from soaking up the expensive ceiling paint—potentially saving on material costs and getting a better finish but I could be wrong. Has anyone else dealt with this? Would a primer + single topcoat hold up and look right, or should I stick to his two-coat paint plan? They have given me both options so just want to hear from others

Looking for some advice on painting a raw, never-before-painted ceiling. I’m hiring a painter who plans to use Benjamin Moore Waterborne Ceiling Paint. His contract specifies two coats of paint, with any additional coats costing extra.

Since the ceiling is unpainted, I know it’s going to drink up a lot of material. To stay within my budget and get the best result, would I be better off asking him to do one coat of primer and one coat of paint instead of two coats of straight paint?

My thought process is that a dedicated primer would seal the surface, improve adhesion, and prevent the ceiling from soaking up the expensive ceiling paint—potentially saving on material costs and getting a better finish but I could be wrong. Has anyone else dealt with this? Would a primer + single topcoat hold up and look right, or should I stick to his two-coat paint plan? They have given me both options so just want to hear from others

Looking for some advice on painting a raw, never-before-painted ceiling. I’m hiring a painter who plans to use Benjamin Moore Waterborne Ceiling Paint. His contract specifies two coats of paint, with any additional coats costing extra.

Since the ceiling is unpainted, I know it’s going to drink up a lot of material. To stay within my budget and get the best result, would I be better off asking him to do one coat of primer and one coat of paint instead of two coats of straight paint?

My thought process is that a dedicated primer would seal the surface, improve adhesion, and prevent the ceiling from soaking up the expensive ceiling paint—potentially saving on material costs and getting a better finish but I could be wrong. Has anyone else dealt with this? Would a primer + single topcoat hold up and look right, or should I stick to his two-coat paint plan? They have given me both options so just want to hear from others