The Pol
- Thread starter KayaBrew
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He came back under a different name (I forget), sold a system on here, then (afaik) disappeared again.
willynilly was the new name
annasdadhockey
Well-Known Member
What I got out of it was, some people were ragging on him about his system and his methods, he got sick of it, said **** it, and bailed. I could be wrong though
Naw, that is about it. He PM'd me same. Safety issues over electric brewing. And other stuff. This forum can get to you after a while. Tough to do the "noob to veteran" transition without getting bitter.
BulldogBrewer
Well-Known Member
That's too bad. Uninformed BS pushes out a knowledgeable veteran? Sad.
Laughing_Gnome_Invisible
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He had good advice and a slight personality problem IMO. Don't we all though? 
No one knows the full story but he essentially pulled a bunch of useful threads in a tantrum of protest when folks expressed concern over his male to male pigtail setup.
While I understand everyone's persistence on the matter, and his resulting frustration, the way he handled it was lame.
While I understand everyone's persistence on the matter, and his resulting frustration, the way he handled it was lame.
lustreking
Well-Known Member
It was a very legitimate safety concern though, especially since he hinted that he was thinking about commercially selling his system.
Huh...this is all news to me. I get sick of all the bickering on here as well. I can see how someone would just bail. Sometimes it's not worth the time to stick up for yourself on the f*cking internet. Some people on this board make themselves sound like the most pompous assh*les.
He had good advice and a slight personality problem IMO. Don't we all though?
That sounds like me, except for the good advice part. And instead of a slight personality problem, I might say anti-social personality disorder. But yea, that describes me . . .
True and very insightful.
He's fickle and doesn't drink much. I hope he enjoys his next hobby.
Male to male pigtail? Now that's funny!
Male to male pigtail? Now that's funny!
To each their own. I thought he had some interesting stuff to post. All of his inability to let the criticism roll off his back could be said for those who argued against him with his pigtail thing. They got their opinion in and could just as easily have let people make up their own minds about it.
But that's the way of the Internet.
Last night I played WoW and got in a group with random strangers. After our first healer bailed on a couple of failed Final Boss attempts, the new one start immediately verbally slapping us around. WTH? Why would you go into a group and ASK to be kicked? I guess being anonymous makes SOME people feel like they can and should say anything. This jerk probably told all of his buddies how lame us "Noobs" are (FWIW we were slightly under geared and inexperienced). We beat the boss on the next pass with the new healer.
It can be hard to express tone as much as it's hard to keep from saying something insulting. There have been a couple of knowledgeable and interesting people on this forum who have left, for whatever reason. Some are still here but don't post much anymore.
Some of us just have too much time on their hands while at work...
But that's the way of the Internet.
Last night I played WoW and got in a group with random strangers. After our first healer bailed on a couple of failed Final Boss attempts, the new one start immediately verbally slapping us around. WTH? Why would you go into a group and ASK to be kicked? I guess being anonymous makes SOME people feel like they can and should say anything. This jerk probably told all of his buddies how lame us "Noobs" are (FWIW we were slightly under geared and inexperienced). We beat the boss on the next pass with the new healer.
It can be hard to express tone as much as it's hard to keep from saying something insulting. There have been a couple of knowledgeable and interesting people on this forum who have left, for whatever reason. Some are still here but don't post much anymore.
Some of us just have too much time on their hands while at work...
That's why I'm staying a n00b.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news...
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His lawn was nice though.
Hang Glider
Beer Drinker
what ?? post count doesn't make you a veteran, except of the keyboard...
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Never saw that, but the small world thing just hit me. Power was out here for a week after Irene. Searching the web for a way to power my whole house with my generator I came across boards with the same fight over male to male connections. Some people are pretty passionate about safety. Others just want to prove that they know something that you don't know. Either way, it gets ugly fast.
edit to say:
Oh, and I did hook into the dryer circuit. It sure beat me and the dogs tripping over extension cords.
It was! Even in the winter, it looked great. (I was at his house on New Year's Day).
I always liked him, and I considered him a friend. Sometimes dealing with people on the internet is not easy- there is a real "piling on" mentality and sometimes we forget our manners. I'm pretty tough, though, and I don't think I'm the type to take my ball and go home.
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He's done gone pro!
He still pops in occassionally, but he's extremely busy...
He still pops in occassionally, but he's extremely busy...
Bernie Brewer
Grouchy Old Fart
I knew nothing of the "male-to-male" pigtail thing, but if I did I would have weighed in on it as well. It is inherently dangerous. But no one listens to me anyway.
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Speaking of MIAs, what happened to Bernie Brewer?
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
I understand that the level of paranoia given any piece of equipment should be directly correlated to the consequences of mishandling. I'd equate handling a male to male cordset just like a gun. Assume the gun is loaded at all times and assume one of the female outlets is hot. Jesus, I just can't avoid the innuendo today. The problem comes when someone who is NOT aware of the danger decides to handle things. No one assumes an extension cord is dangerous to handle because we've been conditioned our whole lives.
My plan for wiring in the generator is to add a dedicated panel mount male twistlock to a weathertight box outside and feed it back to the panel through a dedicated breaker with a sliding manual interlock. This requires the main breaker be off prior to engaging the Gen backfeed breaker.
This outdoor one is $50
FYI, I think the reason Pol went with a male to male cord set was to avoid the cost of the panel mount male. That's probably where most of the heat came from.
The cord set between the gen and outlet will then be male to female like any other. The male twistlok on the wall can never be hot as fed from the panel as long as the interlock plate remains functional.
Anyone seen CodeRage in a while? I dropped him a PM... he's been absent for quite a while.
Actually there is a MIA thread somewhere, but I was too lazy to look for it. Someone google that for me, TIA.
He messaged me a few months back, right after my surgery, I think. IIRc he got out of brewing and beer drinking, and was hanging out on a message board devoted to the cultivation and participation in a plant closely related to Humulus lupus (one would say a "cousin" of) where there was someone going by the monicker Revvy, who he wondered if it was moi. (Having given up imbibing in that stuff 25 years ago after yakking on a bunch of Motown Funk Brothers, I could honestly say it wasn't me.
)
Off topic...but if you want to add a generator you need a critical load panel and a transfer switch. Defiantly not a male to male pig tail. Some idiot might island the grid and put utility workers at risk.
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I think you're right... He could have avoided the concern altogether except he wanted to be able to remove the power cord from his control panel. I think most folks don't have a problem with a power cord coming from their panel. But, because he was building a piece of furniture and was more concerned with aesthetics he wanted to be able to remove the cord for display purposes.
He could have still had a removable cord but it was the $25 difference in price for the male panel mount vs. the way more common female.
I think think it would be slick to use the same concept on all the vessels as well so that you didn't need the cordset hanging off. Someone needs to start working on a line of heating elements with a molded-in male twistlock. Hmmm, beard stroke and a Dr. Evil pinky.....
Even after all the bickering he could have just said, "thanks for all your concern, it's dangerous and I'm reconsidering the design". Whether or not he would ever heed the advice is moot at that point. I've only seen one other person throw a "I'm outta here" tantrum in my whole life.
I think think it would be slick to use the same concept on all the vessels as well so that you didn't need the cordset hanging off. Someone needs to start working on a line of heating elements with a molded-in male twistlock. Hmmm, beard stroke and a Dr. Evil pinky.....
Even after all the bickering he could have just said, "thanks for all your concern, it's dangerous and I'm reconsidering the design". Whether or not he would ever heed the advice is moot at that point. I've only seen one other person throw a "I'm outta here" tantrum in my whole life.
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I pretty sure I have seen a molded in twist loc mounted in a cover plate on someone's BK here... may have been Boerderij_Kabouter.
I made the exact same point to The Pol you mentioned earlier... "No one expects to get shocked/killed by the male end of an extension cord because that's not what we're used to".
In the US, you look left before stepping off the sidewalk to cross the street, in the UK, that habit will get you killed!! I made that mistake and was nearly hit. I was shocked how conditioned I was to look left, I never realized I did it.
I agree, instead of saying... "Thanks, noted." he, went with his normal sarcastic "Oh My GOD, I'm going to DIE" response. I let it go, but I guess other's didn't, next time I was on HBT, he had "taken his ball and went home" (deleted the thread).
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Not with an interlock bar that Bobby was talking mentioned. It fits over two circuit breakers, but only allows one or another to be open at a time. In this way, either the main circuit breaker is open (allowing electricity to come into the panel via the main line) or it is closed and isolating the panel from the grid and the circuit breaker to the generator can be opened to energize the panel. That way there can never be a back-feed from the generator into the main line.
Functionally, the system works. I guess the question is if this is a code-legal way of setting up a generator power transfer system. I have one in my house and it was installed by an reputable electrician, FWIW.
It's not just what people here expect. It's the fact that have hot male ends leave hot elements exposed. With a female, you can swing it around and bump it into things and nothing is likely to happen. With a male end, it can get shorted and cause a problem.
But like you say, it could have been a simple 'I wouldn't do that because..." and an "Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm building mine this way anyway." and let it go.
I'm the kind of person that needs that little bit of extra safety. I'd have the cord end in my hand and go to do something else and just set it down on the panel where it could short out.
There is a good reason that hot conductors are kept covered and hard to get at...
But like you say, it could have been a simple 'I wouldn't do that because..." and an "Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm building mine this way anyway." and let it go.
I'm the kind of person that needs that little bit of extra safety. I'd have the cord end in my hand and go to do something else and just set it down on the panel where it could short out.
There is a good reason that hot conductors are kept covered and hard to get at...
Don't worry everyone!!! ALL IS WELL!!!
I'm still here!
(just cause I know some folks were getting nervous)
I'm still here!
(just cause I know some folks were getting nervous)
jkarp
Well-Known Member
Bobby_M said:
Actually I think the picture was a little bigger than this. POL liked putting his work out there for people to admire (even had a small article in BYO on his earlier rig), but he couldn't take criticism at all.
It's tough to put yourself out there. I know of many folks who've cloned my CB20 rig but I still get notes from people who insist it is sh*t and cannot possibly produce drinkable beer.
