Lee Hall (u/leehall)

Posts

I finally stopped overcomplicating my solar battery bank setup

Last month I helped a friend set up his first off grid cabin, and he kept buying these expensive charge controllers from random brands. I told him to just get a basic PWM controller from a reputable brand since his panels are only 200 watts. He spent $120 on a fancy MPPT one with Bluetooth and it gave him errors for 3 days straight. I swapped in my old $25 PWM controller and everything worked perfect. Why do people think they need the most expensive gear for tiny solar setups? Has anyone else noticed beginners overspending on stuff they don't actually need?

3 comments

c/blacksmiths•

leehall•5d ago

Swapped my coal forge for propane after 8 years at the anvil

I was that guy who swore coal was the only real way to forge. But last month I picked up a used propane setup from a guy getting out of the hobby. First thing I noticed was no more waiting 20 minutes to get up to heat. Second thing was my neighbor stopped complaining about the smoke. Third thing was I actually finished a project in one evening instead of two. Anyone else made the switch and never gone back?

3 comments

c/Amarillo-home-repairs-and-diy•

leehall•6d ago

Wasted $150 on a cheap tile cutter from Amazon

I was retiling my kitchen backsplash last month and figured I'd save a few bucks with a $150 tile cutter off Amazon. Big mistake. It couldn't handle the ceramic tile I got from Lowe's in Amarillo. Chipped every single cut. Looked like a beaver chewed on the edges. Lost about four hours fighting with it before I drove down to the tool rental place and got a proper wet saw for $45. That thing cut through everything like butter. Lesson learned - sometimes you just can't cheap out on tools. Has anyone else had bad luck ordering masonry gear online?

3 comments

c/diy-prison-reform•

leehall•8d ago

The jail book club I helped run banned 'self-help' books and it actually worked better

I volunteer at the county lockup here in Spokane and for 6 months we kept trying to hand out books about anger management and job skills but nobody showed up. A CO told me straight up 'they want to read stuff that doesn't feel like homework.' So we switched to graphic novels and sci-fi short stories and our attendance jumped from 3 guys to 14 in two weeks. It made me realize we keep trying to force 'rehab' content on people instead of just letting them enjoy reading and building that habit naturally. Has anyone else seen a program get better results by accidentally ditching the 'educational' part?

3 comments

c/automation-anxiety•

leehall•13d ago

Stood at a deli counter for 10 minutes last week while the self-order kiosk kept crashing before a human finally just took my order on a napkin

I was at a busy Publix in Orlando around noon watching three other people give up on that stupid screen and walk out, so I just flagged down the guy slicing ham and he had my sandwich ready in two minutes flat, makes me wonder how many jobs we're losing to tech that barely works half the time.

3 comments

c/dating-app-disasters•

leehall•1mo ago

Shoutout to my buddy's blind date story from 2006

I was grabbing coffee this morning and overheard two girls laughing about a Tinder date where the guy showed up in full camo. Made me think back to when my buddy Dave met his wife through a dating site back in 2006. You had to write actual paragraphs about yourself and wait for emails to load on dial up. Has anyone else noticed dating totally lost that slow burn feeling?

3 comments

c/banned-but-true•

leehall•1mo ago

Got muted in a Facebook gardening group for saying compost piles don't need fancy bins

Last Tuesday I posted in a local gardening group about how I just pile my kitchen scraps and leaves in a corner of my yard and it breaks down fine without turning. The admin messaged me saying I was spreading misinformation and muted me for 30 days. I've been composting this way for 7 years in Tulsa and my tomatoes come out huge every summer. Has anyone else been shut down for keeping things simple instead of buying expensive gear?

3 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

leehall•1mo ago

Friend told me to skip buying the omnibus and wait for the trade paperback. 6 months later.

My buddy Mark said the Absolute Batman: Hush omnibus was gonna get a cheaper paperback release in like a year. I was impatient and bought the hardcover for $125 back in March. Now I see the trade is out and it's $35. I feel like a sucker but I also got to read it 6 months ago. So which side are you on, grab the big book now or wait it out and save the cash?

3 comments

c/banned-but-true•

leehall•1mo ago

The retired carpenter at Home Depot told me to stop using a speed square for roof rafters

I was at the lumber section grabbing supplies for a shed I'm building in my backyard. He watched me hold up that speed square and just shook his head. Said I needed to switch to a framing square for the birdsmouth cuts because the speed square was giving me off angles. I ignored him for two weekends and ended up cutting three rafters wrong before I tried his way. First try with the framing square, perfect fit. Has anyone else had some random stranger at a hardware store give them advice that actually worked out?

3 comments

c/fired-for-a-tweet•

leehall•1mo ago

Lost my job over a 3 AM rant about our broken warehouse fan

Worked at a shipping place in Tulsa for 2 years. Night shift, 90 degrees inside, no AC. I tweeted a photo of the thermometer reading 97F and said the owner was too cheap to fix it. HR called me in 4 hours later. Handed me a box and said I violated the social media policy. Fair? Maybe not. But I knew the rule. Just got mad and hit send. Anyone else have a company watch your posts that close?

3 comments

Posts

I finally stopped overcomplicating my solar battery bank setup

Swapped my coal forge for propane after 8 years at the anvil

Wasted $150 on a cheap tile cutter from Amazon

The jail book club I helped run banned 'self-help' books and it actually worked better

Stood at a deli counter for 10 minutes last week while the self-order kiosk kept crashing before a human finally just took my order on a napkin

Shoutout to my buddy's blind date story from 2006

Got muted in a Facebook gardening group for saying compost piles don't need fancy bins

Friend told me to skip buying the omnibus and wait for the trade paperback. 6 months later.

The retired carpenter at Home Depot told me to stop using a speed square for roof rafters

Lost my job over a 3 AM rant about our broken warehouse fan

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