Send me whatever additional question you might have. I will do my best to share my opinion…for whatever that is worth.
Is this intentional?
Yes. Destroy the family through economics…it’s the easiest way to do it. Financial and economic stress leads to, or an underlying cause of, virtually all the major causes of divorce.
But it doesn’t end there or start there. We know that the government and society have been at war with religion for a long time. The US government gave churches a “charity” status to allow church member donations to be tax deductible from federal income taxes. But, the trade-off was…the same federal government outlawed churches from speaking about politics from the pulpit. The 1913 Federal Income Tax amendment was an “anti-religion” weapon.
Destroy religion and then destroy the family…what is left that is greater, or has greater power, than the federal government. And who runs the federal government…people with lots of money or the average citizen? And where has the US wealth been transferred to and from over the last 55 years?
Has this happened before?
Oh, hell yes!
Look back at the middle ages…the feudal system. The ruling elite were the nobles; kings, earls, dukes, etc. They owned everything; primarily the land. The people lived on the monarchs’ land; and for that privilege they paid the monarch almost all of the money (or tangible equivalent) raised or grown for that privilege. If they didn’t pay, they were evicted or sent to prison.
But, here is the interesting thing…monarchs needed money, cash money. Normally that need focused around their desire to wage war or some large scale building project. Rarely did they have all the money they needed, so who did they turn to? Banks. Yup, banks came into existence about 2000BC. And back then, just like today, the rich people owned and controlled the banks. So essentially, to a great degree, banks (the rich) controlled, or at least greatly influenced, kingdoms (i.e. governments) all the way throughout history.
Sound familiar?
Today governments essentially own all the land on which the average person lives. And for the privilege of living on that land they pay taxes…property taxes. Fail to pay those property taxes and the true landowner (government) will seize it, evict the family from that land, and sell it to someone else.
And for the privilege of having a job and earning money, people have to pay the government…it’s called income taxes. Sometimes at the federal, state, and city levels of government. Fail to pay those taxes long enough…yup, you end up having all your possessions seized and you just might end up in prison on top of that.
So it has happened for thousands of years and isn’t much changed in today’s world.
Who owned the wealth in the country back when this all started, has it changed much?
1900 – Less than 1% of the US families owned 50% of the US wealth. That equates to about 4,000 families owned as much as the other 12 millions families.
1940 – Up until 1940 there was the growth of the “middle-class”, and wealth began to be more evenly distributed in the US. Example: by 1913 the top .1% of the US population owned about 22% of all US wealth. And that % of wealth dropped significantly until when? Yup, the start of WW2…it then leveled off at about 10% of the US wealth owned by the top .1% of the wealthiest in the US.
1960 – In the 1960’s the wealth again began to be even more evenly distributed with the top .1% ownership dropping to about 7% in the early 1970’s. By the about 2013 it had virtually returned to the 1913 levels of wealthy/richest folks owning just under 25% of all US wealth.
So why the turnaround in the 1970’s? President Richard Nixon (globalist) officially took the US currency off the gold standard and created the global economy and brought China into their rise as the premier growing world economy.
Today the top 1% of US families own over 30% of the US wealth, the bottom 50% of the American population own just 2.5% of the wealth in the US.
As a small side-note…what happened just before 1940? WW2. What happened in the early 1960’s? Vietnam War. Interesting, coincidence, random events, or something else to reduce the more even distribution of wealth in the US?
What is their endgame?
That’s a simple one, I am surprised you don’t already know. Then again, maybe you just want me to confirm what you already know.
The endgame is complete control over people. If people are completely controlled then all their effort is geared towards rewarding the government and transferring wealth from the people to the ruling elite. And the government is controlled by the ruling elite. And who is the “ruling elite”? The ultra wealthy. It is a vicious cycle. The wealthy have the most control; the more wealth they acquire, the more power they can wield. It is a matter of “lust” for wealth and power. It is an age old story…just review history…it doesn’t change…they same story over and over again.
Try this…read the above paragraph again…this time, substitute the word “manipulation” instead of “control”.
Send me whatever additional question you might have. I will do my best to share my opinion…for whatever that is worth.
You sound like a socialist or Marxist.
I don’t think I am either, actually I know I am not. I believe in a “free market” system…basically capitalism. I do so because I am a civil society libertarian. Along with free markets and capitalism comes responsibility…that is the Christian in me. So I believe in Responsible Capitalism. And that is certainly not what we have today…not even close!
I don’t see how we can all have equal outcomes. Equal opportunity, yes. And because we are our brothers keeper, and should basically be good people, we need to care for those in need. Kinda like no “poor” among us. Christ teaches us charity. No, not government welfare…charity from individuals. Yeah, I can go along with charity from churches as well…meets the Christianity aspect of it. Even charity from non-profit organizations can be a good thing.
There should be no families that go hungry, no children especially. What’s wrong with people having decent clothes to wear? Or a roof over their heads? Or having access to health care? Is there anything wrong with those things? No, of course not. The key is how we provide those.
The problem is we, as a people, used to take care of our neighbors who were in need. Churches used to step up and feed the hungry, cloth the naked. Charitable organizations used to help people out of poverty, train people for jobs, help victims of abuse, feed folks from soup kitchens. Many churches, charities, and neighbors still do. But most of that responsibility got perverted and shifted to government. How’s that working out?
There are plenty of resources to go around, plenty of money to help folks in need, more than enough jobs to keep breadwinners working at a decent wage. But the unbridled lust of money and power has so corrupted the United States society…well, we have just forgotten basic human dignity, and to a great degree we’ve thrown away human decency.
So, that doesn’t make me a socialist or a Marxist. I don’t begrudge anyone their wealth, riches, money, or things…I just wish we would regain our humanity, our decency, our compassion, and remember to take care of each other. Think about 1 Corinthians 13:13, Deuteronomy 15:4, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:25-37.
What can I do?
I have no idea. I don’t know your situation so I can’t really say…besides I am no expert advisor. What I can say generally, and some thoughts to ponder:
Avoid all debt if possible. Probably can’t avoid a house mortgage, but make extra payments to pay it off as fast as you can.
Pay off all non-mortgage debt as fast as possible. Yeah, that means get a side-job.
I have no idea for sure. But let me ask you this…If it all falls apart and people get desperate, what will they do?
All people will feed themselves one way or anther. Good people will feed their kids first…one way or another.
If there is no water…people will find it and take it one way or another.
If there is no power…people will try to figure it out one way or another.
The people who have food, water, and power will become targets…and it will be ugly.
The wealthy people who have food, water, and power will also become targets…but will have people they pay to defend them…at least for awhile.
Eventually the people who don’t have, or can’t take, basic resources such as food, water, power, and medical care will die off…starting with the old, infirm, and young.
Eventually the people who have or control, resources and can defend them will become extremely powerful and control all those who don’t have access to those resources.
Tribalism will reign.
Yeah, that is my best guess. Not pretty…nope, not at all. I really hope I’m wrong.
What is their endgame?
I assume you mean the banks, ultra-rich, the folks behind all of this when you refer to “their”. That clarification leads me to this…
That’s a simple one, I am surprised you don’t already know. Then again, maybe you just want me to confirm what you already know.
The endgame is complete control over people. If people are completely controlled then all their effort is geared towards rewarding the government and transferring wealth and resources from the average person/citizen to the ruling class and rich elite. And the government is controlled by the ruling elite. And who is the “ruling elite”? The ultra wealthy.
It is a vicious cycle played out throughout history. The wealthy have the most control; the more wealth they acquire, the more power they can wield. It is a matter of “lust” for wealth and power. It is an age old story…just review history…it doesn’t change…they same story over and over again.
Send me whatever additional question you might have. I will do my best to share my opinion…for whatever that is worth.
When did this economic disaster that your talking about all start?
There are several key dates when actions where taken by the US government that had serious negative impacts on the US economic system which started and then contributed to the crash of the US economic system:
1913 – establishment of Federal Income Tax (16th Amendment) and the creation of US Federal Reserve.
1933 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt (socialist) suspended the gold standard for US currency.
1944 – Bretton Woods (44 of the largest world economic powers) meeting created the international monetary system with the USA as a superpower.
1971 – President Richard Nixon (globalist) officially took the US currency off the gold standard
But…all those are “actions” taken by the government, the real underlying reasons (symptoms) took place in 1893 and 1907. Those two underlying events laid the groundwork for banks taking control of the US economy and thus taking control of the US government.
1893 – The US experienced a severe depression. Unemployment went to about 25% – 43% (depending on the state), 500+ banks were failing, and a stock market crash. To a great degree the “crash” was almost worldwide. It was due to a stock market “bubble”, then there was speculation in agriculture prices, and high tariffs (some as high as 50%) enacted by the US president. And then there was the run on gold held by the US Treasury by folks who got scared. To “fix” the situation a group of the richest people and banks in the US formed the “The Morgan-Belmont Syndicate”. They provided vast sums of money and gold to the US government to stabilize the US federal government bank account.
1907 – In late 1907 the stock market plunged 50% from the previous year when the major banks withdrew their money from the NY Stock Exchange. This caused a panic among depositors and regional banks across the country and they began experiencing massive withdrawals…banks collapsed. Then JP Morgan, along with several other of the largest/richest banks and families, stepped in with massive amounts of money to the US government to “stabilize” the situation.
Then, and only then, do we find ourselves in 1913 when the US Federal Reserve (Fed) was formed. The Fed was not and is nota US government agency/department…it is a group of private banks headed up by JP Morgan. Huh…interesting. Private banks now ran the US economy…and then by default, directly or indirectly, they control the US federal government.
20 years from from a severe depression to private banks running the US economy…and then only 15 years until the worst depression in US history. Now here is an interesting assignment for you…look at who came out on top economically after the crashes of 1893, 1907, and 1928. Yeah, that gets really interesting. And how did the US get out of the Great Depression? Yup, World War 2.
So the dates to remember: 1893, 1907, 1913, 1933, 1944, & 1971. The argument could be made that it all started in 1893…but for sure in 1913. Yes, they played the long game. And yes, there is some serious indication that 1893 & 1907 wasn’t an accident or just random economic events.
Who is at fault, who is to blame for all of this?
Banks generally, specifically bank owners (rich elites). Back in the early 20th century the world’s wealth was pretty much consolidate into hands of a very few elite families; Rothschild, Frick, Baker, Rockefeller, Harkness, Armour, Ford, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Astor, Morgan, Schwab, and DuPont to name the big players. These families were so rich and powerful they directly or indirectly controlled almost all the world’s resources and governments. They figured out how to make money and grew that strategy to what we have today. The world’s top 1% of rich people control 95% of all the world’s wealth.
Money itself is not the problem, power itself is not the problem. When people “lust” after money and power…that’s when it becomes the problem.
Also, in a way all consumers are the problem…a minor way. If we, as consumers, didn’t borrow and spend like crazy people with money we don’t have, then the debt disaster wouldn’t be a problem. Right?
This about this…
In the US who is more the problem…drug dealers or drug users? If a drug user is arrested, the first time or two they usually are sentenced to rehab. When a big-time fentanyl drug dealer is arrested, the scum of society, they usually go to prison. Recently, the US military just blows them up.
When a debt addict gets into trouble we expect them to pay their bills no matter what. But, when a bank (debt dealer) gets into trouble…the US government runs to save them with boatloads of cash…yeah trillions of taxpayer dollars.
So who is the bad guy in the drug – addict/dealer world? Then, who is the bad guy in the debt – addict/dealer world?
The stock market is doing really well, so how can the economy be as bad as you say?
Ah, yeah…love that question. So look at the largest players in the stock market…where is that money? So the top 9 money management corporations in the US control nearly $90 trillion. So let’s look at who controls the REAL money in the US stock market…
Blackrock money management $10+ trillion
Vanguard Group nearly $10 trillion
Bank of New York Mellon has over $40 trillion in “custody”
State Street Corporation controls nearly $5 trillion
JPMorgan controls nearly $4 trillion
Charles Schwab has nearly $7 trillion
Fidelity has nearly $5 trillion
Bank of America nearly $4 trillion
Edward Jones and Wells Fargo at a paltry near $2 trillion each
Notice a little overlap with that list and the list of the largest US banks? So, the stock market is going to do well for the “big” money…always. That is the easiest way to transfer vast amounts of wealth to the richest folks…usually the ultra-rich. That is a relative wealth transfer of wealth…it’s called the stock market.
But, who cares if the stock market is doing well when real income is growing a small fraction of the rate as debt and people are increasingly not able to afford a home of their own! And let’s look at the statistic of the disappearing middle-class even though the stock market does well. Forget the stock market is manipulated and it is manipulated for one reason.
Interesting read on the stock market being manipulated < click here >
Excited about Trump Checks?
Absolutely YES! And certainly NO!
Yes, in the fact that if they are $2,000 a piece like Trump mentioned, my wife and I will love that money to invest in our glamstead.
No, in the fact that the money for the $2,000 checks is coming from Trump Tariffs (according to Trump).
Yeah, in August of 2025 Trump himself said the US government has collected trillions of dollars from his tariffs. First of all, I think that is an outright lie…or just a stupid mis-statement. But, let’s say it is true what Trump said. That means trillions of dollars were sucked out of the US economy and placed in the hands of the federal government. Sorry, I am a big believer in letting that money stay in the hands of US citizens and US companies that actually earned it. Yup, that means I don’t like or trust the US federal government spending our money…I would rather we do it. You know, the folks who actually earned it.
So who paid all those tariffs that Trump is talking about? Well, mostly US consumers…but also some US companies. Ultimately the tariffs are paid by US citizens one way or another.
But trust me when I say I will cash that Trump Tariff Check in a heartbeat!! Yup, nice of the government to throw back a few crumbs of our own money.
You know me…I get into facts and statistics…coz they show not just where we’ve been…but where we are headed. Is the USA is failing, falling, and the rich are getting way richer and the middle class is disappearing? What does that all mean? Will the USA fall (well, continue to fall) and we will become just another fallen empire…or will a revolution take place? And if that happens, will that leave all of us far worse off than just a fallen empire?
What do I base my responses on? The very facts/evidence/stats I’ve been showing you for years…statistics and facts and evidence.
First, let’s look at household income chart. It shows a 35% income increase for a household from the early 1970’s to 2023.
Now, check out this chart…
Let’s look a little more closely:
The percentage of men as the sole household breadwinner dropped 45% in that same time period, early 70’s to today.
The percentage of dual income (husband & wife) as breadwinners increased by 40%
And look at the saddest part…The number of households where women were the sole breadwinner increased by a whopping 250%
That is called the destruction of the family by forcing both parents out of the home for $’s. And then what happened to all those children that were turned over to strangers and the government?
The #1 purchase in terms of cost for the average American family is a home. Let’s look at that chart.
Yeah, look real close…the average house price from 1970 to now is up 1800%. Yup, you read that right…homes are now 18 times more expensive!
So, home prices are up 1800% while income is only up 35% for roughly the same time period. Ah, what?
Now let’s look at this chart…
The average US household is now saving 66% less money than they did in 1970. Do you wonder why? Maybe a correlation between the increase in the price of homes vs lagging increase in wages?
Then check this devastating chart out…
The US household debt is up 5500%!!! Combined household debt in 1970 was under ½ trillion $’s. In 2025 it hit nearly 19trillion $’s.
And to make it worse…in 1970 the average household debt-to-income ratio was 60%, it nearly doubled by 2020.
I’ve been telling you for years that the American Empire has fallen. That economically, the US is a wreck, a disaster. And it is true…we started seriously crashing in the early 1970’s and it has been downhill ever since.
What do I think about the actual numbers, the facts, the statistics? For the last 55 years:
The average US income growth is pathetic at best.
The price to buy a home to raise a family in…well, it has skyrocketed!!
The price of homes grew 900% faster than income.
Family savings has plummeted.
Family debt is up to almost unimaginable levels…faster than home prices by double that amount.
And the USA is now to the point it can never pay off its national debt…ever.
The societal impact has been horrific! To put numbers to that impact doesn’t do it justice. Just looking at the numbers, FAR more women are working outside the home than in the early 70’s leaving children to be raised by strangers and the government. That has led to an increase in alcoholism, crime, drug usage, abortions, prison incarcerations, abortions, and domestic abuse…just about every evil of society is up.
So who wins…if anybody…or does everyone lose?
Let me throw this out there for you:
In 1970 the average home cost $27,000, average 30-year mortgage rate was about 7.75%, that would be about $2,100 in interest paid to the bank.
In 2025 the average home cost $420,000, average 30-year mortgage rate was about 6.8%, that would be about $28,600 in interest paid to the bank.
So…lenders/banks have income that is now 13.6 times greater in 2025 than in 1970. And during that same time period personal income is only fraction larger…yeah. And that is just on homes!
Think about this…in 1970 credit cards were almost non-existent…total US credit card debt was approximately…oh, wait…well under $1billion. Today credit card debt in the USA is just over $1.3trillion. Do the math…credit card debt in the US is 1500 times in 2025 what it was in 1970. But hang on…it gets worse:
In 1970 the average credit card interest rate was 17.1%. That means if people only paid the interest on their credit card balance it would be about $153million in interest paid to banks.
In 2025 the average credit card interest rate is 25.32%. If people paid only the interest on the credit card balance…that is $330billion per year in interest alone paid to banks.
Yeah, in 2025 hard-working US citizens paid 2200 times more interest to banks! Just interest on credit cards!
$330BILLION…
THAT’S $1,000 FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, CHILD, AND INFANT LIVING IN THE USA!!!
Moving on to our beloved federal government…here’s something…
1970 US national debt was $.371trillion ($371billion)
2025 US national debt is over $38trillion.
US national debt grew more than 100 times from 1970 – 2025.
Here is a fact/stat that you have to remember for a minute:
In 1970 the interest paid by the US on its national debt was $24billion.
In 2024 the interest paid by the US on its national debt was over $1trillion.
43 times more interest paid on US national debt from 1970 – 2024.
Now, understand this…who gets paid that interest?
About 15% goes to other counties’ central banks (their Federal Reserve equivalents, private banks).
About 15% to the Federal Reserve (US private banks).
So add that up…30% is paid to banks around the world. $330,000,000,000!!! ($330billion per year of taxpayer dollars to private banks).
So who really wins in all of this?
Ah, easy one that is…banks! The same banks that are loaning the money for people to buy homes at ever increasing historically high amounts. The same banks that are receiving HUGE amounts of money from credit card interest. The same banks that are forcing families to have both parents working to buy homes, pay credit cards, and pay taxes that they can’t afford.
So who are the real losers…if any?
Well, the chart below shows the upper-income folks are enjoying a very nice increase in their income while lower income folks dropping slightly, and the middle income is dropping like a rock in a shallow pond. Oh, hang on…who owns the banks?
Oh, in 1970 the top 1.5% of income earners made 15% of all income in the USA. By 2020 the top 1.5% of income earners made 50% of all income. Huh?
Let me throw one more set of numbers at you…
In 1970 the richest 5% of US citizens owned about 22% of all the wealth in the USA, the bottom 90% of US citizens owned about 73%.
In 2025 the richest 5% of US citizens owned about 66% of all the wealth in the USA, the bottom 90% of US citizens owned about 30%.
Oooooppppppssssss…the wealth is clearly moving from the average person to the top 5% of richest people in the US. And who owns the banks??? Ah, yeah…the wealthy folks…the top 5%.
The top 25 US banks are:
Together they control about $23trillion. Yeah, $23,000,000,000,000. The average CEO paycheck of the top 20 banks was over $20million per year. Interestingly, the average bank teller makes $40,000 per year…2/10ths of 1%) of those CEOs’ salary. Huh…interesting, eh?
Summary –
US middle class is disappearing
The US rich are getting richer
US ultra-rich are getting hugely rich…more than you can imagine
US lower and middle classes are getting more and more poor
US home prices are abhorrently expensive, far out of the reach of most young families today
More and more families have two income earners sending their kids off to be raised by strangers/government
US household savings is plummeting
US household debt is skyrocketing
US national debt is growing like an out-of-control wildfire
US & Foreign banks are making insane amounts of money off US citizens, making the banks rich richer…almost beyond comprehension
So there are clear winners and losers…anyone can see that…even a blind man as the saying goes. The evidence, the facts, the statistics are there…plain as day.
But what does that all mean?
Ah, how long will the average person put up with this? How about, how long will the lower income class folks put up with it? How long will the bottom 90% of US citizens willingly line the pockets of the rich? And what will happen when normal people are just fed up with it all?
Well, one only has to look at history. EVERY single empire that has ever existed has fallen. And they have all fallen essentially due to economics. And look at what happens as they fall…violence, war (sometimes world wars), and destitute and devastated populations. And what happens after the fall? In every case look how they end up…it ain’t good.
Yeah, I have no idea when it will happen…but I hope you are preparing for the certainty it will. If not, what do you think happens to your family?
My experience with an MCB Interlock device has been a total success so far.
I needed to build a control box for my solar well. My solar well pump can directly accept AC or DC power. Part of the box build included an AC inlet for my genset and the incoming DC power from the PV array. I needed to make it easy to switch between power sources quickly and safely. And ensure that power could not come from both sources at once. Although highly unlikely that would ever be attempted, I wanted to ensure it as an impossibility. Hence, the “interlock” concept.
I first heard about their existence here on the forum, I don’t remember which thread. I purchased an interlock device off Amazon along with two Mollum MCBs; 20aAC and 25aDC. They arrived, and it didn’t work.
Problem:Mollum MCBs are not compatible with the interlock I purchased. Mollum breakers have the flip lever in the vertical middle of the unit. The interlock won’t slide with that configuration. So I purchased two Chtaixi MCBs after doing a bit of research (i.e. opening my eyes); its flip lever is located towards the bottom of the unit.
I Slid everything onto a DIN rail and it worked just as advertised. So let me show you how it looks in my control box build…
AC power…
DC power…
But, here is a cool feature that I just stumbled upon…Yup, when you want to lock out all incoming power from the genset or the PV array it turns into a “lock out”. Yeah, yeah…I know there is no place for a true padlock or even a tag to prevent sliding the interlock into operational capability. But, for me it is just a cool feature for added safety…not ultimate safety.
So, for a total of $48 I have the circuit breakers I need to disconnect power and protect the wire AND I have a device to safely and easily switch between power sources. Not a bad deal in my book.
And yes, you can use two AC breakers or two DC breakers for switch between power sources.
Okay, I’ve written a whole lot about our solar well and lightening problems; some here, some on a DIY solar website/forum. Bottom line…twice in 4 years we were hit with lightening transient voltage that blew up our control module for the solar powered well. Yeah, $600 for the first one $500 for the second control module. Simply put…unacceptable!
Yes, I installed all the appropriate grounding and surge devices but it turns out that it was the 700’ of signal wire between the water storage tanks and the wellhead that was acting like a giant antenna absorbing very small amounts of voltage (in the ground, from lightening) and sending it into the control module’s computer circuit board. Zap!
AND!!!! Along the way I found out that I didn’t need the control module to begin with!! Yup, that really ticked me off…$1,100 down the drain. So much for retailers selling customers what they need vs higher profit.
The “fix” turned out to be 2-stages; 1) get rid of the signal wire problem, 2) replace the control module including the very sensitive electronic circuit board with something more stable and safer. This review/article will be only about the signal wire issue.
I first tried to figure out how to protect the signal wire from the transient voltage. Long story…very long story…made short, I couldn’t do it in a manner that I felt was safe, reliable, and realistic. Plan B turned out to be simple…eliminate the signal wire altogether. And that turned out to be a wireless float switch system.
The float switch itself is a simple device that monitors the water level in the storage tank. When the water level drops it sends a signal to the well pump to turn on. When the tank is filled it sends a signal to the well pump to turn off. My problem was the 700’ of buried signal wire between tanks and well. A wireless system is just that…wireless…no wire buried in the ground to pick-up the transient voltage.
The signal is transmitted via a radio signal between a transmitter and a receiver. Everything else pretty much operates the same. Problem solved…installed it last week.
Summary –
Let’s make this easy for you. I will give you the bottom line right here and then you can read the rest if you want to…or if you need some reading material to fall asleep by.
After weeks of research and searching there was only one real option: RPS Solar Pumps’ Wireless Water Tank Sensor for Remote Pump Shutoff, the 24-hour version. Price $729 (on sale), about $800 all in with shipping and tax.
So here is the bottom, bottom line…It Works!
Unpacking & Problem –
You know, after getting sold the wrong pump by a retailer that didn’t really know what they were doing, and getting sold a control module that was 100% not needed…and then buying another control module that was 100% not needed I was very skeptical about the actual ability of this unit to do what it was advertised to do…and the price it was being sold for…and the ease of installation that the company was touting. I think you can understand that.
So the box arrives in decent time and apparently undamaged. I set-up for a video to show the unboxing as the first step in a longer video covering the install. “Action!” The box was packed well with plenty of protection around each solar panel and the attached transmitter/receiver units. Out comes the transmitter unit…nice. Next comes the receiver unit…nice. Ahhhhhh…that’s it…nothing else in the box. First thought that ran through my head…here we go…scammed again!
I double checked what was supposed to be in the box vs what was actually in the box. I was missing the float sensor, the antennas, the hardware, etc. More defeatist thoughts start rolling around in my head.
I checked to make sure I saved the video, pulled up the company website, and called customer support. Now this is where it could have been the end of the last of my faith in humanity. Thankfully I couldn’t have been more wrong. The CS rep was incredibly friendly and helpful. She listened and verified the missing equipment. She said she would get an order placed immediately for the missing parts. Then the other shoe dropped…”Do you have any pictures of what was in the box?”
Yup, first thought…they want verification that stuff was actually missing, thinking I was scamming them. But, thankfully, “Mam I took a video from the time I set the unopened box down on the deck through pulling out each piece that was there and then showing the empty box.” I guess that sealed the deal…order placed.
So on with the results of the unpacking…
Issue #1 – Safety : Exposed terminals on both batteries. Yeah, not a good thing. On both solar panels there was an attached battery. The battery had both the positive and negative terminals fully and completely exposed. Meaning…had a piece of metal touched both terminals it would cause a dead short in the battery…and that cold cause a fire. Very, very bad thing when shipping. All rechargeable batteries come with terminal protection when shipped. Someone at the RPS plant didn’t put the terminal protectors back on after assembly. And, the folks in the shipping department missed it as well. Not a good thing at all.
Issue #1.5 – Incompetence : Yeah, kinda harsh but factual. The order should never have left the warehouse without all the parts in the box. It is not hard to ensure all the parts are there in the box…not hard at all. But, RPS does get a compliment for their customer service and quick response to get the missing parts to me.
Received Missing Parts –
About 4-days later the missing parts showed up. Yes, I was skeptical all over again. Video rolling, box opened, all missing parts were no longer missing…all was good. Too bad they weren’t in the original box in the original shipment. The shipping department seems to have a bit of a problem. Solution: Have a pre-printed list for each different unit, the shipping guy goes down the list, the part goes in the box, it gets checked off the list, when complete, take a picture of the signed-off list, put the original list in the box, seal & ship. Problem solved.
Installation –
The installation was straight up and pretty simple. However, the installation video put out by the company is completely unrealistic in terms of time it takes to do the installation. Plan on 20 – 30 minutes per each unit, potentially more depending on your situation.
Issue #2 – Installation : The battery is located poorly. The battery adds weight in the wrong place, it is unbalanced. The battery should be closer to the base of the mounting bracket lowering its center of balance and gravity.
Issue #3 – Installation : The battery is located poorly #2. The battery is located too closely to the plastic box containing the circuit board. It makes it difficult for a person with large hands to get the antenna screwed in. Locating the battery closer to the mounting base would give more room to attach the antenna.
Issue #4 – Installation : The battery is semi-permanently attached to the mounting bracket. Trying to fix issues #3 & #4 I attempted to move the battery. Ah, no. It appears there is a large zip-tie holding the battery to the mounting bracket making it simple…slid the battery closer to the base of the mounting bracket…two problems solved. It did dawn on me that it seemed pretty lame to have the battery held on by nothing more than a zip-tie. When the battery wouldn’t slid down I noticed a double-sided foam piece of tape between the battery and the mounting bracket frame. No moving it. So, it is nice to have a little better mounting system for the battery…too bad the battery is located in a poor location and can’t be moved without major effort.
Issue #5 – Installation : There is a signal wire “pig tail” on both the transmitter and receiver units. RPS also includes a splice kit to attach the float switch signal wire to the transmitter unit and a signal wire between the receiver unit and the well pump. Why? Any splice is a potential point of failure of the system. Also, adds considerable time to the installation process. I simply opened the circuit board box, removed the pigtail wire, and then place the signal wire directly into the connection ports on the circuit board. Poof! Problem/issue solved…no more potential source of failure and time saved.
Issue #6 – Battery : Yeah, this is a fairly minor issue, but one that should not exist. Attaching the wire terminals to the battery “blade” style terminals wasn’t any fun. The first couple of attempts by hand were unsuccessful. And the battery being so close to the circuit board box didn’t help any. I finally had to use my pocket knife, separate the wire terminals a little bit, then use needle nose pliers to get a solid connection on the battery. Seems a bit unneeded and easily addressed at the factory. And, to make matters worse, the battery terminals and wire connections/terminals are open to the weather.
Overall –
Pros –
The float switch is not a mechanical float switch at all, it is a sensor. That fact makes it much more useful and functional…and I am thinking it will also last longer.
Solar panel appears to be of good quality and plenty large enough to do the job.
Battery appears to be of more than sufficient capacity to do its job.
The plastic box holding the circuit board is top notch and appears to be plenty weather proof.
The circuit board itself looks to be quality and well built.
There are 3 status lights in each unit. “Tank Full”, “Power”, and “Com”. The last one shows the unit is transmitting or receiving a signal to ill the tank.
The angle of the mounting bracket places the solar panel at a good compromise angle for winter or summer sun.
The mounting bracket itself is stout enough to do the job pretty dang well. The base holes are sufficiently large enough to do the job accommodating lag screws/bolts.
The antenna appears to do the job. Good thing is, if the antenna is too short, the circuit board box has a universal antenna connection…simply buy a better/longer antenna and connect it if needed.
The signal wire on the tank float probe/switch is long…and I mean long. Supposedly 100′, but I didn’t measure it. Great to have so much wire to work with.
Overall, it was easy to get up and running within a reasonable amount of time.
2-year warranty and lifetime support.
Cons –
The wires connecting the circuit board box to the battery are really, really lame. While they are of sufficient size for volts/amps, their quality appears to be used on an interior space, not sufficient quality to be exposed to weather. It would have been very simple to use a weather rated wire.
The terminals on the wires that connect to the battery are even more lame than the wires themselves. The wires, while crimped, are not sealed against weather, dust, etc. A simple solution would be to use a heat-shrink terminal. Or, use a short piece of heat shrink after crimping the terminal.
The terminal on the battery and the terminal connections on the wire are completely exposed to the weather. Any weather can easily infiltrate the connection…potential point of failure.
The magnetic base on the antenna sucks. Yeah, meaning the magnet used is super weak. I mounted the antenna base on a 1-1/4” wide piece of steel…we’ll see how long it lasts once the windy season starts.
The included screws for the mounting bracket base appear to be adequate for mounting on metal. But, if mounting it on a the top of a post, such as a 4”x4”, those screws are wholly/totally inadequate.
Last but not least…mislabeled or missing part…again? So here is a picture of the water level sensor. Read the label…again. “Yes, two sensors are included and interchangeable.” Yeah, I unrolled the 100′ of wire and saw the sensor, the silver probe. So where is the other “sensor”? Notice the other wording…”Tank Full / Low Well” Ah, how do they know that my well has low water level?
click to enlarge
The two sensors are located in the silver probe; 1 sensor is “tank full“, the other sensor is “tank fill“. There are not two separate sensor unit, they are both located in the probe.
“Low Well“??? How in the heck could they know my well is low on water when the sensor is located in the storage tank!?! So a bad case of mislabeling. A bit weird if you ask me.
Kinda Weird –
So I bought the unit on rpssolarpumps.com. If you read everything on their website it sounds as if they make, or at least assemble, the unit themselves. Ah, no. When the unit showed up the instruction manual was from “Back 40 Solar”. And the overall instruction manual left a lot to desired.
The unit is actually made by a company called Back 40 Solar (https://www.back40-solar.com/). So RPS is just the distributor not the manufacturer. But don’t try to buy direct from Back 40 Solar…they apparently only sell through their distributors.
And “rpssolarpumps” is actually Rural Power Systems (ruralpowersystems.com). So there appears to be a bit of an identity crisis going on here. But, I am not particularly worried…the unit worked even if RPS was a little dysfunctional fulfilling the purchase.
Yeah, I have no idea why I thought the Back 40 Solar vs RPS issue was “weird”. I think it just caught me by surprise that RPS was selling a Back 40 product. But hey, why not. Now I just have to figure out how to get this review to Back 40. Yeah, another interesting little tidbit…Try to find a way to contact Back 40 Solar. On their website I couldn’t find any email address, no phone number, no physical address, no mailing address, no contact form, nothing. Okay, there was a form you could fill out if you wanted to become a dealer. No, I don’t want to become a dealer. I did find an email address embedded in the html code of one of the pages so I will send them this review at that email address.
Anyone else find this weird or is just me? It appears that Back 40 Solar wants to stay hidden for some reason; they want no contact with actual customers. I wonder why. The distributor, RPS, does seem to be responsive so maybe it is no big deal…we’ll see.
Recap –
As I stated at the beginning…it works. Yup, that was the main goal…it needed to work which in turn eliminates 700’ of signal wire. And that hopefully eliminates the stray transient voltage that was frying my controllers. And it appears it will do just that…mission accomplished.
Here is a big whine on my part…price. Yeah, this thing ain’t cheap…retail is $949…and that is some serious coin. In October they were running a sale…$729 until 10/30. I bit the bullet and bought it a couple days before the end of the sale. Yeah, well, a week later I went back to the website page to get some info and it was on sale once again for $729 until11/30. Gee…perpetual sale. Just kinda throws up a red flag for me. Yeah, not sure why…just does.
Did I mention that the unit worked? Yup, sure does…mission accomplished…I’m happy…so far.
Sad part is, if they increased the quality of materials and construction just a bit, it would be a great unit vs a good unit. The total cost of the improvements would probably be less than $5…at most. And then add in the shipping department fix…BINGO! A great product and a better purchase experience.
I won’t, or at least shouldn’t, complain about the price. If I figured the cost of 700’ of shielded signal wire plus trenching cost/time the $729 would probably be right in the ballpark of a good deal. Throw in the cost of two burned up controllers and even the $949 price would be reasonable…staggering, but reasonable all things considered.
Now for a reality check…whether $729, but especially for $949, it is not acceptable to have half the parts missing. It just ain’t right. But, they did step up and make it right…but, there should not have been such an egregious/simple mistake to begin with. But, well done on fixing the missing parts issue. And the RPS customer support person was amazing!
Once again…bottom line…It works! It spanned the 700’ distance between the storage tanks (float switch) and the wellhead (pump controller) with no issues. Now here is the real test…Would I buy it again?Absolutely!! Another test…would I pay the $949 full price vs the sale price? Yeah, probably, I would begrudgingly buy it…but clearly I would whine a lot more about it. But it works!! And that is what really, truly matters.
Side Note: I am wondering if I should start videoing all unpacking of purchases made online. You know, anything expensive to document exactly what is going on…damage, missing, etc.
I would like you to watch the video posted below. I mean really listen to the words, the message, with your mind, heart, and especially your spirit. You might even have to watch/listen to it more than once.
This country of ours is in such a wreck right now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been going quickly downhill since the 1950’s, accelerated in the 1970’s, and crashed in the early 2000’s. It’s not Trump’s fault, it’s not any single President’s fault, it’s not Congress’s fault. Allof it is to blame…all of Washington, all of the politicians, all of the bureaucracy, all of the lobbyists, all of the political parties, all of the donors…all of us. Blame to one degree or another rests with it all.
But our current political environment is so toxic it defies all description. No, not a single person or politician, not a single party, not a single anything…it is ALLtoxic…and getting worse day-by-day, hour-by-hour.
I am begging you, pleading with you, to become aware enough to prepare yourself, prepare your family, prepare your congregations, prepare your community…please!
Once you become aware then don’t dwell on it, don’t obsess over it, don’t allow yourself to become depressed over it. Just prepare and pray…at this point that is all we can do. The forces at work to destroy are greater than virtually any single person…this is God’s fight…and Him alone. And He will win…yes, He will win.
Folks, listen…I’ve been providing hardcore facts and evidence about where we are as a country and where we are headed…I can’t give you much more. You either get it or you don’t. I hope you get it. But more than anything else…I hope and pray you are preparing.
The battle right now is one of good vs evil…and evil can easily deceive and it has many disguises. No one is perfect, but we should be seeking perfection…at least that which is within reality. Please, please don’t acquiesce to evil, or those who promote it, just because it is expedient or the lesser of two evils. That is one of the main reasons that we are in the horrible situation we now face.
Embrace correct and righteous principles…then seek out those people who feel the same and will work hard to advance those righteous principles.
Personal note: I truly wish MTG would have stayed in Congress, fought the good fight, continued to work towards promoting justice and correct principles. But sadly, I understand why she would want to leave that toxic environment and unfathomable betrayal. A person can only take so much, we are all only human. I hope at some point, when/if it is right for her, that she jumps back into the fight for the right. If she would move to our area I would gladly work hard for her to get elected to any office she desired.
My experience with an MCB Interlock device has been a total success so far.
I needed to build a control box for my solar well. My solar well pump can directly accept AC or DC power. Part of the box build included an AC inlet for my genset and the incoming DC power from the PV array. I needed to make it easy to switch between power sources quickly and safely. And ensure that power could not come from both sources at once. Although highly unlikely that would ever be attempted, I wanted to ensure it as an impossibility. Hence, the “interlock” concept.
I first heard about their existence here on the forum, I don’t remember which thread. I purchased an interlock device off Amazon along with two Mollum MCBs; 20aAC and 25aDC. They arrived, and it didn’t work.
Problem: Mollum MCBs are not compatible with the interlock I purchased. Mollum breakers have the flip lever in the vertical middle of the unit. The interlock won’t slide with that configuration. So I purchased two Chtaixi MCBs after doing a bit of research (i.e. opening my eyes); its flip lever is located towards the bottom of the unit.
I Slid everything onto a DIN rail and it worked just as advertised.
So let me show you how it looks in my control box build…
AC power…
DC power…
But, here is a cool feature that I just stumbled upon…
Yup, when you want to lock out all incoming power from the genset or the PV array it turns into a “lock out”. Yeah, yeah…I know there is no place for a true padlock or even a tag to prevent sliding the interlock into operational capability. But, for me it is just a cool feature for added safety…not ultimate safety.
So, for a total of $48 I have the circuit breakers I need to disconnect power and protect the wire AND I have a device to safely and easily switch between power sources. Not a bad deal in my book.
This is a tough post for me to make. Why? The person that sent this comment is a friend of mine. I hope I don’t lose a friend over a difference of political opinions.
To her credit she was polite and friendly without contention. I hope and pray my response will come across as simply matter-of-fact and not contentious.
I read the article you linked to. Here are my observations:
The author is a hard right-wing conservative pro-war lawyer. He has not served in the regular military, he was part of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy as a reserve officer. There is no record of him even attending Navy boot camp. And in 2007 he was forced to resign from his pentagon political appointment position for statements he made 2006 – 2007.
He chastises the video folks for encouraging military members to “refuse illegal orders”; stating “…they should be ashamed of themselves and retract their insubordinate, ignorant, and politically motivated diatribe.” Problem…military members are taught and trained to do just that…refuse illegal orders. So he contradicts actual military training. But, I do agree with him that the video was politically motivated…but then again…so was his article.
The author then goes on to question why any service member would ever question the legality any order. His statement is in direct opposition to the law, the UCMJ, and the Constitution.
Then he goes on to say that military members are not under stress. Ah, one only has to look at the retirement rates, the drug and alcohol abuse stats, the divorce rates, the suicide numbers, and actual statements from active duty, reserves, and recently retired members to understand the true nature of the stress being felt.
What amazes me is he actually criticizes them for not mentioning Trump by name! Well, maybe they were trying to just make the statement regardless of who is President. Amusingly, if they had mentioned Trump by name…he would still be upset, probably more so.
He also states “Service members are required to follow lawful orders.” This is exactly what the folks are saying…so evidently he agrees with them.
He then states “…military personnel are already trained—and the Department of Defense Law of War manual clearly states—that military personnel have a duty not to comply with orders that are clearly illegal.” Once again, he is saying exactly what the video says. And again…he evidently agrees with them.
He then says “These lawmakers’ actions and words undermine good order and discipline in the armed forces by encouraging U.S. military personnel to question the orders of the commander in chief of the armed forces for no good reason, based on nothing more than mere political disagreement.” But, he provides no proof, or even any vague evidence, of any undermining.
What I find interesting is he absolutely goes off his nut against the video folks…and then he doesn’t make a single comment about the off-the-wall comments by Trump calling them horrific (and untrue) names and clearly indicating that Trump supports hanging them (yeah, death sentence). Seems a bit one sided for a man that sounds as if he should not only be educated but also experienced and intelligent. But then again…political bias and pride can sink even the best of us.
Okay, enough of my responding to the article. This article is written by a hardcore ideologue and a no-questions-asked Trump mega-supporter. He comes from the far-right life-time government employee sector of society. The tone of his article is almost hysterical.
But all that being said…the main points of my article was this (directly from my post)…
Trump uses the terms “seditious” and “traitors”. Then he takes it one step further…”hang them” in a re-post.
So why did he use the terms “seditious” and “traitors”?
Is there anything in this behavior and call to action by Trump that can be defended? Can anyone find anything decent or befitting to the office of President in his message? Is there anything at all about Trump’s message that is justified or even legal? Are you willing to ask the hard questions about Trump?
And mybottom line…my call to action was…
“Eyes open! Minds open! Hearts softened! That is my encouragement to you. And pray…our country in on the brink…ask God to bring us back from the brink of destruction.”
Well, this is certainly weird and does raise some questions…at least it should.
So some Senators and Representatives make a video. In that video they point blank tell US military service personnel and intelligence service personnel not to follow illegal orders. And, I believe all but one was a military veteran, the other was a former CIA officer. Those of us that have been in the military were taught that point…you don’t have to, and you have a duty not to, follow illegal orders. I think it is mostly to prevent war crimes and the illegal use of the military against US civilians. And as a former US federal employee I took an oath, above and beyond by military oath, to follow the law. Absolutely nothing wrong with that message…nothing at all…period!
Now, I will say that a case could be made that the point of the video was to warn military personnel not to follow Trump…if Trump issued an illegal order. Nothing illegal about delivering that message…nothing at all. Those of us with any common sense know that those lefties, veterans or not, were trying to sway the US military in their beliefs and support for Trump. Well, in all reality there is nothing illegal in what they did or the way they did it. They didn’t mention Trump by name, they did refer to his administration. Again, nothing wrong with that…they were expressing their opinion.
Let’s test this video. Let’s say the video was released during the Obama presidency…would you outraged at it? How about during Clinton’s or Bush’s presidency? Yeah, kinda had an idea most reasonable people would see it.
So the video is not illegal and the folks did nothing illegal and their message was not illegal. So where is my concern?
Really? Fist off…there was NOTHING illegal about the video at all…NOTHING! Actually, it is protected speech under the First Amendment. Now, if their video would have called for violence or open physical rebellion, that would have been a different story. But what they did was reiterate what is in their oaths and exactly what they are trained to do, or not to do. And then Trump uses the terms “seditious” and “traitors”. Then he takes it one step further…”hang them” in a re-post.
Oh my God…Trump just demonstrated one of three things…
1 – He is mentally ill and has lost control over his emotions or mental facilities.
2 – He actually believes what he is saying and is actively and purposefully acting against the Constitution and calling for the deaths of Congressmen.
3 – He is playing some very sketchy and totally inappropriate version of dirty politics that could have lethal consequences…and far beneath the dignity and station of the President of the United States.
So why did he use the terms “seditious” and “traitors”? Because that supposedly gives him, as President, extra-constitutional powers (powers outside of those allowed by the Constitution) to go after those Congressmen. Yeah, to any extreme measure he decides.
Then combine that with his re-posting of the call to kill those Congressmen…DAMN! Trump is WAY off-base and crossed the line. But more than anything else…it shows his true nature, character, and current mental state. And that should scare the hell out of you and me!!
Is there anything in this behavior and call to action by Trump that can be defended? Can anyone find anything decent or befitting to the office of President in his message? Is there anything at all about Trump’s message that is justified or even legal? Are you willing to ask the hard questions about Trump?
Trump just put this country on the path to some very, very troubled waters…and ratcheted up the call for violence in a way that could bring about an event that none of should want.
Eyes open! Minds open! Hearts softened! That is my encouragement to you. And pray…our country in on the brink…ask God to bring us back from the brink of destruction.
Here are even more questions raised to me from the article Economy, Income, Home Prices… < click here to read that article >
virtually all the major causes of divorce.
desire to wage war or some large scale building project. Rarely did they have all the money they needed, so who did they turn to? Banks. Yup, banks came into existence about 2000BC. And back then, just like today, the rich people owned and controlled the banks. So essentially, to a great degree, banks (the rich) controlled, or at least greatly influenced, kingdoms (i.e. governments) all the way throughout history.
A.H. Trimble - Emergency preparedness information for disasters and grid-down 