Product Reviews

Product Reviews

My original ecobee3 review is now two months old, so I decided a “here’s how things are going two months later” post might be in order. Over the past two months, I’ve received numerous questions (both in my blog comments and over in the ecobee discussion forum at SmartHomeHub.net), and I’ve also […]

ecobee3 Review Followup: Two Month Update

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged ecobee ecobee vs Nest ecobee3 Home IQ Nest review update on November 27, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3593 days ago)

Remember when you were a little kid, and your mother would take you to the supermarket, and as you approached the glass doors you’d wave your hand at them… causing them to open… with… The Force? It was almost like magic! Sure, deep down you probably knew there was some kind […]

Product Review: KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged automatic flush Kohler plumbing review toilet touchless toilet flush kit on November 26, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3522 days ago)

You probably haven’t stopped and really thought about exactly how many devices you have in your home that plug into a power outlet. So do it now. Go ahead. I’ll wait…. Now, think about how many of those devices have some sort of electronic or digital component. It’s probably way […]

What’s the “Best” Whole-House Surge Protection?

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged 51120-1 CHSPT2ULTRA compare comparison Cutler Hammer Eaton Leviton lightning product review review Schneider Electric SDSB1175C Square D surge suppressor SurgeBreaker Plus SYC-120/240-T2 Syscom whole-house surge protector on October 16, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3681 days ago)

The new ecobee3 — In 2009, Toronto-based ecobee released the very first “smart” thermostat and called it, not surprisingly, the “ecobee Smart” (see my original review of the Smart from 2010). Since then, they’ve followed up with the ecobee Si (which I call the Smart’s “little brother”), along with a handful of firmware and mobile app updates for […]

ecobee 3 Review

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged compare ecobee ecobee 3 ecobee 3 review ecobee3 Lyric Nest product review review vs on September 19, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3642 days ago)

The new ecobee3 — While the Nest smart thermostat has fans of Apple-inspired designs swooning, it wasn’t the first smart thermostat. Toronto-based ecobee is actually the pioneer in this industry, and had two iterations of smart thermostats (the original “Smart” and the “Si”) on the market well before Nest (and now Honeywell) jumped into […]

New ecobee3 thinks it’s time to leave the Nest

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged ecobee ecobee3 Nest on September 16, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3716 days ago)

Stomping the mole hills doesn't work — Like a lot of guys, I take great pride in my lawn. I like it green, flat, fertilized, and weed-free. Because I have an irrigation well, I’m able to water my lawn all summer long and keep the soil moist. But wherever you have moist soil, you have earthworms. And wherever you […]

Getting Rid of Moles: What Works, and What Doesn’t

This entry was posted in DIY Product Reviews and tagged how to get rid of moles how to kill moles mole bait mole worms prevent moles talpirid Talpirid review tomcat Tomcat Mole Killer review on September 1, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3729 days ago)

Grill like a geek — This year has been one of the best summers I can remember in Seattle. The weather’s been perfect, and I’ve been able to relax — which includes working on a bunch of projects around the house (don’t judge how I relax :)). But one of my favorite things about summer is […]

My Favorite BBQ Accessories

This entry was posted in BBQ Product Reviews and tagged accessories BBQ best favorite gadgets gloves grill iGrill smoke Traeger wood pellet grill on August 30, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3732 days ago)

If you do a Google search on “Escalade warped rotors,” you’ll quickly find lots of stories from Cadillac Escalade owners complaining about their front brake wear. It’s easy to understand why. These behemoths are heavy. The standard 2008 Escalade’s gross weight is 7,100 lbs. But if you opt for the longer […]

Product Review: Brake Performance Front Rotors for 2008 Cadillac Escalade ...

This entry was posted in Cars DIY Product Reviews and tagged brake Cadillac Escalade how to pads rotors vibration warped on August 28, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3733 days ago)

Final assembled grill — I’ve been a “big stainless steel natural gas” barbeque grill guy for a long time. I’ve owned everything from entry-level Nexgrill units, to mid-level KitchenAid grills, all the way up to the big-daddy Viking grills. So this past Saturday, when my wife and I hit our local Costco, our intent was […]

Product Review: Traeger BBQ 400 Select

This entry was posted in Product Reviews and tagged BBQ BBQ 400 customer service product review Traeger Traeger Select warranty wood pellet grill on July 28, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3766 days ago)

Gas Water Heater Timer with included timer — I own a whopping eight water heaters between five houses: two at the main house, two at the Utah house, two at the cabin, and one at each of two rental houses. The cabin and one of the rental houses use electric water heaters, so the majority of my water heaters (5 out of 8) run on […]

Product Review: Save Money with a Gas Water Heater Timer

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged American Pacific gas control valve gas water heater timer home automation remote control smartphone water heater WeMo on June 30, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3618 days ago)

Caliber 4R digital hygrometer and thermometer — I recently purchased a dehumidifier to place in my gun safe (product review is coming), but I wanted to make sure it was doing its job properly. The only way to ensure that is to test the humidity inside the safe before placing the dehumidifier in there versus after. And […]

Product Review: Western Humidor Caliber 4R Digital Hygrometer and Thermometer

This entry was posted in Guns Product Reviews and tagged Caliber 4R cigar gun safe humidity hygrometer product review temperature Western Humidor on June 25, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3798 days ago)

Among hard-core geeks, the speed of your Internet connection is a source of pride. Back in 1996 when I moved to the Seattle area, I paid a couple thousand dollars a month for a frame-relay full T1 connection to my house, giving me a 1.4 Megabits per second (Mbps) connection. […]

Review: Google Fiber Provo Install

This entry was posted in Product Reviews Technology and tagged gigabit Google Fiber Google Network Box Install provo review on March 2, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3914 days ago)

Lutron Maestro 600 Occupancy Sensor Switch — If you’ve got kids, then you’ve probably noticed that they never have problems finding a switch to turn lights on. Yet mysteriously, they lack the ability to turn lights off. I’m convinced it’s just never something that becomes important for a human… until they’re paying their own electricity bill. Using an […]

Product Review: Lutron Maestro 600 3-Way Occupancy Sensor Switch

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged DIY light switch Lutron Maestro motion sensor switch occupancy sensor switch vacancy sensor switch on January 19, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3792 days ago)

When is the last time you rocked out this hard in the shower? — The kind folks over at Kohler’s bath products division (about whom I’ve had nice things to say in the past) were generous enough to recently send me one of their new Moxie wireless speaker shower heads for evaluation and review. Kohler states that Moxie allows you to “Shower out Loud” by […]

Review: Kohler Moxie Wireless Speaker Shower Head

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged Bluetooth Kohler Kohler Moxie review Moxie product review review shower shower speaker speaker wireless speaker on January 12, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3792 days ago)

I really wanted to like this product. I really did. I bought it on impulse from Home Depot after reading this description on the box: Spotter keeps you updated on what’s going on at home—from anywhere. Monitor motion, sound, light, temperature, and humidity all from your mobile device. Use Spotter […]

Review: Quirky Spotter

This entry was posted in Product Reviews and tagged GE light sensor motion sensor product review Quirky quirky spotter review Spotter temperature sensor on December 30, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3792 days ago)

The difference between saying you have a “home theater setup” vs. simply having a TV hanging on your wall is, of course, having the audio played back on something other than your TV’s built-in speakers. And for the budget and space conscious, Vizio has recently launched a family of “sound […]

Product Review: Vizio 42″ 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar with ...

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged Bluetooth Bluetooth audio review S4251W-B4 sound bar soundbar speakers Vizio on November 11, 2013 by Steve Jenkins

The Harmony Ultimate handheld remote communicates via RF to the Harmony Hub, which blasts IR to all your devices — Universal remotes have come a long way… and I’ve been along for the ride for pretty much the entire journey. I owned an old-skool “All In One” remote that controlled my cable box, VCR, and TV. I owned a variety of Phillips Pronto and Marantz RC5000 controllers, which required me […]

Product Review: Logitech Harmony Ultimate Remote

This entry was posted in Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews and tagged Harmony Harmony Hub Harmony Touch Harmony Ultimate Logitech MyHarmony product review review Ultimate on August 26, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4090 days ago)

Kirkland Signature Multi Vitamin — We’ve all been told “you are what you eat.” And while I don’t quite agree with exactly how that’s worded (I’ll explain later), I do agree that what we put into our bodies has a massive impact on how all the systems in our body perform and interact. The purpose […]

Fitness Supplements I’m Currently Using

This entry was posted in Fitness Product Reviews Rants and Raves and tagged C4 Extreme chia seeds creatine Muscle Milk NO3 nutrition post-workout pre-workout protein shake supplement vitamins work out on June 18, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3240 days ago)

Finalizing their preferences — This post started in a grocery store last Saturday. My two daughters (Brooklyn – 16 and Sydney – 11) and I were shopping for the week, and we’d made it to the last item on our list: bottled water. As we headed down the water aisle, Brooklyn made a beeline […]

Which Bottled Water Tastes Best? You Might Be Surprised!

This entry was posted in Fitness Product Reviews and tagged Aquafina bottled water Dasani experiment research spring water taste taste test water which bottled water tastes best? on May 7, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4212 days ago)

Tools Required for Sight Replacement on a Walther PPQ — Sometimes I write product reviews on my blog, and sometimes I write about DIY projects. This post is a little bit of both. I recently purchased a pair of Walther PPQ 9mm pistols. I love them. I’ve owned a Walther PPK for years, and as much as I love it, […]

Installing Trijicon Night Sights on a Walther PPQ

This entry was posted in DIY Guns Product Reviews and tagged factory sights Meprolight night sights PPQ PPS sights Trijicon Walther Walther PPQ on January 30, 2013 by Steve Jenkins

Blackhawk 410610CBK Double Mag Case — Since I own a few different Blackhawk SERPA CQC retention holders (in carbon fiber finish, natch), I decided to pick up the matching Blackhawk 410610CBK Double Stack Double Mag Case. Up to now, I’ve been using a Safariland leather double-mag case, but the snaps are a bit difficult to manage so I […]

Review: Blackhawk 410610CBK Double Stack Double Mag Case

This entry was posted in Guns Product Reviews and tagged Blackhawk carbon fiber double mag double magazine double stack Glock mag case mag holder magazine holder review SERPA on January 11, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4329 days ago)

Winland Electronics WaterBug Sensor — I’ve already written plenty of posts about my experiences with the Ecobee Smart Thermostat. To say I’m a fan would be putting it mildly. But today, I became an even bigger fan after extending the functionality of my Ecobee Smart Thermostat by connecting a water sensor to it. My basement […]

DIY: Connecting a WaterBug Water Sensor to an Ecobee Smart ...

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged alarm dry contact ecobee how to product review review smart thermostat water sensor WaterBug WB-200 Winland Electronics on January 10, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4329 days ago)

Arris TM822G Cable and Telephony Modem — To lease, or not to lease. That’s the question for anyone who gets their high speed Internet through Comcast Xfinity. Literally millions of Comcast customers (over 18MM, to be exact) are paying an extra $7 per month to rent a modem from the cable company, and if you’re unsure whether […]

Review: Arris TM822G DOCSIS 3.0 8×4 Ultra-High Speed Telephony Cable ...

This entry was posted in Product Reviews Technology and tagged Arris cable modem Comcast DOCSIS 3.0 EMTA telephony modem TM822G VOIP on December 3, 2012 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4133 days ago)

BlueFusion by Scoche — My wife’s been nagging me gently reminding me that she wants to be able to listen to her iPhone’s music library in her 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV. Combine that with her patriotic respect of the law and love of automobile safety (she’s never got a ticket, and her first one […]

Review: Scosche BlueFusion Bluetooth Car Kit

This entry was posted in Cars DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged A2DP audio BFGMK BlueFusion Bluetooth Bluetooth audio Escalade GM hands-free Scoche Scosche on November 29, 2012 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4371 days ago)