Big Island - Opinions

[ginabeena]

Aloha All,

I've been lurking about since the autumn. Last fall, I posted about Leeward Oahu and comments were very helpful.

My husband and I came back from like the 10th trip, after staying for a month on Oahu, playing and working, and did a ton of work----we managed to refine our business to a higher degree. Last fall, I wanted to live on Oahu so that I wouldn't have to hop to HNL to get a flight to the ML, but now, I won't have to travel as often as I would have had to before...

That being said, I am investigating the Ranchos and others mainly south of Kona on Hawai'i. We are internet entrepreneurs, are shooting for a house south of 500K, and want a view with a pool. I love the idea of being on a catchment (even with critter issues), and having solar. Commuting and getting a job are not an issue for us (I am feeling shy about stating this, because I hate to brag, but it is true). We are not big nightlife people, don't have kids, and are into sports of any sort---especially biking, hiking, and water sports.

I have spent a lot of time on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, but only have visited Big Island twice. I loved the energy of the volcano, the vastness and wildness of the Big Island, and of course, the Aloha spirit of the people as seen all over the islands....

Can anybody, given the deep experience here on this board, shoot holes in my plans of moving to the Big Island? Is there something I am missing? I am a big planner (the reason I started an online business was so I could move to Hawai'i---and that was 5 years ago!), and take this seriously----so I appreciate your help dearly!

Mahalo!

---Gina

[alohabear]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

I love the idea of being on a catchment (even with critter issues), and having solar.

Catchment in an area where it hardly rains can be hard if your not used to it. Ranchos is dry and far from emergency facilities( are you in good health?) . I lived in Ka'u for about 6 years and it is nice, the locals will treat you good, but not until you fit in .

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

Aloha,

I just moved my family to the Big Island at the end of Jan. 31st. I have spent most of my life on the west side of the Hawaiian Islands, Kapahulu, Manoa Valley on Oahu, and Lahaina, Honokawai, Napalii & Kahana on Maui. But now we are living on the Eastside of Hawaii! If you want affordable housing in Hawaii there are only two places(districts) left in all of Hawaii that is affordable. Those two places are right here on the Big Island too! Ka'u & Puna. Ka'u is beautiful in it's own kinda isolated way. Beautiful sunsets, and ocean views from almost everywhere there. But it's a drive for anything, and I mean anything! So with that we decided Puna was for us!
Puna offers more if you have kids too. Plus after growing up on the westside of the Hawaiian Islands moving to the eastern wet side offers a pleasant change. Here it is April, and I'm still using two blankets on the bed!!!

Currently I'm staying at a house that will be on the market in about six months. It's huge by Hawaiian standards 2100 square ft. of living space(4 bedrms 3 baths, and has a built in swimming pool to boot! Plus behind that is a 500 square ft. guest house with one bedroom and one bath! It's going on the market this summer for $590K. It's in Puna in a subdivision called "Hawaiian Paradise Park", otherwise known as HPP to locals. It's 25 minutes south of Hilo, and about 20 minutes from the Volcano. So it's pretty much pefectly placed as far as I'm concerned!

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

Aloha,

I just moved my family to the Big Island at the end of Jan. 31st. I have spent most of my life on the west side of the Hawaiian Islands, Kapahulu, Manoa Valley on Oahu, and Lahaina, Honokawai, Napalii & Kahana on Maui. But now we are living on the Eastside of Hawaii! If you want affordable housing in Hawaii there are only two places(districts) left in all of Hawaii that is affordable. Those two places are right here on the Big Island too! Ka'u & Puna. Ka'u is beautiful in it's own kinda isolated way. Beautiful sunsets, and ocean views from almost everywhere there. But it's a drive for anything, and I mean anything! So with that we decided Puna was for us!
Puna offers more if you have kids too. Plus after growing up on the westside of the Hawaiian Islands moving to the eastern wet side offers a pleasant change. Here it is April, and I'm still using two blankets on the bed!!!

Currently I'm staying at a house that will be on the market in about six months. It's huge by Hawaiian standards 2100 square ft. of living space(4 bedrms 3 baths, and has a built in swimming pool to boot! Plus behind that is a 500 square ft. guest house with one bedroom and one bath! It's going on the market this summer for $590K. It's in Puna in a subdivision called "Hawaiian Paradise Park", otherwise known as HPP to locals. It's 25 minutes south of Hilo, and about 20 minutes from the Volcano. So it's pretty much pefectly placed as far as I'm concerned!

I also forgot to mention, this house sits on a fee simple acre of land too. Plus there is a chainlink fence going around the entire acre. That is good if you have dogs?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

What part of HPP you living in?

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

What part of HPP you living in?

howzit Craig, currently we are living between Kaloli & Paradise on 9th Ave. But I will be moving to 3rd Ave hopefully in May if our house is finished by then. Again, it's between the same to streets too. How about yourself Craig, where do you live?

Craig, know of any good plumbers? My 20 gal water tank in garage is going nuts. I flush the toliet once and it kicks in over 40 times...that seems a bit much don't you think? Now tonight my water pressure is down too? Does Catchment water levels have any thing to do with actual water pressure coming out of fosset?

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

I really wanna go home.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

howzit Craig, currently we are living between Kaloli & Paradise on 9th Ave. But I will be moving to 3rd Ave hopefully in May if our house is finished by then. Again, it's between the same to streets too. How about yourself Craig, where do you live?

Craig, know of any good plumbers? My 20 gal water tank in garage is going nuts. I flush the toliet once and it kicks in over 40 times...that seems a bit much don't you think? Now tonight my water pressure is down too? Does Catchment water levels have any thing to do with actual water pressure coming out of fosset?

20-gallon water tank? I'm wondering if you're talking about your catchment pump?

First check your filters. A clogged filter will cause low water pressure and can make your pump run longer.

You probably have a pre-charged tank that your pump sits on. This tank has a bladder that is filled with air to a certain pressure. If the bladder is leaking then your pump will run for long periods.

If your catchment pump is cycling too long or way too early upon flushing it may need an overhaul of the system. I work from 8:30 am to 4:30pm Monday thru Thursday at Home Depot Hilo. Come by and we can discuss your situation and possibly remedy it with a simple fix.

When you move to 3rd we'll be pretty close. I'm on Makuu and third right on the corner. Look for the painted water tanks of animals. That seems to be a landmark for people in this area so I never painted it over when I bought my place.

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

You probably have a pre-charged tank that your pump sits on. This tank has a bladder that is filled with air to a certain pressure. If the bladder is leaking then your pump will run for long periods.

If your catchment pump is cycling too long or way too early upon flushing it may need an overhaul of the system. I work from 8:30 am to 4:30pm Monday thru Thursday at Home Depot Hilo. Come by and we can discuss your situation and possibly remedy it with a simple fix.

When you move to 3rd we'll be pretty close. I'm on Makuu and third right on the corner. Look for the painted water tanks of animals. That seems to be a landmark for people in this area so I never painted it over when I bought my place.

it kicks in over forty time per flush of the toliet. Isn't that rather a lot for just flushing a toliet?? I'm trying to find out if this could also be the reason my electric bill jumped way up too in my last bill? My last electric bill was $286, the previous month was way less than that, and I ran a room heater most mornings too!

But understand, I'm no expert on this setup at all. I only moved over from Oahu in end of Jan. Plus anything to do on land is really "greek" to me.
I will try to stop by this week at Home Depot. Do you work in any special Dept., or area?

[manoageek]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

hey ginabeena,

I joined the forum just to reply to your post.

I'm also an internet entrepreneur "working from wherever", and my wife and I moved to Hawaii a couple years ago. We initially lived pretty far from town, with city water and hydro but no cable or DSL.

Moving here is GREAT but make sure you have high-speed access (hopefully through redundant providers) wherever you look. Cheers!

- aaron

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

it kicks in over forty time per flush of the toliet. Isn't that rather a lot for just flushing a toliet?? I'm trying to find out if this could also be the reason my electric bill jumped way up too in my last bill? My last electric bill was $286, the previous month was way less than that, and I ran a room heater most mornings too!

But understand, I'm no expert on this setup at all. I only moved over from Oahu in end of Jan. Plus anything to do on land is really "greek" to me.
I will try to stop by this week at Home Depot. Do you work in any special Dept., or area?

If your pump is kicking in that many times you have a pressure problem. There is an air valve stem on your tank. Depress it a bit just to see if you have air or water pushing out. If air, stop immediately and then take a tire pressure gauge and read your tank pressure it should be just under 30 PSI or roughly 28-PSI if you have a 30-lb system. If it reads just under 40 PSI then you have a 40-lb system. 30-lb systems are more common.

If on a 30-lb system you have wayyy less than 28 PSI then take a small bicycle pump and pressurize to 28 PSI and try flushing.

If that doesn't work your pressure switch is probably bad and needs replacement (that black plastic box where the electrical feed is located and a small water sense tube connects to)

Now if water comes out of the air valve, then the air bladder has leaked and you have to either replace the bladder or replace the entire pre-charged tank.

This bladder is important as it maintains a 28-lb pressure within the tank when the tank is filled with water. As water is pumped into the tank it displaces the air bladder. When the tank is full the pressure switch senses 30-lbs of water pressure and shuts off the pump.

The tank provides a ballast or a buffer so the pump doesn't come on as soon as the pressure drops.

In your case when you flush, the pressure drops. The pump kicks in and repressurizes the system but the system is in use so the pressure keeps dropping as water is drained out. The pump turns on again and shuts off when the pressure is achieved. But the cycle happens (in your case) 40-times over until the toilet stops.

We sell all items needed to repair your system. I work Monday thru Thursday from 8:30 to 4:30 pm in the Hardware department although what you need is in the Plumbing department. But I can help you with your pump problem.

BTW, my electric bill for last month was $458. Get used to the high electrical costs here on the Big Island and it's going up again as the PUC just approved HELCO's rate increase.

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

If your pump is kicking in that many times you have a pressure problem. There is an air valve stem on your tank. Depress it a bit just to see if you have air or water pushing out. If air, stop immediately and then take a tire pressure gauge and read your tank pressure it should be just under 30 PSI or roughly 28-PSI if you have a 30-lb system. If it reads just under 40 PSI then you have a 40-lb system. 30-lb systems are more common.

If on a 30-lb system you have wayyy less than 28 PSI then take a small bicycle pump and pressurize to 28 PSI and try flushing.

If that doesn't work your pressure switch is probably bad and needs replacement (that black plastic box where the electrical feed is located and a small water sense tube connects to)

Now if water comes out of the air valve, then the air bladder has leaked and you have to either replace the bladder or replace the entire pre-charged tank.

This bladder is important as it maintains a 28-lb pressure within the tank when the tank is filled with water. As water is pumped into the tank it displaces the air bladder. When the tank is full the pressure switch senses 30-lbs of water pressure and shuts off the pump.

The tank provides a ballast or a buffer so the pump doesn't come on as soon as the pressure drops.

In your case when you flush, the pressure drops. The pump kicks in and repressurizes the system but the system is in use so the pressure keeps dropping as water is drained out. The pump turns on again and shuts off when the pressure is achieved. But the cycle happens (in your case) 40-times over until the toilet stops.

We sell all items needed to repair your system. I work Monday thru Thursday from 8:30 to 4:30 pm in the Hardware department although what you need is in the Plumbing department. But I can help you with your pump problem.

BTW, my electric bill for last month was $458. Get used to the high electrical costs here on the Big Island and it's going up again as the PUC just approved HELCO's rate increase.

ended up getting a whole new system. 42 gallon Flotec setup. Craig, is Flotec a good brand?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

Yes Flotec is a good brand and I do believe the 42-gallon is a 30-lb pre-charged tank. For that tank you should use the 3/4 HP or lower Shallow well pump (also manufactured by Flotec) as the 1-1/2 HP model will eventually rupture the air bladder inside the tank.

[Beachboy]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

it has the 3/4 hp pump with it! Is it, or would it be better to have even larger tank, say the 82 gallon tank at my own house. Family of four with two boys who love to flush!

[hedkikr]

Re: Big Island - Opinions

My 1st post...(no pump advise)

I'll be in Hilo May 18~22 on a fact-finding mission becuase I'm mostly familiar w/ Kona (diving). I plan to retire there in a couple of years - sell my Orange Co. home & buy a smaller place cash.

I don't want to be in Hilo town but a 15-20 min. drive isn't too bad. Don't know if HPP area is for me & I keep seeing "Kaumana City" and "Ainako Subdivisions" mentioned.

I want to bring my elderly mother along & set her up in an ohana next door/ in da back.

Any & all local insights/advice is sincerely appreciated.

BTW: I'm 1/2 Japanese & my wife's Filipina.