Month: August 2013

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Improvement to the Wardrobe Doors

Ever since I splurged on new wardrobe doors, I thought that I wasn’t maximizing their efficiency because I wasn’t using the inside of them. Looking for something to do in a 15 minute break that didn’t involve pulling out my grubbies, I decided to create a little bit of storage inside both door panels.

For the right side, I used a bit of trim and some angle brackets to make a support for my pashminas:

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They’re a little cramped but I don’t mind wrinkled pashminas (said as her jeans-ironing mother and sheets ironing grand-maman recoil).

The rod is a little long, so I have to close and open both doors at the same time. Kind of hard to describe, but this means that I’ve inadvertently solved the problem of that door opens on its own during travel. The left side door closes firmly and now the right side door catches on it. I may no longer arrive at my destination with clothes in Neelix’s water and food bowls!

I connected two angle brackets into a U using electrical tape that matches my decor. 🙂

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On the other side, I put a hook for a belt. I will eventually be adding some sort of vertical storage for earrings. I saw something very expensive on Amazon that I may be able to reproduce. The chalkboard label has a list of my knits. I tend to forget what I have if it’s not readily visible, so this is a good reminder to use things or else get rid of them!

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Frustrating Weather Continues

It was a lovely morning here in southern Saskatchewan, but it looks like storm clouds are rolling in. *sighs* I’m glad I got a ton of laundry done on Monday since yesterday was very grey and, appropriately enough, I was under the weather (going to bed early and sleeping almost 12 straight hours nipped THAT in the bud).

Since the weather was good this morning, I did several more loads of laundry and got on top of the pile at last! I just need to do dish cloths and dish towels. Hopefully, what’s on the line will be dry by the time the sky gets really grey.

I can’t believe how much laundry I’ve done with my Wonderwash and spin dryer without doing the little ‘trick’ I do now: I use the spin dryer before the rinse cycle. This gets the bulk of the soapy water out, so I need a lot less fresh water to rinse.

Even though I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and am absolutely swamped with work (woohoo), I did make a little progress on my electrical issues. I had a gander at the main positive cable going from the batteries to the converter, confirmed that it is tiny (I’m actually thinking 14AWG at this point!) and that the lug on the end was a little loose. I didn’t have much wire to play with, but there was enough to remove the lug and crimp on a new ring terminal. In the evening, I noticed a slight improvement in my voltage readings; almost no drop with one LED light on, but too much drop with two lights on. When I have time, I’ll go hunting for more connections as this isn’t the first time I’ve caught a bad factory crimp.

Thank you to everyone who commented on the post about my electrical dilemma. You guys are great!

 

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A Tough Electrical Dilemma

I’ve suspected for some time now that the cable going from the batteries to my converter is much too small. It just isn’t normal for the voltage to drop from 12.6V to less than 11.0 when only a 0.5AH LED light is on!

My converter upgrade confirmed my suspicion. Even though it promised rapid charging, I’ve barely coaxed more than 6AH out of it, more than my last converter but barely.

I didn’t think I made any mistakes with my upgrade (talk about someone’s confidence improving) and so decided to contact the manufacturer for their thoughts on my low charge rate.

The first thing they asked? The gauge and run length of the cable going from the batteries to the converter. Based on my answers (10AWG or 12AWG and about 30′), the charge rate I’m seeing, and the voltage during that charge rate, they said that the charge rate is correct. I should beef up the cabling or move the batteries closer to the converter.

Well, that has lit a fire under my butt on an upgrade I have been avoiding for far too long. This one’s going to be a bitch.

I like the idea of moving the batteries and have toyed with it a number of times. I could put them in the rear driver’s pass through, running the wires straight across to the shore power cable compartment and up to the converter and then on to the generator. I’d have the battery monitor and inverter in the office, very convenient.

The problem here is the solar wiring, gauged for a much shorter run. I would have to completely undo what AM Solar did and move the charge controller to the driver’s side of the rig, which would mean not being able to use the fridge vent as the entrance point for the wires, which would also mess with my combiner box.

Moving other wires and making holes, etc., would be major, too, but the solar relocation is the most daunting part of moving the batteries. Well, that and redistributing the weight on the axles.

The other option is to beef up the wiring going from the batteries to the converter. The issues here are the cost of big gauge wiring, how the heck I’m going to run it through holes made for wiring a quarter of the size I need, and how I’m going to put terminals on everything. I haven’t done the math yet and suspect that I need to go down to at least 4AWG, and I don’t even know if I can tie that into my converter or not. I remember a comment made a while back for a very short run, I could possibly tie my big big gauge wiring to the converter via a smaller gauge ‘jumper’; I need to confirm this.

Tomorrow’s project, now that the laundry has been tamed (but not vanquished), is to follow the entire run of cable from the batteries to the converter to see if it’s one piece or not, the route it follows, and if the route could accommodate a bigger size cable. If so, then I think that going that route rather than moving the batteries would be the best bet.

If money was no object and I could hire a competent electrical team, I would move the batteries, no questions asked. Their location doesn’t make sense at all. But it’s just me, so I’m picking the easiest solution to implement.

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Another Day On the Construction Site

I slept in this morning, so I didn’t get to C&C’s until almost 10:00. Charles had already done some work, but Laura hadn’t arrived yet, so the workday was not yet in full swing. Even with a coffee break and then one for lunch, we got a lot of work done, finishing a whole 16′ wide section of floor. C&C and will likely start building walls this week.

The weather was the opposite of yesterday, very hot with a grueling sun. I came in and started not only the genny but the AC!!!

I had a project of my own to do this afternoon. The pipe strap holding up the exhaust on the genny had rusted through and snapped from the vibration of the genny running.

While putting some stuff away in C&C’s shop, I noticed a roll of the stuff on a workbench and asked Caroline for a 1′ section of it. When I got home, I used WD-40 to soak the bolt that held the original strap and had no trouble removing it a mere 10 minutes later. It was then a matter of five minutes to resecure the exhaust pipe.

It’s now almost 6:00 and I’m just about ready to crash for the evening. I’m glad I got a weekend outside as I am expected to be at my desk 8:00 to 4:00 each day for the rest of the month as I am covering for someone. We are expected to get good weather all week (FINALLY) so I will be sneaking away to get more work done on my pile of laundry. I won’t let it win! 🙂

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Tatanka

My current contract means that I have a ‘normal’ life this month. I have to work a full week, regular office hours, and then I get my weekends off (provided no emergency transcription comes in). I don’t really enjoy days off unless I know for sure that I have income coming in ahead of me. So this weekend is a real treat!

After spending so many hours fighting the Windows computer all week, I just wanted to be outside working with my hands. Thankfully, C&C still need tons of help with the construction of their addition, so I’ll be putting in a full weekend on that.

Today, we began to insulate the subfloor, so there was a lot of walking over the floor joists, sort of like hurdling in slow motion. It was rather tedious and exhausting. We broke for an excellent lunch (Caroline is a stellar cook) in early afternoon and then worked till past 6PM, tarping everything against potential rainfall. We got a lot done despite a rain storm late morning.

After work, we headed south to the tiny community of Fife Lake, between Rockglen and Coronach, known for its ‘grill your own’ steak pit. They were having a fundraiser, so for $15 you could get a steak and a bunch of sides.

Charles had mentioned that he usually has a bison steak when he goes there, so having enjoyed a bison burger recently, I asked if I could have a bison steak tonight instead of a beef steak. Yes, for an extra $3. I had no idea if I could even eat a whole bison steak, but I knew that I’d have plenty of other stuff to eat, so I decided to try it out.

The sides were really good, lots of salads, garlic bread, and baked potatoes. I’d ordered my steak (not words I ever expected to write) well done, but it wasn’t quite thawed when it got on the grill so the middle was very rare and not too appetizing. But the edges were a little charred and well cooked and absolutely delicious. I’d say I ate about 75% of the whole thing and that wasn’t because I was forcing myself. I actually enjoyed it! WOW. I’m eating red meat again! First steak in about 20 years!

Caroline suggested we bring the leftovers home for the dog they take care of and went off to get some tin foil. She came back and wrapped hers and Charles’ leftovers. I quickly said, “I’m not done with mine yet!” Caroline laughed and said she wouldn’t take it away from me. Yes, I really did enjoy most of my steak. 🙂

The bison steak was quite a bit bigger than the beef ones, so I got more meat for my money rather than just paying extra for the different meat. I still can’t believe what a good deal dinner was. The beer ware expensive ($4.50 for a bottle of Budweiser, plus a $1 tip), but that’s expected. I just got spoiled by the $1.50 Lonestars in Texas!

I think Fife Lake is one of those places you just have to know about. The town looks derelict and if I had read about their steaks and shown up there, I would have turned around thinking I’d made a mistake. But the hospitality was warm and the food excellent.

I know I won’t want a meal like that regularly, but I bet the next day I work really hard and am craving protein I’ll be thinking bison, not pork or chicken. As someone who struggles with anemia and has been told over and over again to have some red meat once in a while, discovering I like well cooked bison is really good news.

Well, I’m about to fall into a deep fresh air/exercise/beer/steak coma, probably the best kind!