Homemaking

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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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Praise For Cascades Designs

Tonight, I want to give a shout out to Cascades Designs, the folks who make the MSR MiniWorks EX Microfilter.

I had mentioned that the filter gave me grief on the wagon train.

I troubleshooted the problem with a service rep and we got to the point where I isolated the problem as being related to the umbrella valve. The rep asked me for my address and said he would send one out ASAP. That was July 16th. The package I got from them today, August 6th, was postmarked July 19th. So the length of time in getting the part is due to the postal service, not them.

I just installed the new umbrella valve and, SURPRISE, my pump works again! This was apparently one of those one in a billion fluke failures. But did I have to go back to Amazon to get a replacement pump? No, the manufacturer stood behind its product. Needless to say, I know where to go the next time I need outdoor gear!

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Tired of This Weather

One of the reasons I was eager to buy in this part of the country is the climate, which is supposed to be hot, dry, and sunny at this time of year. And it usually is. I have this uncanny knack for showing up somewhere that the weather is completely off kilter. We’ve averaged cool, overcast, and frequently thunderstorming since I got here in May. Oh, we’ve had some really nice days, but they have been the exception.

I woke up to grey weather, yet again, and got to work (I got a HUGE project for August, yay!). Around 2:00, the sky had cleared and I thought, great, let’s take a break and do some laundry! I got one load washed and hung and was just about to put out the awning when massive grey clouds rolled in. I just managed to squeeze in another two loads (hanging them in the rig) before the sky started to grumble. It is about to pour. Seriously?!

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Upgrading a Magnetek Converter

Stock RV converters are notoriously poor battery chargers. One of the worst, and most common, is the Magnetek. It is essentially a trickle charger that can boil batteries dry because it doesn’t know when to stop charging. I spent up to six months at a time plugged into shore power in the last few years and I know that is part of the reasons my last set of batteries didn’t last long.

Because the charger in the Magnetek only puts out a few amps, it is not efficient for charging batteries with a generator. I usually consume 45 to 70AH per day and the generator puts back in an average of 1.5AH. At that rate, I would have to run my genset for up to 47 hours to get a full charge using the Magnatek only! Of course, I have solar, but when it’s grey like it’s been here the last little while, solar just isn’t enough.

An easy and relatively inexpensive solution is to charge the RV batteries with a dedicated charger that can put in up to 15A. This works well enough when I turn off the solar, otherwise the dedicated charger thinks the batteries are full and won’t work. But it’s a pain to have to hook it up and run an extension cord.

What many boondockers do instead is upgrade their Magnetek converter to a better multi-stage smart charger, such as a Progressive Dynamics Converter Upgrade Section, matching the Progressive Dynamics unit to their Magnetek model. For example, my Magnetek was a 45A model, so I had to pair it up with the 45A Progressive Dynamics model.

I picked this converter upgrade because it was well rated and available on Amazon so it didn’t cost me much out of pocket ($2 for the unit, $21 for tax, plus the gas to go get it in Montana). I had it shipped to Opheim, MT, where it arrived Friday.

This morning, I headed out around 8:45 and enjoyed a scenic, albeit very isolated, drive to the border where I was grilled about my last trip to the US. Oh, I hope not to have any issues this fall…

My package wasn’t at the post office since they don’t accept Fed Ex, but I was told to try the bar across the street. My package was there and cheerfully given to me in exchange for $5. I got some beer for C&C while I was there, filled up with gas since the SK stations were closed for the civic holiday, and then I headed home.

I got grilled by CDN customs about why I’m now living out here and then paid the duty and tax on the beer and the tax on the converter. Then, it was an easy drive home. The trip took just under three hours.

I got to work immediately, having previously read the instructions and gathered the bulk of the tools I would need (many types and sizes of screw drivers and wrenches, plus a wire cutter that I only needed because one screw in my DC panel was badly stripped and I couldn’t get the wire out without cutting it). I also had different coloured electrical tape on hand to use as markers. This came in handy when I had to wire the new DC panel as I had many wires the same colour. I wrapped each one in a different coloured tape and then made a note of in which order I had to reconnect the colours.

Installation was easy. I just followed the step by step instructions and really didn’t have any problems beyond needing a strange screw driver that isn’t stock in most basic tool kits (thankfully, I’m well beyond a basic tool kit) and having to struggle with too short wire lengths. It took me 2.5 hours to install and a good part of that involved getting up to get more tools, trying to get the flashlight angled so that I could see, and wrestling with tight screws. None of the difficulties had to do with the technical part of the installation.

I’ve been so nervous about tapping into the factory-installed wiring, but now that I have, more upgrades are in my future!