Archive for the ‘More Stuff’ Category

Inverter

Wednesday, February 7th, 2024

With all the improvements and additions I have made to my electrical system, I finally outsized my inverter.  My Xantrex 2000 watt inverter has been a workhorse for the last three years, plugging along continuously and supplying all my electrical needs. It wasn’t until I added an electric hot water heater that I realized I had to have more power. 

Even though my 2000 watt inverter would supply power to all my appliances, I could only run one at a time. If I forgot and turned on the microwave or toaster at the same time I was cooking on the induction stovetop, the inverter would beep and shutdown from overload. This was alright as long as I remembered what I was using and juggled appliances accordingly. It wasn’t until I installed the water heater that I would overload the inverter on one device. The water heater was advertised as 1500 watts, but in reality it used 2000 watts. That’s too much draw for the inverter to maintain for more than a minute. I could still power the water heater with my generator, but that’s not what I want to do. I’m trying to get away from using fossil fuel as much as possible. 

I started looking at larger inverters and came across a 3000 watt pure sine wave model made by Renogy. Renogy is making good devices for the off-grid and RV community and their products are getting better all the time. They don’t have the reputation of a Victron or Magnum inverter but they are hundreds of dollars less. The inverter I wanted was on sale at Amazon, and I also got $100 off by opening a credit card with them. I always pay my credit cards in full each month so there was no downside to getting another card. And I get points on each purchase to use towards future purchases. After thinking about it for a couple days, I pulled the trigger and ordered it. 

Installation was easy with slight modifications for wires and orientation. It fired up and so far has been working fine. It’s very quiet and the fans only run with high loads. I still have some wiring to change and some circuit breakers to replace, but those can be done at a later time. 

It comes with a remote control that you can mount to a wall and switch the inverter on and off, but that is something I probably won’t use. I have the inverter running my whole rig, and shutting the inverter down not only interrupts power to devices that I’m not using, but also cuts off power to the fridge and freezer. 

Another thing I’m trying out is an electric blanket. Instead of piling on tons of blankets and quilts, I just have the thin electric blanket on low for part of the night and it keeps me toasty warm. I don’t usually turn it on until closer to morning, except to warm the bed before I get in. 

It seems like everything I work on in my motorhome has me squatting or kneeling down, and my knee doesn’t like that. I have to take way more breaks now than I used to a few years ago. The knee is getting better all the time and I can walk and bike with no pain. After a day of squatting and working, it still is a little sore. 

My siblings like to tease me saying, “now you will have to get more solar, now you will need more batteries”, and who knows. I don’t like to think of my time as just being a camper. I’m going to make it as comfortable as I can without going overboard. Doing improvements and fixing my nest, keeps me active and happy. And that’s the main thing. 

Hot Water

Sunday, December 10th, 2023


Part of my quest to go total electric is figuring out ways to heat water without burning propane. A few years ago I mounted a large black pipe on the roof of Minnie and let the sun heat my water. It works quite well when I have good sun and it’s not too cold out. The only problem is that you have to use the water late in the day and long before the sun goes down. If you wait too long, the water cools quickly to an unusable temperature. In the cold days of winter, it’s sponge baths or burn propane for a shower. I longed for an occasional shower right before bed without burning propane.

I started exploring small electric hot water tanks that are made to mount under the kitchen sink and give you instant hot water without waiting for delivery through long pipes from the main hot water tank. These tanks usually hold only 3 gallons of supply and recover quickly. I found a prime deal of 20% off on one and ordered it for a Christmas present to me.

I puzzled over where to mount the unit and came to the conclusion that pulling the propane water heater out and installing it in the same place would be easy and give me hot water to all my sinks and shower.

I spent the last two days disconnecting the old unit and installing the new electric one. Parts here in Quartzsite are twice what they cost at Home Depot, but the hardware store is close and had Sharkbite connectors I like to use. Four connectors and a propane plug cost me almost $50.

I have been testing it out today and I think it’s going to work fine. With all my batteries and solar, heating the water only uses a small percentage of my power. I timed my shower and came up with 4.5 minutes of hot water. That’s plenty for me( I don’t spend much time washing my hair). The only thing that concerns me is the fact that it takes 1850 watts of power when heating. That’s almost maxing out my inverter. The specs said 1500 watts. I’ll have to be careful to turn everything else off when I use it.

As with everything I tinker with, I’ll undoubtedly find out more as I use it. I’ll try to update how it’s working in a later post.

Back in Q

Wednesday, December 6th, 2023

I’m back camping in Quartzsite now. The knee is coming along well and I can walk without pain once again. I have to be careful that I don’t do too much, because even though my knee is fixed, I’m way out of shape from a couple years of not doing much but holding down a chair. It sure seems wonderful to get out for walks. 

Quartzsite has been chilly. Mornings are in the low 40s and it usually doesn’t get out of the 60s in the afternoon. We have had two days of temps in the high 70s but it’s not supposed to last past today. I have been burning propane in the mornings, so even with all my solar and batteries, I have had to rely on fossil fuel for heat. The good thing is that I don’t use much in this small space. 

I have been working on some small projects around my rig. Seems like something always needs fixing. Just setting up my solar, propane bottles, rugs and chairs is more work as I get older. The nice thing is that I can do a little at a time. 

In another week I will watch Hanna for 4 days when Donna goes to Disneyland. It might be good to have a pet for company for a few days, but I’m not looking forward to taking her out to go potty in the early morning. 

That’s all for now. I just wanted to update my knee progress. I’m not having any pain while walking but bending it still hurts a little, and I wake in the night once or twice and need to move the joint to get comfortable. I think I’m doing great at 7 weeks since surgery. 

The other day…

Saturday, March 19th, 2022

… I opened up my blog to look for a date that I was interested to recall. I was shocked to see that I had only written a handful of times in the last two years and there were large gaps in my travels and history. I guess I can blame it on Covid. We would all like to forget that part of our life. 

One of the main reasons I use my blog is to keep a journal so I can remember what I did with my retired life. There some more improvements to my rig I would like to document, and some medical procedures I’m a little embarrassed to tell about, but important to reveal. I keep thinking I would like to know more about the history of my Dads and Grandfathers problem about this medical issue, but people didn’t talk about it as much back then. 

I’ve spent quite a bit of the winter of 2021/2022 at the LTVAs in Quartzsite and Yuma. During that time I have made several trips to Mesa for doctor appointments and one to undergo a TURP procedure. When men get older it is very likely their prostate enlarges to the point that urinating becomes a problem. There are several drugs that can relax and shrink the prostate, but after a while even those don’t help all that much. The TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) is an operation that physically removes part of the gland to open up the urethra. 

It has been three week now since my procedure, and other than a few uncomfortable side effects, things are a lot better. I’m still healing but on the mend. 

I wanted to mention that I added four more solar panels to my rig. With the panels on my roof, the panels on my homemade trailer, and the extra four I just purchased, I now have a total of 1200 watts of power from the sun. I didn’t have room for more panels on the roof, and I really didn’t want to lug them in and out of my rig every time I moved, so I fashioned a way to hang them on the side and use them for an awning over my window. 

I now have more power than I know what to do with but I’m sure I will put it to good use down the road. That’s it for now but more updates coming as I explore the possibilities of going total electric. 




You Dirty Rat!

Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

Unwanted hitchhiker!

I have been lucky in my years RVing to never suffer an infestation of rodents in my engine – until now. While camping on the Burnhardt Road just outside Rye, AZ., I was invaded by pack rats. I keep the engine hood open and put a light under the front end but it didn’t deter these little buggers.

One morning I peered down in the shadows of my motor and thought I could see some sticks and grass. I pulled the air cleaner out and sure enough the space under the alternator was full of sticks, mesquite pods, and prickly pair fruit. I removed everything I could reach with some tongs and packed up to get out of there.

I spent the night at Walmart in Payson, sure that I had left the pack rats behind in the desert. When I opened up the hood the next morning I saw a rat scurry back behind the engine. I couldn’t believe he could survive the drive of 20 miles the afternoon before. Not having any more options, I drove 80 miles down to Phoenix thinking the engine heat would make him drop out on the way.

After I parked at brother Daryl’s, I bought an electronic rat trap and some poison just in case he hitchhiked all the way down. The next morning the trap was empty but I could see where they were rebuilding the nest. I rebated the trap with peanut butter and offered a cup of poison for good measure. During the next night he wandered into the trap and met his demise.

I’m pretty sure he was the only one I brought down. I’m keeping the trap set just to make sure, but so far there has been no activity.

Sticks behind the engine.

Today I pulled out the engine cowling that allows access to the back of the engine to see if there were any nest building that I couldn’t see. I was shocked to see sticks and pods and fruit jammed into the back of the compartment. There were even cow pies and dirt clods dragged into the space. I spent several hours digging and removing almost a bushel of debris. It must have taken them hundreds of trips to bring it all in.

Box full of nesting material.

One thing is for sure – I must be a heavy sleeper to have not heard the invasion. So far I have not found any damage. Rodents are known for getting in engines and chewing wires. They can do hundreds of dollars damage. I will have to be more careful from now on and make sure I’m protected from pesky varmints.