I'm sailing away

[jimindenver]

Yesterday as I did my daily cleaning I realized a weeks worth of trash and two weeks worth of llaundry was taking up space and beginning to create a odor so I loaded it all up and headed to town. The transfer station was easy to find and while the laundromat looked packed, I didn't have any issues getting machines.

While in town I stopped at Solar Bobs to price the controller for the portable and ask about a tilting rack for the Expedition. While there I mentioned getting a alarm on the big controller. I had looked up the alarm and thought it said it was a FET fault which they said meant the controller needed to go to the factory. Well chit, I can't shut down the system so I had them add another 60 amp to the 45 amp and $1100 later I was ready to load two heavy boxes up. Just before I did so they said we need to check the serial number on the 60 amp to make sure it's one of the good ones. Good ones? I asked. Yes they said, some have bad firmware and you will get a alarm 21 meaning it couldn't log the data for the day. That's the alarm mine gives me so they refunded me the cost of the new 60 amp and I take this one in for reprogramming when I have the rack built Wednesday.

Interestingly enough I know one of the people down there from Colorado, he is making the rack. I also met Solar Bob and had a great discussion on batteries including the fact that a rack of Interstate batteries and a rack of Trojans that he said were made in the same factory identical except for the color of the cases. Something to think about.

 

[jimindenver]

Today I moved the rig back into the main RTR area not far from HighDesertRangers camp at the entrance. This will let me put out the solar ovens after my talk and let people discuss them more as well as see what I cook with them on a regular basis. I have also offered to let people get onto all those wonderful hotspots I have been posting about and check their email, facebook, forums and whatnot. I'll post the password to the unlimited Verizon 3G MiFi on the bulletin board near the free tarp and ask that people not try to use it for streaming.

I had a great time meeting and chatting with 29chico and pnolens this evening. I have met a number of forum members, I really appreciate being able to put faces to the names I recognize. They are all as nice in person as they are here on the board.

Tomorrow I will have a solar cooker at the early seminar about methods of cooking as well as at my talk. Hopefully it's sunny so that iI can get some food going, maybe a rack of ribs in one and some corn bread in another. I'll be glad to get back to using them as another tank of propane ran out tonight.

 

[Gunny]

OK Jim, now I have a craving for ribs. I suspect at 0030 I'm SOL but when I stop and visit your host site I am bring ribs.

Rob

 

[jimindenver]

Yesterday started fun by nearly running out of water while I was showering. I've never ran the water down that far so I didn't realize what was happening when the flow sputtered the first time. I figured it out the second time and thought oh chit, rinse rinse rinse. I could just see me on the side of the trailer in my robe adding water to the tank

I have to say I can understand how Bob feels somewhat. I took the SunFlair to the morning meeting and during the announcements said that I would let people on some of the hotspots to check email and such. As he announced it he said he wished there was time for me to do a seminar on them and told the group something like I was the king of cheap internet. I said that's ok, they can come down to the trailer and chat. I gave many mini seminars yesterday. lol

The morning session had me pretty nervous, I fumbled trying to get the SunFlair set up and nearly knocked over the table. There was such interest and so many questions that Bob finally told them that there would be another seminar on just solar cooking later. I came back to get ready for the second session and found there were people there all ready for internet. At 1 pm a nice lady said It's 1 oclock, he has to get ready for his talk and shooed everyone off. I dug out the cookware and solar ovens, put the ribs in a pot for one oven, mixed up some cornbread for the other and hauled it down to the area just as the pressure cooking portion was ending. As I set up someone put together and spoke about their home made cooker and covered a lot of ground. It drew a lot of interest.

The nice thing about being rushed to get ready and set up is I didn't have time to get nervous. There was a lot of interest in the SunFlair because of it's compact design. I talked, answered many questions, even more after it ended and people came to check out the three cookers. The sun was going down by the time I got back, put it all away, talked more internet and loaded up my water bottles. I don't sell the ovens but I think some were ordered and I know a number of hotspot were because they did it using my hotspot. I loaded up the bottles after that, got 20 gallons of water, had dinner in town and came back to relax.

Bob does this every day, whew.

 

[Gunny]

It went so well you had to do an encore, Bravo as they say.. Well done Jim.

Rob

 

[Phantom Blooper]

Bravo Zulu Jim!

Glad all went well!

And with all you had going on with nervousness and the rush.....you didn't have a chance to picture anyone nekid...damn!

 

[Cammalu]

Jim, did anyone happen to video your two talks? I'd be really interested in seeing them both.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jimindenver]

Thank you both.

Today was my appointment with Solar Bobs to get the panel installed on the truck and have the big controller reprogrammed. Tomorrow I help pnolens hook up his controller and start the process of hooking up the TS-MPPT-45 to the 435w panel on the truck, It should double the output now and bring the summer haul up to between 80 and 90 amps at peak.

Vagabond (Tom) got here today. We have five forum members all in one small area and haven't gotten into trouble once yet. I think we are doing it wrong.

 

[jimindenver]

Jim, did anyone happen to video your two talks?   I'd be really interested in seeing them both.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not that I know of.

 

[sassypickins]

Nice job on the solar oven cooking, Jim, thanks!

Sassy

 

[jimindenver]

I was just out talking to Vegabound (Tom) and another neighbor when A guy named Jerry drove up and asked where tomorrows boondocking seminar would be. He had just found Bobs youtube channel and headed this way at 9 am.

Today has been cool and rainy. I helped pnolens instal his charge controller, inverter and battery. I fired up the little 800w generator to run some tools since it hadn't finished breaking in. It needed some coaxing to run my 1/2 inch drill but fired up the hand grinder no sweat. I ran it at the trailer to see if it would run the converter and was surprised that it did. I don't think it would if the batteries were down to 12v but at 12.9v it did okay.

With no sun for the solar coolers I did what we have always done on cooler days, fire up the trailers oven. I hadn't bought any meat yesterday nor thawed anything so I decided to do a acorn squash. I usually am use to eating just half, a full squash makes a pretty decent meal. I am finding at least once a week I like a light meatless meal. I think a good seminar would be cooking for one. It's hard to make things like posole for one, so either I eat it all week or throw some of it away.

 

[Almost There]

I think a good seminar would be cooking for one. It's hard to make things like posole for one, so either I eat it all week or throw some of it away.

The other alternative when you have something that is impossible to cook just a single serving of, is to share with the closest neighbors (or the not so close ones... )

I suspect that there would have been a line up at your door is some of us knew you were making posole... :angel:

In the absence of help from neighbors, I freeze single servings of chili, spaghetti sauce etc.

 

[jimindenver]

Actually I'd love it. Cooking for one and eating alone sucks. Cooking for 10. 20 maybe 300, now that's fun. My recipes are my own, never the standard yet no one has complained yet. It's impolite to talk with food in your mouth.

Last time I made Posole I got a very nice note from my neighbor.

 

[Queen]

When you heading back to NM for the gig?

 

[jimindenver]

Not sure. I'll call the guy today to see how late I can be. I received a email from the guy that is my back up yesterday and I wonder if I am being checked up on.

 

[Queen]

Hmm, hope it happens still, if you want it to.

 

[Gary68]

turned on utube and there was a tall guy in like a gray sweatshirt demonstrating a green flexible fold-up solar cooker at rtr

 

[jimindenver]

Funny lookin dude from what I can see. Goes ummm a lot.

 

[Gary68]

yea,one of those dudes you dont make eye contact with,keep your head down and keep on moving

kinda crappy far away vid,could i cook a roast or turkey breast in that green cooker?

 

[jimindenver]

It would have to be a small turkey on a good long sunny day. I have big Sunday roasting chickens the size of a small turkey in my other ovens in four hours. I don't think a roast would be any issue as I have done some good sized ones.