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AmargosaWayne
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The trick with yogurt is to hold the cup near your wide open mouth, then pull the tab slowly to open the container. No product is wasted.
Morgana
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Seems like you got a lot of good support here.
Not everyone you meet is going to do things your way.
Not everything you enjoy is going to stay unchanged.
Not everything you offer is going to be wanted and appreciated.
Not every free resource is going to have the staff or money to personalize/customize everything to your liking.
Not every venue is going to be the right one for everything you want to do.
And btw, "giving back" is no golden ticket to exempt you from disappintment -- it has all the same pitfalls as anything else you might want to do.
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger; we're all experiencing it one way or another.
Personally, I'd be hard pressed to find /anything/ that "is what it was" even five years ago.
Looks like your first attempt to share this didn't go over so great but the second one has been much appreciated. Why not just enjoy that and let the rest of the universe be the rest of the universe?
Not everyone you meet is going to do things your way.
Not everything you enjoy is going to stay unchanged.
Not everything you offer is going to be wanted and appreciated.
Not every free resource is going to have the staff or money to personalize/customize everything to your liking.
Not every venue is going to be the right one for everything you want to do.
And btw, "giving back" is no golden ticket to exempt you from disappintment -- it has all the same pitfalls as anything else you might want to do.
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger; we're all experiencing it one way or another.
Personally, I'd be hard pressed to find /anything/ that "is what it was" even five years ago.
Looks like your first attempt to share this didn't go over so great but the second one has been much appreciated. Why not just enjoy that and let the rest of the universe be the rest of the universe?
Shoveling snow? Oh heck they make powered snow-throwers for that! (walk behind, tractor mount, etc)
As far as driving in snow, I love it when I have the right vehicle...a SxS Polaris or John Deer, maybe with a door kit, or my favorite, my old Ural with 2WD...went thru damn near anything you had the balls to point it at.
I have a few videos of me playing in the 9 to 12 inches of snow we get here, sometimes up to 24 inches. Not a problem if you have the right 'toys'!
On the other hand....I drove truck for 40 years. 40 winter seasons and I can tell ya this: Hanging iron on an 18 wheeler is NOT fun...its WORK!
And all that happens in the winter in Maine? Wow your bugs must have glycol antifreeze for blood.
Actually my preferred snowy winters occur in Northern NM...that's why I mentioned the pine trees.
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I had a 100' steep drive that I cleared by hand and snowblower... given arthritis and bad feet, let alone slipping and falling ( with no health ins) and being 63+... It was only a matter of time before I broke myself....
and literally .. on SS income I was looking at foreclosure or staying in the home and living on $200 a month once I paid for heat and mortgage/taxes, etc etc
This was a choice based on money, but also on being able to live decently .... the last few winters, the house was always cold.. I had to miser out funds I did have just to afford the gas to get to the food bank...
Maine is an awesome place if you can afford to live there..
and literally .. on SS income I was looking at foreclosure or staying in the home and living on $200 a month once I paid for heat and mortgage/taxes, etc etc
This was a choice based on money, but also on being able to live decently .... the last few winters, the house was always cold.. I had to miser out funds I did have just to afford the gas to get to the food bank...
Maine is an awesome place if you can afford to live there..
Oh yes, I absolutely get it...and there are always pros and cons anywhere we live. Its just that the nice cool winter scenery sure looks good while we are roasting in a heat-streak....hitting 106 degrees the last few days here...
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Wow... it's been a bit since I post in this thread... ince the last post I spent a week in Winter Park CO and attending the Blues From The Top festival, then back to NF land South of Buena Vista for many weeks.. up until Monday Sept 19 I was camped out on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The basic summer plan worked as I had hoped. I (we) avoided the high temps and most of the rain much of the rest of the country faced. The rig has been running great, especially after changing out the air filter and cleaning the MAS! It has bee a bit tough to find the motivation this summer to edit down the older footage... Daisy passing didn't help that... I adopted Chilli the street dog in July and have been working on her trust issues... She sat nicely while 4 of us ate dinner this evening, I was impressed. Gasoline is a killer. $270 between the north Rim and here at Pahrump, but that includes now having a full tank... 75 gal, so in a way I have paid it fwd for the next 3-6 weeks. I get 6-10 mpg. It is the price I paid and pay for having a mansion.. and I mean that literally, compared to the friends I chum around with over the last six months, I live in a freekin palace... I knew this going in, and worried about.. well , here I am in the Taj Mahal while others have to manage with a lot more compromises than I do.... and yet there is acceptance... and that goes a bit deeper... there is an overall community of acceptance as a basis for relationships out here.. We are all different ( "yes, we are all different" ) , which is a reflection of the society we.. err well we live in it, but not the way most others do... the eBike continues to serve well, especially here in P near an actual town, with stores, and paved roads, and the French Bakery..
If you do the facebook thing I have a ton of pics from the summer on there, and if you do the Youtube thing I did manage to put up a few quicky vids over the summer...
) , which is a reflection of the society we.. err well we live in it, but not the way most others do... the eBike continues to serve well, especially here in P near an actual town, with stores, and paved roads, and the French Bakery.. If you do the facebook thing I have a ton of pics from the summer on there, and if you do the Youtube thing I did manage to put up a few quicky vids over the summer...
My biggest concerns with my girth was finding decent places to settle in, and .. it just has not been an issue.... I do give up a lot of "more out there" locations but that hasn't happened to me yet.
All rigs are a compromise.
All rigs are a compromise.
It was a good summer, and despite the taunting about my girth, the road has been good. I did a ****oo to the bathroom vent system... that will have to be replaced... I hit a branch when attempting to park under a tree... a minor issue really, esp considering the challenge...
Overall the goal of staying out of the heat was a success, if not a bit spendy due to the fuel burnt to get there and back... being a big circle from Q to P, to the GC. to South NM, up to CO, over to P via north rim and back to Q for the winter.
3500 miles approx/8mpgX$4.50 = approx $2k in gas.. way too much for the budget I have to get by on... but it is my first year out and I expect to encounter these ... err... challenges? My whole 7 Ps thing is great and all, but one can never cover all the bases, and therefore should expect bumps in the road where there ought to be none.
Part way through this trip I changed out the air filter and cleaned the MAS and it made a massive difference... *if* ( and it is a huge if) I were to get 10mpg and gas were $3.50 a gallon, the cost for the above circle route would have dropped to $1250 (approx). That is a HUGE potential savings.
I also burned a crap-ton of gas in my generators... 7-10 gallons a week! I knew this going in, and within a few short months most of that will go away as the solar system comes on line... that math is also ugly.... suffice to say that once the solar is up and running, that expense goes away ( ok fine.. at least $900)
Next year , it would be nice to not spend $3k on gas to do the summer route.... that may mean choosing a location not as far north as CO, as nice as CO was, in order to reduce fuel consumption.... I knew it was going to cost more to go to CO for the summer, but I am impressed by the overall effect it had on the gas expenses.
Shade.... even before I left Maine I knew I wanted to enhance the shade around my rig .... In P I bought a 16' x 16' 70% shade a cloth ... sewn edges and with d-rings on the elongated corners. Rebar for stakes on the outer edges with 6' poles, and the RV side tied off o the ladder in the back, and a tile suction cup rig in the front up on the roof.... It worked very well up in P , but down here in Q the suction cup has let go several times.... 1st world problems... wind in a few days, so I will worry about that after the blow...
Solar!! .. Last week I compromised and bought less solar than I want. The cost for more and the added complexity of the mounting was gunna bust my budget, so I opted for about half of what I want and got 5 panels/1200+- watts for $360 from Santan. I can upgrade the panels down the road as $$ allows, but this will "get me by for the next year+.
I built my battery over the summer. 16 3.2v 280Ah cells in a 16s configuration, using an Overkill BMS and a jobsite toolbox. When fully charged it will hold over 15Kw hours. Initially, I may not be able to fully charge the battery bank with solar alone, but once charged it will run for many hours... I intend to put in a mini-split...eventually...... At 48volts, this is a big battery no doubt, but I am building for the long term.
The charge controller is going to be a Sigineer M3048NC all-in-one. I will handle up to 5kw of solar input. This is also a case of building for the future, as this capacity of this unit is overkill for the moment.
I am looking fwd to finishing out the solar and other projects over the winter here in Quartzsite.
The pic below is the battery in mock up mode, testing the fit and operation. I will all come apart and be reinstalled with hold downs and proper wire management..
Overall the goal of staying out of the heat was a success, if not a bit spendy due to the fuel burnt to get there and back... being a big circle from Q to P, to the GC. to South NM, up to CO, over to P via north rim and back to Q for the winter.
3500 miles approx/8mpgX$4.50 = approx $2k in gas.. way too much for the budget I have to get by on... but it is my first year out and I expect to encounter these ... err... challenges? My whole 7 Ps thing is great and all, but one can never cover all the bases, and therefore should expect bumps in the road where there ought to be none.
Part way through this trip I changed out the air filter and cleaned the MAS and it made a massive difference... *if* ( and it is a huge if) I were to get 10mpg and gas were $3.50 a gallon, the cost for the above circle route would have dropped to $1250 (approx). That is a HUGE potential savings.
I also burned a crap-ton of gas in my generators... 7-10 gallons a week! I knew this going in, and within a few short months most of that will go away as the solar system comes on line... that math is also ugly.... suffice to say that once the solar is up and running, that expense goes away ( ok fine.. at least $900)
Next year , it would be nice to not spend $3k on gas to do the summer route.... that may mean choosing a location not as far north as CO, as nice as CO was, in order to reduce fuel consumption.... I knew it was going to cost more to go to CO for the summer, but I am impressed by the overall effect it had on the gas expenses.
Shade.... even before I left Maine I knew I wanted to enhance the shade around my rig .... In P I bought a 16' x 16' 70% shade a cloth ... sewn edges and with d-rings on the elongated corners. Rebar for stakes on the outer edges with 6' poles, and the RV side tied off o the ladder in the back, and a tile suction cup rig in the front up on the roof.... It worked very well up in P , but down here in Q the suction cup has let go several times.... 1st world problems... wind in a few days, so I will worry about that after the blow...
Solar!! .. Last week I compromised and bought less solar than I want. The cost for more and the added complexity of the mounting was gunna bust my budget, so I opted for about half of what I want and got 5 panels/1200+- watts for $360 from Santan. I can upgrade the panels down the road as $$ allows, but this will "get me by for the next year+.
I built my battery over the summer. 16 3.2v 280Ah cells in a 16s configuration, using an Overkill BMS and a jobsite toolbox. When fully charged it will hold over 15Kw hours. Initially, I may not be able to fully charge the battery bank with solar alone, but once charged it will run for many hours... I intend to put in a mini-split...eventually...... At 48volts, this is a big battery no doubt, but I am building for the long term.
The charge controller is going to be a Sigineer M3048NC all-in-one. I will handle up to 5kw of solar input. This is also a case of building for the future, as this capacity of this unit is overkill for the moment.
I am looking fwd to finishing out the solar and other projects over the winter here in Quartzsite.
The pic below is the battery in mock up mode, testing the fit and operation. I will all come apart and be reinstalled with hold downs and proper wire management..
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Nice !
Your built battery looks really nice. I assume the box is metal and fairly fire proof? Did or did you consider a heat sensor and heat pad for the bottom in case of freezing temperatures? Does your BMS stop charging above or below certain temps?
It is a "Job Site Box" .. I lined it with 1/2" closed cell neoprene... I found a scratch and dent box so saved $90
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SF83F0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I am not going with a heating pad. I intend to not be anywhere that temps will stay below freezing for more than a day. The basement bay where this will live is insulated a bit and sealed up well. The BMS has four temp sensors and is programmable to the n'th degree
https://overkillsolar.com/product-category/48v-bms/
Where the batt will live is one wall away from where the RV picks up 12v from the existing 4 6v golf carts. I will feed that pick up point using a Victron 48/12 volt 30 amp converter
https://www.solar-electric.com/victron-energy-orion-tr-48-12-30a-dc-dc-converter.html
The trixky **** is the integration of this system on top of the RV system, such that the RV has no clue ... I intend to eliminate the Onan4kw built in Genset, (possible future site for mini-split compressor) and hope to use that line which runs back to the transfer switch that forwards power from shore power or the genset. I hope to hook up the Sigineer in such a way that the RV just thinks it is on the genset or shore power all the time, but if I use feed the genset feed line to send power back to the transfer switch it creates a loop back to the Sigineer making it think it has an active shore line. I have an electrical engineer working with me on this.. we meet this week or so..
Yes... that or a solenoid that kills the main 120 line in, if there is 120 power out on the gen line... bu maybe a manual switch *would* be a way to go...
I made a video yesterday... it constantly amazes me how long it can take to make even a simple video if there is editing, sound and text involved.... often I just do a piece to cam and slap the opener on it... but, I do like editing and creating...
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