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Post by JIM on Jun 11, 2021 19:46:02 GMT -6
I did my primary shopping the other day.in which that includes 3 cases of water.45 count to a case a package of 15 count mega rolls to a package.and 6 rolls of paper towels that equals 11 rolls.a woman customer sees that and says wow .all I could think of saying,is.i figured that I might as well while I have the money.i also got a few things of meat, spices and other items.
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Post by frostbite on Jun 14, 2021 3:00:02 GMT -6
My prep of the day, two days ago now, was having the courage to make a smart decision. I drove 4hrs to my retreat, had a lot I wanted to achieve there, not least of which was spending a few days there with my grandson. 2km out from my retreat is a low concrete causeway crossing a river, and the causeway was under 200mm of fast flowing water. There hadn't been much rain, but snowmelt was the cause. So we turned around and drove 4hrs home. There is no other access to the property, unless I want to hike for a week.
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Post by JIM on May 8, 2022 13:37:47 GMT -6
I'm vacum sealing ground beef, pork chops and grated cheese.today.
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Post by drhenley on May 8, 2022 17:09:36 GMT -6
Today was coffee day. Roasting and vacuum packing, and grinding and vacuum packing some of it for my sisters who don't have decent grinders. Brazilian (light medium roast), and two different Ethiopians, Kembata (dark roast) and Harrar (dark medium roast).
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Post by JIM on Jun 19, 2022 18:32:34 GMT -6
I bought a indoor/outdoor clock online today.in which it has lil hidden camera.and wifi capability.im hoping that I can link it with my phone.if not.then I'll try to link it with my pc.either way..I'll charge it inside.then to the front porch it goes.
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Post by JIM on Oct 11, 2022 8:46:05 GMT -6
I ordered this hand pump the other day, and got it yesterday.im glad to say,it works. it's definitely a good prep for me.
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Post by JIM on Sept 4, 2023 12:42:09 GMT -6
I just ordered a buddy heater and 2 buddy heater lines,to go with the one heater that I already have.next month will be 20LB tanks.hope that I can come across some that can be used as trade in's.
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Post by JIM on Nov 27, 2023 21:13:18 GMT -6
Just ordered two rolls of plastic for covering the apartment windows.and two door strips to go across the front and back doors.
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Post by drhenley on Nov 27, 2023 22:32:18 GMT -6
Just spend the last week and a half at our new BOL. We inherited two old RV camper trailers with it. After working on one of them I wrote it off and relegated it to being a storage shed. The other, which we though we were going to have to write off turned out to be in better shape than I thought. I put together a solar system and got some batteries. I have a 2000 watt inverter/charger/transfer switch, and I have the batteries, a generator, and the trailer all hooked up through it. The solar charges the batteries directly. And if at the end of the day, the batteries aren't fully charged from the sun, I top them off with the generator before going to bed.
I got most things working - Propane stove, 12v lights (I replaced all the incandescent bulbs with 1.3W LED bulbs), 12v/propane furnace, etc,
The water system has got me stumped. I am going to have to hire a mobile tech to come out and help me with that. I finally found one only 30 miles away. I thought I was going to have to get someone from hundreds of miles away, which would have cost an arm and a leg just to get them out there.
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Post by twp on Nov 27, 2023 23:17:57 GMT -6
drhenley , What's the source of your water? Do you have a well (hope so)? TWP
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Post by drhenley on Nov 28, 2023 11:12:56 GMT -6
There is a well, but it requires a 220v generator to operate the pump which I have to cart over to the well when needed. And there are no water lines. I have a potable water hose that I can run to the RV to fill up the RV's water tank however. But it looks like the RV's water pump was removed so nothing happens when I put water in the RV's water tank. I can hook up the hose to the city water inlet temporarily to get water pressure, but that is just a temporary thing because it entails a hose running along the ground (and across the road), and a portable generator powering the pump.
I bought a water pump for the RV, but I will need help getting it installed. I don't even know where it goes or how to hook it up correctly
I did find the pump at the other RV, but when I tried running the water, water was pouring out all over the place from leaking water lines, some not accessible without tearing out the bottom of the RV.
In the RV I'm working on, there was no pump in that same location by the water tank, just some wires not hooked up to anything, and I didn't see any water lines coming out of the tank (which is very difficult to access). Total mystery...
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Post by twp on Nov 28, 2023 13:35:40 GMT -6
Ok, it sounds like you're almost ready to live in the place. Will your solar driven inverter give you 220V AC? How many watts does the well pump need? You might run a buried 220V electrical line from the battery bank/inverter to the well/pump. At the same time, you can bury a water pipe back to the RV water tank.
I'm envious of your property. I shopping for a similar property here.
TWP
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Post by drhenley on Nov 28, 2023 16:54:22 GMT -6
The inverter is 110 only. I have no idea what the power requirements of the well pump are. I can test 110 circuits, but not split phase 220 circuits. It is possible that the well pump is only using one leg of the split phase circuit, I don't know. 220 volt split phase inverters are EXPENSIVE! What I want to do is get a 12 volt well pump and hook it up to a solar charged battery. That is most likely much much less expensive than a 220 volt split phase inverter.
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Post by drhenley on Nov 28, 2023 21:25:58 GMT -6
Besides, with a 12 volt pump, 12 volt battery and solar panel, I don't have to worry about exposure to the elements. With a 220 volt inverter, I do.
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Post by twp on Nov 28, 2023 23:58:05 GMT -6
The tradeoff for lower voltage is that you Must use larger cables to carry the power. Larger wire is more expensive. Consider the appliances used in the RV. Using 12v RV appliances means larger wires everywhere. Hence the reason you have a 110V AC inverter in the first place. You'll still need to protect the battery (multiple cells) and the inverter from the weather. Low voltage components cluster together to reduce the wire lengths. Locate the batter/inverter room next to the solar array next to the 12 volt well/pump. "There Ain't No Free Lunch". Placement is everything... Then there is the sewer pipe connection between the RV and the septic field. Gosh, that's why they call us Preppers... TWP
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Post by drhenley on Nov 29, 2023 10:09:33 GMT -6
Consider the appliances used in the RV. Using 12v RV appliances means larger wires everywhere. Hence the reason you have a 110V AC inverter in the first place. You'll still need to protect the battery (multiple cells) and the inverter from the weather. The RV is wired mainly for 12 volt, and it has a place for a small 12 volt battery bank (my battery bank is way way to large to put there). It is designed to run almost everything off of 12 volt batteries. The RV water pump is 12 volt. All the appliances except the microwave (which I don't use) are 12 volt. All the lights are 12 volt. The range hood is 12 volt. There is only one 110 volt outlet in the kitchen which I don't use. In fact I don't use 110 for anything in the kitchen. The only other 110 volt outlets are in the bedroom which I do use for a few things. If I didn't need 110 for some things, I would just find a way to put my battery bank close to where the battery hook up is on the RV and skip the inverter. But instead what I'm doing is running the inverter off of the battery bank and feeding that into the shore power connection. Then that gets converted back to 12 volt by the RV's electrical system to run everything. Sounds backward but it's the best solution I could some up with for now. I'll probably split the battery bank into two parts, both with solar panels. One for the inverter, and the other to directly feed the 12 volt circuits. The RV's electrical system will charge the batteries hooked up directly to the 12 volt system when you are on shore power (110). The well is 60 yards from the RV. I don't plan on ever running anything to the well from the RV except for temporarily running the potable water hose to fill up the RV water tank, so the solar panel and battery will be right there by the well. No inverter involved. When we build something it will be closer to the well and I'll run a water line and power line then. The solar panel is weatherproof The solar charge controller is weatherproof There won't be an inverter by the well (that's why I want a 12 volt pump!) The battery/ies can go in a standard $15 battery box like you would use for a battery in a boat to run a trolling motor. The 12 volt pump uses 120 watts or ~10 amps for a 12 volt circuit. I'll need two 60' primary wires. It will need 4 AWG primary wire for that amperage and length, which runs about $1.34 per foot, or $160 total. I had a company come out and do a perc test and design a septic system (cost $800 for that). No money to build the septic system yet. I'm pooping in a plastic bag in a portable potty chair and peeing in the woods.
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Post by twp on Nov 29, 2023 11:04:17 GMT -6
Sounds like you already have the 12 volt side of the power working for you. No new wiring needed...
I also envy the fact that you have woods around you. I live in a semi-desert climate and will need to plant any trees that I can keep watered.
I was going to suggest that you move the RV closer to the well, which would reduce your need to lay power lines. But you don't want your septic field too close to the well...
You got it handled, congrats.
TWP
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Post by drhenley on Nov 29, 2023 13:13:03 GMT -6
The RV ain't going anywhere. I don't have a vehicle that can tow it. I'd need something like a F-350 Super Duty. But it is a temporary shelter anyhow. I plan to build a cabin when we have the money, and it will be much closer to the well.
I had them size the septic system for 4 bedrooms, and lay it out halfway between the RV and where I want to put the cabin so I can run sewer lines to both. That way I can have fully livable conditions in the RV while the cabin is being built.
And then after the cabin is built, I can use the RV as sort of a "guest cottage." That will reduce the number of bedrooms I need in the cabin.
I've been planning this all out since April, so...
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Post by drhenley on Nov 29, 2023 13:33:01 GMT -6
Here is an areal showing the layout. The septic tank is in a depression going northwest so it's downhill from both the RV and the Cabin, and the drain field is downhill from the septic tank.
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Post by twp on Nov 29, 2023 14:47:44 GMT -6
It looks good. Once again, I'm envious of your property. I want that shed you have over the one RV.
TWP
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