Our RV Adventures

I mentioned the other day about my rig muffler/tailpipe repair where I reattached my pipe to the muffler where it had broken off.

So out of curiosity, I called Spartan this afternoon to see how much a new muffler would have cost me. Turns out I saved $272.12 plus $45 shipping. Pretty good return on $10 worth of clamps, brackets, and screws.

I’ve run into a small problem with my recent power converter that I installed around the middle of December.

https://ourrvadventures.com/2014/12/original-mexican-and-old-friends/

Well, I’ve run into a small problem with it. The Float Charge level is about 0.1 volt too low.

Like most power converters, mine has 3 output voltage levels.

The first one, the Bulk Charge Mode will run at 14.4 for a maximum of 4 hours. This mode is used if you’ve been draining your batteries pretty hard so the system needs to catch up.

Next is the Absorption Mode, which at 13.6 volts, is considered the ‘normal’ mode when you’re using a lot of 12 volt power.

Lastly, is the Float mode. At 13.2 volts, this mode is where the converter mostly stays, due to the fact that most of our lights are LED, and we just don’t use much other 12 volt power, except when we run the vent fans.

The problem is that 13.2 volts is not enough to cause my rig battery controller to switch over and charge the engine batteries. It needs to see 13.3 volts before it will switch.

I talked with American Coach to see if this level is adjustable, and found it wasn’t.

I can make the converter charge the engine batteries by turning it off and back on, which starts it back up in Bulk Mode for little while,  but then it cycles down to Absorption Mode and then back to Float Mode. But this is a PITA.

I talked to the PowerMax power converter people and found that there is an adjustment inside that will raise output voltage slightly, but to do so, I would have to drill out the rivets in the case to get inside, and this would void my warranty, and the two year additional warranty I bought for $9.95

Right now I have a 3 amp float charger on the engine batteries, keeping them right at 13.3 volts, while my house batteries sit at 13.2 volts. And that’s how it will stay until and if, I come up with something else.

Update: What I finally ended up doing is to put the Power Converter on a timer. Three times a day, every 8 hours, the timer shuts off the Power Converter for 30 minutes, so that when it comes back on, it goes into Bulk Charge Mode at 14.4 volts, which will charge the engine batteries, taking care of the problem.

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Although the bottom has temporarily dropped out of the gate guard business (one service guy says they’ve gone from 40 gates to 16 in just a few weeks), it’ll come back. It always does.

Anyway, I came across a really good article describing the life of a rig worker.

7 On, 7 Off – The Roughneck Life

It’s a good read even if you aren’t interested in gate guarding. The comments are interesting too.

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About 4pm the rain had started to slack off so we headed out for dinner at Golden Corral and a second try at Wal-Mart

I mentioned a few days ago about how good Golden Corral’s 5 oz. Sirloin’s are.

And that they were better than the $24 steaks we had the other night at Nancy’s Steakhouse in Columbus.

And tonight was no different. Still delicious and still all you can eat.

Did I mention it’s all you can eat?

Tomorrow’s supposed to be nice, sunny, dry, and about 60 degrees. So I should be able to get back on a couple of projects.

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Thought for the Day:

What happens on the internet, never stays on the internet.

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Well, it started raining last night and has continued to rain most of the day. In fact they issued flood warnings for the area, maybe even as much as 2 to 4 inches overnight. Tomorrow is forecast to be about the same, but starting Saturday, it’s supposed to clear up for a few days at least

One thing nice about being here at Lake Conroe is no more stickers. Or as we used to call them on the Gulf, sandspurs. What ever you called them, they hurt like hell when you step on one. They come in the rig on your shoes, socks, and even your pant legs.

And we found out they also come in on Mister. So we have to frisk him after he’s been outside. Otherwise they fall off his fur and then snuggle down in the rugs, lying in wait like little landmines, just waiting for a bare foot.

Even worse, often when you pull them out of your foot, you get a spine broken off in your finger that’s so small that you can’t pull it out, but you will feel it every time you touch something.

About 4pm, Jan was jonsing for Cracker Barrel’s Thursday Turkey and Dressing, so much so that we ignored the pouring rain, and headed down the Interstate to the CB for dinner. One thing we both like there is that they have real dressing (cornbread dressing, the only REAL dressing) and REAL cornbread muffins (you know, the ones made with only cornmeal and not half-flour, and not so much sugar that they taste like cake.). It’s always good, and tonight was no exception. Delicious.

And even better for me, we got out of there with no extraneous gift shop purchases.

Leaving the restaurant, we had planned to make a Wal-Mart stop for a few things, but the weather was, as Jan described it, “just too yucky.” So we just headed home for the night.

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Thought for the Day:

A simple rule of life: if you can be blamed, you’re responsible.

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