Embarrassment as a "Good Thing" . . .

I took the truck down to the company which is doing the power system design so they could have a look at the spaces etc. which are available for fitting equipment and batteries etc..

While they made positive "noises" about the truck and house in general they said something about "the wiring not being quite what they expected given the specification of the rest of the vehicle" . . .

The result was a face infusion of a rather nasty shade of red !!

I could have lived with it if it had never been pointed out !!

So after some friendly discussion I departed with a somewhat lighter wallet and a heavier truck.
This little lot added up to about $700 !!


















You may have noticed in a lot of the earlier photos that there were a number of wires in various places throughout the chassis. While NOT unsafe they were NOT pretty and according to the people I am paying as experts BARELY adequate for the job. In my mind that means ADEQUATE but with NO SAFETY MARGIN.
So I guess if I am paying these people I should listen to them - so a whole day stripping out all the old wiring and then starting over with the new wire.

I think I mentioned somewhere earlier that I am selling my existing factory building and buying two others about 100 meteres further up the street from a fellow I know quite well and with whom I am quite friendly.
He manufactures electrical conduit and ducting so a quick trip up the street was in order.

A 50mm x 25mm divided duct was run down the length of the main chasis rail.
The heavy red and black cables coming up into the lower division of the duct are for the 150amp x 24vDC current, from the beefed up truck alternator, while driving.


















On the other side an additional 50m x 25mm divided duct was attached and the top run used for the two rear view video camera coaxial cables and the bottom two runs for several 240vAC cables.


















This then became an additional 25mm square duct on top, another crossing to the other side of the chassis and another crossing to the outboard edge where it comes up the back of the kitchen cabinets.
The smaller black cables are 5mm (lights) and 6mm (motors, fridges) twin-flex double sheathed cable.



















Which all eventually leads back to the main electrical equipment cabinet where the controller/inverter/charger and switchboards will be located.


















So now it's like it should have been in the first place and only about 5 days and $700 to achieve it !!

Plumbing and Gas . . .

The order things appear here is not necessarily related to the order in which they are actually done. They seem to blur a bit and often I will put off going to pick up a part I need until I have a list worth getting . . . I just move on to the next thing which needs doing.

So . . .
the beginnings of :
top - inlet / fill hose
bottom - outlet to collector / "header" tank


















Each tank is separately fillable and can be shut off in the event some water is suspect.
Inlets are behind lockable doors to prevent tampering.
This one is for filling the front tank (250L) and for an inlet hose when parked in a caravan park so it can be operated from mains water. It allows the hose to be connected and then the door shut and locked over the hose so it cannot be tampered with.


















Same item from the inside. The main filler hose is covered with corrugated flexible PVC hose. The tank fill hose is from "beverage tube" (clear plastic hose) 25mm diam. which has a tendency to buckle and flatten when curved around things which the close fitting flexible cover prevents.
You can also see the pressure reduction valve for reducing mains pressure , about 1200kPa, down to about 400kPa before letting it loose on all the internal plumbing.


















An appropriate hole is cut in the underfloor to let all the pipes through.
The cupboard kick rail will cover it all up when the cupboards are installed.


















The tank outlet hose is taken out to a pipe which runs along under the floor on the outside to a header tank which is currently being made. This pipe will need to be insulated when going into cold climates although the plastic will resist bursting better than metal when it is sub-zero.


















At the other end the "grey-water" tank filling and draining system is complete.


















This arrangement allows for :
1) all grey water to be collected for later disposal (up to 150 L)
2) the tank to emptied when convenient
3) the grey water to be directed immediately to the dump valve without entering the tank (as when in a caravan park with drain facilities).

On the inlet side the water pump has been positioned and connected.
This involved moving the toilet cassette system slightly but allowed a much more convenient arrangement for all the pipes and hoses involved.


















The plumbing system is now complete up to the point where the shower and kitchen sink will be installed and connected so it's back to the gas system.
First we need a roll of soft copper tube of the correct size and Australian Standard specification.


















This needs the ends "flared" to suit the connector fittings


















which is done with a tool like this























A hole is then cut in the side of the gas cylinder box like so


















and the copper tube fed through


















and behind the toilet and through the tiny hole seen at the right into the front of the hot water system


















Another length is led out through the bottom of the box


















and into a plastic tube as protective cover and then through the inside of a chassis tube (the plastic stops metal to metal contact which could eventually be dangerous)


















and then up through the floor (necessary holes are yet to be cut here, the floor piece has been temporarily removed, also the toilet has been moved temporarily to other the side while work is done on the hot water system, it's sitting in the middle of the shower at the moment . . .)























The plastic tube will be cut back to length when the stove is installed so the copper inside can be connected.

Still waiting on the proposed specification for the "remote area power system" (RAPS) to be completed.
This is a combination of generator, solar panels, charger, 24vDC batteries, 12vDC reduction transformer and inverter for 240vAC which provides for all the necessary power requirements to either be independent of (when unavailable) or complementary to mains power (when available).

Well Waddaya Know ???

Well it looks like it may work !!


















The fittings are on the same level (no uphill to worry about) and nicely spaced for a piece of hose to fill the gap with a couple of hose-clips and all will be "hunky dory"!!
The next step of course is to start fitting all the pressure plumbing.
Sich and I have decided to use "Hepworth" fittings which are a mechanical connect fitting with "O-rings" which can be disassembled if necessary but best of all the pipes are just cut with simple pipe shears and pushed into the joints and hand screwed up tight - no special tools required.
They are suitable for hot and cold water and being plastic are resistant to vibration, corrosion and don't require anything too sophisticated for assembly, and if you don't like it over there then just cut a new piece of pipe and move it over here.
Pump with non-return fitted and various fittings for branching to toilet, shower and sink.


















If parked in a campground or near permanent plumbing a fitting is required to reduce the mains pressure to about 300kpa (45 psi) for the hot water system etc.. Even house hot water systems have a pressure reducing valve fitted as he last thing you want is scalding water squirting all over the place at high pressure if something springs a leak.


While working on customer work the other day I decided to attend to a little outstanding job that Sich and I have both been waiting for . . .
Our generators require the exhaust to be conducted away from the generator compartment but the existing exhaust outlet is not conducive to attaching anything like a hose to it.


















Seeing the customer's work involved turning some stainless steel injection nozzles I was all set up for turning stainless steel and I "just happened to have" a couple of pieces the required size left over from a previous job, so a replacement was made like so ...


















It turned out quite nicely actually and is a direct bolt on replacement for the original.


















A bit of flexible exhaust pipe and a hose clamp and "we're in business" ....

Waiting for the Gas Man

Waiting for the gas man to come I decided to carry on with the rest of the plumbing (and some of the electrical as can be seen . . . but that's another story).
The first bit to go in was the output from the main water tank.
There are two of these so assume everything is being done twice!



















This then has to go out through the floor of the bin bay and off to the header tank.
Having found these marvellous "tank fittings" I thought I would just use another of them . . .
Unfortunately by the time I screwed an "elbow" fitting onto it the rest of the fittings were too high to allow the water to flow without "going up hill"!!























After much deliberation and searching all the suppliers of plumbing fittings I concluded the only real option was to make one . . .
So . . . Start with a piece of acetal round bar of about the right diameter . . .























Turn one end to about this shape . . .


















Then cut the required thread to match all the others ( 1" BSPT)


















and because there are two of them, do the other end as well . . .


















Cut it in half and drill a hole right through . . .


















Then face off to thickness and cut the matching 1" BSPT internal thread


















The old and the new are assembled side by side to show the much lower profile achieved by this method


















and finally the whole assembly as it will be used.


















All I have to do now is cut the hole in the floor and assemble it in place . . .
Famous last words . . .

All this work gives you gas . . .

It appears that all the things which need to be hidden inside the walls like electrical cables and plumbing pipes needs to be done about NOW !!

My friend "Sich" who volunteered to help me with the interior expressed "mild surprise" with the number of things left undone in this regard . . .

We made a trial panel fit to help decide the method of construction for interior walls and cabinets etc for which he is the expert and I now have a much better understanding of how we can go about it.

It appears that I did not provide sufficiently for screwing the interior panels in place so segments of timber had to be glued in position between the uprights.


















It appears that plywood is no longer the same material I remember from my youth where it epitomised strength and structure. Alas this is no longer the case and a sheet of 12mm ply can be lifted easily in one hand as long as you are careful not to let it bend too far and break!!
The trial sheet in position cut around the "kitchen" window. It will later be clad in 3mm melamine and trimmed in beech.























This was the point at which it became obvious that the electrical and plumbing needed to be fitted FIRST !!
This also meant the interior layout needed to be "set in stone" . . .

So now there are wires everywhere :


















These will all be run internally to the "central switch boards" one for 12Vdc and one for 240Vac.























Whoops . . .
I forgot the gas needs to be run over to the kitchen as well . . .
Time to call the plumber I think . . . it all needs to be certified so we might as well get it done !!!