This is going to be tedious stuff, but necessary knowledge if you don’t want your solar installation going up in smoke. The voltages of most solar/battery/inverter installations are relatively easy to manage, but the currents used are not. I’ve seen all kinds of errors in installations, even from supposed professionals. I am NOT a professional, […]
Archive | Equipment
Solar Power for RVs
I’ve had a few questions about how and why I’m doing a solar/battery system for Fritz, what I’m using and how I chose it. This is going to be a fairly long post with a bit of math, so if you’re interested, get a cup of coffee and settle in. Fritz is an extreme experiment. […]
Fritz Getz Solared
The big plan for Fritz is for it to be all electric and capable of extended dry camping, meaning no campground, no plugging in to handy electric outlets, self-contained–and still comfortable. That’s kind of a big requirement to pull off without propane, but I think I’m in the ballpark. Most RV solar installations put a […]
Fixed my Flange
No, it’s not a medical condition. As I mentioned in the last post I stripped one of the bolts on the drivers side output flange. I ordered a rather expensive TimeSert kit to repair it. At least it wasn’t the $400 these kits used to cast–a more reasonable but still stiff eighty bucks. Expense aside, […]
Fritzing Away The Summer
Fritz has taken up a HUGE amount of my time this summer. It’s not a terrible thing since I’m enjoying the creative work, and the grunt side–the mechanic-ing–is familiar and comfortable. The interior design is basically complete, though anyone looking at it might find that a surprise. It’s sparse. Diane and I really don’t like […]
Fritz–Starting To Build
More progress on Fritz. I think people will be puzzled when they see the interior. Minimal. Actually, the far edge of minimal. The living area will be two chairs, a bar cabinet, facing cabinet, and some shelves. The chairs detach and can move outside. Nice little side tables. An aluminum plank that converts the side […]
Fritz–The Vandal Strikes
Several people emailed me, saying that they thought the interior is great. They should come get it before I haul it to the dump. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but it just isn’t what we want. My goal is pretty simple: Have a nice bedroom, a usable and simple kitchen, and a space that’s […]
Fritz–The New Surfmobile Project
I’ve been looking at a lot of videos about Sprinter van conversions, mostly because I’ve got a major league surf jones that I can’t do much about, because I just had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands, and the doc says NO for about 6 more weeks. But the more I looked, the more I […]
AA Catching Up
May 27, 2007 I had the best intentions to post every day, but I’m way behind. I blame the frantic drives between tracks, a slow internet connection and too much fun to be had at Elkhart Lake. So I’ll use this post to catch you up on what happened. The drive to Road America was […]
Geezer Foil
Last year foils on SUP showed up in the Gorge. I was getting my downwind board off the shuttle at Viento Park for another run a few days before the Gorge Paddle Challenge when I faintly heard someone yell “Uncle Bill”. I don’t have any nieces or nephews in a reasonable range, so I didn’t think […]
A Project Too Far: My Maserati Mistral
About thirty years ago I was sitting in a barber chair, reading an article in a car magazine (I think it was Motor Trend) that said used exotic cars were selling for amazingly low prices. My imagination was fired by the notion of a Ferrari, Maserati or Aston Martin sitting in my garage. I certainly […]
Stomp Handle
I’ve been playing with tail handles for quite a few years, ever since a surly guy named Sam Pae and I started insulting each other on the Standup Zone. Sam had started a thread talking about tail handles, wondering if anyone else was using them. I chimed in that I had added a strap to […]
Alexa, Write A Post About Amazon Echo
I got an Amazon Echo–I didn’t learn my lesson with Google Glass so I signed up for early release when they first announced it. But unlike Google Glass this was a cheap foray into the leading edge–$99 if you have Amazon Prime. You have to request an invitation to buy, and you can only buy […]
Garage Porn
I’ve got a nice shop. I used to have a great one under my house in Portland, but when we moved our new home only had a one car garage with what looks like a bomb shelter under it–concrete ceiling seven feet high. I rented warehouse space for my tools and toys but there was […]
Don’t Strap It, Rope It.
A few years ago, after a downwinder on the south side of Maui, Dave Kalama showed me his rope system for tying down boards. He had small boat-mooring cleats attached to his rack to tie the rope off to. I didn’t see the point of his system–why not just use straps? But when my new […]