Archive → July, 2010
Welding!
I recently bought a Harbor Freight flux wire welder. Here I am fixing the snowblower:
(Insert maniacal laugh here)
Still more RV modifications
I made some modifications in anticipation of our upcoming trip. I modified the plumbing, replacing the water tank low point drain with a fixture that allows a garden-type hose to be attached. This allows the RV to be filled through the bottom, eliminating the need to open the RV so that the fill hole can be accessed. The white knob at the end is a plug to keep dirt from getting into the plumbing:
I also added switches that allow the solar panel to charge either battery, and the coach to run off of either battery:
The RV came with an oven, which we use for dairy, but I wanted to add a second oven for meat:
Removed the oven and cut out the cabinetry below. I didn’t notice the wheel well until this point. Grr!
New gas plumbing added:
The fitting that goes into the wall is a bulkhead adapter. The hose for the catalytic heater attaches on the far side.
I had to add risers to that the second oven could fit in above the wheel well:
Lower oven installed. I pulled off the range components.
To prevent the steam from the lower oven from entering the top oven, I built a duct out of sheet metal:
Duct installed:
Top oven installed:
Lower oven duct behind top oven. The lower oven is recessed by 1.5” to allow the duct to come up behind the top oven:
Here it is with the splash plate on. The splash plate and grill are removed before the RV is closed due to clearance issues:
Works great!
Family kayaking, Baila’s first solo!
We kayaked the area north of the Haverstraw kayak launch. It was Baila’s first time with her new Perception Acadia Scout. It’s the same model and color scheme as Mechel’s.
Here’s Baila paddling (Mechel is in the distance):
Unpacking:
The paparazzi:
Bubbe with Baila:
A train went over the bridge under which we had kayaked:
I’m all that with my biking gloves:
Change
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
-Steve Jobs, Address at Stanford University, 2005
Morning with Moshe
Moshe and I went for a ride at 5:15AM Tuesday morning. Here’s the route:
Here’s the graph:
The hill in the middle is the 14% grade South Mountain. I was happy to be able to climb it without standing up!
I enjoyed riding first thing in the morning. The temperature would reach 100 or so later in the day, but at 5AM it was in the high 70s, albeit muggy.