This week moving on a bit. But then again it needs to if I'm going to use it next weekend
The first job was to try to tidy up some of the wiring to the running lights. My plan is to have the amber side running lights on whilst running
, but the to have them flash with the indicators
I saw this on a continental artic and was impressed by the look. This means I need separate wiring looms for each set of lights. The rear red running lights are to also be brake lights. I have found If I put a resistor in the circuit to reduce the voltage I can vary the brightness of the led's. When the brake lights come on full voltage gives a brighter led
.
When I put the front running lights on I was a bit pi**ed off, I ordered a set of 10 warm white led's. out of the 7 that are on the front 6 are warm white with 1 cool white
Iknow I can change it (later) but the led's are screwed to the frame work, glued to the fiberglass with 512 and sealed with silicon
Its just a case of tucking the wires behind the panels
Looks quite neat when sorted although I did have to take them off to find all the light tails
The next job was to find all the bits to the roof vent which were spread about the shed after being in there over 12 months
Found them eventually whilst having a major search for a lost set of house keys that had fallen out my pocket.
All put together frame and all. It will have to come off and be refitted when I get more PVC sheet for the roof lining.
Run some power to it and test it out
Very impressed
This is one of the new Omnivent fan units and has 6 speed suck and blow
Now a bit of internal wiring
The fuse box will be in the top cupboard, when I have one
, so, for the time being, is stuck to the wall. The battery was fitted with a cut off switch (a lesson never forgotten
) then wiring for lights, radio, car socket, cooker and water pump run around the walls to be covered with PVC panel later.
The next job, gas.
I have decided on being able to use either Propane of Butane to cover all eventualities, plus I already have a part bottle of each
A new continental motorhome switchover regulator was purchased to enable this.
Propane uses a 37mb pressure but Butane 27mb. these dual-use regulators are 30mb and can be used on both
A pair of pigtail pipe connectors, with non return valves, to suit allowed both bottles to be connected at once.
The white knob on the center of the unit has a red /green pressure indicator on it as well as being able to point to either bottle
When the indicator points to a bottle, if it has pressure the markers are green, If there is insufficient pressure they are red. The knob can then be pointed to the other bottle. The regulator unit is designed for a 2 bottle setup for a quick change over of the empty.
I did find this unit very good in as much as it has a test nipple to check the system is gas tight. I was going to invest in a manometer to check for any leaks but so far I don't need one.
With the gas feed traveling under the camper and into the valve box, it is possible to turn all the outlet valves off, pressurize the system by turning the bottle on then off. The regulator then shows that the system is pressurized and gives a green flag
As the gas leaks out of any bad joints, the pressure drops and I get a red flag at the regulator
The first attempt took about 2 minutes
Leak detection spray is all very well but you are never really sure there is not a leak
If you know there is then you can use it to find it
It took 4 attempts to be happy with that first section of pipework (it does have the most compression elbows and connectors in it)
The last check showed the pressure had not dropped enough for a red flag for 6 hours. We will see what the morning shows
I will do the same on the next sections in turn.
When I purchased the sink/cooker combo off eBay the seller said that one of the burners did not stay alight. I thought it would just be a thermocouple gone down (an easy fix) I was more than a little miffed to find a new one was about £30. The cooker has one large and one small hob ring and it was the large that did not stay alight. I thought I would change the thermocouples over so I would at least have the large burner working. To my happy surprise after taking the thermocouple out and cleaning it up..... it worked