I did most of the main supply soldering at my apartment, where I could do it without getting eaten alive by bugs. My soldering setup.
Other side. The black cloth is welding cloth, it is extremely flame retardent. I might need to get another one once I start working inside the trailer though. I also intend to investigate cold soldering, though I haven't had a chance to do that yet. I could theoretically just use flare fittings, but those too are expensive and kind of a pain.
The early joints were pretty fugly. Too much solder (by a lot) and that was largely due to the fact that it didn't flow and suck worth a damn.
They got better though. By the end I had figured out the proper way to apply the flux, clean the ends, etc. My biggest problem was how I was heating the joint. I preheated the pipe (good), then tried to heat the joint evenly (bad). You are supposed to heat the joint from the opposite side you are applying solder, so that you are guaranteed the whole joint is hot enough to melt the solder. Still not excellent, the discoloration indicates that I overheated it, even though I only heated it enough to melt the solder. Not sure how to fix that, but it is a lesser concern.
Once the main supply line was complete, I headed up. Turns out the corner insulation didn't work out as planned. I will have to come up with a way to fix this. This by the way, is precisely why it says on the can not to use it to fill cavities...
Got the unnecessary brace out of the way. Maybe I should use the same approach on the foam insulation... :p
Turns out I made an oops. The line is the correct length, but the final elbow will be inside the tire in the current configuration. D'oh!
I at least got the PVC done while I was there. The sewage is now outside of the underbelly. I have one more piece that I will put on, and that will be it before the septic is done. As it is, I can probably install the flooring as it is, though it would make it a little more difficult to install the next piece if I did. The brace required a little modification, but should work ifne.
I also picked up some recessed lighting from a coworker. Got 2 of them. I was concerned that they wouldn't actually fit between the ceiling joists and the roof, but they seem to fit reasonably well.
Tonight I finished up the next round of dry-fitting. Nibco copper fittings aren't what they used to be, whatever they used to cut the end did a piss poor job.
The elbows and the two plugs are ready. The one elbow that has a second piece in it is for the stove to raise it up and over the tire. It will be inside the cabinet, so it isn't a big deal. I am almost out of copper, though I am pretty much done with the 3/4 (I think).
I was looking at tankless water heaters, and the cheaper ones have terrible reviews, so I will definitely need to do more digging. The cheaper ones are only 2-3GPM at 60F rise, which means in the winter I will be running pure hot for a shower, since the water from the ground will be a little under 40, and showers are normally 95-105 degrees. The biggest problem with the cheaper ones though is the fact that they take almost a gallon per minute flow to even kick on. This is why you hear horror stories of dishwashers that run straight cold water, or ones that never actually start because the water never heats up and those kinds of things. At a gallon per minute, the only way a regular faucet would kick it on is if the the hot is full blast. To get to a nicer one means going from a 250 dollar unit to a 850 dollar unit though. Something to ponder for sure.
I am not sure I am going to check off the PVC from the checklist until I get the other piece installed, which I will likely do this weekend.
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