Nice few days.

Happy birthday Dad.  The last several days have been really nice.  A couple nights ago I started working on the design for the electrical system enhancement.  

I quickly realized though I never selected an inverter.  I also never really researched any so without dimensions I didn't get too far.  So the past couple days at work I did a little research on inverters.  Given the cost of pure since wave inverters though, I think it will be worthwhile to actually measure how much power a camper actually uses.  Right now it looks like a 3kW inverter will be good, that is the smallest I have seen with true off grid connections (so I am not trying to draw 30A through a 20A outlet).  If 2kW is adequate though, then perhaps I could go with a cheaper solution.  This is in the same online excel sheet that I put all my battery analysis and stuff in and can be found here for a readable version (thank you Google for having crappy software...) https://drive.google.com/file/d/16g0W-_9pEH2vaUiGeYPaBuW3A21ksxqL/view?usp=sharing

Yesterday the truck went in for inspection.  As per the norm, the e-brake failed which I knew about (it hasn't worked in months).  The regular brakes passed though, which was a little surprising.  I also got the front end aligned since my front tires were very worn on the outer edge; thankfully he didn't fail them (I am pretty sure he could have), tires for my truck are expensive and most of the tire is fine.  

Since nobody is in the office anymore, I decided to ride into work.  It was still a little wet out and I got a little muddy on the way in.

I managed to average almost 12mph though, which is a lot faster than I expected for a 6.1 mile ride.  

I did have to take a detour on the way in since I normally cut through the athletic complex so I don't have to ride on route 101, but the athletic complex is apparently a vaccination site now and was largely blocked off.

The route I took home was a bit longer.  I rode the rail trail most of the way home.  Part of it was nice.  A lot of it was still really muddy and slowed me down a lot, especially with legs that were already tired.  This route added a quarter mile or so to the trip, but the real difference was in the speed.  I only averaged 9.5mph on the way back.  

It didn't help either that I was actually really hot on the way home.  According to my truck, it was well into the 70s in Keene.

I will need to give the bike a bath this weekend.  

On the snow update, it is pretty much all gone.  This is all that remains of the monster snowbank down by the road that a month ago was too tall for my tractor.  

The yard is clear.

I haven't really done anything on the project list for this year yet.  Technically I have started the camper electrical design, but it is on hold pending power measurements so I haven't marked it in progress yet.

2021 Projects

• Windows in shed
• Shed supports
• Carport clear panel repair
• Table
• South wall siding
• Bridge over creek
• Review options for house (mobile home vs stick built vs modular)
• Trailer hub
• Rebuild smaller trailer into flatbed
• Level back yard
• Level side yard
• Level front yard
• Clear trees to creek
• Remove dead/dying beech trees
• Retaining walls?
• Eliminate pile of crap in back
• Camper Electrical extension (portable AC power source and generator)
• Clean up/level area down by second parking spot
• Driveway round three

Bike is good to go

I aired up the bike tires and took it out yesterday.  The new air pump is light years better than the old one.  Its only real flaw is that the hose is on the wrong side.  I did notice that my bike tires are starting to get weathered and are starting to crack.  A bad sign for a 90PSI tire.  I will probably have to replace them next year.  Or this year if I start riding it a lot.

It was really nice out so I went out and took a few mile ride.  I am in worse shape than I thought, but the bike held up fine.  No derailleur adjustments were needed, and the chain worked fine with no noticeable binding.  My truck goes in for inspection and annual maintenance stuff on Thursday.  I was originally planning on biking into work, I might try to get a ride though, that is a pretty significant haul on busy roads and Bob's has limited hours.  I don't ride as much as I used to; I used to average more miles annually in Syracuse than I have ridden total since I moved to NH.  Given the lack of a gym situation though, I hope to ride it a lot more this year.

It might be time for some new handlebar grips, or at least covering these ones with something.  I cleaned them with Dawn and an aggressive brush this year because they were more crummy than normal, and they are still crummy and somehow they have gotten sticky.  Crummy is normal and wears off after a few rides.  Sticky is new and left a rather unpleasant residue on my hands.

Because of how warm it was, there was a lot of meltoff.  Most of my yard is clear at this point, except the heavily shaded and banks.  It is crazy to think that this picture was taken less than 12 hours after the one in my previous post.

I haven't completed or sorted it yet, but I started on a list of tasks and projects for this year.  The list is quite long actually.

2021 Projects

• Windows in shed
• Shed supports
• Carport clear panel repair
• Table
• South wall siding
• Bridge over creek
• Review options for house (mobile home vs stick built vs modular)
• Trailer hub
• Rebuild smaller trailer into flatbed
• Level back yard
• Level side yard
• Level front yard
• Clear trees to creek
• Remove dead/dying beech trees
• Retaining walls?
• Eliminate pile of crap in back
• Camper Electrical extension (portable AC power source and generator)
• Clean up/level area down by second parking spot
• Driveway round three

Bike Work

It was a nice weekend.  I started on my spring checklist.  I checked my propane levels, it is still fine.  I don't think I have enough to last until the real house is built though.  

I also removed the weight from the back of my truck.  

Saturday I went to pull out my bike and give it a tune up.  I was sad.  Apparently even though I didn't ride it down in KY (I brought it down when I went down for Thanksgiving), it still somehow got completely coated in salt.  The only thing I can think of is I hit some heavily salted roads on the way home and it was in the back of the truck.  Another reason to get a cap eventually.  

For better or worse, most of the bike is immune to salt.  The frame is a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber.  The cassette and chain however are steel.  It appears that the oiling I did when I got to KY wasn't sufficient to protect it. 

I sprayed a bunch of PB Blaster on it and worked it into the links of the chain a bit and let it sit until Sunday to break everything free.

Sunday morning I went up and finished installing the windows properly.  What a pain.  These are the most obnoxious windows I have ever installed (though to be fair, that isn't a large number).  Only one side lines up well enough to lock, but that is fine.  

Sunday was really warm, so I hooked up my short hose (I couldn't leave it hooked up, it is still too early in the season for that) and hosed down the bike.  

My hose was not fond of the idea.  Looks like this one needs a new gasket.

I also went out and picked up some bike stuff.  I apparently forgot my air pump down in KY (doh!).  It was a crappy one anyways, so I bought a (hopefully) nicer one.  I also got some chain cleaner and actual bike chain oil to hopefully help rehab the rusted chain.  

I spent a while and cleaned the chain and oiled it properly.  Typically all I do for a tune up is spray it with some PB Blaster, fill the tires, adjust the derailleur if necessary and go.  The chain got a lot more special treatment this year.  The oil is recommended to sit in for a day before riding, so I will finish up the adjustments later today.

The chain at least looks a lot nicer.  The cassette will rehab with use.  

I also did some spring cleaning.  I got all the cobwebs out of the house (spider season is almost upon us) and did some laundry.  The clothesline still works fine; winter didn't seem to bother the nylon paracord and it was still taught.  

I also went up and did some cleaning in the shed.  I got the area around the window all cleaned up.

The shed is now reorganized too.  

I noticed this when I was putting some tools away.  I might have to investigate what happened.  It looks like the flooring is gone in the last narrow strip.  The shed is actually 12'3" wide, so there should have been a 3" wide piece butted up against this edge of the plywood, but you can clearly see light coming through so something is not right.  

I wanted to pull the utility trailer out and get it ready to go, but it looks like not enough snow has melted yet.  

The current snow coverage: Keene is at 5%, only large banks still remain.  Sullivan is clearing off nicely though, and is about 50%.

I think it is time I started making this year's project list now that the days are long enough and everything is clearing off.  

Tractor repaired, window sealed.

This post was intended to be written yesterday, but I was rather busy running around at work.  It was actually kind of refreshing to not be stuck in front of a screen.  

The guy came Tuesday to pick up the tractor.  The guy was nice, and he helped me yank the chain out that had gotten stuck in the grading blade (he needed to turn the blade since it was wider than his trailer).  He jiggled the rear blade a few times and got it pulled out (almost as if he had done that before...).  

Driving away on the tractor.  I was surprised he came to pick up with just a regular pickup and a landscaping trailer.  The tractor probably weighs 3000lbs (the unit is 1800ish, the loader is around 600, the tires are filled adding a couple hundred, and the rear blade is another couple hundred) so his trailer must have been beefier than it looked.  I understand not bringing a big monstrous thing though, especially since most of the towns in the area have already posted 6 ton weight limits on most of their roads.

Wednesday was really nice, so I got home a little early to get the window finished up (yesterday was not nice).  To my surprise the tractor was back in the carport, they were already done.  

They replaced this part, which is the part that looked like the source of the leaks.  This one looks a little different than the old one, so hopefully it is better built.  

It was interesting working on a surely OSHA approved setup.  I mean, what isn't safe about using a step ladder (not a real ladder with feet) leaning up against a wall sitting on snow?  In all seriousness, at some point I probably ought to invest in a real extension ladder though.

The exterior of the window is now sealed in.  In hindsight (I will have to remember this for the other side) - I should have cut the foam off the window and instead filled the gap with expanding foam.  The window had a ring of foam on it like the foam on a really cheap paintbrush.  Because I didn't, there wasn't enough expansion room so I ended up using silicone for the whole thing, and I ran out before I could complete the inside.  The expanding foam insulates better than the cheap foam too, though the insulation factor isn't really relevant to the shed.  

The window is water tight though, even if I completely spaced and forgot to put in the Z flashing.  The silicone will seal it, the Z flashing was just an added layer of protection since T1-11 doesn't typically hold silicone well.  

The path up to the shed is walkable again.  for a while it was rather treacherous because it is a steep slope and was pure ice, but enough has cleared that you can walk on the ground.

We got a bunch of rain yesterday, so my snow coverage is down to around 75%.  

Shed window kind of installed.

The shed windows is cut out and kind of installed.  It took a little finagling with a combination of my belt sander, hand planer, and reciprocating saw, but I expanded the framing enough so the fit was just tight instead of uncomfortably tight.

After getting that installed, I realized that I didn't know how to put the glass panes back in.  I haven't yet figured out how to get the posts into the weight relief on the sides.  

I tried loosening the screw on the bottom to make it slide, but it is held in on the side as well, so that was a no-go.

I tried just angling the window, but the posts would fall out on the first side inserted before I could get enough angle to get the second side in.    The posts aren't round as well, which means the window has to be upright before it will slide in.  The windows in my house, the posts are round and spring loaded which makes it really easy.  These ones are fastened in and fixed.  For the moment, I have one side installed and just used the stop to keep the window mostly closed.

The reason I didn't continue playing with it on Sunday (I cut everything out on Saturday, and screwed the window into place Sunday morning) is that my work day got cut short because of some unexpected snow.  The way the window is right now will block >90% of the snow.  Since I don't have the glass panels properly installed, I can't just close it and lock it.

It is supposed to start warming up again tomorrow, so I will hopefully get it finished then.  

I have to admit, even with the window in there, it doesn't let in as much light as I had hoped for (and not because the window is really dirty).  Originally I wanted to put one window on the west wall, and the other on the north wall, but I amended that because the windows are very large (I got them for free, so I am not complaining) and putting one in the north wall would go almost literally from the loft all the way to the floor.  So instead I was going to put one on each side (west and east where there is no loft).  I think I will still need a small one for the north though.  Time to start poking around for a small window.

Shed window ready to cut out

 I didn't get home with a lot of light left, thankfully this weekend is daylight savings time, but I am still on track to install the window this evening/weekend.  The header and the rest of the framing is installed.  I dry fitted the window in; it is uncomfortably tight.  That would be rather painful to fix at this point though, since it was tight on the sides, which means cutting chunks out of the studs.  I don't think a shed window is worth it.  It does mean that I may not be able to perfectly level the window, but oh well.  

As you can see, the light is working well.  This works a lot better than the stand lamp I have previously been using.  

I mentioned in my last post that the snow coverage was still pretty high.  I went into my back yard to see how deep the snow was (we are down to a couple inches), and discovered that at some point the wind blew my heat pump cover off the unit.  Doh!

Short update, pretty quiet.

I went out for the weekend last weekend.  I haven't really done much noteworthy, just some cleaning up in the shed, reconnecting the power, that kind of stuff.  It has been really nice the last couple of days so I have been spending my time outside instead of working on projects.

It is now official, fiber is coming to Sullivan.  I went to the town wide meeting last night to vote for it, though based on the result it was never in doubt (64 for, 4 against).  I was a little concerned because quite frankly I might have been the youngest person there and definitely in the top 5 youngest (about a third of the town was there), and over half the people there were past retirement age and probably would be fine with crappy satellite or DSL.  Apparently it is only the FCC and Congress that don't want people to have decent internet access.  

On the topic of internet access, Starlink is now available in NH (that is the new satellite internet from SpaceX, LEO instead of GEO so it doesn't suck).  It is more expensive than fiber; much higher up front equipment costs, and costs more per month for less service.  The real deal killer at the moment though is that it is very explicit in their terms of service that it isn't mobile and is only allowed to be used at the registered address.  It was originally a potential option for use while travelling in a camper (once they complete designing dishes that aren't enormous), but their TOS blocks that use case.

I will probably do some work on the shed window tonight, since if I don't get it installed tonight and sealed in tomorrow, the colder weather returns this weekend, and snow returns next week.  You can use silicone caulk in the cold, but I would rather it be warmer for it (it adheres better when it is warmer) and the spray foam filler around the edges also works a lot better when it is warmer.

As far as the snow watch goes, Keene is about 25% coverage (only shady areas and piles still have snow), but Sullivan is still around 85%.  My driveway is clear, and some of the rock piles are starting to clear, but otherwise I still have ground coverage.

Crummy weekend.

The weekend wasn't terribly nice, so I didn't do much.  Saturday I went and got the prices for the fiber (I actually read the town newsletter for a change).  15/15 is $60, 50/50 is $73, 100/100 is $83, and gigabit is $98.  Sunday was pretty meh.  The rain held off enough for me to go outside for a bit, but otherwise that was it. 

I also put a new light in the living room.  It is much brighter down there now.  

Yesterday I went up to finish chiseling the window frame.  I was disappointed to find out that the light didn't work, so I ended up using the small magnetic one I had up there.  I tested the light afterwards, and it worked fine, so I will need to find what got unplugged where.  I didn't do it in the dark.  

Despite being almost freezing out though, it was certainly brisk from the wind.  Even inside.  It is also a little unnerving working in the shed when the doors kept almost getting ripped off by the wind, since I can't latch the doors from the inside.  It also sounded like there was a tree that was debating life or death nearby, I heard a couple of loud cracks from outside.  At least I know the shed is tough enough to take a tree. 

The window frame is ready to be cut out from the siding though, I got the board fixed.  

I was going to install the framing as well last night, but my drill was dead.  And since the electric up there wasn't working, I couldn't use a corded one.