Friday, April 28, 2023

Not a terribly productive week.

I haven't gotten too much done this week.  We had frost several of the mornings, which is kind of annoying.  


Apparently when I was testing the water jug last weekend, I ended up tightening it so much to get it to not leak that I had to use a strap wrench to get it off.  This is definitely annoying.  I had let it sit for a few days because I had a little vinegar in there to get the plastic smell and taste out of it.


Other than that, just a little packing, though not too much.  The house preliminary packing is pretty much done at this point, I can only take maybe one more tote out without removing stuff I routinely use.  I finally got around to cleaning out the last of the totes.  


I made a mess when I dumped the pine-sol out


Yesterday was finally warm enough to paint again (most of the week it was too cold), so I got the first coat of paint on the rim.  I really need to get cracking on getting the new tires.

I also made a Autozone trip during the week, and picked up one of those three in one towing balls.  Class 4 towing stuff (10k lbs) is rather expensive.  I am not entirely sure what drop I will eventually need for the trailer, but this will do to at least get it off the slab and relocated.


Time is definitely running short.  The microwave and fridge should be coming in next week.  I got a call from the tree company that is doing the trimming for the power installation, they should be doing that soon since the power company was targeting early May for the new poles.

Before the site work:
  • Get a 2 5/16 ball for my truck
  • Get rid of unneeded appliances (propane, stove, fridge, water heater)
    • Propane - Scheduled for May 3rd
    • Stove
    • Fridge
    • Water Heater
  • Finish packing up house
  • Move house to parking spot.  Plug septic.
  • Fix generator again.
Winter projects:
  • Fix the generator.  Again.
  • Get the plan/schedule in place. 
  • Build prototype cap.
  • Shed windows.
  • Fix generator box.
  • Clear/mark walking trails.
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Monday, April 24, 2023

Mostly indoor testing.

I felt like crap on Saturday, but still managed to drag myself out for a couple of small tasks.  I had actually forgotten about the lawn mower.  But the wheel is back on it.  I had to manually flatten all the parts back out.  I also greased up the front end.  The blade on it looks fine, so I didn't sharpen it.  It also has some weirdo valve thing (similar to the Cub Cadet) for the oil drain which I couldn't get to drain (it isn't the push and turn type and I didn't have a hose), so I am not going to worry about that yet.  At the very least it is mobile again.  


It started right up and ran, but it isn't running well.  It might be in need of a tune up.  


I drove it around for 5-10 minutes to try to get everything working and to make sure my cobbled washer and stuff for the tire was fine.  I saw a bunch of prints in my yard.  



I did a bit of cleaning and a little bit of packing on Saturday, but not too much else.

Sunday was cold wet and miserable.  I didn't do much of anything outside on Sunday, but did some testing on the power center.  I ran a high load test at roughly 1kW (my space heater).  It took 1 hour, 37 minutes to drop from 100% to 20%.  It is marketed as having a 2kWh battery in it, so while it is perhaps a little shorter runtime than I would have liked, it is really close to expected.




One odd thing I noticed is that when I plug the space heater into a kill-a-watt type thing, it read far less than 1kW (790W), but both the Jackery and the manual for the space heater say the middle setting is 1kW of heat.  Not sure what to make of that.  


I also timed the recharge on it.  The recharge took 1 hour 21 minutes.  This is in line with the the claimed times, and maybe even a hair better.


Just because I was curious, I turned on the light it had.  It draws 3W, and is brighter than I expected.


I also did a low load test (running just the fan on the space heater, no heat), which is the most likely to expose any inefficiencies, primarily in the inverter.  Unfortunately my phone (which I was using as a stopwatch) decides to reset apps periodically (thank you Google) and when it did that it reset the timer, but I ran it all night.  When I got up this morning, it was sitting at 81%.  The timestamps on the pictures suggest that this roughly 10 hours 45 minutes.



According to the power meter, the fan only mode stabilizes at 12-14W.  The Jackery came in at 13-15W.  Using 14W as the actual, 14W over 10.75H is 150.5Wh.  19% of the capacity of the unit is 410.4Wh (2160Wh rating * 19%).  That is not great efficiency (the inverter itself is drawing more than 2A it would appear) and even in the world of inverters is rather poor (the inverter I used on my power center was 1A idle draw).  To be fair, this is precisely why I bought the 2kWh model instead of the 1kWh though.  And to that end, this unit at first glance would appear to be fine.

Once I have all the components in, I will probably do more real-world testing.  

I also leak checked my water jug.  It doesn't leak, but you really have to reef on it to get it closed tight enough.  


I ordered the fridge that I commented about from Lowes.  The one at Home Depot still hasn't come back in stock, and it has been several weeks now.  It was cheaper, but oh well, the one from Lowes checks all my boxes.


Before the site work:
  • Build prototype cap/camper
  • Preliminary packing.  Get the excess largely unused stuff out of the house.
  • Set up the portable garage.  Cut down the tree that fell down.
  • Pack up carport.  Easily movable lawn equipment should be all that remains after this.
  • Empty slab.  Get the grill, storage bin, clothesline, bug zapper, and other junk off the slab.  
  • Remove skirting.
  • Replace tires on tiny home trailer
  • Level and put down gravel in the turnaround spot
  • Cut down trees at bottom of hill
  • Flatten parking spot.  Spread the pile of rocks.  
  • Remove the driveway markers.
  • Determine where to and move carport
  • Acquire the missing truck camper pieces
  • Get a 2 5/16 ball for my truck
  • Get rid of unneeded appliances (propane, stove, fridge, water heater)
    • Propane - Scheduled for May 3rd
    • Stove
    • Fridge
    • Water Heater
  • Finish packing up house
  • Move house to parking spot.  Plug septic.
  • Fix generator again.
Winter projects:
  • Fix the generator.  Again.
  • Get the plan/schedule in place. 
  • Build prototype cap.
  • Shed windows.
  • Fix generator box.
  • Clear/mark walking trails.
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Friday, April 21, 2023

Some minor, but important stuff.

Today was indeed a busy day, but the loan is now official.  I am now officially in debt again for a few years.  At least they gave me a gift basket.  


The power company came up on Friday as well.  This is where the second pole will end up.  I wanted it on the other side of the driveway so that the lines weren't crossing my yard, but they said no blasting was included.  Oh well, at least it is along the tree line and not in the middle of the yard like I had feared.


They are also going to clear out a bunch of my crappy pines too.


I will have to put more gravel down over here; the arms on the truck only extend out 15', so I will have to make this look like driveway.  The turn around is going in here and I was intending to turn it into driveway anyways, it just accelerates the time table.


In preparation for the power company, I finally got around to moving the brush out of the yard.  I am still debating whether to chip it.  Chippers are disappointingly expensive.  Even renting one is 100 bucks a day, which is an awful lot for just making the lot look nicer and maybe getting a little fill out of it, not to mention the time needed to feed the chipper.  I might still buy a chipper at some point (they are great for making your own fill) but for now at least I just moved it off to the side.

The water container has come in.  It is a 2.5gallon can, so a bit smaller than the one I bought for Dad's camper (which was either 5 or 6).  The plan is to put it in a cabinet with something that attaches to the smaller spout and a valve on it to give me running water.  


The microwave is still on its way.  Still no word on the fridge; I might go visit Home Depot and Lowes this weekend and see what they have.  It is supposed to be rainy Sunday, maybe then.  My requirements are pretty strict;  I need one with a true freezer in it (not just the slightly colder area above the fridge), >4 cubic foot, and I don't want one with those stupid can holders.  I don't buy cans and they take up all the space you would use for condiments and the like.  Other than that, it is just the new item for the power company.

Before the site work:
  • Get a 2 5/16 ball for my truck
  • Get rid of unneeded appliances (propane, stove, fridge, water heater)
    • Propane - Scheduled for May 3rd
    • Stove
    • Fridge
    • Water Heater
  • Finish packing up house
  • Move house to parking spot.  Plug septic.
  • Fix generator again.
Winter projects:
  • Fix the generator.  Again.
  • Get the plan/schedule in place. 
  • Build prototype cap.
  • Shed windows.
  • Fix generator box.
  • Clear/mark walking trails.
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Thursday, April 20, 2023

Power center arrived.

It has been pretty quiet this week, there has been a dearth of motivation.  I did finally get the shelves moved up.  Turns out the hand truck I borrowed from Aunt and Uncle doesn't do well in soft dirt, but it is still better than carrying everything all the way up the hill.  



I am guessing you are tired of tote pictures by now so I didn't take one but I also packed up another tote.  I also sold my snowblower.  I wasn't intending to spend the time to fix it.  I didn't recoup much of the money I had in it, but it is better than nothing.  I did take a look, and the engines were completely different designs; I am all but certain that my idea to use the electric start for the generator would not have worked.

The battery backup finally came in.  So much for signature required, it was sitting on the slab when I got home.  


I was a little nervous when I first plugged it in.  It says it charges in two hours, but it started off charging rather slowly,


As it got some charge in it though, it eventually sped up.  I didn't unfortunately time the whole charging process, but it was less than 3 hours I am pretty sure.  I do think it took longer than the promised time though.


The water container should be there today as well.  I have ordered the microwave since it finally came back in stock.  I am starting to get nervous about the mini-fridge.  I am still not quite done with the packing, but am getting quite close now.  Tomorrow is shaping up to be quite busy; I have the closing for the mortgage in the morning, and I also found out that Eversource and the electrician will be there early afternoon, likely deciding where to put the poles and stuff.  I also heard from the home people, my home is scheduled to be delivered the second half of June.  I might be able to push back the site work a tiny bit, since it won't take him a month (he originally said about 4-7 days), which would give me a little more time since I am a bit behind where I wanted to be.  He is working directly with FineLine homes on the timeline.  Hopefully I can finish painting the rimin then ext day or two, early this week it was too cold to paint.

Before the site work:
  • Get a 2 5/16 ball for my truck
  • Get rid of unneeded appliances (propane, stove, fridge, water heater)
    • Propane - Scheduled for May 3rd
    • Stove
    • Fridge
    • Water Heater
  • Finish packing up house
  • Move house to parking spot.  Plug septic.
  • Fix generator again.
Winter projects:
  • Fix the generator.  Again.
  • Get the plan/schedule in place. 
  • Build prototype cap.
  • Shed windows.
  • Fix generator box.
  • Clear/mark walking trails.
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Monday, April 17, 2023

The snow is finally gone.

Friday was very toasty.  Even in Sullivan it got well into the 80s. Despite closing the windows and shutting everything down before I left, it was still roasting inside when I got home.  


So I decided to crank on the AC.  Surprisingly, it actually seemed to work just fine.  It pulled down, and held it at setpoint.  No thermal runaway or anything.  What an annoying machine.


After I finished melting, I got the last rack set up in the shed.  


I got to watch the sunset as I was doing it though.  


I also started getting the poles pulled out for the portable garage as I ran out of daylight.  


After dark I got the next round of stuff ready to pull out.  I lugged it all up to the shed Saturday morning before Barry arrived.


I got the top of the fridge cleaned off too.  Except for my dehydrator.  


Mercifully, Saturday was cooler than Friday, though it was still toasty enough.  Most of Saturday was spent doing tree work.  Barry's saw kind of makes mine look like a toy.  But there are no more trees hanging down over the shed.


The back yard looks better, those old dead pines are gone.  

You can actually see up to the rock wall from the backyard now.


One of the pines was hollow.  It didn't seem to have any critters living in it though.  


I pushed back the front as well.  I am thinking of buying/renting a chipper for the brush.


While I was in the back, I took a poke around.  I had a ton of blowdown over the winter.


I put out the rest of my mosquito dunks, we are getting very close to black fly season.  That is the little donut like thing in the water.


While I was putting them out, I think I found the tarp I lost that was covering the generator.  The spec of blue in the middle.


I spent most of the afternoon picking up the wood.  The bed of my truck is quite full.  The bed is level now, so it is squatting too.  



I also got my first sunburn of the season.


Sunday I was stiff and sore, but started with getting the portable garage set up.  I put down the two sheets of press board I had as well.  I hate that crap, and it was sitting in the shed.  The side I put down was painted (this was originally for the ceiling in the house) so hopefully it will limit moisture coming up through the ground and make it safer for me to put furniture in here.


I moved the storage tote around to the back.  With the wire rack and portable garage taken out, it is actually mostly empty now.  


I also did a bunch of little things, dodging dribbles.  I went to finish cleaning out my totes (get the Pine-Sol in them before it rained).  Apparently a family of mice got into this one.  I am not sure how, there was another tote stacked inside it.  They couldn't figure out how to get out.  I will call this a win against the mice.  


I moved my wheel weights and some other stuff up alongside the carport.  I am hoping to prevent it from blowing over like it did last year.  https://eskimoalva.blogspot.com/2021/11/garage-well-not-anymore.html for those who don't remember.


I also pulled out the spare tire for my house.  It wasn't as bad as I expected, but I re-primed it with rust converter anyways.



Just a short packing update: I am now at the point of moving furniture.  The shelves are ready to be moved, they are over by the door.  The closet is getting close to being able to be moved as well.  


The corner of the shed is getting pretty full too.  


As I finished up last night, I realized it was finally time to call it for my snow.  


And to finish off: the trees in Keene are blooming.  


On the mortgage front: I just signed the official closing document.  When you see numbers like these, it really makes you wonder how real estate is considered an investment if you don't pay cash for it, but I hope to have it paid off in less than ten years, so I won't pay nearly that amount.  But otherwise things are mostly in a state of just waiting.  

I had hoped to have all the preliminary packing done this weekend, but it is at least really close.  The portable garage is up now though, and I guess I technically started the tires.  A couple of the missing pieces have been ordered too.  I ordered a water jug and the battery backup.  It is kind of annoying that it is signature required but the tracking just says it will be here sometime this week maybe. 

Before the site work:
  • Get a 2 5/16 ball for my truck
  • Get rid of unneeded appliances (propane, stove, fridge, water heater)
    • Propane - Scheduled for May 3rd
    • Stove
    • Fridge
    • Water Heater
  • Finish packing up house
  • Move house to parking spot.  Plug septic.
  • Fix generator again.
Winter projects:
  • Fix the generator.  Again.
  • Get the plan/schedule in place. 
  • Build prototype cap.
  • Shed windows.
  • Fix generator box.
  • Clear/mark walking trails.
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