I goofed. My plan had been for two electric magnets set to repel each other but being extremely risk averse I ordered just one. If I had ordered two, the lock would be working this weekend. The magnet worked well on the test. Incidentally, attaching it has been solved as it seems to have a threaded hole. I tried an M5 bolt but it was too big so I assume it's an M4. Being from China, its unlikely to be an imperial thread. The plan is to screw one to the underside of the latch and one to a bracket under the latch then when powered simultaneously thge two should repel each other with sufficient force to spring the latch.
This weekend the plan is to install the skeleton of the new battery/cable compartment after demolishing the old compartment. Because of the fact I'll be using bolts, the skeleton will stand inside of the aperture by about quarter of an inch. The compartment will not be waterproof but will be splash proof. The floor might end up as wood but that's not definite and might not remain wood forever.
The water tanks remain problematic. I can see a company in Ohio offering 15 gallon drums for $30 each. The company website is broken so its not possible to make enquiries. If shipping is $20 a drum as normal then they're still way cheaper than specially designed tanks. If I used 4 tanks then $80 of shipping would cover 40 gallons of gasoline or approximately 800 miles of driving which wouldn't really cover the distance.
Meanwhile, local enquiries about tanks are yielding nothing. Online enquiries are yielding very suspect websites and strange looking craigslist deals. It's looking rather challenging at the moment. On the other hand, just about everything on the bus has been a challenge.
The bus has definitely been a learning experience. While I haven't got everything perfect, its pretty good. The paint has been a problem that was not entirely unexpected. I'd had doubts about painting over cellulose due to things I've heard. Ideally I'd use cellulose paint but since it seems not to be available in gallon cans, I'm stuck with other kinds of paint. Clearly oil paint doesn't work too well or it could have been Rustoleum being a bit weird. I'm wondering about a barrier undercoat.
This weekend the plan is to install the skeleton of the new battery/cable compartment after demolishing the old compartment. Because of the fact I'll be using bolts, the skeleton will stand inside of the aperture by about quarter of an inch. The compartment will not be waterproof but will be splash proof. The floor might end up as wood but that's not definite and might not remain wood forever.
The water tanks remain problematic. I can see a company in Ohio offering 15 gallon drums for $30 each. The company website is broken so its not possible to make enquiries. If shipping is $20 a drum as normal then they're still way cheaper than specially designed tanks. If I used 4 tanks then $80 of shipping would cover 40 gallons of gasoline or approximately 800 miles of driving which wouldn't really cover the distance.
Meanwhile, local enquiries about tanks are yielding nothing. Online enquiries are yielding very suspect websites and strange looking craigslist deals. It's looking rather challenging at the moment. On the other hand, just about everything on the bus has been a challenge.
The bus has definitely been a learning experience. While I haven't got everything perfect, its pretty good. The paint has been a problem that was not entirely unexpected. I'd had doubts about painting over cellulose due to things I've heard. Ideally I'd use cellulose paint but since it seems not to be available in gallon cans, I'm stuck with other kinds of paint. Clearly oil paint doesn't work too well or it could have been Rustoleum being a bit weird. I'm wondering about a barrier undercoat.
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