Progresso - not the soup but progressing in Italian!

So I don’t really speak Italian but I figured I’d put Progresso instead of Progress because it makes me sound fancier than I am *wipes snout on sleeve and belches*. Today was one of those days that sounded like an English cricket match (rain stops play).

The first thing I did was to get under the bus to install my code lock. That’s just about hanging in there now. It’s secure but not as secure as I would wish as it began to thunder and rain before I’d got the last bolt fully secured. Thus I finished up quickly and will have to return to the task tomorrow. No picture because that’s a security issue and I’d like to keep it where I’m the only one that knows where the lock is situated. I don’t think Uncle Sam would look too kindly upon me slaughtering people that found out the location!

My watt meter turned out to be something of a disappointment. It works but seems to burn quite a bit of power and does not like starting in the morning. I made it so I could plug it into and out of the circuit so it’s currently plugged out. What happens is in the morning it really doesn’t like the low light levels and never starts its computer so I have to switch the solar power off then on before the unit initializes and starts to function.

Just now I unplugged the unit and plugged the solar panel directly into the charge controller. Immediately the solar charging light lit up whereas it was dead when the meter was plugged in. The panels are currently producing 8v because it’s pretty gloomy outside.

Yesterday I had a look inside a storage box. I’m really going to have to get shifting on sorting the storage boxes out. They seem to have so much just sheer junk in them. I found a broken picture frame in one. I’ve assembled the glass so I can see how much is missing. There are a few slivers missing so I’m going to have to keep on being careful sorting that box. I have a feeling that most of the boxes are full of the same kind of trash, namely out of date papers and irrelevant baubles.

I took a photo of my two solar panels leaning against the side of the bus or at least my phone told me I’d taken a picture of them. In actual fact it had not done any such thing as there was no such thing stored in the phone’s memory. Technology - don’t you just love the stuff? Honestly, if I didn’t want ventilation and lighting I probably wouldn’t have bothered putting solar power into my bus.

So, I took another photo but not as nice because it’s now dark outside.

Those are my two solar panels. Both are light, small and cheap. I can put them inside the windscreen to collect extra power or I can put them on the ground, leaned against the bus to produce maximum power. I will probably rivet legs to them in order to help keep them out of long grass.

Really and truly not much got done today. Having said that, there’s not a whole lot left to do. I ordered some connectors to connect the solar panels to the bus both inside and outside. Other than that, there’s the microwave to secure, a few cables to secure and the unlocker to complete. I’m a little nervous that the unlocker will consume too much battery power so I’m considering putting some kind of power switch on it. The solar power monitor certainly consumed copious quantities of power.

On the way from China is a battery monitor/voltmeter. That will fit in place of one of my voltmeters. I am also considering an ammeter/voltmeter that will give me at the touch of a button, a current reading of the state of the solar input. As that does not need to be constantly on, it won’t burn precious solar power. As far as the existing watt meter - it was nice and might be nice to put together in a display module for presentations on solar power but for my purposes it’s junk. I glued it into place so ungluing it should be fun!

Yay solar panels

Today my solar panels finally arrived at Walmart. I’d ordered them for pickup as it was $2.05 cheaper than having them sent to the house. Given that I was likely going to have to go to Walmart anyway, it made sense. Mind today I had to go even further. It was time to pick up chicken feed. So off I went to Tractor Supply and picked up 100lbs of chicken feed.

While I was there, I looked at stuff to bolt the microwave down. It seems #6 self-piercing screws are what I need and I probably need 4 of them and probably need them with about 1/2 inch of thread. I looked at what Tractor supply had, thinking some 1/4 by 20 bolts would fasten some brackets down to the bench. They had every 1/4 by 20 bolt that I didn’t want and none that I did. I left the hardware there! I shall try Lowes (hiss, spit) another day. To be honest I have three projects on the go right now anyway.

The first project I started a few days ago. That was the emergency unlocker. I still have not yet completed that. I need to brush soil from the underside of the place where it’s going to be mounted and lots of other fun stuff like that. As I wasn’t feeling the urge to lie on my back under the bus I started by gluing the power monitor in place yesterday.

The first thing I did today was to wire-in my power meter. As it’s late afternoon it’s only reading 0.1 amp but it was reading 0.72 at the highest point when I’d just installed it. That’s not too bad given that it was after 5pm. The theoretical maximum from my installed panels is going to be something like 2.9A

The panels that arrived today are 30W and there are two of them. In keeping with every panel I buy seeming to have a connector different from the panel that I had the previous time, these have MC4 connectors. Looking at the price of MC4 connectors, they’re just going to get cut off and replaced with two pin Hopkins connectors. In fact the cables might well be changed too. There seems little purpose in having 2 foot long separate cables. I’d rather have a 5 or 6 foot cable with a Hopkins connector.

Placed on the ground these two panels combined should produce 60W or 12V at 5A. That’s sufficient on their own to power my ventilation fans most of the day. That’s the intent too. They can also be placed inside the windscreen to produce less power but to double or triple what I get from my existing panels. What with the overcast weather this week my batterry went right down. It took two days of overcast weather to charge it up again. There’s no point in a bigger battery as that would drain too. Better to add more solar capacity.

Reading the reviews of the solar panels on the Walmart website was pretty fearsome. They had a two star rating. The reviews appeared to have been written by people that just didn’t have a clue. One review said “no blocking diode” so I popped the cover off the connector box to reveal a blocking diode. Another review said there were no wires and they had to go and buy wires. Funny - those look like wires to me. Maybe I need a second opinion on that?

Honestly, these online reviews are such utter bunk. I’m amazed that real adults actually write rubbish like that! A long time ago, somebody gave me a Canon S1 IS camera. It’s still lying around here somewhere. It’s probably so old nobody would want to buy it - especially since the cheapest of the cheap phones has more megapixels and probably takes a better picture. The point is though that this camera had professional reviews written about it that bemoaned the clack of a built-in intervalometer. Oddly enough, that was my favorite feature of that camera! Thus I take online reviews with a huge pinch of salt. It’s usually possible to work out that the person writing them is some form of imbecile from what they write.

I went to ebay again and ordered some connectors. Heaven knows when they will arrive. I ordered some MC4 connectors because I had an afterthought that I could use those panels for other projects, not just the bus if the connectors were standard. As my inlet power port is a cigarette lighter socket I ordered two cigarette lighter plugs and a splitter. That means I can wire up a length of cable for each panael and have them both entering at the same time. I can similarly put the same kind of input connector on the inside of the bus so that I can simply place the panels on the dashboard to produce power.

I discovered State Farm tends to be better for school bus conversion insurance. That sounds very promising. I’ll have to look into that. I really need to bolt the microwave down, install the unlocker and remove the tools and construction supply surplus from the bus, give things a good clean and get it picture ready for State Farm. I can honestly say I’m looking forward to taking the bus on its first trip. I probably won’t go anywhere that exciting for the first trip. Probably only Cherokee or somewhere close by.

One of the things I might want to do before I take it anywhere is get the oil pan gasket changed and get it an oil change. The oil has been in the system since 2014. It should be changed every 3 months or every 10,000 miles - whichever is the sooner. It’s way over 3 months - more like 43 months at the moment. While they’re doing that I’ll get it steamed and greased and get the brake lines fitted with new clips. I noticed the clips were very elderly last time I was near the brakes. As for the tires - that’s a future project. KumHo tires seem (despite the name) to be good value. If I can get them with a good speed rating then I might also adjust the governor so that I can get at least 70mph out of the bus rather than the current 55. The brake pedal needs adjusting too but that (if it unscrews the way I think it does) should be something I can do.

Ridiculous weather

Today was as hot and humid as yesterday. Yesterday ended with a thunderstorm and 100% humidity. Today inside the bus it’s 88F with 58% humidity.

Yesterday I shall combine with today as I was working on the same task. It’s challenging when I have to work with the bus door shut and it’s both hot and humid. The amount of work done in those conditions is truly pathetic.

So, yesterday I ran a cable from one side of the bus to the other. I’d investigated and found that my ideal spot for installing my emergency door lock control which was under the hood was a no go. That led me to the other side of the bus and another location. I suppose it would be possible to do away with the body-mounted turn signals. The’re repeated above the bumper. Hinging one, I could hide the keypad inside a now fake turn signal. Anyway - that was just a thought.

The big problem yesterday was that my drill ran out of power. There’s not an awful lot I can do with a dead drill so I put it to one side and used a screwdriver. Oh boy, was that time consuming and hard work! I’d put the cables into cable sleeving and it must have taken me most of the day to screw the sleeving into place. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Today I worked more on the system. That included working on two relays, wiring them so that when one is operated the door lock opens and when the other, the door lock closes. Included in that is a button to press when one has gained entry that closes the door lock since the keypad serves solely to open it.

At the end of work today I’d got all the wiring done bar actually installing the code lock. At the moment that would involve either two people or a considerable amount of work. Thus I left it until another day.

I could wish I could get my wiring to look pretty but on the other hand I like my wiring to be accessible and visible. That was I can maintain it and trace it if needed. Above the two relays (the left relay closes the door lock, the right relay opens it) is the button to press to close the door lock. This is all almost completely concealed by the medical box so it’s not too ugly. Just have to remember to move the box to press the button to lock the door.

The original door unlock circuit with the key that runs off ten AA batteries remains untouched. The emergency lock that runs off the solar-charged battery is the new thing. All I need do is to install the keypad and the whole thing is done. I’m ready for an emergency such as locking my keys in the bus. Believe me, it has happened several times!

One other thing that will be added is an alarm. That will sound when the door lock is opened using the keypad. It gives me time to grab my gun. As sure as eggs are eggs if that door lock opens when I’m inside there’s villainy afoot. As I’ve said before, I’d rather the police carried the bad guy away in a body bag than they had to find the bad guy after carrying me away in a body bag!

I eats me spinach!

A few days ago that nail I cracked across in March when I was a little careless with my circle cutter reached the point where enough nail had grown as to make the broken end a little hazardous. Remember this?

Something had to be done as the end of the nail falling off would probably yield unbearable pain. I hear pulling nails off was a form of torture by the Nazis. I had no intention of empathizing with those tortured by the Nazis by following in their footsteps so I had to take drastic measures. Cue the dollar store and a fake nail. Yes, I glued on a fake nail and it stayed on well for a few days then fell off. I suspect I’ll just have to keep regluing it because I press things hard with my thumb and probably break the glue.

So I turned the above abomination into an even worse abomination.

Finally I trimmed it and now it looks better though still a little different from all my other nails. I don’t want to go the whole hog and do all my nails like that. They’re a little impractical but with a little trimming and some spinach I survive.

Meanwhile I tried my Harbor Freight 30 ton hydraulic jack. I tried to jack up a pickup truck and the jack went up but would not go down again, even after totally removing the release screw. Somebody said it might need more hydraulic fluid. Personally I think it’s a heap of junk that should be thrown at the head of the CEO of Harbor Freight. I had to dig the jack out from under the pickup by excavating underneath it!

Yesterday I tested my digital code lock with a relay and found it worked perfectly. I’d been spending ages trying to work out where to install the pesky thing but in the end decided simplest was best. As it’s always going to be an emergency for me to use the code lock, it doesn’t have to be in a very user friendly place. Thus it’s not going to be in a user friendly place!

As the code lock has an alarm function I had hoped to utilize it when somebody entered the wrong code in order to scare the daylights out of them. Sadly that alarm is only a tamper alarm not a wrong code alarm so there wasn’t much point in hooking the bus horn up to the unit. I will, however, put a loud piezo buzzer on the relay so that if the code lock is used then an alarm will sound - just in case somebody operates it while I’m inside the bus. It gives me a valuable 30 seconds or so to grab my revolver.

That’s a video of my testing the code lock.

I sketched out a rough circuit diagram for my relays with the door lock. The plan was to have the keyed lock operating as normal but when the digital code lock operates, the keyed lock gets cut out of the circuit and the door lock opens. On top of the dash will be a button that closes the door lock. Pressing that cuts out both the keyed lock and the code lock. That will ensure there are never any crossed circuits or any problems.

It was then that I realised I needed some more wire, cable wrap, screws and a push button. Well, not quite - I started to install the first solenoid and found my hex head self-drillers weren’t going to fit properly. Thus I had to dash off to Lowes (hiss, spit) for the bits. $19.92 I returned home after chatting with the cashier about what an odd year 1992 had been. It was my first independent trip to Italy, the year I started to learn Russian and the year I went to university.

I’m not rushing to complete the door lock stuff today. I just wanted to get it underway. Thus I installed the pair of relays. That was about all I had time for before my drill ran out of charge too!

Thus far everything works perfectly. The next stage will be to drill 3 holes to mount the code lock and bolt it into place then seal all around it. Then I have to pass the wires behind the console and lots of fun, awkward stuff like that. Finally I have to install the button, the buzzer and power it all on. Next I’ve got to work out which fuse works best for it all. I’m guessing its going to end up as a 7.5A fuse but I could be wrong. It could be lower.

A few days ago I ordered a white nylon strap to fasten the microwave down. I’ll have to see how well that works. I’ve an idea about using it in combination with two white drawer handles and a webbing tighter buckle. Underneath the microwave I figured a thin strip of wood in front of the feet would stop it sliding forward while the strap kept it from sliding sideways and kept it pressed to the counter.

Tomorrow, if I get to work on the bus, the rest of the wiring will be done. I’m still mulling over where to install the switch. My current favorite is on the control console even though this means adding an extra wire to my bulging bundle.

91F today

Inside and outside the bus today, the temperature was similar - about 91F. That’s a huge step forward from before I painted the roof with elastometric paint. Today the plan was to install the second vent cover in replacement of the last remaining mushroom dome. I also tidied up areas where I’d gone over the tape with the white roofing paint. Plus a few areas where paint was flaking.

That’s how the vent covers look from outside - to the side of the solar panels. The right hand cover doesn’t quite lay flat every time but since I put a sink strainer on the inside, I should not be bothered by insect invasions.

The plan was to work on bolting down the microwave and to install the digital code unlocker on the front door. Neither of those came to fruition for very different reasons.

As the caulk was still setting on the vent, I didn’t operate the vent in order to get cool air blowing through the bus. That meant it was a bit muggy to be working inside. There’s a difference between sitting and reading a book and working on something like a microwave. It gets pretty stiffling pretty quick.

The microwave was pretty much a no-go for the moment. I wanted to unscrew and remove the cover before checking to see where I could drill holes to attach brackets or straps to secure it to the countertop. The first three screws came off easily. The rest were security screws. That means that I have to go to Harbor Freight to get a security screw bit set. That just involves an hour or two driving. I might do that tomorrow.

The digital keypad was another thing entirely. In order to remove the paneling inside the cockpit firewall I have to clear up all the tools, detritus and parts lying on the floor. In the hot cockpit that was a bit much. That’s a job for both a cooler day and a morning especially since I have to close the door in order to work in the cockpit.

Today I have something special for you that I very rarely post... Videos. The first video is of the vents from the inside. The second is of one vent and the third is of the vents from the outside. They make a bit of noise but not as much as it seems from the video.

This is where the vents are located - the wiring probably looks fearsomely complicated and a little untidy but without hiding it all behind panels where its just as untidy, there’s no real way of getting it any prettier. Bear in mind also that I’ve added things as I’ve thought of or found a need for them. Hence two fuse boxes not just one. By the way I used the same style of blade fuse that the bus uses. 

With the fan operating it’s possible to see out the back of the bus. The sink strainer should ensure no insects enter. I’d been baffled as to how to make a mosquito-proof mesh that was not flat until I saw the sink strainer in Walmart. 

This is from the outside. I had to use digital zoom so it’s probably not the clearest video but it gives you an idea of what I have. A future expansion will be to plug in an extra solar panel allowing me to have more power. My next electrical thing will be to measure my solar energy. I know I have 35W of panels but I don’t know how much they are typically producing. When I can work that out then I’ll know whether to get a 60W panel or whether I could get away with as low as a 25W panel.

In other news I had a discussion in which it was mentioned that perfection gets in the way of good enough.  I notice a lot of people are striving for perfection with their bus conversions and spending a lot of money on them. That baffles me because of several things:

• In the view of all the insurers I’ve met, it’s only ever going to be an old bus no matter what’s put in it or how expensive or extensive the conversion and will be valued at the scrap value of a bus.
• If one can afford to spend many thousands on a bus conversion - I see them costing many thousands to do then one might as well just buy a secondhand motorhome. I nearly did!
• A bus conversion or a motorhome is only one other road user’s careless driving away from the scrapyard.
• Most people don’t have much money yet I’ve heard of huge loans being taken out to convert a bus with only a faint and poorly researched idea of how the loan is going to be repaid

I’m so glad to be so close to completion. Aside from the microwave bolt-down, the digital door unlocker installation and the purchase of a portable solar panel, the only other things I’d like to do are...

• Remove the stray white wire under the bus that seems to come from the transmission to the defunct external speed sensor and maybe remove the defunct speed sensor.
• Work out why the speedo drops out from time to time. My guess is a loose cable at the speed sensor in the transmission. That has to wait for cooler wasp free weather.
• Add a tow hook and wiring to pull a trailer.

It just works!

Yesterday I forgot to post one of my photos. After I peeled all the tape off the roof, where I’d painted, I neatly collected it all up and put it into my handy disposal container.

I figured it was a neat way if dusposing of the waste, the paint having been applied to the roof.

Today I sat in my bus some. The temperature outside at 11:55 was 81F. Inside the bus it was 79F, that was excellent. Feeling the ceiling there were lines of heat going across which I presume were the support frame of the bus.

Though it got up to about 90F outside, the inside of the bus never got above 91. That was very welcome. Maybe I have cracked the heat problem.

Meanwhile my fans started. With one restricted by a poor vent, the work done by the other was excellent. After a couple of minutes I felt a breeze. Imagine how two of those fans would feel! I’d imagine just like being outdoors in the moving air.

A mystery presented itself. I’d ordered a vent cover but though scheduled to arrive yesterday, had apparently not. The usps website claimed it to have been in error then delayed. I waited all day today and never saw a postman. The postbox did not have the parcel. Suddenly the usps website claimed it was not delayed but had been delivered yesterday. Trying to contact usps was impossible via their website. I could fill the form but there was no visible button to click to send the report.

Fuming I went outside to put some wood away before the coming storm. It was then that I noticed the parcel had been placed on a derelict chair outside an unoccupied trailer. It was nowhere near my official residence.

Well, that’s a solved mystery and I could have installed that cover today and painted it. That’s now a job for tomorrow! Once that and the paint tidying is done, there won’t be many tasks left to do.

Second day up a ladder!

The day before yesterday I went up to the roof of my bus and washed it with caustic floor cleaner. Then I slapped a gallon of Rustoleum elastometric paint on the roof. There was not quite enough to complete the roof so another can was merited. Needless to say as soon as I’d gone up that ladder the first time and was standing on the roof, DHL arrived with a parcel for me. So I had to clamber down the ladder and collect my parcel from the lady van driver.

I didn’t get quite to the edges with my roller because I hadn’t put masking tape on. That, I fixed today by putting masking tape and going over the whole roof again and reaching the edges.

Now the story of the masking tape was that to get one roll, I had to buy two. I’d got the first in Walmart in West Columbia but the checkout messed up and left some stuff out of the bags. I never returned to pick it up because it wasn’t worth my gas money to go do it. Instead I picked up another roll of tape more locally. Honestly, that checkout girl was ridiculous - dropping just about everything that passed through her hands and she was only a young thing.

Having put the second coat on, the roof looked a lot better. A nice uniform white. One tip though - with the masking tape, peel it off as soon as possible as it can lift the edge of the paint. It seems that the elastometric stuff is pretty much a white rubber coating. One hopes that an edge doesn’t lift leading to the whole lot peeling off.

I did wash the whole roof though some bits didn’t look as clean as others. They all had the mop and where paint was reticulating, I scraped the bubbling paint away. Interestingly the grey rustoleum I put on in 2014 was stuck fast. The white rustoleum I put on in 2016 was peeling in places off the grey.

Although it was not sunny when I finished my last lot of painting, I looked at the temperature on the inside of the bus and it was 84F. The temperature outside according to my phone was also 84F. It will be interesting to see how the new paint copes with the heat. Will the inside remain closer to the outside temperature? I anticipate buying an extra solar panel to enable me to keep the fans running for longer periods. A 60W panel placed in direct sunlight would power both fans on its own. A 100W panels just placed inside the windscreen should power the fans on its own too.

Slated to arrive today was my second 3 inch dryer vent cover. That never arrived so I assume it will arrive tomorrow. I can kill two birds with one stone - try up the half dozen paint dribbles that got past the masking tape and install the second vent cover. It’ll be another trip up to spray the cover grey after the caulking has cured.

It would have been so much easier to do the painting if half way through I hadn’t dropped my roller tool off the roof and into the sand necessitating my going to my stash for a fresh roller. Still, the job was done and I’m pretty pleased with what I have accomplished. Only time will tell whether this 67% reflective paint lives up to its claims. The highest rellectivity is 85% off another brand. I just didn’t want to pay a premium price. Three cans at $20 each is quite a chunk of change! I have enough paint left that I can go up again and pay more careful attention to the roof seams.

The list of things needing to be done is whittling down. I tried another bus group and was a member of Bus Conversions International for a few days until people started telling me what to do. That’s when I quit (again). I thought having an all but complete motorhome I might be able to offer ideas and assistance. No - it was all persnickety stuff. “Those chains will wear your drums out”. Who cares - they were $8 and can be picked up free from car washes! “I had a microwave - I threw it out as I never used it” when all I asked was how to mount the blessed thing so it wouldn’t move when I’m driving.

As of now, I want to tidy up the painting, install the second vent. I did notice a couple of places where the grey is peeling so I’ll attack those with a paint scraping brush in my pistol drill and respray. Then I need to install and wire the digital door unlocker and tidy a couple of bit of wiring. After that I might need to put some plumbing tape on my plumbing connection. I’ll have to test that though first.

In other news, it seems according to Eric’s blog, he might be winging his way to the USA in August. That means an August trip with the bus. That, I’m looking forward to!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

The good
Today I replaced one of my external vents with a 3 inch vent cover. I even had some blackjack neoprene roof sealant left over from sealing holes in a roof after removing a poorly installed satellite dish.

The bad
I started by trying to use the 4 inchvent cover. That just would not sit right. Unthinkingly I drilled and put rivnuts for 4 securing bolts then found the thing was way off where it should have been. In the end I had to scrap that idea.

The ugly
It took an awful lot of time to fit one vent cover then change and fit a better cover. The extra holes were unwelcome as I had to patch them.

As can be seen, the whole thing needs another coat of grey spray paint. It’s bedded in nicely though the self-piercing screws I ended up using were a bit on the short side. I could have put rivnuts but having put one set of rivnuts in already that weren’t in the right place, I just didn’t feel like doing it again. In any case the Blackjack neoprene should hold the thing in place nicely, with or without additional screws.

That vent is similar to the one I replaced. I like that style because there are zero moving parts. The bad thing is that they block airflow. I’d left the fan on automatic while I was on the ladder and with the cover off the vent, the fan started and the blast of air practically blew my head off. Putting my hand near the louvered vent when the fan was blowing later I could feel far more air than ever came from the mushroom domes.

There are the two vents both visible. The louvered vent is much lower profile. If I’d been smarter from the start I could have used 4 inch louvers but that would have had to be installed 2 maybe 3 years ago. It would take a major upgrade to the ventilation system to go with 4 inch vents now. The fans are 3 inch, the vents are 3 inch. Everything is set up for 3 inch and it seems to work just fine.

This is the view from the inside of the right hand vent with the dome. Inside the vent there’s a second mosquito mesh that really kills airflow.

The is the view from the inside of the newly modified left hand vent. There’s far more light visible. That’ll reduce when I respray the louvers.

As normal I’ve bought a ton of stuff and tried it before going with what I eventually found to work. I tried cutting plastic disks then buying aluminum disks. Then I tried 4 inch lovers then 3 inch. Of course I only bought one 3 inch louver so I’m going to have to order another. The louver isn’t insect proof but the interior screen is. All the exterior cover has to do really is to stop big bugs like wasps getting in and protect against rain incursion.

My back has mostly recovered but I still find it hard to bend over, bend down and pick up things from the floor. I no longer scream in pain trying to stand up.