I've been working on brake lines for so long due to only being able to do smidgens at a time that I've become a bit depressed about it all. Today I continued with one of my other projects though - one that I could complete in a day.
For a long time I've been unimpressed by the longevity of the 12v LED light bulbs. I have quite a stock of them so I'll use them all up before I go over entirely to incandescent bulbs. There are plenty naysayers out there that decry incandescent bulbs because they produce heat and aren't as "efficient" or as "bright" as LED bulbs but to be honest all those claims are utterly bogus.
LED bulbs cost a lot more money than any other form of bulb. I bought a pack of two pin halogen bulbs containing 10 bulbs for $5. For $5 in Wally-World I would get just two LED bulbs and I can guarantee they won't last more than a few days in use. It's always the same - they become hard to switch on and need the switch to be flipped several times. Eventually they blow the fuse. They just are not worth the money. Halogens being cheaper and longer lasting are just plain better value.
As far as the claims of brightness and efficiency are concerned, they might appear to be more efficient but if they keep blowing then they're wasting my money and that is not efficiency. They do appear brighter but it's a dazzling, glaring, harsh brightness that actually makes using them very unpleasant. I did have a go at toning down some nasty LED lanterns by using a frosting spray. It didn't really work as while it did cut down on all the glare, the light was just dreadfully harsh - as if it was a light being shone in the eyes during a brutal interrogation. No thanks. Don't want that nightmare.
The lighting fixture I ended up with was a Dorman vehicle interior light and takes a standard turn signal bulb. That, in combination with a two-pin converter allows the use of turn signal bulbs, two pin halogen bulbs, two pin LED bulbs (to use up my stock) and even LED turn signal bulbs.
The new light fixture currently has an LED two pin bulb in it but that will be replaced by two pin halogen when I run out of LED bulbs and can find my halogen bulbs. As the fixture has a built-in push-button power switch I was able to remove my power switch and the old lighting bracket.
With the power off, it looks quite snazzy. When I bought it, the fixture was bare steel so I primed and painted with the inside being white. I did try frosting spray on the lens but as the temperature is quite low, it had no effect. That stuff likes temperatures in the 80s.
With the power on, it produces a less than acceptable amount of light given that the bulb used is an LED. The quality of the light is poor but as I've said, I'll use up those LEDs and will never buy any more.
I was going to try LED turn signal bulbs and even bought a pair. Where they are hiding, I don't know so I can't yet try them. It's getting to the point where I'm going to have to sort out my tools again. It gets like that from time to time despite the best intentions.
It usually starts with my tidying the bus and swearing never to let it get untidy again. I then put things away and keep doing that for a while until I get tired one day and say "I'll just put these here for now". Then it just builds up and before long, the driver's seat has vanished under a huge pile of supplies and tools.
Looking at the bus, the magic Rustoleum elastometric roof paint seems to be peeling badly. The white Rustoleum underneath it seems to be coming up with the elastometric paint. My original grey paint that I just happily slapped down on top of the yellow roof paint seems to be holding though.
Looking elsewhere, the grey Rustoleum seems to be flaking badly in places. It seems to do this fairly sporadically. It doesn't matter how well cleaned the surface is, Rustoleum likes to do two things - fade and peel.
Some say I shouldn't paint on top of clear coat. Well, why not? It has stayed on for 5 years in the majority of cases.
Some of the peeling is getting a shade ridiculous. A while ago I bought a big bag of coal slag dust. The aim is to use it to sandblast the paint lightly enough to bring it down to primer with occasional bare metal then to spray with Rustoleum primer for rusty metal - in case there is any rust. Then I'll have a colour change. I'll spray the bus white. That should reflect an awful lot more heat.
One of my top marker lights at the back has gone out so I bought some more marker lights. These are LED fixtures and I thought I'd try them. The only LED fixtures that regularly fail on the work bus are the brake lights and turn signals. Maybe I'll get lucky?
I've been having a problem with the battery running out of charge on dull days. Whether the battery has lost capacity, I don't know. I hope not. In any case I bought a second battery with a different maker's label on it - same kind of battery - 30AH lithium. Now I should theoretically have 60AH which should not run out of juice. That should arrive in a few days and then I'll have all the fun of installing it.
The short list of things that need doing on the outside of the bus...
Finish replacing brake lines and make sure the brake pistons work freely
Replace the top back-up camera and include a power socket so that it will be possible at a later time to install roof-mounted flexible-glued on panels.
Replace the right windscreen wiper mount with one that isn't cock-eyed.
Install a flame shield above the second battery holder and build a carrier for the smaller lithium battery as I did for the other lithium battery. I'll also have to build a new battery clamp since the old one is suitable solely for lead-acid batteries.
The paint problems will have to be addressed. I have a sand blaster head for the air tank and a couple of lots of media. I found Tractor Supply coal slag media is far cheaper than Harbor Freight glass bead media. One day I might even try sand.
If the paint on the roof is stable - I'll have to blast, wipe down with thinner, prime and paint then I should be able to continue with my plan to put two flexible solar panels up there, giving me an extra 20 watts of power. I'm not sure how many watts those panels are but they're certainly not what was claimed when I bought them.
Finally I want to sheet over the unused windows and put bars over all the other windows. Aside from making it look even more like a prison bus (hence nobody will mess with it), it'll also be more secure.
Inside the bus there's some wiring, a fuse box to install, light fixtures to replace etc.
Eventually I'll have to replace tyres since those on the bus are pretty dry and old.
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