What a disaster!

The angels wept today and did drench the surface of the earth with their tears. Menwhile, an icy blast and possible Snowmageddon quietly began. Yes, folks, today was bitterly cold and wet. Not a good day for doing anything on the bus. Thus, today was mostly a shopping day.

In Walmart, I picked up a couple of things, the most interesting of which was for $10 a miniature cordless electric drill. It seems to charge off 6v. 20 years after everybody stopped putting NiCad batteries in things (aside from the Chinese) and it has a NiCad battery. Now normally I use a full-sized electric or cordless electric drill. Most of the time that's just fine. For my breaker box compartment it's just too big. I can't get the drill in, in order to get the holes in the right place to attach the compartment to the frame. I figured if I takes an hour a rivet hole, that drill will be worthwhile. I only need it in order to install 6 - 8 rivets! There was a better version available at $15 but I figure if this little fellow can do the job and since it's a job I probably won't have again then there's no point in spending more.

After I weld the next bits on my breaker box compartment I'll have to replace the paint that burns off so I bought more paint and some cheap brushes. At 68 cents a brush, it really isn't worth wasting gasoline on them to wash the paint out. While on the paint thing, I also got some appliance paint. I figured I can try derusting my microwave, spraying it with rust killer and then appliance paint. I know it still works - it just doesn't look pretty!

Remembering what the guy I read about the other day had said, I bought some paint thinner. The grey paint is peeling off quite well in some places. I can simply brush the loose paint off and wipe down with thinner before repainting. If the fellow mentioned online was correct then it might be the solution to problems like this:
I shall be rather glad to be in a position to register this bus as a motorhome. I feel that's getting ever closer. I could have done that with the old hillbilly compartment but wanted to redo it anyway. I am waiting on delivery of my screw eyes and rivnuts right now. These will help me to complete the shower. Then I will have a shower with a funky water delivery system but a shower nevertheless. Other than that, water disposal is taken care of with a bucket but I want to go to stage 2 and have at least one underbody tank. The proper breaker box compartment is a huge step for electrical supply and having seen the old compartment was probably little short of essential.

A 12v electrical system is not as yet planned out but the concept is there. Ideally, rather than a battery, I'll use a supercapacitor setup. That kind of thing can be left alone and it'll be just fine. No worries about overcharging nor about the cells wearing out. 

I said last year that I wanted this bus done by April. It definitely looks like being this April rather than last April. If I can only get a good weekend then I can get the underbody compartent done! It is literally a tiny bit of welding, a tiny bit of painting and some rivetting and bolting away from being done. After that it's a tiny bit of plumbing, some riveting and application of restraints and the waste water system is done. Then there's erecting the shower curtain, cleaning inside and it's done.

For the future I'd want to install my 12v system, possibly an underbelly water tank and way off in the future, possibly a black tank. Then of course there's the bedroom and kitchen ventillation and that is all that I can reasonably hope to want. 

The naysayers

A few days ago, I noticed some leaks inside the bus. I'm not quite sure where they're coming from because the likely seams have already been hit with silicone seal. Today, assuming a dry spell, would be an opportune time to have a look on the roof to see what's going on.

Needless to say, my thought of tracking down the actual leak and spot sealing it with silicone caulk or aluminum tape got poo poohed. One day I will stop paying any heed at all to what others say on allegedly sensible online groups. I bet the people that run commercial bus companies fix their leaks cheaply and easily. I bet they don't do what the people on those groups insist is the only method which is to put a $200 bucket of Kool Seal. Kool Seal didn't exist when I was young and buses didn't have leaky rooves. Clearly the Kool Seal only idea is yet another example of internet groups following their leader like lemmings. In fact, I find the vast majority of other people are a bit lemming like but this is especially pronounced in online groups. It used to be especially entertaining to go to sit in an internet cafe with a book and a cup of tea to just watch the rows of lemmings glued to computers. Indeed, my dad used to run a library and his prime complaint was of people that would sit down to play with the computer and who would be there all day, hogging the computer without even going to the bathroom. Indeed they even exhibited aggression when asked to allow others to use the computers. Basically, an addictive reaction.

As far as Kool Seal goes, $200 is a ludicrous price to pay to fix a leak that could be fixed with a small patch of tape or silicone seal. Certainly, if there were multiple leaks then an all over solution might be good. For patches, its very much overkill. I'll just never truly understand peoples thinking.

The plan otherwise was to put bolts onto all the newly installed drawers and to paint the dinette floor though with oil based paint rather than latex. As today is a day when I could be called in for work, I had an ear open for my phone while working.

The roof leak has flooded my countertop at some point. I'm glad to see the wood has not been adversely affected despite having swollen slightly. One of my receipts has been washed clean of ink, however. As soon as there's a dry day, that leak will have to be located. Had I had vinyl stuck down then the water would have caused damage. I'm glad I stuck with the cheaper option!

Meanwhile, here's a photo of my first drawer lock.

Putting it on required a piece of hardboard to space the bolt assembly off the structure. Putting the receiver on was tricky. That involved all kinds of fiddling but it worked in the end. That was the first drawer. There are seven more! I'll be so glad when this bus project is completed.

I'm very clearly still not over my recent illness. I did one bolt and had to rest due to feeling wobbly. I returned and did another two and felt more wobbly. Clearly I still have some recovery to do. Having said that, 3/8 of the bolts are now installed.

Yesterday I plugged the bus into the power supply. Today I had not just my battery hurricane lantern but a real, honest to goodness electric light in there. That made working so much easier!

Reading further about roof seals, apparently Kool Seal only lasts 5 years or so. That's $75 for what I'd call a bodged roof repair. Bus Kote is $200 and requires a protective coating which likely is another hundred or so.

The hillbillies that had the bus before me had attached hooks to the bus which probably attached a tarpaulin over the roof. Clearly their caulking didn't quite solve the problem. Thus, on the first dry day I'll put aluminum tape up and paint over it all! It might even be worth painting the seams and rivets white then putting tape then painting grey. That way, damaged areas of tape will be easily visible.

The bolts are looking quite good. I managed a further two before feeling wobbly and having to take a further break. I suspect it's going to be like this for a few days yet. Of course the bolts all work well. When they're completed, I can finish cleaning and tidying the dinette. After that I should put up curtains, paint the floor and possibly screw down the shower base as well as giving thought to securing the microwave and erecting my dry erase board.

Well, that's all 8 bolts installed. My drawers will not now open in transit. Of that, I am certain. I definitely overdid it today with activity, even just kneeling with a power drill putting in 6 screws at a time!

As far as work goes, it didn't matter whether there was reception or not - the blasted thing with 75% battery had turned itself off in my pocket! I hate Android with a passion! In fact I'm quite with those guys Eric spoke about that live in zero electricity houses! Needless to say, there was a voicemail from work but oh well. Too late to call them.

posted from Bloggeroid

Red letter day!

That's an old Chinese thing. In China, a red letter means good luck. Usually on a red letter day, children receive envelopes stuffed with money.

No money for me though. The nearest to a genuine red letter is that my electrics as installed, work. I tested each of the three sockets by plugging in a humble fan. The main breaker box is not yet secured due to my needing to rebuild the hillbilly battery compartment but this is how it looks.


The whole system is earthed and the white and black wires are in the correct places. This is a very simple system with 3 sockets only. There is room for future expansion on the breaker box and, replacing the inlet cable, the system can go to a maximum of 55A. If the cable between the breakers were to be replaced, 100A would be almost possible.

The ratings on my system as installed are:
1. Electrical sockets - 20A
2. Wire betwixt sockets and distribution panel - 30A
3. Distribution panel - 125A
4. Wire betwixt distribution panel and main breaker box - 55A
5. Main breaker box - 70A
6. Wire betwixt main breaker box and plug - 30A
7. Plug - 30A
8. Breakers in distribution panel - 15A (all six)
9. Breaker in main box - 30A - dual breaker.

So, my system can take much higher amperage assuming portions closer to the supply are changed. I regard this as being a safe system. Indeed, if anybody can see a problem, I'd like to know about it!

By the way, for anybody wanting to use 30A solid, 30A flexible and 55A solid wire, yes it is hard to work with! It took a good couple of hours to complete what I just have. Partly this is because I am still not 100% recovered from my virus but also because the wire was hard to work with and I was being very careful to get it right.

My bus electrics are now 100% complete on the 110v side. Next comes the plumbing. For that, I need a few things. As it is, it should pass inspection as a motorhome. And I'm only 8 months, 12 days behind schedule! Mind, my schedule was over ambitious.

What followed the electrics was little short of a miracle. I removed the large pieces of construction debris and stored the surplus materials in a nearby shed. Given that I'm not over my bug, that was a lot of work. I can almost reach the driving seat now.

The hillbilly underbody compartment wasn't quite as bad as it looked. Certainly its badly installed and for that reason alone, needs to be replaced. It is, however made of inch thick marine plywood. I found that out when I drilled a hole through it to allow me to plug my electrical cable in from underneath.

Where the hillbillies went wrong was in not painting their plywood on the inside of the compartment. Having seen that, I'm minded to use plywood for my compartments. Mine, however will be painted white on the inside but with oil based paints rather than latex. Unlike the hillbillies, my compartments will have angle iron on the corners, strengthening and supporting them.

Thinking ahead to a 12v battery system which will power future extraction fans, charging ports etc, I'll have to find how much weight plywood will support to see how much bracing to use to support a battery. I have a feeling that just a single 105ah 12v marine deep cycle battery will provide for most of my needs. Of course, if later I use batteries to power my fridge, I might have to raise that capacity.

Thinking further, until I have sufficient solar and battery capacity to power a microwave, I could perhaps use a cheap generator to provide 800w to run the microwave while taking 240w from batteries to gain the 1040w needed. That would take me squarely into boondocking territory!

Later, after dinner, I returned to the bus and cut the PVC planking to the right size to fit my shower base. In a few days I'll have the base put together and the bus fully cleaned.

My favorite place at the moment is my bathroom as I can sit on the toilet lid and think. There, I had the idea that since my LED lantern has a loop as a handle, I could put screw hooks in the ceiling to hold my lantern. I'll have to see if Lowe's sells 10-24 screw hooks or bigger s-hooks to use with their existing screw eyes.

Some people might see my minimal electricity lifestyle as somewhat quaint. I regard it as practical. I'm just not a great fan of electrical appliances in general. This is why my forthcoming water pump will be manual.

Thinking about night privacy, I looked at my windows and measured them. The bathroom windows I don't give a rip about. I'll put pieces of shower curtain over the windows but that's all. No need for more than that.

The galley windows are doubles measuring 54 wide by 28 high. I figure a wooden dowel with a plastic fabric fastened to it together with a string could act as a roller blind. The problem would be what to use as bearings.

The bedroom windows are 54 wide by 14 high and 26 wide by 28 high. That's just 4 blinds needed. I've had various thoughts but I really like the idea of a DIY roller blind.

Aside from that, there's just the pool noodle needed over the doorway from the cockpit to the cabin and some form of lock on the front door. Well, not really a lock but a way of unlocking the existing door lock from the outside.

As well as that, I have to put my white and grey tanks under the bus and rebuild the hillbilly battery compartment. There's plenty to do and since I'm doing it all on my own, its taking rather longer than I'd like. The big thing is that I'm learning a load of new skills.

It's pretty astonishing how much I've done since I started the project in November.

Wiring and bullshit

Today aside from not feeling very well anyway, I was rather depressed by the baloney I'd been fed by imbeciles on the school bus group. Needless to say, I'd already removed the forum from the forum reader. In fact there seems little point in even having Tapatalk since that was the only forum I used.

Work was slow with many breaks broken by a persistent cough. Having said that, the under counter breaker box wiring was completed and the lid closed on that part of the electrics.

After completing the internal electrics by the simple act of closing the fuse box I started the rest of the electrics. The intent was to finish the electrics today but whatever bug I have is sapping my energy badly. The first task was to make a patch with a hole big enough for the cable gripper for the inlet cable. If you remember, the knockouts were way too big. It took a while to cut the aluminum with a hole saw intended for wood but it was done. Then the patch was riveted in place.

Normally I would use the right tool for the job but since the bus conversion is a one off job with no likelihood of a repeat and since the tool had been retired having done its task as well as the proper tool not being available, I made do.

The next task was another inlet hole but this was for the 55A cable from the other breaker box. This was through steel but the technique was similar. After allowing the tool to scribe a circle, I went around the circle drilling a series of small holes in order to make the work of the poor little saw easier.

The hole being cut, it was time to work on the gripper for the cable that leads to the electrical supply. This is known as a pigtail connection. I will put a proper socket eventually but for now and for system testing, a pigtail will do.

The electrical manager at Lowe's couldn't supply a cable gripper of an appropriate size but suggested a neoprene bung and drilling an appropriately sized hole in it. Very carefully holding the bung in between the fingers of one hand and a power drill in the other, I bored a hole through the bung then cut it to an appropriate length. Lubricating the cable with WD40 the bung slid on before the metal halves of the gripper were fastened together.

The plan tomorrow is to attach the main breaker box to the cable coming from the distribution breaker and to attach the power cord. This will all take place inside the hillbilly cable compartment which, as you can see, needs to be rebuilt.

Ideally I'd shorten the cable from the distribution panel and fasten the main breaker box to the metal wall in the background which is the wall of the starting battery compartment. That won't happen though as rebuilding the compartment might change the location of the breaker box.

One of the silly things that was told to me on the accursed school bus forum was that breakers were unidirectional. Now that doesn't make a whole load of sense since with alternating current, the current goes in both directions. I had to check because the seed of doubt had been planted. I know fuses work by burning out a wire when the current goes too high. It seems breakers are simple electro mechanical devices that perform the same function.

I think there's more room for problems with malfunctioning mechanical devices but there's nothing there that would indicate polarity being at all important. The plan is to set the main breaker to cut both legs of the circuit simultaneously, leaving only the earth wire connected.

It all goes to show what a load of complete bullshit I was told on that schoolbus forum. I'm so glad I saw through their little game and left them. I just pity the next sucker that believes them.

Once the wiring is completed, the testing will commence. That's where the fun begins. Everything should be wired correctly since I've been fastidiously following the rules for polarity. It'll be a case of trying those socket testers and an electric screwdriver.

Did I err?

Should I have gone the gas route? It's not something that can't be put in at a later stage. It's always possible to build an underbody compartment for a gas tank and to run a length of hose to a small gas cook top mounted on the kitchen countertop. As far as gas leak detection, that's just a case of spraying soapy water on the joins and looking for bubbles. That would have meant I coulkd have had instant hit water for the shower etc.

Another thought... Had I known of small pot belly stoves when I started construction, perhaps one of those and different construction techniques could have been used. That would have given great winter heating. An underbody compartment would carry spare fuel. Cooking might be impossibly hot though. Two other issues - critters in the wood and smoke as well as ash.

Thinking about heat, the gas cooker would produce quite a bit of heat. That might not be welcome in summer. I'm probably better off heatwise by sticking with electric. Sticking with electric does give the option of going battery powered later or even just having a generator for times more power is needed.

The composting toilet is an inexpensive thing. I can always change to using a flush toilet later. This is not a problem. Indeed it is in the plans. Just about everything can be upgraded later.

Today, before work I had a quick look at the electrical system. For the moment I'll run the bus off a pigtail connector, 5 feet long. The previous owner also used a pigtail into the cable compartment but must have left it open as there was a rat nest inside!

The electrical system is a very few connections away from being completed. After this, it is registration and plumbing!

On my way to work, I stopped off at Lowe's for the cable clamp I didn't pick up when the guy helped me so much I forgot what I wanted. Then, after work I went to the bus to continue from where I left off.

The main breaker box had a knockout panel with three sections.needless to say, knocking one section out didn't work as it took the next out also. I would much prefer to have to cut my own holes rather than have them ready provided. I'll have to rivet a patch over the huge hole now and put the right sized hole in the patch!

See how big the hole ended up - several times the size required! With the big breaker box, I just drilled my own holes because there was enough space!

While in Lowe's, I looked at their 30A cable. I have five feet of 30A cable but I'm not sure what kind. They sell soow whiuch apparently is weather and oil resistent on the outside and sjoow which is apparently resistant on the inside too. Anyway, at $1.89 a foot, its way too expensive! Online I saw one website that allegedly sold cable for 82c a foot. Wouldn't you know it - that site required me to register before it'd let me buy! I used an email address I never use and each time I tried registering, the site came up with a page load failure. Quite frustrating!

So, tomorrow the plan is to fix the big hole with a metal plate. I did discover two small knockouts at the bottom. Those look like they'll be much less of a headache to use! I'll probably use those instead and just rivet and seal a patch over the big hole.

After that I'll have a go at completing the electrical system. As I said, I'll probably do a pigtail connection for now. I can always change that later! The big bonus - I don't have to fuss about with cable sockets right now. I can do that later!

Entertaining asininities

Over the past few weeks I've been hugely entertained by one or two people on school bus conversion forums. It all goes back to the reliability of forum posters. Most seem to know some of the basics but once they're out of their depth, everybody with a different opinion is wrong.

The latest entertaining nonsense is a discussion of my developing electrical system. Apparently I'm all wrong because I have put so many safety features in. Sockets intended for use with 15 anps are rated for 20. That's 5 amps to the good. Wiring intended for 15 amps is actually capable of and rated at 30 amps. A main cable intended for 30 amps is rated at 55 amps.

Apparently I'm so wrong because I put a 10-2 cable rather than a 10-3 which could carry 50A on each leg for a total of 100A. Somebody missed on my saying I was designing for 30A but building in excess for safety.

Having told me that a 55A 10-3 (4 wires including the earth) cable can carry twice as much current as a 10-2 (3 wires including the earth) they then claim my solution of using two 15A cables in parallel is dangerous! It's actually better than 10-3 as it has two neutrals as well as two hot wires as opposed to 10-3 which has two hots but only one neutral! In any case, with each cable going to a 15A dual breaker, there can be no problem not caught by a breaker! I'm going to call baloney on the dire warnings from the uneducated.

So, it looks like these forum dwellers just don't know what they're talking about when it gets beyond basics! Apparently my 30A 4 prong socket is incapable of carrying 30A, according to them. I think school bus construction forums though interesting in the basic stages of construction have just become a pit of asininity.

Honestly, if I quoted the claptrap and dire warnings that aren't based on any semblance of reality then you'd laugh for a week! Sadly, actually quoting what was written might be seen to lend it a misguided air of respect that it absolutely does not deserve.

I have no way of knowing whether I am dealing with misguided people that need education, liars that don't even have a bus, deranged individuals or people on a mission to confuse and infuriate others. Heavens, they could even be ISIS members or Chinese agents on a mission to confuse and disrupt! I rather suspect though that they're rather unimaginative people that can't think beyond "buy this premium object to solve this problem".

Interestingly, the members of that forum started discussing the cost if their school bus conversions. Mostly the price paid for their basic bus seems to be $4,000 which oddly is exactly what I paid yet I have seen them going for $2,500. Then add in the cost of conversion. I haven't totalled my costs yet but members quoted up to $20,000. Honestly, if somebody buys an old school bus then converts it they don't have the money needed to pay $20,000! More so when a really good camper trailer or 5th Wheeler can be had for that money! I'm going to call baloney on $20,000! Honestly, if my conversion tops $3,000 over purchase price then I will be utterly amazed.

The justification many use for building a schoolbus into a motorhome is they can't afford $250,000 for a real moitorhome yet when I look at the motorhome sales places, they seem to be below $70,000. All very strange. I can guarantee the facilities on their bus conversions aren't as good as those on a ready made motorhome. I know my facilities are fairly basic but that suits my lifestyle.

And now back to the bus conversion.

The electrical system is almost complete to the point of entry. Remaining to be done is to rebuild the hillbilly cable compartment under the bus, install underbody water tanks and install extraction fans. The sole reason for an electrical system is to run the microwave. I can live without a fridge. I just prefer to cook with a microwave rather than with gas.

There are little things remaining to be completed - window blinds and drawer locks plus a rail to stop the microwave from sliding. Then there's a handrail and a way of unlocking the front door from outside. There's a little paint touch up to be done plus some personalisation things.

Aside from that, there are other things I want to do such as adding a trailer hitch, fixing the reversing horn and the rev counter, rewiring the schoolbus flashers as brake lights and turn signals, replacing some of the worn out switches, adjusting the angle of the backup camera screen etc. Nothing major.

No work on the bus today. I did have a quick look in Lowe's out of curiosity at cables. 10-3 was about $2 a foot. Online it was 92c a foot. Given that I'd possibly need 30 feet that works out at $60 from Lowe's or $30 approx plus $20 shipping. Hardly any benefit either way. I'm going to have to look harder. Truth be told, this 110v ac system is such a pain in the rear that I'm wondering whether I would have been better putting a small gas cook top with a couple of 12v batteries to power fans and chargers and maybe a couple of flexible solar panels on the apex of the roof.

Well well well

Looking at that bargain socket I had on eBay, it turns out that perhaps it wasn't quite the bargain I'd thought or maybe it was... Allow me to explain.

It transpired that the 4 pole plus an earth connector is not a Nema standard socket. That's bad because each time I need a plug its going to be a special order. It's good because nobody is likely to want to steal something with a non standard connector.

The standard socket is $80. I paid $20. The standard plug I have no idea of the cost of. The plug for my non standard connector is about $25. Even if I have to carry a spare, I'm still under the cost of just a socket for the standard plug!

Thinking around corners, I realised that if I installed a 15A male socket then I'd be able to use light cables as well. Following that thought yet further, I don't really need to use the socket I bought. Here's why...

15 amp cable, 50 feet long is about $40 at Lowe's. A 30 amp cable, 50 feet long is $150. Two 15 amp cables in parallel is much cheaper to use and less desirable to thieves. 50 amp cord, 50 feet long is $300. That's all getting a bit ridiculous!

Clearly I've been barking up the wrong tree with the idea of a 30A cable. Indeed, looking at the costs it makes solar look more affordable! It needs a slight redesign. Even buying the wire as wire then adding the plugs has no significant price advantage.

I know I'm definitely on the right track not using 50A cable. That stuff is about $3 a foot. Even 30A cable is about $2 a foot and that's off eBay! Strangely, ready made cables seem cheaper than putting my own together.

On my back again!

But definitely no legs in the air! Today after work I had a few moments to work. Another socket was installed and the cable attached and stapled to the woodwork.

The view from under the counter of the backs of the sockets isn't very exciting. Basically, the cable goes through a 3/4 inch hole in the woodwork.

You can well imagine the fun positions I had to get into in order to drive the nails in when stapling the cables to the woodwork. It's a job I can honestly say isn't done as well as I'd like but given the difficulties, I'm unlikely to want to try again. My nightmare would be if there was something wrong with my wiring that meant I had to redo any of it.

Speaking of wiring, somebody pointed out that if I'd used 6-3 instead of 6-2 cable I could have had the equivalent of 100A available from a 50A four prong socket. Neat idea but my whole aim with this bus is to run it off the least shore power possible. The ultimate aim is to upgrade to 100% solar. That's several years away though and the budget is tight right now.

The view from the front shows my 3 installed sockets. The astute will notice 6 breakers in the box. Three are for potential future expansion. The other three are assigned one per socket.

While I did get the wires in place and through the cable lock at the bottom of the breaker box, I did not have the time nor the inclination to do anything else with them today. That's a job for Thursday night!

Today my $20 inlet socket arrived. It's way deeper than my existing socket housing. I might have an interesting time fixing up a housing for that! Still, its a good thing to have. Now I need to find some plugs to fit it. One will go to a 30A supply and one to a 15A supply.

As I've said before, my plan is to use ever decreasing amounts of mains power with the eventual aim of being able to boondock continually.

50lbs lighter, 20 years younger!

That's what I need to be! Contorting myself to fit into the space under my countertop is hardly fun nor easy then to hold and work with tools while doing so adds further to the challenge!

As somebody recommended a strain relief clasp to secure the 55A cable against movement, that meant a trip to Lowe's, during which I filled up with gasoline at an almost unheard of $1.79! Not 4 years ago I was seeing $4.15 a gallon.

In Lowe's, the plan was to get a strain relief clasp for the big cable, one for the small cable and something for the main breaker under the bus. Added to the list was 5 feet of flexible 30A cable in order to put a pigtail connector.

Of course, I met a helpful fellow in Lowe's who was so eager to please that in the course of discussion of his proposed solution to which I listened intently, I got confused about what I was getting. Thus I came away without one of the waterproof cable connectors that I wanted.

Oddly enough, not having the connector didn't affect matters much. I didn't get half the things done that I wanted to. Working under the countertop is an awkward process that's hot and laborious as well as extremely uncomfortable.

By the time I knocked off for the day, I'd put two strain relief clasps into the breaker box, put the main cable through the strain relief clasp, found a bolt and kinda-sorta tightened the earth cables to the case. They could be tighter but getting in there to do it is all but impossible. Earth wiring isn't that important what with most appliances being unearthed anyway but I'd like to get it right!

Two socket boxes were secured in place and one socket was wired. Stapling the wires to the woodwork was a challenge as I lay under the countertop. I didn't complete the run of the wire because I couldn't find my hacksaw to cut the wire. My LED lantern throws out a good light but it's no good for hunting for things in the dark.

On Wednesday my 30A socket should arrive. Rather than cutting a hole in the side of the bus to accommodate it, the new plan is to locate it underneath the bus where it'll be protected from rain. This also allows me to mount it to the floor of the forthcoming new battery/cable compartment.

I had hoped to have the electrics completed this weekend but with the challenges, its taking longer. I'll probably have that done by next weekend. Aside from a strain relief grommet, there shouldn't be anything else needed.

The fruits of my labors!

Today was a continuation of yesterday. Although huge amounts weren't done, I'm reasonably satisfied with what was done. Most of today's delays were caused by two things.
1. Because my wiring is well over what's required in order to allow for expansion, the cables were very hard to handle. Indeed it was quite a fight, dealing with the main 55A cable.
2. Because I'm unfamiliar with the US electrical system I was having to stop and look things up on my phone. Needless to say that wasn't without its hilarious moments. No matter what I said orally to the phone, it transcribed it as "Google play Google play Google play Google play" so I had to clean my hands and type!

The plate I glued on the underside of the floor and put the first part of my cable guide through was riveted into place. That took forever as I was working in a very confined space. The hillbilly cable compartment needs to be rebuilt properly. That's on my agenda but not right now. The wood is rotting and quite nasty! After the plate was riveted, the cable was passed through the supplied rubber grommet and everything was tightened firmly.

Next I worked on the breaker box. First I wired the socket that I'd rivetted on yesterday. That was quite a battle! The cable I chose is definitely heavier than necessary and somewhat hard to manage.

The breaker box lacked an earth connection so I riveted a bracket to it. I didn't bolt the earth wires to it yet. By the time I finished it was just too dark to hunt for a bolt. The breaker box was riveted to the inside of the bus. The bus will be fully earthed every time it's plugged in. That can't be a bad thing!

The main cables were connected. I'm hoping the information I found online was accurate. I guess I'll have to get one of those pin tester things from Walmart that lets me know if live & neutral are crossed etc.

Remaining to do - install and connect the two sockets and install and connect the main breaker plus (for now) put a pigtail connector on. I have a 30A RV plug that I could use or I could just wire a 15A plug to plug into the household 15A line for testing.

Ah well

Today the bus conversion forum I'd been following descended into the predictable online mud slinging that so many seem to. It's a very regular pattern, particularly when the discussion begins to get technical and moves away from buying premium components. Go to a photo group where the members are worshipping the latest technology and show photos taken with a pinhole camera made from a shoebox and the condemnation will be amazing!

Today I did more bus parts shopping. This time some 10-2 cable which should allow me to complete some of my electrical system. I won't dignify what was said on the forum by repeating it! Anyway, 10-3 cable should be sufficient to carry power to my individual 15A sockets.

I got two 15A breakers and four socket boxes and an external breaker box with a switch that can be used under the bus to control power from my forthcoming socket to my internal breaker box. The plan is now for a reduced internal 120v setup. Instead of four sockets, I'll install two. That should be more than adequate for a fridge and another appliance.

As far as air conditioning goes, there's no reason why a simple extraction fan cannot be used. That can easily be solar powered. I'm not yet ready to put my 12v systems in. That's a task for after registration as a motorhome.

I looked at tubing and high amperage cabling. The plan is to wire for 55a between the inlet and my internal breaker box. There was cabling in the old installation. It was ridiculously light so I condemned it. The tubing they used might be usable though it's not certain. The only need for the tubing is to protect underbody wiring from squirrels.

One of the plans had been to drill 62mm holes in the side of the breaker box to accommodate electrical sockets. That plan was defeated by the fact Lowe's had only hole saws that were too small or too large that were capable of cutting metal. The new plan is to install electrical socket boxes on the outside of the box. The logic is that all the internal cables can be extensions.

Because my internal breaker box has no master breaker I'll put a master breaker under the bus. As the maximum input will be 50A and the breaker box has two sides, the cables to the breaker box from the master can be 30A to each side. I'll wire from the inlet to the master breaker with 55A cable. The actual socket will be 30A and the breaker in the master breaker will be 30A most of the time. When I'm on a 15A connection though, it'll be 15A. I'll just carry a supplementary breaker.

The plan for tomorrow is to complete my shower base mount then to install the electrical sockets for the breaker box, wire them in and commence dismantling the hillbilly cable compartment under the bus. That's badly built of rotted plywood. My new compartment will be a battery compartment that will be made of metal. That'll probably be some of the hillbilly bed frame, if there's any left and sheet metal from an old fridge. As already stated though, the battery compartment is not high priority right now.

Closet chain - check!

Today before work the temperature was a bearable 88 Fahrenheit according to the app I have on my tablet. Thus, it was possible to erect more of the closet chain. The procedure is simple... Drill a small hole where the next screw eye is needed, insert a rivnut then put silicone sealant on the screw eye thread, screw it in, hang an s hook from the screw eye then hang the chain from the s hook. Of course it wasn't that simple. The threaded portion of the screw eyes were too long at 2 inches so a few minutes were spent cutting them down with the angle grinder. The right size drill bit isn't in the toolbox so a smaller hole was drilled and the holes individually enlarged with a reamer.

Having installed more eyes and hooks than before, it appears there's enough space at one end for more screw eyes. As there are three more remaining on the table, it makes sense to use them, which I will after work. That being the case, the closet rail could well be completed today. That leaves the shower base mount, plumbing and electrical. This weekend might see the whole lot completed (but probably won't). I'm a bit of a perfectionist even though many things aren't perfect.

Regarding electrical, the plan was to put a socket on the side of the bus. Then somebody pointed out that the pins on the plug would be exposed and live. That's not particularly desirable so I started hunting for a male socket. Wow! Ripoff! Male plugs can be had for $8 approximately. Female sockets for the same price. Male sockets are $80 - yes, ten times the cost. I'm currently hunting for solutions. Those could include a small hatch with cables that can be pulled out that have inline male plugs.

In order to drive costs down and versatility up, I'll have two inputs for electricity, both rated at 30A. 50A cable just seems impossibly expensive! Mind, for the amount of power I'm likely to use, a 20A supply should be adequate. Plans for the electrical system will be unveiled when its completed.

Meanwhile, the weather app is rather amusing. There I am, working on my bus is 88F that the app says feels like 92F and it suggests I wear this! Somehow, I don't think that'll be happening!

The weather part of the app is actually pretty good, however.

At the moment, the plan is still for a manual pump to pump water from underbody holding tanks. Had I realised what an annoyance it was going to be to put sufficient electrical power to run a microwave into the buys would be, I'd probably have used gas instead.

After work a trip to Lowe's happened. Let's just say it took several of Lowe's staff to pick me up off the floor and administer several doses if smelling salts after I saw some of their prices! Looking for cheaper ways around the $80 ripoff, I found all my potential alternatives were coming in at even higher prices!

Thinking around the situation, I'm going to trim my electrical system to just 3 sockets. One side of the breaker box is going to be individual 15A breakers going to sockets with the other side containing just one breaker going to the other side as a master breaker. That breaker is going to be 30A. Although I'd have liked higher amperage, I really can't see paying out the nose for all these electrics. Especially when the maximum I can envision using is going to be around 20 amps.

On eBay I saw a 30A male socket going for $15. That's doable. It probably means I'm going to have to fiddle around with my socket box but again, that's doable. I am getting very much a feeling that I screwed up when I bought my breaker box and RV outlet box. If I cut back further and used just two sockets then one could be the fridge while the other could be something else.

However I look at it, the main problem seems to be the breaker box with no master breaker position. I bought a waterproof box when I thought I would mount it under the bus. The next major problem is the electrical connector. There are so many to choose from and a vast number of prices!

This whole thing gives me such headaches! Wiring safety is not an issue - its all straightforward and a case of not putting more amps through a cable than it was designed to take. That's what breakers are for! In the end, for $19.02 I ordered from eBay a 30A twist lock socket. It has features I'm not keen on - namely the twist lock. I'd rather it popped out if somebody got their foot caught in it! I'm also not keen on the close proximity of screws that go through the plug to the pins on the plug. I'll figure it out though even if I end up using a load of epoxy putty!

Lastly, I completed my closet chain. The angle grinder gave an absolutely spectacular shower of sparks as I trimmed the last two screw eyes to length. The usual performance of drilling then reaming continued. All this was done after the sun had set. I absolutely love my LED lantern.

The end result was this and I can now consider the bedroom complete save for blinds.

Bah... Pesky drill!

Today was a very brief session working in the bus. Earlier I'd been to Lowe's and bought the screw eyes and s hooks I needed in order to complete my closet rail. I also bought an RV style 30A plug.

Reading around, it seems 50A is not really practical and most camp sites have a 30A supply. In Lowe's I saw a 50A cable and a 30A cable. Quite honestly I cannot imagine using anything heavier than 30A. It was really thick and heavy.

It turns out also that my breaker box is a sub panel with no main breaker position. Had I known that, I would not have bought it. It looks like I'm going to have to make a few blunders before I get this crazy US electrical system down pat. It's completely alien to me, having been brought up around European electrical systems.

Actually, dropping from 50A to 30A doesn't make much difference. My heavy demand appliances are my microwave and kettle. I don't have a TV or anything like that. I never have been a real power hog even though I use far more electricity than Eric

It looks as though I need to put a main breaker elsewhere. I'm thinking alongside the fuse panel for my 12 supply. Somewhere I can access it easily in order to switch breakers around for times when I'll be on a 15A supply.

Inside the bus, I laid out my screw eyes and s hooks ready to install them but paused to install my new knob on the grit bucket side of the toilet. The power drill got a third of the way through the wood before slowing. Fortunately it got all the way through before it died completely. Clearly I should have put iut on charge last night. The knob went on fine though. It doesn't match my plastic handle though. It seems Lowe's no longer carries the handles I bought several months ago. It doesn't look too bad.

While I was sitting at the toilet, I worked and oiled the door lock. It's really not very happy about looking and unlocking. Today I had to abandon my attempt to unlock it from outside and had to go in through the back door. I'll keep playing with the lock but I think I'll have to replace it. The lock company whose name shall not be mentioned charged me $20 and claimed it was a special order. I saw the same lock in Ace hardware for $15 last week!

Remaining to be done inside the bus are just the shower base mount and the rest of the closet chain. Everything else has been done. Certainly there's cleaning to be done, some floor painting and a touch of touch up but that's all aside from plumbing and electrical. Things are progressing well.

Another rainy day!

Today being a total washout as far as cutting plastic planks went, I worked on other things inside the bus. The little lantern I bought is a real godsend. Without it I'd have been unable to see to do anything. It really was that dark, what with all the rain.

After putzing around a bit, I started on the closet chain. It was a lot easier than I'd imagined though I had to tip my tool box contents and my supplies box contents into the shower pan in order to find the things I needed. That took some time too.

The closet chain is unfinished because I ran out of screw hooks. I had six and I have 20 rivnuts. Thus, I installed six rivnuts and six screw eyes with s hooks. Then the chain was hung from the s hooks. It's an elegant, lightweight solution. Each hook is 7 inches from the next. I figure that should hold the weight of clothing.

After installing the closet chain, my next project was to fit a handle on the toilet lid so that it can be opened and closed as needed. That was the work of a very few minutes.

The door lock had started being a bit odd in operation and certainly didn't look right as the tongues were hanging at a sloppy angle. I dismantled it and was amazed at how cheap and nasty it looked. Clearly the lock company whose name shall not be mentioned has just sold me any old junk rather than a decent quality lock. Needless to say, I reassembled it as it should have been and remounted it. This time, it worked properly. That's something that it has never done before. My guess is that it was bad from the start!

The hanbdbasin mount was fastened down. That took all of four screws and a few minutes. The hand basin itself is just held into place by gravity. There never were any mounts as such in the original installation. This hanbdbasin came from the hillbilly bus build.

In the background is my thermometer/hygrometer gizmo. Today it was 75F (24C) and 76% humidity. That was very pleasant for working inside the bus. I can see a dehumidifier will be needed.

I tried my breaker box in place. I couldn't fasten it as I'm lacking a main cable and its conduit just as I'm lacking sockets and other cables. Today was a day for visualising the electrical system.

Next, I fished my microwave out of storage and placed it on the countertop. It's a cheap Walmart microwave that I used from November of 2011 until April of 2015 when I moved house. Looking at the setup, it just seems that four surface mount electrical sockets would go very nicely on the front of the beam under the microwave.

As I'm limiting the power input to 50A, I figure two sockets can be 15A and two can be 10A. There will be a main breaker at 30A with a spare breaker at 50A for times when I'll be able to access 50A. For safety, when I'm on a 15A supply as when parked at home, I'll use a 15A main breaker.

Looking inside my microwave showed how horribly rusty it is. M'lady wants me to throw it away but I want to do what my dad did with his rusty microwave. He cleaned it out with steel wool and painted it with anti rust paint. It worked for years after that.

It does show why enameled paint inside a microwave is a sign of a cheapass microwave. The better microwaves are stainless inside. When it dies, I have plans for the components inside.

Mounted on the skirt of the bus, behind the hillbilly compartment (which will house a pair of batteries once I've rebuilt the compartment) will be this socket. The door goes outside the bus skirt. The box goes inside. The cable will be a dryer cable in a conduit from the 50A socket to the breaker box. I'd like to use flexible conduit but I think standard conduit might be cheaper and more practical to install.

On top of the breaker box I'd like to install sockets so that I can just plug my other cables in. It's more expensive but I feel a better solution.

If I can get my closet chain completed this week and the shower base mount then the electrics really won't take long. I'm annoyingly close to being able to apply for the bus to be registered as a motorhome.

My final act was to install a fire extinguisher. This was installed directly opposite the electrical system. This extinguisher is specifically for electrical fires and burning liquids. Ideal for kitchens! Let's just say that First Alert's wall mount for the extinguisher was very troublesome to install. It would be so much better if instead of a nasty plastic strap, a Velcro strap or a solid loop was used. I have no idea whether I'll be able to remove the extinguisher from the nasty strap or whether I'll just have to rip it off the wall if it's ever needed. This is why I'll be installing more extinguishers.

Tidying up

Yes, it has got to that point. Today Big Lots had a plastic box for $6 that will hold all my packaged and boxed surplus stock. Well, they don't now!

Right now I'm working toward tidying the galley prior to completing the paintwork at the weekend. At some point my privacy film will arrive so I'll be able to do the privacy tinting. I'm aiming to have the galley and bathroom totally completed by the end of the weekend. Plumbing and electrics will take a while longer.

In terms of electrics, right now I'm thinking of minimum cost. Batteries start at $90 apiece. I'm thinking of getting the electric socket on the outside of the bus, possibly to the rear of the redneck compartment. The redneck compartment will be rebuilt. All the nasty plywood will be removed and a new compartment of steel and angle iron will be riveted together. The redneck door will be improved.

Inside the compartment will be a 120v fuse box that takes a 50A input and outs out 4, 15A sockets. Yes, I realise that 15x4 is 60 but most appliances won't use over 10A. There will be a 12v fuse panel with 12v fuses feeding to all the 12v stuff. That's hot and cold water pumps, charging points etc. If there's room, there might be a 12v battery to power the low demand stuff.

Initially, it'll just be the 120v stuff that's put in. Batteries are costly as are generators and solar panels. The aim right now is to get the bus reclassified as soon as possible.

No photo today. I didn't see the point of before and after messy countertop photos. Anybody can do that so it wouldn't be unique!