Sunday: (10/29) I mostly relaxed all day except for a grocery shopping trip. I also reorganized the stuff in my study and moved the new sofa bed in three. It is our guest room as well. Oatmeal for breakfast. Leftover cabbage with leftover BBQ ribs for lunch. Asparagus, cauliflower and veggie meatballs for dinner.
Monday: (10/30) I never really got going today. The radio in the new RV died yesterday. Today I spent some time trying to fix it. The unit is dead so I started looking for a new one. I picked up another black bucket for the sanitary hoses and a heavy duty container for the gas grill and added those to the RV storage. I made chorizo hash with eggs for breakfast. Baked beans and dogs for lunch. Chili for dinner.
Tuesday: (10/31) Lou wanted the dinette table lower so I lowered it by cutting off the leg and lowering the wall bracket. Then, I made a plan for wood usage to make some drawers and drawer dividers. Also started installing some of the electrical materials. Leftover chicken in a sandwich for breakfast. Chips and hummus for lunch. Courtney joined us for dinner. Baked potato asparagus and roast beef for dinner.
Tuesday: (10/31) Lou wanted the dinette table lower so I lowered it by cutting off the leg and lowering the wall bracket. Then, I made a plan for wood usage to make some drawers and drawer dividers. Also started installing some of the electrical materials. Leftover chicken in a sandwich for breakfast. Chips and hummus for lunch. Courtney joined us for dinner. Baked potato asparagus and roast beef for dinner.
Wednesday: (11/01) Off shopping for wood this morning. Home Depot didn’t have what I needed so I checked at Lowe’s. They had the ⅛” tempered hardboard and birch plywood for the closet drawers and dividers in the kitchen and bath drawers. They also had some nice plastic edging that, combined with double sided foam tape, secured the hardboard dividers in the drawers. After lunch i cut and installed the dividers in the drawers. Lou has been Scotchgarding the cushions and locating containers. Granola for breakfast. Super burrito from Super Taqueria for lunch. Beef stroganoff for dinner. Dawn’s Chayote apple cobbler for dessert.
Thursday: (11/02) I built a little panel to hold the three battery/inverter monitor panels. It’s a box about 5”x16”x2” that will be mounted over the refrigerator. I also made a shopping run to Madco Welding supply looking for cable lugs. They didn't have what I needed and referred me to Buckles Smith Electric. They ordered what i needed and I can pick it up tomorrow. Granola for breakfast. PBJ sandwich for lunch. Spaghetti for dinner.
Friday: (11/03) I stowed some more items in the RV. Then I mounted the meters in the panel I made last night. I went shopping in the morning for some screws and also stopped at Buckles Smith Electric to pick up the cable lugs they had ordered for me. They were the wrong lugs for #4 rather the #4/0 cable. The difference between ¼ inch conductor and a ⅓” conductor. In the afternoon I made another run for tiny screws to mount one of the panels. I also visited Harbor Freight Tools for some saw blades, hole saw blades, and a multi-tool. I also picked up a chainsaw and wagon that were on sale and on my list. At home I assembled the wagon and installed the screws in the panel meter. It was threatening rain all day but just a few showers in the afternoon. Granola for breakfast. Lunch from the China Wok. Dinner at LUU Noodle House.
Saturday: (11/04) It was a rainy day drying out later in the afternoon. A little stowing of stuff into the RV in the morning. I also attempted to install the new radio but need to enlarge the opening from a 1.7 din to a 2 din opening and need a box support for the radio. It’s on order. In the afternoon I installed the monitor panel above the refrigerator. I made home fried potatoes with pork cubes and fried eggs. Leftover breakfast fr lunch. Lou made hamburgers with tater tots for dinner.
Sunday: (11/05) I inspected and checked and double checked then drilled holes from the refrigerator compartment into the new battery compartment. I then pulled in the cable for the solar panels and for the monitor panel above the refrigerator. I got to the point of needing some cable clamps and foam sealant to be able to close up access panels. So off to lunch and shopping I went at about 1400. Visits to three Orchard Hardware store did not yield the appropriate cable clamps nor sealant. The visit to Harbor Freight provided a bi-metal hole saw set to cut the metal storage box walls for some cable routing and some heavy duty huge cable ties. With the new early darkness due to DLS, I didn’t get back to work outside. I did finalize my layout and wiring and ordered, even more, materials from Amazon. Lou and Dawn were in San Jose all day with a meeting and shopping. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at Los Altos Taqueria. Leftovers for dinner.
Monday: (11/06) I spent the day on the roof of the RV. I secured the cables with cable clamps in the refrigerator vent, drilled a hole for the cable to exit through the roof and then sewed up the vent screen and installed the cap. Then I cleaned the used solar panels and installed them on the roof. I finished up with that as it was getting dark about 1730. Before my shower I trimmed my beard and cut my hair. Finally making a little progress on the RV solar. Lou and I had breakfast at Bajis Cafe in Mountain View. A really nice place, our first time here. We’ve been missing something great. Fruit bowl for dinner. Leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday: (11/07) The RV roof was too wet to work so Lou and I visited Lowe’s where I got my cable clamps that I needed for the solar cables on the roof. They had the elusive ½” metal insulated camps that I wanted and didn’t find yesterday. On the way home we visited the Sunnyvale Goodwill store and got gas before stopping for dim sum and shopping at an Indian market for produce. At home, after lunch, I got to work and installed the cables to each solar panel, anchored the cables and the splice boxx and sealed all the PV mounts, cable clams and the box. I completed these items just as it was getting dark. I did have to make another run to Orchard Hardware, the closest hardware store for some stainless screws. I don’t seem to be planning my projects as well as I used to do, but they still get done, eventually. I have all the roof item done now except for the final cable connections to each panel which I can’t do until the lower wiring is completed. I received my elusive black sealing foam and my tire pressure monitor system so lots to do tomorrow. Granola for breakfast. Dim Sum for lunch. Chili cheese baked potato for dinner.
Sunday: (11/05) I inspected and checked and double checked then drilled holes from the refrigerator compartment into the new battery compartment. I then pulled in the cable for the solar panels and for the monitor panel above the refrigerator. I got to the point of needing some cable clamps and foam sealant to be able to close up access panels. So off to lunch and shopping I went at about 1400. Visits to three Orchard Hardware store did not yield the appropriate cable clamps nor sealant. The visit to Harbor Freight provided a bi-metal hole saw set to cut the metal storage box walls for some cable routing and some heavy duty huge cable ties. With the new early darkness due to DLS, I didn’t get back to work outside. I did finalize my layout and wiring and ordered, even more, materials from Amazon. Lou and Dawn were in San Jose all day with a meeting and shopping. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at Los Altos Taqueria. Leftovers for dinner.
Monday: (11/06) I spent the day on the roof of the RV. I secured the cables with cable clamps in the refrigerator vent, drilled a hole for the cable to exit through the roof and then sewed up the vent screen and installed the cap. Then I cleaned the used solar panels and installed them on the roof. I finished up with that as it was getting dark about 1730. Before my shower I trimmed my beard and cut my hair. Finally making a little progress on the RV solar. Lou and I had breakfast at Bajis Cafe in Mountain View. A really nice place, our first time here. We’ve been missing something great. Fruit bowl for dinner. Leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday: (11/07) The RV roof was too wet to work so Lou and I visited Lowe’s where I got my cable clamps that I needed for the solar cables on the roof. They had the elusive ½” metal insulated camps that I wanted and didn’t find yesterday. On the way home we visited the Sunnyvale Goodwill store and got gas before stopping for dim sum and shopping at an Indian market for produce. At home, after lunch, I got to work and installed the cables to each solar panel, anchored the cables and the splice boxx and sealed all the PV mounts, cable clams and the box. I completed these items just as it was getting dark. I did have to make another run to Orchard Hardware, the closest hardware store for some stainless screws. I don’t seem to be planning my projects as well as I used to do, but they still get done, eventually. I have all the roof item done now except for the final cable connections to each panel which I can’t do until the lower wiring is completed. I received my elusive black sealing foam and my tire pressure monitor system so lots to do tomorrow. Granola for breakfast. Dim Sum for lunch. Chili cheese baked potato for dinner.
Wednesday: (11/08) I started by reinstalling all the solar panels to their mounts. The sealant was mostly dry. I then finished pulling in and securing the cables through the refrigerator vent, sealed the penetration holes and closed the access panel. Then I cut the holes through the storage compartment walls for the DC and AC cables. I also figured out the placement in the rear compartment for the new subpanel for incoming power and where to mount the low voltage boost transformer. I had to cut off its handle to allow mounting on a ledge in the compartment leaving most of the compartment for storage. My final task of the day was to program the Tire pressure monitor sensors and install them. I found I couldn’t install the front sensors due to the hubcap obstructing the installation. Tomorrow I’ll try to cut the hubcap to allow the sensor to fit. Lou and Dawn were off to appointments, classes, and shopping. Granola for breakfast. Lou made a nice chopped chicken salad in her new CusineArt food processor for lunch. Roast beef with asparagus and pasta for dinner.
Thursday: (11/09) A rainy day. Lou and Dawn were off to appointments in the morning. I relaxed inside and worked in the office. I met Lou and Dawn for lunch at LUU Noodle House then we went down to San Jose to our credit union and looking for cabinets and counter tops. We stopped for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Mountain View.
Thursday: (11/09) A rainy day. Lou and Dawn were off to appointments in the morning. I relaxed inside and worked in the office. I met Lou and Dawn for lunch at LUU Noodle House then we went down to San Jose to our credit union and looking for cabinets and counter tops. We stopped for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Mountain View.