We bought into the hype around Fantastic Fans last year and decided to install a temperature operated one in our bedroom and a normal exhaust one in our bathroom. They were very expensive. They guy who installed them charged the same price as the fan cost to install so all in all it was a very expensive addition.
To make a long story short, we were really disappointed in them. The original fan in our bath was so powerful that it would suck the screen into the fan blades. The new one pales in comparison and is just as noisy as the original. Replacing the original was a total waste of money. We were looking for quieter operation which we didn't get and the new one is less powerful.
In the bedroom the temperature operated one takes up so much of the area of the vent opening that when we don't have the fan running (which is most of the time since we boondock alot without electrical hook-ups) it really impedes the fresh air flow.
Well, they are in and we aren't taking them out because of all the money we spent putting them in. So this year we swapped the lids. The cheaper (but still very pricy) exhaust only fan in the bathroom has an opaque lid which we could really use in the bedroom to make it dark at night. The more expensive bedroom fan had the see-through lid which we could use in the bathroom to let light in for night time visits.
I wish we had never gotten them.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Our new digital radio
We had an old style radio and no way to play anything off a digital device. There isn't much radio reception in the mountains and we wanted something to listen to while we drove. Our new one is pictured above. I'm sure it was quite cheap but it seems to do the job and I don't think anyone would be tempted to break in to steal it.
Demystifying the dash switches
When we got the RV there were all these dash switches with cryptic labels on them. I would look them up in the manual and completely understand what they did, for about an hour. Then I would forget again.
This year I just looked at them and groaned at looking up the meaning again. I figured I should know this stuff by now. But then I realized I wasn't the problem. It was the labels on the switches. So I got out our labeler and put some more descriptive labels on them. I also did a bunch of the unlabeled switched around the RV.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Adventures in de-winterizing
Since we got the RV last year this is the first year we have dewinterized. We had no leaks or rodent intrusions so it was nice to pick it up and find it pretty much just as we left it. Also it appears to be very airtight. There was no layer of dust on top of everything.
I must say I continue to be absolutely thrilled with the quality of the RV. We tested everything except the fridge and it all still works flawlessly. We will test the fridge on our first trip since our driveway isn't level enough to run it.
However, being newbies we made some mistakes. When we put water back in the system we didn't realize the shower head in the storage compartment was open. So we took everything out to dry and put a box fan in to dry out the carpet.
When I tested the furnace I didn't turn the off switch all the way off, I just turned the temperature down. I didn't realize it but last year I wasn't throwing the off switch all the way over either. However, I was doing it enough to break the contact. This morning I took the temperature controller apart to see why it didn't go off I saw that there is a little plastic bump that it has to go over to completely break the contact.
At night the fan came back on and ran all night. Surprisingly it didn't deplete the batteries much. And it allowed us to test a new solar panel we bought to hook up to the battery to charge it. Luckily I had turned off the propane after testing everything so at least we weren't heating the outdoors all night long.
I must say I continue to be absolutely thrilled with the quality of the RV. We tested everything except the fridge and it all still works flawlessly. We will test the fridge on our first trip since our driveway isn't level enough to run it.
However, being newbies we made some mistakes. When we put water back in the system we didn't realize the shower head in the storage compartment was open. So we took everything out to dry and put a box fan in to dry out the carpet.
When I tested the furnace I didn't turn the off switch all the way off, I just turned the temperature down. I didn't realize it but last year I wasn't throwing the off switch all the way over either. However, I was doing it enough to break the contact. This morning I took the temperature controller apart to see why it didn't go off I saw that there is a little plastic bump that it has to go over to completely break the contact.
At night the fan came back on and ran all night. Surprisingly it didn't deplete the batteries much. And it allowed us to test a new solar panel we bought to hook up to the battery to charge it. Luckily I had turned off the propane after testing everything so at least we weren't heating the outdoors all night long.
Doghouse sound proofing looks great
When we pulled the RV out of storage yesterday one thing we did was inspect the engine and that gave us a chance to look at the doghouse sound proofing we installed last year.
It was a piece of cake to install and does a wonderful job keeping the engine noise out of the RV.
We used American Mat sound proofing foam, cut to the right size with scissors and/or a box cutter. The foam people recommend those electric carving knifes but we don't have one.
You can read about and buy the foam here.
http://www.soundproofingamerica.com/america-mat.asp
To adhere it to the dog house we used an automotive headliner spray adhesive that we bought at an auto parts store. It has been on a whole year and through the heat of summer use and the freezing cold of Colorado winters it has held.
The first pic. shows a side view. The foam is pretty thick.
The second pic shows more of a front view. You can see at the top where the foam is compressed a little from fitting on the dog house seal. We trimmed that off this year for a better fit.
************************
2018 Update - The soundproofing is still intact but is starting to dry out and shed fine particles. I checked the left over material in the basement and it is doing the same thing. So the question is do we try and get it off as it seems to be stuck on good and will probably make a royal mess or just leave it. It doesn't seem to be doing as good a job as before at quieting the noise.
It was a piece of cake to install and does a wonderful job keeping the engine noise out of the RV.
We used American Mat sound proofing foam, cut to the right size with scissors and/or a box cutter. The foam people recommend those electric carving knifes but we don't have one.
You can read about and buy the foam here.
http://www.soundproofingamerica.com/america-mat.asp
To adhere it to the dog house we used an automotive headliner spray adhesive that we bought at an auto parts store. It has been on a whole year and through the heat of summer use and the freezing cold of Colorado winters it has held.
The first pic. shows a side view. The foam is pretty thick.
The second pic shows more of a front view. You can see at the top where the foam is compressed a little from fitting on the dog house seal. We trimmed that off this year for a better fit.
************************
2018 Update - The soundproofing is still intact but is starting to dry out and shed fine particles. I checked the left over material in the basement and it is doing the same thing. So the question is do we try and get it off as it seems to be stuck on good and will probably make a royal mess or just leave it. It doesn't seem to be doing as good a job as before at quieting the noise.
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