Hacking an AC - another good idea

I found this great idea from "Jake"at this link 

This will allow the ac to only stick out about 2"

on the exterior.

Here the roof vent can be seen

Here is the almost enclosed ac

Great idea & post on the window ac unit using a refrigerator roof vent,   with a small unit like that one could even install 2 smaller 5,000 But ac's into a larger trailer.

I would guess that the fan in the ac has enough suction on the rear end ?
Maybe the roof vent is like this model approx. ?   

I have another idea for a side vent that may also work.

I would also assume there is some kind of pan to drain the water to the exterior or ?? 

Find the roof vent at this link

No Over Night Parking in Santa Cruz CA

         Here is a sign that I noticed while driving around Santa Cruz. It seams to be quite harsh and shocking as there are hundreds of bums already living on the street, I don't see how they would have space for all the bums in jail.....however they would get more money if your vehicle is impounded... Ka Ching !!

       I had send Glenn @ tosimplify an invite for a great korean BBQ lunch....unfortunately he was other wise engaged , then I also became wrapped up in other very pressing business that was not supposed to happen till Sept 15th ...well thats life ....always unexpected things hit you out of left field.

Water Heater Vent Cover & Control Panel

         Here it is the final touch , I made a rain and wind cover from some diamond plate , this covers the exhaust blower.

Below is the wall controller - powered up & in stand by mode.

Below is the wall controller - powered up & in operational mode 

with hot water running.

The temp controller can be set in F or in C 

Fun Fun Fun at the Calif DMV

         Well here we are at 8:30 am on a cool Friday morning and soon I will be able to add my experience to the great nightmare of what to expect while doing something as simple as getting a license renewal. There are about 70 people in line around the building in Los Gatos a city with no houses under $1 million dollars. Just to be on the safe side I have planned 2 full days to accomplish this task. Including having all the possible documents at hand to prove your really legal !!

        I recall once in the 70's I was in and out of a New Mexico DMV , with a real gov issued plastic drivers license in my hand in under 2 hours , for less then $5 .....

      Oh how efficient Government used to be before the Internet was invented. I have heard it now takes 60+ days or more to get your license, if your lucky. If there is no paper work SNAFU 

STAY TUNED !!

Well the wait in the line up to the information desk was about 1.5 hours

Once at the information desk you were given your form DD44 to fill out,

then you were given a recycled paper number 

and could sit down and wait till your case was called.

That process took another 2 more hours - but we were told it could be as long as 3 hours.

Once inside at the DMV "no pics allowed i'm sure"

I was only at the counter 5 minutes max,

I gave the form & my old license

No other documents were required

No questions were asked 

like are you legal or not ??

No written test was required

No vision exam was requested

The clerks only question

Will you pay $31 in cash, check or charge ?

Sign here

Then smile for the picture counter # 21

Card will be in the mail 3 weeks....

now get the hell out !!!

Its about 12 noon now

Now I'm even more pissed .........

no more endless line outside DMV

Who can believe that crap ?

Moral of the story

people who sleep till noon - 
don't need to suffer long lines

Just one guy sitting around killing the time

Across the street the Hells Angles Club House 

getting ready to go on a run ?


Here is the DMV update: Sept 1 

On Sept 1st my new license already arrived in the mail
Much to my surprise !!
and a few days prior to that the renewal notice which 
I could have just sent off in the mail had also arrived.

They just asked if I had become blind -
 then would I please come in for a eye test ?
If my vision was good then just send them $31

Houston - OTTCT - reports ignition on all burners @ 5:15 PST

Houston - 

OTTCT - reports ignition on all burners @ 5:15 PST 


Main water heater burn was successful     
         
         
        

All burners are running A - OK  

Temperature controller was verified as operational 98-120 degrees 

Some of you may not understand my joy at see this thing work, but it is quite nerve racking to install something this expensive AND all over the place it says don't call us if it does not work because it should be installed by a real licensed & certified & bonded contractor with permits Yada Yada . You as a regular guy are too stupid to touch this. Its really supper simple to install - a baby could do it. Its like a weasel clause to get out of helping you if it does not work. There are about a ton of wires and connectors inside the unit , plus fuses and I know from experience any one comes loose you are stuck in deep doodoo. I do have to say however if someone is an electrical genius it does have a great wiring diagram, I also know from experience these water heaters are installed by plumbers & union rules don't allow them to stick an outlet into the wall. So they blame the problem on each other. 

It only takes about 1.5 quarts for hot water to come out  , its only a 8 ft run from the heater, that’s the part I really love, fast hot water. I found out my favorite shower temp setting is around 104 deg.... I will try to get used to 98 and save gas if possible. The water inside my interior storage tanks this time of the year is around 70 deg , normally water from the city is around 56 deg so more heating is required. I’m hoping I can get around 800 gallons of hot water on 2 x 5 gal propane bottles. 

Another idea that I have is to see if in the winter time I can put hot water into my storage tanks to heat the trailer interior, I will let you know how that plan works out. I still have a little wiring to clean up and then will post some more pictures of the thing in operation.

On the front one can see the new 2" x 8" vent, the more water is taken out

the harder the air actually blows from the vent.

I will still install a water tight cover over the vent

to make it blend in a little more.

New Jacuzzi Water Heater has Arrived

        Here it is one lest view of the old water heater, the Bosch 1600 ...going... going....gone !! The old water heater worked fine, however I was mad that it was not very adjustable temperature wise only worked from 120 to 150 deg output. Since I have a ultra low flow fixture of 1.1 gpm - the water heater would cut the hot water off as I tried to mix in some cold water. To be honest I could have replaced the faucet to a 2-3 gpm model , but that would burn through my water supply much faster & energy / water conservation is one of my main goals. Another issue was the problem with that stupid required 5" x 5 ft flue that was supposed to be installed - it did however, "thank god" work as you can see it sitting here. One final issue with the old heater was that the Bosch 1600 is really an indoor model, the new heater is an outdoor model.

Again all of these things can also be installed in your house - not necessarily a trailer.

The old water heater did have a frontal cabinet, however due to its design 

and being installed behind a second cover

I did not really see a need to use it !

The new Jacuzzi water heater 180,000 BTU below

First the quality of this heater is 10 x better, the market price of both are around $800 

I did however score the Bosch at a close out price of $300

but the weight of the Bosch is maybe 20 lbs vs a solid 50 lbs for the Jacuzzi

So right there you get 3 times the bang for the buck. 

As you can see the water heater to my total Happy Surprise 

is made by Rinnai

Made in Japan 

Here are the specs from the side panel

This is a picture with the front cover off

The top screw is the + 

the lower screw is the -

nowhere does it say that :-((

Here are the 2 terminals for the control panel &

the 8 secrete dip switches to make additional adjustments

By qualified Licensed - plumbers only ! 

There is lots of electric wiring inside this unit 

also a 3 amp 120 volt fuse is installed

This is the view of the inside of the front cover

additional very detailed instructions are included here

I reinforced the support bracket with additional stainless screws

It only came with 2 screws-

CAUTION !!

I also checked for interior clearance first

I reinforced the support bracket with additional 7 stainless screws,

I also used 2 of the 3"L brackets to support the 50 lbs. weight

they also support the top cover panel - sean below

Here is the final install - bolted to my support panel

Next will come the water and power connections saved for another day.

With (2) - 5 gal bottles it should do a min of 600 gallons at 120 deg.

Since I like my water around 102 - maybe I'll get 800 gallons

Time will tell & I will report back latter 

Stay Tuned for more