Solar Panels Fitted

As promised,  the solar panels are now fitted to the roof.

It really is amazing how necessity is the mother of invention and further that nothing ever really goes as planned.  It was my plan to fit the panels running alongside each other and running down the length of the vehicle.  This was all good until I realised even though the roof looked quite flat, ot was far from it.  Fitting the panels lengthways on the roof was just not going to happen,  the curve was too much.

Of great importance was getting the terminals on the panels within as short a distance as possible from the point where I'd run the wires to from the battery box.  The other main consideration was that the panels were fitted so that air coulod flow under them.  Solar panels get hot and the hotter they get the less efficient they are, so by allowing air to flow under them - better efficiency.  I think sometimes perople forget that they use light not heat to create electricity. Apparently they work best in freezing climates when there is bright sunshine.

In the end there was only one option and that was to fit the panels across the roof.  To compensate for the curve I had to be a little inventive.  Rather than buy commercially made mounts (too expensive) I used aluminium 40mm x 20mm angle which I cut to length before drilling and screwing it to both ends of each panel.  I used stainless steel, heavy guage screws and Sikaflex sealant/adhesive under all of the joints.  I then had to mount the fabricated brackets onto the roof and the only way to compensate for the curve was to cut 25mm box section and fix these to the roof like rails, then fix the panel brackets to them.

All of the joints have been sealed and glued,  I will give it all a thorough strength test once the adhesive has had a proper time to cure.  The pics below give an idea of how it all came together.

I had just finished and it started to rain,  so there is water all beaded on the glass oin the above pics.  While the sun was shining,  I measured 20 plus volts on each panel.  Yesterday it was really dark and overcast in the afternoon,  and I measured 18.9 volts plus or minus.  They appear to be working to specification.  Those of you who have been reading this blog for sometime will remember that these panels came direct from China at less than the price of one purchased locally.  I note that the prices in Australia have come down alot in the last few months.

The pic below shows the electrical junction box I used to join the heavy guage wire that runs to the battery box to the 4mm wire that goes onto the panel terminals.

The First Trip Away - A New Radiator and the Fridge Works!

Its been awhile since the last blog,  and in that time I've taken the white monster on a trip to Ross (about 100 k's) from home for the weekend.

On the way up the temperature guage was on the hot side of normal.  I wasn't sure if it was the strong headwind or if there was a problem with the cooling system.

When I got back to Hobart,  I booked the vehicle in to Autorad in Argyle Street and they pulled out the radiator with the intention of cleaning it and flushing the engine.  Once the thing was out, trouble.  The core was badly blocked and the core was just about stuffed.  The end result was $770.00 for a new core, bronzed up cracks in the top tank, a repaint and refit.

A rather expensive exercise amd money that I hadn't counted on spending,  but if I hadn't got it done,  the experts reckon I wouldn't have got as far as Devonport.  The hoses all look good aparently, so she shouldn't have anymore problems.  Expensive but very necessary.

Next job is to get the solar panels on the roof, otherwise no fridge for Easter.  By the way the trip to Ross was otherwise uneventful and I had a great time. Pic below is the main street of Ross.  Nice place to visit. 

By the way, even though I didn't have the 12volt sytem connected up,  I used the Waeco power supply to run the ridge from the mains while away.  I just ran a mains lead through the window to the power supply.  The fridge works really well and gets cold really quick.  Once cold,  and kept closed,  it cycled on and off very seldom.  So far I'm very pleased with the Waeco MDC-90, we'll see how it goes on the battery and solar panels. The beds were very comfortable too and plenty of room. The whole things feels really homely, I just can't wait to use it more.

The Floorcovering

This post covers the floorcovering and some pics of thow the vehicle looks at the moment.  For all purposes it looks finished,  but of course it isn't.  There's still plenty to do.

Today I installed the vynil tiles on the floor.  What a difference this has made to the look of the motorhome.  I chose a colour which sort of matches the curtains.  I had seriously considered using a woodgrain vynil tile, but when I thought about it,  it would have been too much 'wood'.

I'm really pleased with the way it's all looking.  The tiles have a rich gloss and blend in really well.  They were $1.30 each at Bunnings which has a reasonable selection.  I think the tiles are supposed to look like ceramic tiles.

This above pic gives a good idea of how the floor looks now.  You can see how the tiles are lighter on the edges and give the impression of ceramic tiles.  I decided not to use carpet on the floor becuase it is really hard to keep clean when camping out.  With the vynil it is just a sweep out and a quick wash and it's back to new.  I will get a couple of mats for in front of the sink and where I have to step out of bed onto the floor.

The above view is from the cab and shows the floor, the table and the seats.  It is looking good I think and as I said earlier, looks finished,  but it's not.  I still have to make a drawer (you can see the opening in the kitchen cupboards), finish the shower, connect the 12V electrical and solar panels and of course the mains electrical, the gas and the flyscreens.  Still plenty to do.  Stay tuned.

The Knobs

Hi again.  This post will be a short one just to show the cupboards withe the hardware fited.  The knobs are brass and I found them at a shop in Elizabeth Street in Hobart which specialises in antique reproduction hardware etc.  They were going out for just $2.50 each.  A bargain. They were about $6.50 in Bunnings.

The knobs come with a surround which finishes them off nicely.  The next post will deal with the floorcovering and some pics of how the vehicle looks at the moment.

The Carpeting

The next step in the process was to cover the engine box, walls and the overhead shelves.  The pic below are self explanatory.  I found the carpet which almost exactly matches the laminex and has all of the coloursin the olour scheme.  I have noticed that the carpet on the engine box cover has really reduced the noise.  The carpet is indoor outdoors type from carpet warehous in Kingston which was the cheapest around at 28.50 per metres for a 2 metre width.  I did everything I needed with just 2 metres with very little left over.

The pic above shows the overhead shelves covered in the carpet.  I was going to cover these with the same fabric as the seats,  but it was just too hard.  This has come up very well and has been much easier.  The only problem was spreading the contact adhesive on the carpet.  It just soaks it up like crazy.

The above pic shows the lighter carpet on the walls of the steps and a darker version of the carpet on the steps.  The darker colour will handle the dirt better.  I only stuck the carpet on the steps around the edges so it can be removed and changed if it gets too bad.  The carpet is supposed to be outdoor so it should be OK.

I don't have a specific pic of the engine box but the next post will show it.

Curtains

Well, after a delay, due mainly to everything going on including work on the motorhome,  I've finally got around to doing a few posts to update you all on the progress. The curtains have been a real learning curve and if anyone things they are easy, think again.

I purchased the fabric from Decorama in Moonah for $20.00 per metre (down from $30.00) together with the gathering tape.  I asked how much they wanted to make the curtains and it would have doubled the cost so I decided to have a go making them (with some help).

The fabric is not cheap stuff is is triple layered total block-out that is supposed to refelect some heat too,  so it should do the job.

Anyway on to the making.  The shop told me that usually when you make curtains you measure the width of the window,  then double the length of the fabric.  I thought that this was too much so I chose to go for 1.5 times the fabric.  When the curtains were made we tried to fit the double witdth to the windows and found that they were just too bulky,  so it ended up with being about being just about 1.25% the width of the window.  This gathers up nicely when open and covers the window well when closed.  the pick below best explains.  The Mazda already has a curtain track above the windows,  so I used this together with some small runners found at Decorama.  These little darlings were 25 cents each which quite frankly is a ripoff.

This pic is the curtain over the left front window.  You can see that when closed the curtain is hardly gathered at all.  This is because this is where the beds are and you need the windows covered and light excluded.  Too much gather, too much light comes in.

The pic below shows the same curtain once the curtain  across the cab has been fitted and gathered.  I have made tie-backs for these curtains which will bunch them together and keep them out of the way when not being used

The front and rear curtains are hung from the top and on tracks that I got from the local caravan parts supplier.  The  tapes on these curtains were placed very close to the top to allow them to move freely.  The runners are much cheaper only 5 cents each.

I have moved ahead quite a bit since the last post,  so I will do a few tonight to bring you up to date.  Thanks for reading.