We Got A/C! New Inverter. Visitors

 

In my last blog it looked like we could not replace our Motorhome A/C due to parts not being available.  Yes, there were A/C units...but not the parts to convert our older thermostat to work with it...and the brand new thermostats required a special circuit board, which was not available.  Well, on Monday June 6th Arny and I went back down to McColloch’s RV repair and storage to drop off some donuts since he never charged me for the hour or two that he put in researching a work around for the Air Conditioner.  While there, Nick had a surprise for us...the previous Friday he had found a way to do it!  He had a Class A motorhome in his yard which needed two A/C's.  This time Nick found someone to talk to at Dometic who said that if he put in a thermostat which was not the most up-to-date thermostat, but one that was newer than the thermostat that we had (my motorhome and the Class A he had in the yard), that there was a circuit board which would talk to this thermostat and both the A/C and the Furnace.

  

Above is the new thermostat which needed to be put in.  The first picture in this post is what the new A/C unit looks like.  This new thermostat has an "inside temp" so that we now can know how hot or cold it is back by the thermostat.  It also has a clock, and it can be programed to turn on at certain times of the day.  This 'might' be good for those cold mornings when we are using our portable heater, that the furnace can come on automatically at 7 am so that the motorhome is nice and toasty when we get up.  

So we committed to the new A/C right then, and three days later (Thursday) we took it down at 10 am, by 2 pm we were on our way to pick it up.  Just can't say enough about the professionalism and the work that McColloch’s RV repair and storage has done for us over the years.  Cost: $2,300, includes the AC Unit (about $1,650), Thermostat (about $200), Circuit Board (about $125), Labor (about $225) and Tax (about $135).  By-the-way, Friday it was 105 degrees, followed by 102 on Saturday, so it was just in time!

 

Ever since we got this motorhome back in 2014, I always wondered what the 400W inverter, which is under the bed, did...it did not seem to operate any outlets.  I only used it 4 or 5 times, and each time I plugged an extension cord directly into it for a short time in order to make coffee, or run a vacuum cleaner.  Twice I blew its internal circuit breaker (both times running the vacuum).  Well, I lost the use of two outlets, both up by the driver's area, one on each side.  When I got the portable AC, I used one of those outlets, and it immediately lost all power.  It took a bit of trial and error, and found that both these outlets were being served by the inverter, and when plugged into a 110V system, the 110V power bypassed through the inverter to these two outlets.  When I plugged in the portable A/C, the Inverters internal circuit breaker broke...it could not be reset.  So I found this 1000W inverter (pictured above) which is also a pass through for those outlets, and it ALSO has a remote on/off so that I can turn it on and off without having to raise the bed, move things around, to get to the inverter to turn on and off.  So "IF" we need 110V while not plugged into 110V, I can turn the inverter on and use one of these two outlets.  Cost:  $175.00, no labor since I did it myself.

Kathryn (my niece) and her fireman husband Dallas came out to visit, and also to attend a few Baseball Games in the bay area where their hometown Royals are playing both SF and then Oakland.  Kathryn arrived on Wednesday (a week ago) while Dallas went fishing at Lake Erie with a dozen or so friends (it is a yearly thing he has done for years now).  He flew in Monday morning, and we had a family dinner Monday night (Arny's famous Tri-Tip).  Tuesday they took Amtrak to San Francisco where they attended Tuesday night's game (SF won 4-2) and today's game (KC won 3-2).  They will also attend a Oakland vs Kansas City game Friday before heading home.  Kathryn is a die-hard fan of both SF and KC, and you can tell by the picture above (stolen from her Facebook page) that Dallas has a KC hat, and she has a SF hat.  Kathryn wins no matter who wins...unless Oakland wins and then they both lose.  But the big winner was her Grandmother (my mom) who enjoyed many hours visiting Kathryn, and also seeing Dallas on Monday.  We almost had to drag her out of Sandy's house to return her to the Independent Living Facility after Monday's dinner!

It has been a busy month and included a visit down to Aunt Florence's house with Mom and Marcia, a visit with Michael (son) and Anna (pregnant wife), a Walmart Day for Mom and Marcia followed by a lunch at Black Bear Restaurant, many visits over to Mom's, some minor work on the motorhome, another grooming for Indy, and some other odds and ends to help Sandy and Arny and even Patti out.  It has been a busy and productive month, and now we don't have to worry about the summer heat!

Isn't she lovely?

 

On Monday I took Indy over to PetSmart to get her nails cut...on Wednesday I gave her a hair cut.

Before (above) you can see how much hair she has compared to the picture below I took this evening..

She is such a trooper allowing me to groom her...just wish she was the same when it comes to cutting her nails.  I can grind her nails, although that is something she does not like...but a few times a year I have to have her cut, and I just cannot do it.

Now here are three lovely ladies.  On Sunday we got together for mom's 92nd birthday celebration.  Liver and Onions for everyone...except me, I had steak (thanks Arny).

The picture above I took back in May 2015...one of my favorite pictures that I have taken in Sandy and Arny's backyard.

This one above I took this evening.  I still like the Doves better, but this one is pretty darn good too.  The Reddish bird is the male Finch, and he is sharing food with the female Finch who I assume has been sitting on a nest of eggs or little ones, most likely in the Oleander plant below the wires they are on.  Finches have nested in these plants for many years, and one year we saw a Hawk go in and get some eggs from a nest.

Took this picture a couple days ago...looks like the same male Finch, but they do all look alike.

So Indy was over in the corner by the shed, and she was seeing something.  When I looked through my camera lens I finally see it....

Yep, it is a nasty ole cat.  They had a 'stare out' for about five minutes, and finally Indy went up over the rock and started barking.  The cat, seeing that there was no way that Indy was going to get up on that fence, just kept staring at her.

Update on the car...  It is running real good.  Drove it up to Auburn and back this afternoon, and did not have any issues.  Occasionally the idle speed is just a bit high, but more often than not it is coming down to where it is suppose to be after 15 - 30 seconds.  I have not cleared the code yet, but did fill the tank at Sam's Club ($4.98 per gal) and wrote down the millage so that I can see what gas millage I am getting.

Update on A/C for motorhome...  Monday I got up on the roof and got the numbers of the capacitors that I want to replace.  While up there, I also cleaned the vent covers of the three fan air vents ... they were very dirty, but cleaned up real easy with a whisk broom.  Ordered the capacitors through Amazon, and one is in, the other should be delivered tomorrow since it arrived at the Sacramento Post Office Distribution Center this evening.  Plan to put them in on Saturday.