Water we doing?

We're installing the water fill port!!

The port needs to be below the top of the fresh H2O tank. That's necessary because of the shapes of Annie's inner and outer walls and framing. So, we won't be able to use a gravity feed. Instead we'll depend on a check-valved city water port as our only inlet.

I will selectively use that inlet to fill the tank with pressured city water, winterize the sink faucet lines,  use our on-board water pump to fill the tank from (filtered) streams or lake water, or (rarely) use city water to drive the faucets.

Anderson Brass makes a port assembly that has a four way valve and a city water inlet...exactly what we need.

The only problem is that there is no door. I don't want this exposed to the elements, not to mention that the aesthetics committee would have a fit.

Fortunately, the 4-way valve is available as a stand-alone part.

I already had a standard gravity+city feed assembly, so I cut out the gravity feed,  and installed the valve in it s place.I mounted the valve on an aluminum plate that I screwed onto the assembly

 

Then off to Annie to perform surgery.  First mark where the wound should go. I drilled the 2 upper corner holes from the inside. Then marked the cut lines on the outside. The water assembly fits neatly in one of the inner wall's openings, but care is required to make sure the assembly is properly centered.

This picture needs a cutting remark:

If Annie was a side of beef, at this point I would exclaim "Holey Cow, what a fine cut!":

Caulked the box and screwed it in.

The aesthetics comittee had previously painted the box to match Annie, and did a fine job!
Not only that, but the door works!

A quick update...wiring electric distribution panel and driver side wall insulation

Both pretty short topics, so I'll just combine them here.
I wired up all the pulled lines to the distribution/breaker/fuse box, and began powering up some devices.
Wiring away

AC and DC distribution is wired. We are also connected to the main battery buss.


Both heaters, the MaxAir fan, and the CO/LPG detector are wired in. All except the H2O heater are tested.
 

The distribution box is about where it will live. The gas detector will be immediately to its right, or about where it is resting now. I will be rerouting that gas hose to free up some storage space.
Both will be raised a few inches, because the main hot air vent will be below them. Hopefully, the space to the right will be storage with a recessed access panel to the utilities.

Most of the far end electrics still need to be installed (H2O pump, the control panel, lighting, outlets, etc., etc.

But now it was time to start wall insulation. We are using Thinsulate.


Here is a handy tip: Turn off the LPG/CO detector if you are spraying 3M90 or Great Stuff foam insulation near the detector. They will set it off! Good thing my hearing ain't what it used to be, otherwise it might have become what it ain't used to be.

It was a dark and stormy...oh wait, it was a cold and soggy day. I'm cutting the Thinsulate in the garage, so this was a perfect excuse to use the awning while I commuted back and forth.


Thinsulate is done, and some expanding foam is happily expanding as well. I think I will need to do more. The final step will be Reflectix.

 



Before I start insulating the passenger wall, I will be installing a water inlet station modified with a 4 way inlet valve. Still need to finish the station's mods. I also want to do some thermal imaging experiments, comparing the treated and untreated walls.

I'll wait for a somewhat drier day to cut the water station hole in the wall. But if the thermal images look interesting (or usable) I'll post some here.