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Old 08-29-2013, 02:16 AM   #301
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by LuckyChow
I like the tanks, and the price is good. I went to the site and checked shipping to Atlanta. It was $300. It's too bad that the shipping is so high on these. I'm sure you paid just as much to Ocala.
Yup. It's probably because they arrived on a double-sized pallet and are almost seven feet long.

Or the manufacturer is just greedy.

Either way, the combined cost was a little less than what I would have paid elsewhere.

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Old 08-30-2013, 08:20 PM   #302
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I started installing the water tanks yesterday and finished most of the structure for the platform that will go over the tanks.

Along the back wall and driver's side wall, I've attached 2x4 lumber that will carry the weight of the platform. The rails are about 1/8" above the top of the tanks so there should be no weight transferred to the edges of the tanks. The platform deck will be 3/4" plywood, also supported by a rail between the tanks, so it shouldn't deflect enough to damage the tanks or the plumbing.




At this end of the tanks, I needed to make room for the plumbing connections. The 2x4 pieces on the wall will carry the plywood deck while two other pieces are screwed to the floor to secure the tanks in place. The outlet cover plate here is the 12V feed for the water pump.
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Old 08-31-2013, 04:14 PM   #303
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

What everybody says is true: When you start seeing the interior fleshed out, everything starts to feel like it's moving faster. Getting the ceiling and walls finished was great, but seeing this platform almost done really gives me an idea of what it's going to be like to live inside this space.

My original designs and measurements were dead on—the front edge of the platform lines up flush with the stairwell opening on the passenger side and on the driver side there is exactly the right distance in front of the platform for a 32" shower pan (plus a stud wall to carry the shower plumbing) and the 48" kitchen counter. There is also a comfortable amount of headroom above the platform for me to walk without hitting my head on the light fixture. There is enough room between the tanks and the platform supports for all the plumbing I'll need to install. I think that will be this week.

(Pictures coming soon ... my hosting service is slow today.)
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Old 08-31-2013, 10:46 PM   #304
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Pictures:

I used a full-width sheet of plywood in the middle and ripped another sheet into narrow sections to fit to the wall. I could have used just two pieces with the seam down the middle, but this way I won't be standing on a seam at any time. Plus, this makes it easier to remove just the small piece if I need to service the plumbing at the ends of the tanks.

The plywood is still loose; I'll secure it after all the plumbing is installed. For now it has a 1/2" overhang at the front edge that I'll trim to fit once everything is finished.


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Old 08-31-2013, 10:56 PM   #305
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

your tanks are looking good. im debating weather or not to put mine inside or under the bus.
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Old 09-01-2013, 07:09 AM   #306
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by proconsul100
your tanks are looking good. im debating weather or not to put mine inside or under the bus.
If they are under the bus, you'll have to either avoid very cold weather or find a way to prevent the water from freezing in the tanks. Since my water will never get colder then the air inside the bus, it will never freeze (unless I leave the bus unattended for a while with the heat off). Also, my water heater won't have to work as hard to bring the temperature of the water up to something approaching "hot" since the baseline temp shouldn't ever be less than room temperature.

It's also a lot easier to mount them on a flat floor instead of hanging them from the bottom of the bus.
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Old 09-04-2013, 07:51 PM   #307
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I should also state that the ceilings in my bus are so high that I can easily put these eleven-inch-tall tanks anywhere and still have enough headroom to walk without hitting my head on any lights. A standard school bus is a different story and the tanks would have to be mounted under a bed or cabinets.
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Old 09-08-2013, 09:18 PM   #308
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I really like the way things are coming together. Today I built a 8" tall platform for the shower pan. It's high enough for me to install a 1-1/2" drain p-trap under the shower with 3/4" of space between the bottom of the trap and the interior floor and I'll still have about eight inches of headroom in the shower stall. It's 32" wide x 34" deep and built from 2x4s and 3/4" plywood, a scrap I had leftover from the platform over the water tanks. Very sturdy.



Between the two platforms will be a sheet of 1/2" plywood that will go from floor to ceiling with a cutout at the bottom to allow plumbing to pass from under the shower to the tanks (the inlet fill port comes into the vehicle behind and under the shower deck). The shower drain will connect to the sink drain and likely drop through the floor just forward of the shower location.

The "legs" are only so I can place the platform and secure it without having to hold it level at the same time.

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Old 09-22-2013, 05:20 PM   #309
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Last week I filled the new tanks to check for any leaks in the corner seams or around the port fittings. I was also testing the gravity fill ports I added to see if they were going to be suitable. They are.


Draining 200 gallons of water makes a mess:


The gravity fill ports will be above the level of the floor over the tanks, but will be used only if the external city connection is damaged or otherwise unusable.


Today I started dry fitting the plumbing and already found a small error in my measurements. The city water connection is centered about 5 inches above the floor, but the shower platform supports come down to within 4-3/4" inches of the floor. I'll have to cut a slot in one of the 2x4s to clear the fill port. I'll also have to add a few elbows to lower the plumbing where it goes under the shower to the water heater/sink.
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Old 09-23-2013, 07:00 AM   #310
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project



Reminds me of a jacuzzi
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Old 09-23-2013, 01:24 PM   #311
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I'm leaning towards Pex because it gives me a bit more flexibility when implementing my "measure once, cut twice" approach to doing things!
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Old 09-23-2013, 04:21 PM   #312
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Quote:
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I'm leaning towards Pex because it gives me a bit more flexibility when implementing my "measure once, cut twice" approach to doing things!
Oh, believe me, that thought did cross my mind.

I just finished cementing all the tubing from the tanks to the shut-off valves shown above. I managed to not screw up any of the angles, mostly because I marked every joint with a fine-point Sharpie before I took everything out to assemble it.





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Old 09-23-2013, 10:14 PM   #313
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I've got enough pex in my house. I'm also going with pvc in the bus. I know its ol' skool but so am I!
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Old 09-23-2013, 10:45 PM   #314
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I did use push-fit (i.e. SharkBite, GatorBite) fittings on the tanks and the water pump so I can easily disconnect those parts for maintenance or replacement. Other than that, it's all CPVC cement.
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Old 09-24-2013, 05:20 AM   #315
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

I always have purple runs and stains
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Old 09-24-2013, 08:07 AM   #316
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

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I always have purple runs and stains
Perhaps you need to talk to a doctor about that.
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Old 09-24-2013, 09:01 AM   #317
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

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Old 09-26-2013, 09:30 PM   #318
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

In refrigeration news, I found an Ojeda glass-top ice cream freezer for sale on craigslist for $100. I contacted the seller and after a few missed connections, he told me that he didn't want to waste my time and when he plugged in the unit to check it out, the compressor wouldn't come on. I thanked him for letting me know and wrote off the unit, but after thinking about it for a minute, I wondered if he was still willing to sell the non-working freezer at a reduced price. He was willing, so I offered him $20 and he accepted.

I drove about 60 miles to pick it up this afternoon and it's in nice shape, but missing the side access panel. (No matter; that will be hidden behind a wall anyway.) While he was showing it to me, he demonstrated the malfunction by plugging it in and pointing out the digital thermostat was lit, but the compressor wouldn't come on. To tell the truth, I was hoping at this point that it wouldn't suddenly start working after we had already negotiated the lower price. We loaded it into my vehicle and I brought it home and put it in the bus. I didn't want to leave it plugged in—not knowing why it wasn't working to begin with—so I would only plug it in to troubleshoot and only for a few minutes at a time and only while I was actually in its presence lest a fire break out or something weird.

I researched the unit on the internet and couldn't find any useful Ojeda user manuals, but I eventually did find the manual for the digital thermostat made by AKO. That little two-button device has many powerful features, although I'm not sure how many of them are supported by the Ojeda freezer. One thing I did learn was the little snowflake icon was blinking, indicating the compressor should be running but isn't due to a parameter setting that is preventing it from running. It took me a while to scan the menu options (including resetting the password to the default—it took me about ten minutes to go through all the possible passwords before I hit the correct one) and while I was poking around, the compressor kicked on! YAY!

I think the setting that was preventing the compressor from running was some kind of anti-cycle delay to keep the unit healthy; it is a commercial freezer, after all. Whatever it was, it's running now and I'll check the temperature in the morning. The inside walls were already cooling when I left it. It's also whisper-quiet.

In my search for a suitable top-loading refrigerator, I've seen a few of these units for sale, although they have all been much larger and never less than several hundred dollars, usually over $500. This should make a nice refrigerator, and with the built-in programmable thermostat, I won't even need to use the Johnson Controls unit I bought a few months back. (I wonder how long I can keep that before Amazon refuses a return?)





Powerful little AKO controller:
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Old 09-27-2013, 05:35 AM   #319
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

awesome score
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Old 09-27-2013, 08:23 AM   #320
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Re: The Camel Conversion Project

Sweet deal! Congrats.
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