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Old 03-05-2018, 09:36 PM   #3121
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OK...got a tiny bit done today --- My Spal fan came and I just had to go play with it. Still can't see crap out of my left eye so I spent much of my time either squinting or doing a Popeye number with that one closed.

Soon discovered that my original mounting concept for the whole cooler/fan package sucked. Would have been a nightmare to bolt up or remove so I added some much more convenient tabs on the outside that will be easier to get to.


Here is the fan with a couple of mounting brackets bolted up. They will get welded onto the rest of the mounting frame. Hopefully tomorrow if I can still see straight.


ONWARD-ISH!

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Old 03-05-2018, 10:11 PM   #3122
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Tango, that bottom piece is crooked---oh wait, that looks like a ruler?!?
Jack
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Old 03-05-2018, 10:16 PM   #3123
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Thanks Jack --- I'll have to straighten that out. Meanwhile...

For any of you folks building or refurbishing a battery box...how'za'bout some acid proof paint to finish it off. I just ordered a quart (shipping is as much as the paint). I had forgotten this from my aviation days but it is good stuff. Aircraft aluminum will rot through in a heartbeat around a battery but this stuff actually works to protect the metal. Will be even more effective on steel.

Randolph Acid Proof Battery Box Black Paint - 1 Quart
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Old 03-06-2018, 07:27 PM   #3124
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Ready to install --- Howdy folks...I wrapped up the transmission cooling package today and it is ready to install and plumb. Will hook it up to a thermostatic control with a manual override switch (if I can figure that part out).


Looking down on the Spal fan...


The whole package with the Earl's cooler. It was deceptively complicated to put together. At least in such a way as to make installation/removal relatively simple. Heavy emphasis on the "relatively".



ONWARD!
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Old 03-07-2018, 09:23 PM   #3125
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What a day --- Spent nearly the whole day fabricating a "helper". Working alone creates some interesting challenges and you have to meet them head on. In this case, I just needed to position the whole tranny cooler package in such a way that I could drill the final mounting holes. No biggie, right? Except that holding it in place while drilling was next to impossible. So...I made a stop at the local Pep Boys for a $19 buck floor jack, then welded on some wings so that I could position some lumber to get this sucker up where it needed to be by my lonesome. Once in place I could then use four small C clamps to hold it in place for drilling.

The actual drilling and bolting took maybe ten minutes. Making the "helper" took like 5 hours.


The "Helper"..stage one.


The "Helper" stage two.


The whole cooling package (finally) in place.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you just gotta do.

Now I need to get going on plumbing and electrifying this thing.



ONWARD!
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Old 03-08-2018, 11:46 AM   #3126
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Great job on an awesome old bus, took me awhile to read through it all but I really enjoyed it... "Keep on Keepin on"
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Old 03-08-2018, 02:13 PM   #3127
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Thanks Jon...glad you enjoyed it. Most of the time, I enjoy it too. But after six years, I am ready to start wrapping this thing up!
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Old 03-08-2018, 03:27 PM   #3128
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Originally Posted by Tango View Post
Thanks Jon...glad you enjoyed it. Most of the time, I enjoy it too. But after six years, I am ready to start wrapping this thing up!

you joined the forum in march of 2011, so thatd be 7 years . def time to get this beautiful build on the road!!

-Christopher
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Old 03-08-2018, 04:19 PM   #3129
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It always looks so easy once you're done with it. Nice fab. Jack
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Old 03-08-2018, 05:35 PM   #3130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
What a day --- Spent nearly the whole day fabricating a "helper". Working alone creates some interesting challenges and you have to meet them head on. In this case, I just needed to position the whole tranny cooler package in such a way that I could drill the final mounting holes. No biggie, right? Except that holding it in place while drilling was next to impossible. So...I made a stop at the local Pep Boys for a $19 buck floor jack, then welded on some wings so that I could position some lumber to get this sucker up where it needed to be by my lonesome. Once in place I could then use four small C clamps to hold it in place for drilling.

The actual drilling and bolting took maybe ten minutes. Making the "helper" took like 5 hours.


The "Helper"..stage one.


The "Helper" stage two.


The whole cooling package (finally) in place.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you just gotta do.

Now I need to get going on plumbing and electrifying this thing.



ONWARD!
My little helper for a transmission jack only took an hour to create last weekend.
I also installed a tranny cooler after the tranny install but it was from Hayden coolers. I took the center piece out and through bolted it solid.
Looking good.
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Old 03-08-2018, 05:40 PM   #3131
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Let me try the pic again?
If I tomes through 2 or 3 times its cause I tried that many but here was my little helper.
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image.jpg  
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Old 03-08-2018, 08:22 PM   #3132
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The only available location on my rig was outboard under the floor near the pilot seat. And all the cross members are at crazy angles there so fitting this thing was a...chore. Still need to chop out some of the master cylinder bracket for the plumbing.

And yep...been a while since this thing arrived from Utah but I had to take a year or so out to whip some cancer so I'm calling it six "working" years. Still a lot to do and since I seem to continue getting older...I gotta rush. And I will be losing a couple of months on a new concrete sculpture I just laid out today. Another big bench arrangement but this one will have a table...for 10 (what the Hell was I thinking!!!???). In fact, much of the Summer is booked for "other" things like teaching a couple of art classes in different parts of the country so I am not holding out hope for much bus progress anytime soon.

Oh well...as the title of Mickey Rooney's biography says...
"Life's too short" (and so am I).
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Old 03-09-2018, 09:14 AM   #3133
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More goodies from UPS --- Just got my fridge/freezer. I went ahead and ordered the Whynter 12/120 volt dual zone unit I wanted because I found it on sale for about $100 bucks off. This will allow me to finalize the design for the slide out it will sit on under the kitchen counter. It is a top loader that a bunch of blue water sailors have endorsed with very high ratings so I am hopeful it will fulfill my minimal needs.

Will be a few days before I unpack it so no pix for now, but here it is (now back at full price)...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008VX01P2...&pd_rd_w=MQvU6
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Old 03-09-2018, 10:30 AM   #3134
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thats a nice looking unit!. im totally onboard with chest style since coming to this forum.. I never thought about the amount of "cold loss" there is in a standard front door frig / freezer.

I still gotta get down to houston for a visit.. I keep travelling everywhere but there..
-Christopher
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Old 03-09-2018, 01:14 PM   #3135
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Yep...the old routine with your Mom or Dad yelling about "letting all the cold out" while you stand there staring into the fridge is absolutely true. Makes any unit have to work much harder to keep up. Mine is going onto a slide out under the counter/cooktop. Might have to modify the AC & DC plugs a bit to accommodate space requirements, but that should be no biggie. Right?

And yes! Bring it! There are a bunch of us in the Houston area who would love to get together with you. Just give us some advance notice so we can call a proper gathering of the clan.

And speaking of "the clan"...if such a visit includes the 30th of November, my neighborhood bar will be in full regalia for St. Andrews Day...complete with bag pipers. Being Scottish, she does nothing for St. Paddy's but goes all out for the patron Saint of Scotland. And while I am a devout Agnostic...I do enjoy the combination of Rhum and bagpipe music. Aye laddie.
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Old 03-09-2018, 10:45 PM   #3136
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The Rhum, at Rehab's, may be a major reason for you agreeing on the new sculpture. The bagpipes are just a "value added" bonus.
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Old 03-09-2018, 10:57 PM   #3137
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In a residential fridge it takes a half hour to cool back down after holding the door open 30 seconds.
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Old 03-09-2018, 11:11 PM   #3138
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This one ... a very reasonable chest freezer will use approximately 65 amp hours per day on a 30% duty cycle

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/gal...hoC_8EQAvD_BwE

This one will use approximately 75 amp hours per day on the same duty cycle:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/gal...hoC_8EQAvD_BwE

The same duty-cycle is chosen because the estimated kWh usage per year is taken directly from the energy consumption labels.

So the slightly larger chest freezer will be around 15% more efficient in normal use. The major part of this is the auto-defrost on the fridge, not the tiny amount of thermal mass lost when the door is opened.

15% of 75 Ah is not very much when considering the size of the battery banks most of us are fitting.

There are good reasons for choosing a chest over an upright, but they are more to do with space, how you use it and what you prefer than they are to do with energy savings.

It's just not true that chest v. upright is massively more efficient, and it's not a good basis for making that choice unless you really are short of energy storage.
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Old 03-09-2018, 11:22 PM   #3139
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This one ... a very reasonable chest freezer will use approximately 65 amp hours per day on a 30% duty cycle

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/gal...hoC_8EQAvD_BwE

This one will use approximately 75 amp hours per day on the same duty cycle:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/gal...hoC_8EQAvD_BwE

The same duty-cycle is chosen because the estimated kWh usage per year is taken directly from the energy consumption labels.

So the slightly larger chest freezer will be around 15% more efficient in normal use. The major part of this is the auto-defrost on the fridge, not the tiny amount of thermal mass lost when the door is opened.

15% of 75 Ah is not very much when considering the size of the battery banks most of us are fitting.

There are good reasons for choosing a chest over an upright, but they are more to do with space, how you use it and what you prefer than they are to do with energy savings.

It's just not true that chest v. upright is massively more efficient, and it's not a good basis for making that choice unless you really are short of energy storage.
those numbers are great but how many door opens and length of door open time do they account for per day.. a closed door on either is as you say going to be often larger energy in a home frig due to defrost cycles.. but do the numbers account for normal family usage each day or do they assume its a long-storage cycle where the units may be doors closed for days at a time... ie my deep freeze at home may go for a week or more without me even opening it.. as its only for long term storage.. I dont make ice for my Pop in the deep freeze..

the amount of thermal mass lost during a door open cycle is largely dependent on the outside environment and moreso the moisture introduced into the unit, and obviously how long its open ...

-Christopher
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Old 03-09-2018, 11:26 PM   #3140
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
those numbers are great but how many door opens and length of door open time do they account for per day.. a closed door on either is as you say going to be often larger energy in a home frig due to defrost cycles.. but do the numbers account for normal family usage each day or do they assume its a long-storage cycle where the units may be doors closed for days at a time... ie my deep freeze at home may go for a week or more without me even opening it.. as its only for long term storage.. I dont make ice for my Pop in the deep freeze..

the amount of thermal mass lost during a door open cycle is largely dependent on the outside environment and moreso the moisture introduced into the unit, and obviously how long its open ...

-Christopher
Okay, fair points ... make it 25% more efficient to use a freezer if you like.

It's still not a great basis for making that choice. There are better reasons.

What many people just haven't caught up with is how efficient domestic refrigerators have become in the last 10 years.

Most of them under about 15 cu ft are barely breaking 100W when the compressor is running.

With four Trojan T105RE batteries you have 450 Amp hours available to 50% state of charge.

With a couple of 300W solar panels you are golden, whichever choice you make.
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