Been offline for a while

[Stewzer55]

I've been off the site for a while, life can come at you pretty fast sometimes. The last year and a half has been quite an adventure for me, went back to school and got involved with what I thought was a good job. Turns out I got burned out over it in just over 6 months and quit at the beginning of March with little plan as what to do next. I focused on school and making a career move, possibly relocating. In June, I started a job in Columbus, Ohio and was spending at least 3 hours a day commuting til I got settled into a house with my brother that we moved into labor day weekend. I will be finishing my school program in May and hopefully will be stopping in more often.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Stewzer55

I've been off the site for a while, life can come at you pretty fast sometimes. The last year and a half has been quite an adventure for me, went back to school and got involved with what I thought was a good job. Turns out I got burned out over it in just over 6 months and quit at the beginning of March with little plan as what to do next. I focused on school and making a career move, possibly relocating. In June, I started a job in Columbus, Ohio and was spending at least 3 hours a day commuting til I got settled into a house with my brother that we moved into labor day weekend. I will be finishing my school program in May and hopefully will be stopping in more often.

Relocating from Bong St??

Nice to see ya here again.

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome back!

[Stewzer55]

Bong St. is actually named after an Air Force test pilot and is the street leads back to the National Museum of the Air Force. Capt. Richard Bong I think. So technically, Bong St. is on a military base, but in a publicly accessible area.

[Tango]

Richard Ira Bong (September 24, 1920 – August 6, 1945) was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. He died in California while testing a jet aircraft shortly before the war ended.



Since today is Veterans Day...I just wanted to clarify Major Bongs' contributions.

[Redbear]

Well, I've been away 3 or 4 of the last 10 years . . .

The wife can't travel any more due to severe aches and pains, so riding off into the sunset in a Skoolie or RV isn't an option right now. Just going to the doctors' offices drains her strength. But she had a while ago mentioned selling the pop-up and someday getting a camper that does not require any set-up, so there is still hope . . .

I did find a home in the mountains 3 years ago, and since the wife's farmhouse finally sold, we bought it. Now I have a place to retire to.

But the former owner's lease-purchase tenants had ripped out the 'finished' basement that was there when the Realtor had shown it, plus removed almost all the electrical outlets, lights, and wiring. To make things worse, they walked away with no fuel for the furnace, so places in all the water pipes and baseboard heat pipes burst from freezing. At least they turned off the main water valve so it wasn't flooded.

I guess it was a "Flip This House" venture gone terribly wrong when their financing fell through . . .

So we have been in temporary quarters hours away for far too long, while I little by little repair the electrical, plumbing, and heat, plus move a couple interior walls to make the bathrooms more handicapped accessible for the uncertain future. While I know residential electrical wiring better than some 'slap it in' electricians, other needed construction skills I learned from Skoolies that share here, like using PEX to prevent burst pipes in the future.

I retire in six months, and after the move to the mountains I will have all kinds of new tools on hand to play with . . .

I'm not going to be on Skoolie dot net every day anymore, but I still would get an email notification should someone want to send a PM.

p.s. I miss having Smitty around.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Redbear

Well, I've been away 3 or 4 of the last 10 years . . .

The wife can't travel any more due to severe aches and pains, so riding off into the sunset in a Skoolie or RV isn't an option right now. Just going to the doctors' offices drains her strength. But she had a while ago mentioned selling the pop-up and someday getting a camper that does not require any set-up, so there is still hope . . .

........

. While I know residential electrical wiring better than some 'slap it in' electricians, other needed construction skills I learned from Skoolies that share here, like using PEX to prevent burst pipes in the future.

We are rooting for you! Hopefully you can find a good fit and accommodate your Wife's needs and get your skoolie fix in the process.


A word regarding PEX and freezing temperatures......

I used PEX in my first bus, will be using it in my current bus and would recommend it to others for this application.

It took me most of a very cold winter to get my plumbing in order. I had not planned on spending winter in cold country and my plumbing was far from "winterproof".

I had PEX pipes freeze on a number of very cold nights. It only split and flooded the bus once.......

PEX is far more tolerant of freezing than PVC but not bulletproof.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program......

[cadillackid]

welcome to the C-bus.. hopefully things will settlew in a little better now for you.. sounds like it was a wild rider!
-Christopher

[Redbear]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

. . .
I had PEX pipes freeze on a number of very cold nights. It only split and flooded the bus once.......

PEX is far more tolerant of freezing than PVC but not bulletproof.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program......

I had to replace ALL the plumbing where we are staying because of gunk in the water supply building up and blocking fittings. I still have to reverse-flush the kitchen sink and tub faucet cold water lines from time to time, and stick a needle into clogged shower head holes. The hot water seems to carry the gunk out of the plumbing system OK.

I used PEX here, with "home-run" lines from each fixture to a cold water manifold and hot water manifold at the main valve and water heater. The building insulation was compromised by the plumbing work, and occasional drafts under the floor have caused the longest lines out to the kitchen sink to freeze several times on windy sub-zero degrees Fahrenheit nights. So far no leaks.

In the mountains, I will am using PEX covered with foam pipe insulation. If the power goes out, the only lines at short-term risk risk are the baseboard heat lines to an addition over an un-heated crawl space. I want to eventually replace the cold well water supply filling the furnace with a closed antifreeze loop.

But the toilet waste line and shower drain need to be located first, before the heat lines can be placed. Black water line placement has the right-of-way over fresh water and electrical!