Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

We’ve been experimenting with solar lights for years now , on a Thrifty scale, (solar yard lights) ... and have come to some surprising conclusions...
Taking apart some of the older units (5 years old) that became non functioning or dim , and a brand new unit that failed early on ... The cause of most of the failure was corrosion , the older units due to weather, the new one to Ants Generally they go a few years and gradually get weaker , and we’d normally replace the cheap Ni-Cad battery inside , which would only marginally help ... turns out we took some voltage readings on the solar cells themselves... and all the older cells showed a significant drop in voltage , compared to the new cell .. The new cell with no load put out 1.9V under my test light, the older cells were under a volt ... leading to the conclusion that not only the batteries deteriorated over time , but the solar cells too ... They still worked , but were about putting out less voltage ... This was with constant exposure... so if we limit the cells to actual usage , they should perform satisfactorily for much longer... You need the charging voltage to be slightly higher than the battery ( 1.2V ) to fully charge the battery , and the old cells were only partially filling the bucket ...thus the dimness ...
All this is in consideration of using solar lights for camping ... Thrifty !!! So now am thinking for best performance , any solar camping lights will be stored in a dark dry place, till needed...

Last time I bought a few different solar yard lights , just to compare .... and the one that seemed to stand out as good for camping was a Globe, apparently all the electronics better enclosed inside the globe , and the light went everywhere, working well as “inside” lights , or out ... Nice ... We will surely get a few of those for the FoamStream ... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Westinghouse- ... l/21930836

[KCStudly]

KC, the many CT’s we’ve seen are just the skin riveted to the steel studs.. any plywood is on the inside of the stud..ly...

Yeah, that's what I was envisioning in my recollection; just a half sheet high along the bottom inside of studs. Sort of like a wainscoting or toe kick panel to keep 90/ct of things (cargo, boots, etc.) from denting the thin outer skin from the inside.

Can't say that I am 100/ct sure that this is common practice, but it is what I had in my mind's eye when the question came up.

[GPW]

And that probably works , because most of the CT’s we’ve seen around here (and there are Many) have dents from the Outside ... Ply on the inside makes it difficult to straighten so they just leave the dents ...

[Jack B.]

On the solar panel thing, they all weaken a little bit over the first little while of use until they eventually settle on their operating voltage. There are three basic types of solar cells and needless to say the cheapest kinds deteriorate the most. Once they hit their "forever" operating voltage they should remain pretty solid until they just give up the ghost.

If you've a lot of those yard light cells lying around why not find the voltages they're putting out now and then match them up in series pairs in. Then take those pairs and wire them in parallel. You'll have enough stable voltage to charge your little nicads or whatever they may be for your LCD or LED lighting. As a rule the voltage will match itself to the battery voltage, at least in lead acid batteries. I know the hybrid batteries act differently but those yard lights are engineered to forgive a lot.

I've got two 60 watt, 12 volt, four panel set-ups. The cheap type of cells obviously. I did spend some money on a fair controller though. And I got one that will accept up to 50 volts input while still giving an output of 12 volts. It's the MPPT type that milks a bit more juice out of what you get from your panels. I then wired the panels in pairs to give me a nominal 24 volt output into the controller to charge the batteries, of which I have six marine deep cycle. Not the best battery choice, but ya does what you gots to when ya does it. With the higher voltage and the MPPT controller I get a tich more power from my less than optimum set-up and if needs be I can run a bit longer distance, or lighter gauge wire with less line losses.

At any rate, the parallel-series idea might let you use what you've already got on hand for now. Then if you decide to move into the 20th century, as I plan to some day, you can go for one or two of the 200+ watt panels and start deep frying some gator tail when your out swampin' in Da Stream.

Jack

[GPW]

Jack, Thanks !!! That’s good to know ... ... we will wire up a couple of these old solar cells together in series to drag even more life out of them ...
We’ve also been testing Sanyo Eneloop NIMH batteries (everyday use for about a year now ) and they show the usual drop in capacity over time (not nearly as bad as older NIMH cells , and with much better charge retention) , so we can parallel a couple of those to increase the workable capacity and a longer usable lifetime .

[Jack B.]

If you have a way to load test the batteries try matching them up in pairs as well. Stronger battery will drain into weaker battery once they're off the charger. Not too bad if they're about the same, but it leads to an overall reduction in time between chargings. It's the little things that need the details, or whatever that phrase is all about.

Next you'll need to start thinking about personal cleaning with the 'Stream. I suggest running a black garden hose in a serpentine pattern on the south side of the trailer. Put a tank at the top and a sprayer at the bottom. If you time it right the water won't be too hot and you can shower the grime off. Of course you'll have to have a tarp to lie on as the water would be coming out pretty close to the ground. But then that's why they call it camping nd not staying at the Hilton.

Okay, that last paragraph was mostly in jest. But still, as you stated somewhere recently, we have come a long way in defining "normal" in our bathing habits and such. Several things I've read say Americans in particular wash their bodies and hair w-a-y too often and that it's actually not the best for us in several small ways. I also know a couple french ladies who don't shave their legs and under arms and they still seem to do just fine in their day to day lives. Just saying . . .

Jack

[mezmo]

An off-topic post, but related to the advocacy of PVC use
by some...

http://www.ziptiedomes.com/index.htm

I haven't checked it out thoroughly, but thought I'd throw
it on for whomever is interested...

[KCStudly]

That's pretty cool, Norm.

[GPW]

PVC, a great material , Thrifty , strong , light , Rot proof, and heat bendable .... We’ve yet to discover all the possibilities for trailer building ...

[rowerwet]

I think of PVC as heavy, compared to wood...

[GPW]

Row , we’ve been making Bows (Archery) out of PVC plumbing pipe , and they are light in hand ... lighter than some wood bows... very easy to flatten, drill , bend around a form, paint ... Lots of possibilities... and without using all those pricy little Fittings .. Still trying to wrap my brain around how to best use it for trailer framing and whatnot.

[rowerwet]

must be my own perceptioin, I know there was a mention of boat builders in SE Asia using PVC to make boats, they slit the pipe, flattened it with heat, then used cement to glue the seams with the PVC formed much like planks in a wooden boat.

another thrifty formula:
this one for rot or mold in wood http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/rot.html
(Dave died, here is the formula in case the websites with his ideas ever dissapear)
Home-Brew Glycol Solution of Borates:

This is equivalent to Bora-Care® diluted with an equal volume of glycol to make it fluid enough to use handily; 50% glycol antifreeze, 28% borax, 22% boric acid. To make a stable solution you mix the ingredients and heat till boiling gently. Boil off water until a candy thermometer shows 260°F. This removes most of the water of crystallization in the borax. This solution is stable at 40°F and has a borate content of 26%.

[GPW]

I don’t know that I’d feel comfortable mixing up/using such Nasty materials .. Seems better to treat the wood first with something innocuous like “the Mix” ... or just Not use wood at all ..The true Foamie' intent ! In steps the PVC wood replacement ...

[rowerwet]

I used it on a house I owned once, it was intended for wooden boats where the only other way to keep rot from coming back was to rip any infected wood out. commercial rot fixes kill the rot, but only the antifreeze will keep it from ever growing back there again.
like the name says "Chemotherapy" it isn't pleasant, but neither is the problem.
antifreeze diluted in water then sprayed on mold prone areas will keep it from growing back once they've been cleaned. keep pets away and don't let them lick/chew the wood.

[GPW]

... back to PVC ... Made another drawing ... easy way to bolt a PVC pipe to the floor ...or with the same bend on the top , a top rail ...

The drawing is exaggerated for illustrative purpose , much closer bends are possible ...