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December 22, 2009, a Tuesday
Parker (K), Colorado, USA
— Installed our old power converter and visited the grandkids
Had my normal breakfast, then looked at our "new" power converter. The "new" Inteli-Power PD9160A had been a floor display model at an RV dealer and we purchased it on eBay. (You may read more about our power converter problem on the blog entry for December 14, 2009.) I started to install it last night, but it didn't appear to be working. The first thing I did today was to remove it from the power converter compartment to get better access. I tested the unit, and it was dead. :( I tried to open up our old power converter to see if I could replace the cooling fan, and the case is held on in places with pop rivets. :( I didn't want to remove the pop rivets, but removed all of the screws to see how much access I could get. I could remove the fan if I cut the wires, but it would be really hard to install a new fan, so I just reassembled the unit, then re-installed it. J left around 10:00 to run some errands and have lunch with her father. I installed the new vent in the power converter compartment to enhance cooling, and I used a recently-purchased Roto-Zip bit in my variable-speed drill to cut out the hole. It was a poor-man's substitute for a a real Roto-Zip tool or a Ryobi Spiral Saw. Our friend Andy Baird has a Ryobi Spiral Saw, and I developed severe tool envy when we used it to install our solar-electric power setup. The Roto-Zip bit in the drill worked fine, cost a lot less than a Ryobi Spiral Saw, and takes up a lot less space too. Then I installed the bypass switch for the microwave and hot water heater (to select from direct shore power or inverter power) on a panel under the refrigerator. (It had been where I installed the new vent.) When I was done tying up all the wires and vacuuming the area, I was quite pleased — it looked really good! I had had lunch of Clif Bars while working, and finished the project around 1:30.
I did a quick vacuum of the whole RV, then contacted the seller of the bad power converter, then ordered a new one (a brand new one) from BestConverter.com. I did some computer work, and J returned around 2:40. The seller of the power converter said he'd take the unit back and also pay for return shipping — cool. :) He also asked me to wait a little while until he knows if he has another buyer so that I could send the power converter to the new buyer instead of back to him — now that's thinking. We left around 4:50 in the Jeep and ...
Went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's). J brought along fixin's to make dinner, and I brought along some laundry to do. After I started the laundry, I played with the grandkids: GA (grandson A, age 7), GJ (grandson J, age 4), and GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5). I didn't last too long because of all of the stooping and leaning this morning while working on the RV, so I rested for a while on the couch while getting and giving some nice cuddles from and to GJ and GS. :)
We had dinner around 6:15 of the tri-colored tortellini from Trader Joe's, half with Knorr Parma Rosa sauce and half with Knorr Pesto Sauce, and fresh-baked Pillsbury bread sticks. We had dessert of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies that DilK prepared — mmm.
We returned to the RV around 8:00. I had some O.P. Anderson Aquavit and turned on the power converter without the O2 Cool fan to provide auxiliary cooling. While doing some computer work, the cooling fan in the power converter came on and it sounded normal. Hmmm — I wonder if some debris got dislodged when I opened up the case a bit and now the fan's able to spin freely.
I did a quick vacuum of the whole RV, then contacted the seller of the bad power converter, then ordered a new one (a brand new one) from BestConverter.com. I did some computer work, and J returned around 2:40. The seller of the power converter said he'd take the unit back and also pay for return shipping — cool. :) He also asked me to wait a little while until he knows if he has another buyer so that I could send the power converter to the new buyer instead of back to him — now that's thinking. We left around 4:50 in the Jeep and ...
Went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's). J brought along fixin's to make dinner, and I brought along some laundry to do. After I started the laundry, I played with the grandkids: GA (grandson A, age 7), GJ (grandson J, age 4), and GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5). I didn't last too long because of all of the stooping and leaning this morning while working on the RV, so I rested for a while on the couch while getting and giving some nice cuddles from and to GJ and GS. :)
We had dinner around 6:15 of the tri-colored tortellini from Trader Joe's, half with Knorr Parma Rosa sauce and half with Knorr Pesto Sauce, and fresh-baked Pillsbury bread sticks. We had dessert of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies that DilK prepared — mmm.
We returned to the RV around 8:00. I had some O.P. Anderson Aquavit and turned on the power converter without the O2 Cool fan to provide auxiliary cooling. While doing some computer work, the cooling fan in the power converter came on and it sounded normal. Hmmm — I wonder if some debris got dislodged when I opened up the case a bit and now the fan's able to spin freely.