Well, here I am again in Finishes and Finishing, because I'm not sure if this post should go under Electric, or Fresh and Grey Water, or under Galley and Greatroom.
It has to do with heating the basement. What? The basement? You thought I said early on there WAS no basement. And I did.
But theoretically, there is a basement beneath the dinette floor and shower pan. And (because it's such a big living space to keep track of) there's ANOTHER basement beneath the dinette seating and step up to the bunk!
How are we going to keep the fresh water and grey water areas from freezing?
Last summer, after we built the green house and decided - during winter - to heat it with some small equipment cabinet fans we got off Amazon for cheap, with the use of the two boat batteries in storage on the garage shelf right next to the door into the green house, and running the fans constantly, while the batteries sit there on the trickle charger, one fan circulating heat into the green house, the other pulling greenhouse air into the garage, in a sort of convective loop. But, there was too much unsealed surface in the green house, and not enough air flow, so it all got taken down and put on the shelf. So -change scenes back to the camper.
A long time ago (well before the greenhouse), while planning the electrical wire runs through the dinette seating area (before I chose the actual method in use now under the floor board), I had planned on running a channel across the back wall of the u-shape, in conjunction with a support board screwed to the wall which would help support the table when the dinette bed was made up.
Then one day I got this brilliant idea as I looked at a piece of black ABS pipe. Drill holes in the cabinets, insert the pipe, run wires in it, done! It was black, so it hid well, and it didn't jut out too far in the floor and leg area (okay - it DID jut out too far, but I convinced myself that it didn't). I grabbed the hole saw and the drill and went to work! Then I put in the pipe/channel - and called DW out for approval.
Except DW didn't approve. And the holes were already drilled. And I went, "whoops".
Sometimes on a project like this, stuff happens. And all you can do is work on something else, and try and ignore the big, ugly elephant in the room and sleep on it, for like months! So I did.
Enter: small equipment cabinet fans.
Hmmmmm, now if I put those on the back cabinet side, and covered the hole with a louvered vent. That would hide the big, ugly elephant, AND pump warmed air into the tank and dump compartments.
So here goes.
When I first held the fan up to the smaller 2" hole, there was quite a noise - harmonics of airflow through the smaller opening. I drilled various size holes in pieces of scrap wood to listen to the different tones, and harmonics of the airflow, chose the quietest, and most pleasant tone, from my selection of hole saws, and the minimum and maximum size constraints of the fan, vent, and existing mistake holes. Like this.
Once chosen, I moved on to the walls. Now one wall is a 3/4" piece of original wood. The other is merely 1/8" original paneling. That had an effect on cutting and mounting, different screws, you might notice.
Here's the back side for the fan in the electrical cabinet which pulls heated air into the grey water tank and dump valve area.
Here's the back side of the fan in the fresh water tank cabinet.
In both cases, air flow can circulate back into the living quarters through all the non-airtight cabinet doors.
Here's evidence the fan is pulling air as advertised.
Here's the look with the modified vent covers in place.
And all finished it hides well. This area is directly across the aisle from where the Wave 3 heater will live, so the footsies should be about the toastiest place in the house,right where the air is being pulled from.
I received yesterday, two button thermostats to operate these fan circuits. They cut on at 35 degrees, and off at - I think - 45, maybe 40.
I will also get some rocker switches to manually shut off the circuits. Completing this wiring will be reported later under Electrical.
I also got stain...
And then the first coat of poly, onto the entry door interior side boards.
Two more coats to do.
