Handy Hints, Gadgets, Products & Gizmos

[GizmosMom]

Another member suggested a new forum section with new products but it doesn't look like it will be feasible. So I thought I would post this here under General RVing Issues. If enough people post (even if you have mentioned it before in another post) we can keep it near the top?

Do you have a handy hint, a new product or an old product that makes your RVing or Camping much better?

(Sorry, no commercial advertising allowed)

I'll start:

Someone in the Camping Van posted a reference to using a Super-Chamois to wipe down their shower. I have been using an icky old thick sponge and I like the chamois idea so much more.

Now I want to hear what works for you

[jamsvet]

Funny

[Bob_Vaughn]

popeye59 wrote:

Bob Vaughn wrote:
When I was young I took a battery powered record player and stuck the plug into the bark of a tree and was playing my music and a little kid came by and saw and heard the music and ran and got his dad telling him I had plugged in my record player and got electricity out of the tree....

In the Navy we went the other way. We had wall mounted battery operated clock and left the cord hanging in plain view. People would look at it and get confused why it was still keeping time being unplugged

I was in the Navy dating my wife when I pulled that stunt we were at a park......

[popeye59]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
When I was young I took a battery powered record player and stuck the plug into the bark of a tree and was playing my music and a little kid came by and saw and heard the music and ran and got his dad telling him I had plugged in my record player and got electricity out of the tree....

In the Navy we went the other way. We had wall mounted battery operated clock and left the cord hanging in plain view. People would look at it and get confused why it was still keeping time being unplugged

[Boozecamp]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
When I was young I took a battery powered record player and stuck the plug into the bark of a tree and was playing my music and a little kid came by and saw and heard the music and ran and got his dad telling him I had plugged in my record player and got electricity out of the tree....

hahaha, sweet!

[Bob_Vaughn]

When I was young I took a battery powered record player and stuck the plug into the bark of a tree and was playing my music and a little kid came by and saw and heard the music and ran and got his dad telling him I had plugged in my record player and got electricity out of the tree....

[JimBollman]

Boozecamp wrote:
To confuse other campers and create conversation, I mounted a water pipe and spigot to a 3' tall 4x4 post on a plate so it will stand up. When camping in CG's that don't have water, I stand the water post up near the road and connect up water hose to it and my TT. Drives people nuts when i've got water and no one else does. They get a big chuckle out of it when I lift the post off the ground. Oh...the games we play!:)

I knew a fellow that did the same thing with power. He would even offer to share with campers close by and try to figure out why their camper power didn't work when plugged in. He carried it far enough I expected him to get slugged when they figured it out.

Jim...

[Boozecamp]

svcheerio wrote:
Boozecamp: I like your style!!:B

I'll drink to that! ya gotta keep the CG fun......right!

[svcheerio]

Boozecamp: I like your style!!:B

[Boozecamp]

PUCampin wrote:
Our smoke alarm will go off pretty much any time we turn on the stove. Boiling water sets it off. Since it is easy to access, I drop the cover which is on a hinge, and move the battery out of the contacts. The cover reminds me to put it back when done.

As a side note, the proper detector to put in a home kitchen is a "Heat Rise" Detector, not a smoke detector. A heat rise detector senses a fire by measureing how fast the temperature is rising at it's location, not by measuring the particulate concentration like a smoke detector. Cooking will not cause a rapid temperature rise like a fire does, so you will not get nuisance alarms. A smoke detector will ALWAYS give nuisance detections in a kitchen.

it don't matter where we are, when our smoke alarm goes off, it's time to eat!;)

[Boozecamp]

To confuse other campers and create conversation, I mounted a water pipe and spigot to a 3' tall 4x4 post on a plate so it will stand up. When camping in CG's that don't have water, I stand the water post up near the road and connect up water hose to it and my TT. Drives people nuts when i've got water and no one else does. They get a big chuckle out of it when I lift the post off the ground. Oh...the games we play!:)

[cbandy]

We are very new to RV'ing but we use a squeegee on our shower and the glass doors. Works great then spay with a shower spray. Keeps very clean for us.

[pastor_mary]

??

[Terrydactile]

popeye59 wrote:

PUCampin wrote:
Our smoke alarm will go off pretty much any time we turn on the stove. Boiling water sets it off. Since it is easy to access, I drop the cover which is on a hinge, and move the battery out of the contacts. The cover reminds me to put it back when done.

As a side note, the proper detector to put in a home kitchen is a "Heat Rise" Detector, not a smoke detector. A heat rise detector senses a fire by measureing how fast the temperature is rising at it's location, not by measuring the particulate concentration like a smoke detector. Cooking will not cause a rapid temperature rise like a fire does, so you will not get nuisance alarms. A smoke detector will ALWAYS give nuisance detections in a kitchen.

I feel I must disagree here. First off both my wife and I can both cook many complete meals without having the smoke detector go off once. One time (and that is more than enough, trust me) our smoke detector went off at 3:00am. We were all asleep and woke to find a smoldering trash can. If we would have had to wait until the heat increased fast enough for the rate of rise detector to sense it, my whole family would be dead.

True, a smoke detector will give nuisance alarms where a rate of rise detector won't, but when my butt is on the line, I want the one that goes off first.

We use both in our home, heat detectors and smoke detectors.

[popeye59]

PUCampin wrote:
Our smoke alarm will go off pretty much any time we turn on the stove. Boiling water sets it off. Since it is easy to access, I drop the cover which is on a hinge, and move the battery out of the contacts. The cover reminds me to put it back when done.

As a side note, the proper detector to put in a home kitchen is a "Heat Rise" Detector, not a smoke detector. A heat rise detector senses a fire by measureing how fast the temperature is rising at it's location, not by measuring the particulate concentration like a smoke detector. Cooking will not cause a rapid temperature rise like a fire does, so you will not get nuisance alarms. A smoke detector will ALWAYS give nuisance detections in a kitchen.

I feel I must disagree here. First off both my wife and I can both cook many complete meals without having the smoke detector go off once. One time (and that is more than enough, trust me) our smoke detector went off at 3:00am. We were all asleep and woke to find a smoldering trash can. If we would have had to wait until the heat increased fast enough for the rate of rise detector to sense it, my whole family would be dead.

True, a smoke detector will give nuisance alarms where a rate of rise detector won't, but when my butt is on the line, I want the one that goes off first.

[PUCampin]

Our smoke alarm will go off pretty much any time we turn on the stove. Boiling water sets it off. Since it is easy to access, I drop the cover which is on a hinge, and move the battery out of the contacts. The cover reminds me to put it back when done.

As a side note, the proper detector to put in a home kitchen is a "Heat Rise" Detector, not a smoke detector. A heat rise detector senses a fire by measureing how fast the temperature is rising at it's location, not by measuring the particulate concentration like a smoke detector. Cooking will not cause a rapid temperature rise like a fire does, so you will not get nuisance alarms. A smoke detector will ALWAYS give nuisance detections in a kitchen.