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Donna Gets Her Bell Rung!

While I was writing my post yesterday, Donna went out for a bicycle ride. She wanted to get some miles in early before it got too hot out. I dumped the gray water tank and was thinking about getting the ladder out of the trailer to reseal the trim on the bedroom slide-out. My cell phone started ringing, I saw that it was Donna on the caller ID. I thought she must be having bike trouble – a flat tire or something.

I was surprised to hear a male voice asking if I was Mike Kuper. The caller identified himself as a paramedic with the City of Mesa Fire Department. My first thought was, “Oh no, Donna’s been hit by a car.” I flashed back to 2005 when I was hit by a car while bicycling here in Mesa, Arizona. I was heading west on Guadalupe Road approaching the intersection for the Loop 202 on-ramp. This is a controlled intersection with stop lights. Cars coming from the west only enter the on-ramp on a green arrow. My light was green. I was cruising in the bike lane at 22 mph (I had just looked a my speed on my bike computer). Suddenly a car was in the intersection. The young male driver was coming from the west and had blown through the red light and turned left for the on-ramp right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and went into a skid. There was no way I could avoid contact. I flew over the hood of the car and my left shoulder crushed into the roof pillar next to the windshield. I felt and heard my collar bone break. I fell to the ground. The driver got out of his car, still talking on his cell phone. He was shouting, “Oh my God, I just hit this dude on a bike.” The City of Mesa Fire Department responded.

I was jolted back into the present when the paramedic told me Donna was okay. She had crashed on Power Road and had her bell rung. A good Samaritan witnessed the crash and stopped to help her. He loaded her bike in his SUV and drove Donna to the fire station. The paramedic said her helmet was trashed and she was dazed. Other than that, he didn’t think she had any serious injuries. He told me that she would be transported by ambulance to the ER at Banner Baywood Hospital to have her head injury evaluated.

We still had Lana Jansen’s Toyota Highlander here, so I drove over to the hospital. I had to wait for a few minutes before they took me back to Donna’s room. I saw road rash on her legs and left arm, but she was in good spirits and didn’t seem to be in too much pain. She told me that when the guy stopped to help her, she thought she might be able to ride her bike home, but she couldn’t remember where home was! When the paramedics asked her what year it was, she said, “Can we circle back to that one?” She obviously had a concussion.

Donna in good spirits at the ER

They took X-rays of her chest and left knee. Then she was wheeled away for a CT scan of her head. About an hour later, the doctor came in and said she would be fine. They gave her a prescription for pain medication, cleaned up the road rash and sent us on our way.

She didn’t remember much about the crash. She said the handlebars seem to be wrenched from her hands or her hands flew off the bars like she had hit something. We drove past the crash site on our way to pick up her bicycle at the fire station. The bike lane looked good. We didn’t see any pot holes or obstacles.

The firemen were very helpful. They showed me her helmet and said it really saved her. The left side of the helmet was scraped and the high density foam liner was crushed and cracked in multiple places. It absorbed the impact and saved her from serious injury.

The left side of her helmet hit the pavement

Cracked liner

More cracks

Another broken part of the liner

The fire captain told me that the good Samaritan had witnessed the crash. He said there weren’t any cars ahead as he was approaching Donna from behind. He said she suddenly flew from the bike and he thought she may have caught the curb with her right pedal. They helped me load the bike into the back of the Toyota. Donna had told me her bike was damaged. She said the handlebars were askew and the wheel wouldn’t turn. I didn’t see much damage on the bike. The left brake lever and hood had some scrapes. The handle bar was straight and the wheels turned fine. A bang on the head can really play havoc with your mind. Donna insisted the bike had been damaged.

As we were driving home, I told Donna what the fire captain had told me. She didn’t believe she caught the curb with her pedal. When we got back to our coach, I examined her bike closely. She obviously went down on the left side. I also found fresh scrape marks on the right pedal. She told me that right before the crash, she had looked down at her speed readout and saw 17 mph, then bang! I think she must have drifted to the right of the bike lane, caught her pedal against the curb and lost control.

She’s sore this morning and has some road rash, but it could have been much worse.

Ouch!

Road rash and bruises on her arm

Donna here: About 20-25 minutes before my crash, I witnessed what could have been a fatal wreck involving a motor home and a Jeep. I was cycling east on McDowell. A motor home came up from behind me and it was moving right along. As it approached the intersection, which is a four-way stop, I realized that it was not slowing down. The driver was going to blow right through! I was screaming, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” because just then, a red Jeep entered the intersection. I saw the motor home swerve at the last minute and then straighten up as it barreled through. Miraculously, the Jeep made it across. I stopped to talk to the driver, a young man, who had pulled over just beyond the intersection. I told him that he was one lucky guy. He said he saw the motor home coming and floored it. And then his engine died – probably blew a radiator hose. As I pedaled away, he said, “Have a safe ride!”

Patio’ Kings

Our time is winding down here in Mesa. I’m a little behind on some of the tasks I wanted to complete before we move. Thursday I rested my leg, I never got around to sealing the bedroom slide-out trim. Donna rode her bike with her friend, Dara in the afternoon. She rode to Lana Jansen’s house at the end of her ride and picked up Lana’s car – she had generously offered to lend it to us for the weekend. While Donna went out shopping on Friday, I hit the pickleball court. Afterwards I put my leg up and iced it for a while. It was very warm in the afternoon, near 90 degrees. Other than dumping the gray water tank, I didn’t accomplish anything.

Yesterday Donna and I played pickleball again in the morning. I can’t move at full speed yet and playing two days in a row left me with a sore leg again. We quit playing around 11am, then we got ready to head over to Andy and Donna King’s house in Gold Canyon. They were having a St. Patrick’s Day party (a few days early). People still living in the workaday world schedule parties on the weekend. Donna made Irish soda bread the night before to take to the party.

I thought the drive to Gold Canyon would take about 25 minutes. I didn’t realize the 27th annual Arizona Renaissance Festival was happening in Gold Canyon on the weekends through March 29th. The traffic on eastbound US 60 was stop and go from Apache Junction to Gold Canyon. The drive took over an hour, it was 1:30pm by the time we arrived.

We weren’t the only ones running late due to the traffic. The party didn’t start rolling until about 2pm. Andy was expecting guests to arrive shortly after noon. Many of the people attending the party were musicians – mostly bluegrass players. The party started when Andy and a few of his friends sang Seven Bridges Road. Andy picked the guitar while three others harmonized with him. They sounded great!

Getting started

Donna at the bar with her St. Patrick’s Day bling

I took a seat at the bar and sipped Guinness and enjoyed the music. Donna fixed plates of corned beef, cabbage and soda bread for us.

Our bartender, Seth and Kylie

There were a lot of talented people rotating in and out of the band. It was lively but low key and fun.

The band changed personnel often

Some members of the new bluegrass band Andy is in showed up.

Mavis really ripped on the fiddle

At one point, Andy set me up with his Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitar. It’s a beautiful instrument. I stayed in the outer circle and and followed the chord changes and improvised on a couple of songs.

Strummig along on Andy's Alvarez Yairie guitar

Strumming along on Andy’s Alvarez Yairi guitar

People were spread out all over the backyard. Most people stayed under cover on the patio. A few took to the pool to cool off.

Cooling off

I didn’t stray too far from the bar – I claimed a sore leg required me to sit on a barstool.

Plenty of activity at the bar

The shots of Jaegermeister washed down with Guinness were catching up with me. We called it a day and Donna drove us home around 5pm. My right leg was sore from pickleball and standing around all afternoon. I iced it when we returned home.

The forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s for the next few days. I’ll need to start organizing the trailer and prepare to depart on Wednesday. We’re still not sure of our next destination.

Orange Blossoms

We tend to follow nice weather. We try to avoid cold, wet climates and opt for warm, sunny weather. This means we are mostly in areas where flowers are blooming. I have severe pollen allergies – most tree and grass pollen really sets me off.

This year, I tried a form of immunotherapy that involves taking daily doses of local, minimally processed honey. The theory behind this is that the honey contains small amounts of local pollen. Taken daily, an immunity is built up in the body. I started doing this last fall in San Diego and continued here in Arizona.

Here in Arizona, I bought local honey that was labeled mesquite. It’s from bee colonies that are in the open desert and contains a mix of pollen. It seems to have helped. I’m not free of allergy symptoms, but they haven’t been as severe as last year. Recently I switched to orange blossom honey in anticipation of all the orange trees around here flowering.

Orange tree blossoming next to our site

But the honey treatment is no match for the current profusion of orange tree blossoms. I now have full-blown allergy symptoms – sinus congestion, runny nose, and puffy, watery eyes. I’m taking Flonase, but mornings are misery.

I mentioned meeting up with Dave Hobden at Tekris Power Electronics in yesterday’s post. While I was there, I made an impulse purchase of a device that seems somewhat controversial. It’s a battery desulfator that I installed on our bank of 6-volt house batteries. Sulfation is where the lead, lead oxide and sulfuric acid in the batteries combine and form crystals of lead sulfate. These crystals cling to the lead plates, diminishing capacity. Charging the battery removes these crystals, but it doesn’t remove them completely. Over time, they accumulate. Some crystals may fall to bottom of the battery where they can collect and eventually short the plates.

The device I bought is called Battery Life Saver BLS-12N. It’s connected to the battery bank and draws a small amount of current – I took measurements and averaged 23ma. It generates a high-frequency signal through the battery. The frequency it generates shatters the lead sulfate crystals so they can recombine into the lead, lead oxide and sulfuric acid components.

I say it’s controversial because an online search reveals two camps. One camp says it’s nothing more than snake oil or voodoo and does nothing. The other camp says they use it and it absolutely works. I haven’t found any evidence of valid testing by the nay-sayers to prove it doesn’t work. On the other hand, there are test results that show battery capacity can be restored with this device. I don’t know for sure and I don’t know how I can make a valid test on our batteries while they’re in use. I guess if our batteries need to be replaced in the next year or two, I’ll join the nay-sayer camp. If our batteries last for several years, who’s to say the BLS-12N helped or not? Like I said, it was an impulse buy.

Battery Life Saver mounted in the battery compartment

We played pickleball yesterday morning. It’s such an addicting game and Donna and I love playing it. I took it easy and played four or five games. My calf was a little tight, but it feels fine today.

We had warm weather with low clouds yesterday. The temperature was in the upper 80s. If we didn’t have the cloud cover, it would have been a real cooker. As it was, we ran the air conditioners in the afternoon. I took a photo of the sky before sunset while I was outside grilling. We have the same low ceiling again today.

Low clouds near sunset

Donna and I enjoy Thai food. We don’t have to eat out to enjoy this type of food though. A week or so ago, Donna made a variation of Thai satay called Malaysian chicken sate. She marinates the chicken and I grill it on skewers. It’s served with a delightful peanut sauce. We liked it so much, Donna prepared it again last night.

Malaysian chicken sate skewers on the grill

Malaysian chicken sate with peanut sauce and sauteed veggies

I have a project to attend to today. I want to reseal the seams on the driver’s side bedroom slide-out with silicone sealant. When it rains, water is collecting behind the trim and leaves a stain as it runs down the side of the coach.

Meet Me at the Shop

I saw on Facebook that our friend and fellow Alpine Coach Owner Dave Hobden (Urbanescapevehicle.com) was in our area yesterday. The Xantrex inverter/charger in his coach blew and none of the 120-volt systems would power up. He was at Tekris Power Electronics, an authorized Xantrex dealer in Gilbert (about 8 miles away from us) having it replaced.

I rode the scooter over to Tekris on McQueen Avenue in Gilbert and met up with Dave. He introduced me to Robert, who was in the process of installing a new Xantrex Freedom SW 3012 inverter/charger to replace the Xantrex 2000 in Dave’s coach. The old inverter/charger circuit board was blown and internal repairs on that unit aren’t supported. The SW 3012 that Dave was getting is an upgrade. It’s a pure sine wave 3,000-watt inverter. Nice!

We chatted with Robert while he was working. He was full of information and knows just about everything about inverters and RV electrical systems. He told me that the Xantrex Freedom 458 that’s in our Alpine Coach was one of the more robust units made. It’s also rebuildable. It’s a modified sine wave 2,000-watt inverter. I’d love to have the SW 3012 that Dave now has though (minus the bill!).

Dave was planning to hang around the shop while the four-hour replacement job was being done. His wife Stilla was out shopping with Dave’s mom. Around 11:30am, we walked down the street to a taco shop and the two of us each ordered a two-fish taco plate with beans and rice.

Dave Hobden and me at the Tekris shop.

It was fun catching up a bit. We follow each other’s blogs, so we had a pretty good idea of what’s been going on. We last saw Dave and Stilla in August when we were in Oregon for the FMCA Rally in Redmond and the Alpine Coach Owners pre-rally in Portland. That’s the beauty of this nomadic lifestyle – making new friends and meeting up again down the road.

The Pantech battery I ordered from Amazon arrived yesterday. I installed it in the Verizon Jetpack and it’s back online – yaay! We won’t have to access the Internet through Donna’s phone anymore.

The temperature here reached the mid-80s yesterday. Today the forecast calls for 90 degrees. I guess it’s time to fire up the air conditioning units.

Back in the Game

After three weeks of rest and recovery, my leg was feeling much better on Sunday. I walked down to the pickleball courts and practiced serving. I wanted to see if hitting serves would put too much stress on my calf. It was fine. After about half an hour, Donna came down and joined me. We practiced dinking the ball back and forth. No hard shots and no running after the ball. My leg was fine.

On Sunday evening, our friends Lana and Joel picked us up around 5pm. We drove over to Baja Joe’s for margaritas and dinner. The place was packed with a 35-minute wait for a table. There were tables available in the bar though, so we opted to sit and order dinner in the bar. Conversation flowed as we enjoyed our dinner and two pitchers of margaritas over the next two hours. When we returned to our place, we sat outside and talked for another two hours. Joel took my old laptop – he thinks he can fix the cooling fan issue. He also took our entertainment hard drive to add more movies and TV series to it. Thanks, Joel!

My leg felt good Monday morning. Donna and I went to the pickleball courts to play a game or two. I planned to limit my effort to about 80% – no lunges for the ball or jumping. Donna left after five games, I ended up hanging around and played eight games.

Action on the Orangewood Shadows pickleball courts

When I walked back home, I could feel tightness in my right calf. I put my leg up and read for a while. Then I noticed I had bruising on my ankle and foot. Apparently there are still micro-tears in the calf and the activity caused some bleeding in the muscle. Gravity forced the blood down to my ankle and foot.

Blood pooling in my foot after pickleball

I spent most of the afternoon with my foot elevated, periodically icing my calf. I don’t think it’s a big deal. My leg feels fine this morning, but I think I will give it another day of rest before playing pickleball again.

I rode the scooter over to Red, White and Brew to join Mike Hall, John Huff and Pat Fitzpatrick for a cold one. Tom Brennan joined us at the bar. Tom is patriotic and has an interesting hobby. He has replicas of various cartridges made with one troy ounce of silver. When he meets a veteran, he presents him with a silver bullet. Each cartridge is engraved. He chooses the cartridge type and engraving to give the veterans based on their service history. He has Navy SEAL friends who helped him come up with the mottos engraved on the silver cartridges.

Silver bullets – 5.56mm, 45ACP and 9mm

We have eight more days here at Orangewood Shadows RV Resort before we hit the road. I’m getting the hitch itch and I have to take care of a few projects over the next week before we leave.

Jetpack Blow Up

Something strange happened on Friday afternoon. Donna and I were inside – she was working at her laptop and I was surfing the Internet. We heard a loud “pop,” but didn’t know where it came from. The next thing I knew, I lost my wifi connection to our Verizon Jetpack. Donna said she was kicked off as well. I went to re-connect and found the Verizon Jetpack was offline, it didn’t appear among the devices available.

I got up and looked at the Jetpack. The pop we heard was the back of the Jetpack being blown off as the lithium-ion battery exploded! I don’t know if the battery overcharged or overheated, but for some reason, it blew apart and wouldn’t fit in the Jetpack anymore.

Back cover blown off our Jetpack

Battery expanded and cover split

Profile of distorted battery – it’s normally a rectangle

I don’t know if this is a function of an internal disconnect for an overheated battery or some kind of defect. Lithium-ion batteries have a safety disconnect feature to prevent fire. A burning lithium-ion battery is not a good thing – it’s impossible to extinguish a lithium-ion fire. Donna set her Samsung Galaxy S5 as a hotspot and we had Internet access.

With the sink project still underway, we decided to head out to Red, White and Brew for happy hour and dinner. Donna had her usual mussels vin blanc and I had the Meet the Meat stuffed pizza roll which is basically a meaty calzone.

RWB Meet the Meat stuffed pizza roll

Around 9am Saturday morning, we heard techno dance music blasting outside. We weren’t sure where it was coming from. I went outside for a look. There was a lane closure on the north side of University Drive with a blow-up arch in the lane and lots of orange cones. At the arch, there was a big speaker on a stand pointed at the back of our coach which is on the south side of University Drive. The music was so loud, it completely drowned out the sound of traffic on the road. There was a 5K run coming down University Drive – the two-mile mark was across the street from us. Apparently the organizers thought blasting dance music at 9am was necessary at the two-mile mark.

I rode the scooter south on Val Vista to the Verizon store with my Jetpack and blown-up battery. The guy there wasn’t very helpful. He took the Jetpack and battery disappeared into the back of the store. Fifteen minutes later he came back and said he could order a new battery for $60 and have it next week. I asked what caused the battery to blow up. He said I probably overcharged it. He said not to leave it on the charger, to run it on the battery and recharge as needed. Are you serious? The battery will last three to four hours. We have the Jetpack on all day. If I cycled the battery four times day, it wouldn’t last a year. Also, after 21 months of use plugged in, why did the battery blow up now? He had no answers. I declined the $60 battery.

I stopped at Batteries Plus to see if they had a replacement. No luck, but I bought some fluorescent light tubes I needed while I was there. I also rode over to the farmers’ market on Power Road and picked up more local honey.

When I returned home, I searched online for a Pantech BTR291B lithium-ion battery. I found it on Amazon for $22.99. With my Prime account, two-day delivery was free. At checkout, my Prime account is linked to my Chase Freedom Visa card. I had more than enough cashback points to cover the cost of the battery. It’s like getting it for free and it’ll deliver here on Tuesday.

With that done, I set into my next project. I used a sharp plastic scraper to remove the old caulking from the kitchen sink. Once I had all of the old caulking out, I cleaned the sink and the counter top area that joins the sink with rubbing alcohol. I laid a new bead of caulking and it’s looking good. The caulk needs to cure for 36 hours before contact with water. With that in mind, we didn’t want to create a lot of dirty dishes, so we went out for dinner again.

New caulk on the sink

This time we decided to try a Thai restaurant called 5 R Cha Thai Bistro (we learned that 5 R Cha means five horses in Thai). Donna had a green curry with shrimp. She said it was excellent, it would rival Lanna Thai in San Diego.

Green curry with shrimp

I went with my old standby, Pad Thai chicken. It was good, but the chicken was overcooked. The sauce on the noodles makes Pad Thai, and this had great flavor. I enjoyed a Singh Ha Thai beer with my meal while Donna went for a Japanese Sapporo beer.

Pad Thai chicken

I think I mentioned Donna’s trip to the dentist on Wednesday. She broke a molar and had a temporary crown put on. Last night, Donna woke up with a toothache. Her temporary crown came off. This was probably due to her retainer – she didn’t think about the temporary crown when she put her retainer on. Hopefully she can have the temp reset today.

We’re planning to go out to Baja Joe’s for dinner tonight with Lana and Joel. That will make three nights in a row eating out! That’s unusual for us. By tonight, our kitchen sink will be fully functional again and we can get back to our usual meal schedule.

The rest of the country sprang forward as of 2am this morning. Here in Arizona, daylight savings time isn’t observed. The clocks neither spring forward nor fall back. That makes Arizona time equivalent to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) now.

Sinking No More

Before I posted everything you ever wanted to know about batteries yesterday, I started my day with a hearty breakfast. Donna made an omelette with mushrooms, onions, red peppers and feta cheese. She also cooked up sweet potato home fries. Add a cup of coffee and it was a great way to kick off the day.

Breakfast of champions

I had a project for the day. Donna noticed the caulking around the kitchen sink was cracking again. When I looked it over, I could see the sink was loose, it was sinking! It’s mounted from below the counter top and held in place with aluminum extrusions screwed to a small wood beam under the counter top. I tried to tighten the screws, but it seemed like the aluminum extrusions had sagged.

I rode the scooter to Home Depot and looked at sink mounting clips. The only clips they had were for sinks that are mounted on top of the counter, not from underneath. The guy at Home Depot told me I should go to Central Arizona Supply as they would have what I was looking for. Central Arizona Supply is on Country Club – to get there I came past Orangewood Shadows RV Resort. I decided to stop and take another look under the sink to make sure I knew what I wanted to do to support the sink.

This time, I wriggled around on the floor and got my head into the cabinet under the sink. With a flashlight I saw what the problem was. It wasn’t anything wrong with the aluminum extrusions, it was the wood they’re mounted to. The wood was glued to the counter top and the adhesive was failing, allowing the wood to pull away from bottom of the counter top.

Adhesive failure

I didn’t need mounting clips – I needed glue and a way to brace the wood up against the counter top while the glue set. I went back to Home Depot and poked around. I found a 3/4″ square section of wood 48″ long. I had it cut into two 19″ lengths and two 5″ pieces. Then I looked for a suitable adhesive that would adhere to the Karadon counter top material and wood. I settled on Gorilla Glue expanding glue. It sticks to anything and the expansion allows it to penetrate wood and fill gaps. It’s also waterproof.

Gorilla Glue

I tried to brace the sagging wood up against the counter top material with the 19″ section of wood I got at Home Depot. Unfortunately, 19″ turned out to be about 1/2″ too long. Although I’ve replaced many of the tools I lost when those Dirty, Rotten Thieves stole my trailer, I still don’t have a saw. I walked down the way from our coach and found a neighbor Vern working on a room addition. I asked if I could use his saw. He lopped off 1/2″ from my two braces.

I did another trial fit and the braces fit perfectly. I needed to re-glue the beams on both sides of the sink. The Gorilla Glue is activated by moisture. I used a wet paper towel to moisten the surface of the wood beams and the bottom of the counter top where the beams made contact. Then I applied the glue and braced the beam up against the bottom of the counter top.

Glue applied and brace in place

I placed a basin of warm water on the shelf under the sink and closed the cabinet doors. I was hoping to add humidity under the counter to help set the Gorilla Glue. With that done, I headed off to Red, White and Brew for a cold one.

Meanwhile, Donna was out on her bicycle training with her friend Dara and Dara’s friend Jenn. They did hill repeats on Hawes Hill off McDowell Road and put in a total of about 22 miles, getting home just before dark.

Last night I removed the temporary braces and the sink held fine. The glue is supposed to be at 80% strength after two hours and fully cured within 24 hours. I glued and braced the front center section of the sink overnight.

Gorilla Glue fully expanded and set

This morning, the sink is tight against the counter top and it’s secure again. Next, I’ll have to remove the old caulking and re-caulk the joint where the sink and counter top meet. That will likely be tomorrow’s project of the day.

Easier Battery Maintenance

Having the right tool for the job always makes the task easier. I’ve posted about battery maintenance before. To recap, the house 12-volt system on our coach is powered by four 6-volt deep-cycle batteries. In our case, they’re golf cart-type, flooded wet-cell lead-acid batteries. This means the cells have lead plates immersed in electrolyte. The electrolyte is 65% water and 35% sulfuric acid.

To produce 12 volts from a bank of 6-volt batteries, they’re connected in pairs. Two 6-volt batteries connected in series produce twelve volts. Each of our four 6-volt batteries is rated to 186 amp hours (AH). This rating is typically taken over a 20-hour period. In other words, the battery should provide a little over 9 amps for 20 hours. In reality, you never want to completely discharge a battery. There’s another factor as well – discharge rates aren’t linear. The higher the discharge rate, the less capacity the battery can provide. In our case, the batteries are rated for 100 minutes at 75 amps. If it were linear, you would expect close to 150 minutes (186/75=2.48 hours).

Our two pairs of batteries connected in series amounts to two large 12-volt batteries. The two pairs are connected to each other in parallel so the voltage remains the same, but the capacity is equal to the sum of the two battery pairs. Our 186 AH batteries are now capable of providing 372 AH.

It’s important to keep lead-acid batteries charged. Storing them in a discharged state causes sulfation of the plates which diminishes capacity and ultimately ruins the battery.

Our bank of house batteries is charged by the inverter/charger any time we are connected to shore power or are running our generator. It’s a smart charger that monitors the battery condition and temperature and adjusts the charging rates accordingly. The charging goes through three phases. First is bulk charging. This phase takes care of 80% of the charging. Constant current is applied and voltage is raised above 14 volts. The second phase is called absorption. In this phase, the voltage is constant at 14.1 to 14.8 volts and current decreases as the final 20% of the charge is completed. The last phase is called float charging. In this phase, the voltage is dropped to 13.0 to 13.8 volts and the current is reduced to less than 1% of battery capacity. This phase will maintain an unused battery in a fully charged state.

The smart charger shouldn’t allow the temperature of a flooded wet cell battery to exceed 125 degrees Fahrenheit. However, some gassing of the electrolyte is inevitable. This gassing plus normal evaporation causes the electrolyte level to drop over time. The lead plates in the cells should never be exposed to air – they should be completely immersed in electrolyte at all times. Exposure to air causes irreversible damage. The evaporation or gassing only affects the water in the electrolyte. The sulfuric acid is not diminished. Therefore, only water is needed to top up the battery.

We don’t want introduce minerals into the electrolyte, so tap water shouldn’t be used. The cells should be topped up with distilled water. Whew, all that to say our house batteries need to be checked and topped up periodically. Our chassis batteries, which are used to start the engine and power the instrument panel, are maintenance-free 12-volt batteries that don’t need to have water added.

In the past, I’ve been checking our batteries every few months by removing the caps on the cells, sticking my head into the compartment and peering down into the cells. It’s easy to see if the electrolyte level is above the plates, but it’s hard to tell how high the actual level is. The cell needs to have enough electrolyte to cover the plates with about 1/4″ to 1/2″ of liquid from the plate to the surface of the electrolyte. The electrolyte shouldn’t reach the neck of the fill well though, or acid will be forced out of the vent when the temperature rises during charging.

I used to look, make my best guess and use a turkey baster to add water to each cell. The batteries in the back of the bank were a real shot in the dark as I couldn’t see into the cells very well.

Yesterday I rode the scooter to NAPA Auto Parts and bought the right tool for the job. It’s a simple thing and something I should have done long ago. It’s a battery filler with an automatic shut-off. You fill the container with distilled water, then you push the spout into the filler well on the battery cell. The spring-loaded spout opens and allows the water to flow into the battery. When the electrolyte level reaches the spout, it automatically shuts off.

Battery filler with auto shut-off and distilled water

Using this filler is a breeze. I removed the battery caps, inserted the filler spout until the flow of water stopped, then moved on to the next cell. Job done in five minutes. I didn’t have to lean into the battery bank and peer into the cells – it automatically filled each cell to the proper level.

Couldn’t be any easier

Based on my experience over the past year, I’ll do this task every three months or so.

Yesterday I walked to the RV park office and back to purchase tickets for the big fish fry on St. Patrick’s Day. My leg is getting much better. I’ll get out and enjoy the weather with another walk today. Our forecast calls for a warming trend. We should see temperatures in the high 70s today and into the 80s over the weekend.

Stormy Monday

Pardon the pun, but rain pretty much puts a damper on our activities. The heavy rain that was forecast to hit us around noon on Monday actually arrived around 9:30am. Donna drove the rental car back to Enterprise at 11:30am and they gave her a ride back to Orangewood Shadows RV Resort. With the rain pouring down all afternoon, we stayed indoors. I spent most of my time reading after I posted to the blog.

Stormy Monday

Donna had a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker all afternoon with a maple syrup and mustard sauce. She served it with cumin-spiced roasted brussel sprouts. The aroma from the slow cooker was delightful.

Pork tenderloin with brussel sprouts

The rain continued through most of the night. Donna was up early Tuesday morning. She left at 7:30am to join the Orangewood Shadows hiking group on their trek up Siphon Draw Trail in the Superstition Mountains.

The first photo from the hike was shot by Donna, all others courtesy of Don Dunning.

Water running down rock and forming a pool on Siphon Draw Trail

Water running down Siphon Draw

Superstition Mountains from the trailhead at Lost Dutchman State Park

Orangewood Shadows hiking group

Part of the trail is wide, but it gets rocky toward the top

The trail gets rocky toward the top

Mountain top shrouded in low cloud cover

While they were stopped for lunch at the top, it started raining. They carefully made their way down the slippery rock section and headed back.

Meanwhile, back at the coach, we had sunshine. I took advantage of the dry conditions and refilled the hummingbird feeder. I restocked paper products from our stash in the trailer. Then I dumped and flushed our holding tanks. After that, I gave my leg a rest and read for a while. Although it was sunny out, it was also breezy with the temperature hovering around 60 degrees.

When Donna returned around 12:30pm, she told me about the rain on Superstition Mountain. I was surprised since it had been dry here all morning. Within 10 minutes, the rain returned. It rained in spurts off and on all afternoon.

The wet road coupled with a lane closure outside of Orangewood Shadows RV Resort on University Drive proved to be challenging for some drivers. Twice we heard the screech of locked-up tires sliding on the tarmac followed by a metallic crunch. Fender benders! So many inattentive drivers in these conditions kept me home without a thought of venturing out on the scooter.

Last night, Donna made pepperoni chicken. She uses pounded chicken breasts as the base for a pizza-like entree topped with pepperoni slices, homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Last time, she served it with sauteed zucchini and onions. She served it over spaghetti squash this time.

Pepperoni chicken over spaghetti squash

The forecast calls for clear skies and a warming trend with the high temperature reaching 80 degrees by the end of the week. My calf injury is much improved and I plan to start gently exercising it with short walks and careful stretching.

Ponzi Scheme Crook

Donna and her teammate Angie raced in the duathlon at McDowell Mountain Regional Park early yesterday morning. Angie ran the first 3.6-mile leg, then transferred the timing chip to Donna in the transition area. Donna had a goal of averaging 15mph over the hilly 25.2-mile bike course. She made the ride in 1:36:40 for an average speed of 15.6mph. Then Angie finished the race with another 3.6-mile run. They were happy the rain held off and had a good time.

Angie and Donna – up at 5am and all smiles before the race

While Donna was at the race, I was thinking about the Filter Minder Air Restriction Gauge I wrote about in yesterday’s post. First I went online and looked up troubleshooting information. I found the Filter Minder FAQ page. It warns the consumer not to judge an air filter’s restriction by visual examination. An air filter that looks dirty may have much filtration life left. Air restriction through the filter remains low through much of its service life, then rapidly increases as the filter clogs at the end of its service life. The large air filter on our Cummins ISL is designed for commercial use which usually entails high mileage in a relatively short time. In a motorhome, high-mileage driving is the exception.

I found a chart on the site that showed typical results over miles driven in non-severe (not dusty) conditions. It can take more than 50,000 miles before the restriction starts to show on the gauge. Of course, they also warn not to change filters on a mileage schedule – always use restriction as the factor unless the filter is in danger of deterioration due to age.

With these facts in mind, I went out to test our Filter Minder Air Restriction Gauge. First, I disconnected the vacuum line from the top of the gauge. I put a short length of vacuum hose on it and applied vacuum. The gauge responded – there’s nothing wrong with the gauge. Then I blew air through the vacuum line between the gauge and the intake tube behind the air filter. The air flowed freely – there’s no blockage. I reconnected the vacuum line at the gauge and crawled under the coach. I disconnected the line at the intake tube and applied vacuum at the line. I stepped out and looked at the gauge. It works fine. There’s nothing wrong with our Filter Minder. Apparently I’m guilty of assuming that the old filter should have shown restriction based on its appearance.

Filter Minder Air Restriction Gauge on or Alpine Coach

Filter Minder Air Restriction Gauge on our Alpine Coach

The way the gauge works is this – as air is pulled through the air filter element into the intake system, a slight vacuum may be created between the air filter and the turbocharger compressor. As the filter collects dust and debris, it gains efficiency in dust collection. Eventually it starts to overload and the vacuum in the intake between the air filter and turbocharger increases. Once the vacuum exceeds 8 in/H2O the gauge begins to register. At 22-25 in/H2O, the air filter element needs to be changed. Our gauge didn’t move because we hadn’t exceeded the 8in/H2O threshold. That said, our air filter was old and it was time to change it. Enough about air filtration.

Another event took place over the weekend. On Saturday I talked to my step-dad, Ken. I try to stay in touch by phoning him every couple of weeks. He’s 84 years old and lives alone in Sun City (Menifee), California. He told me some unsettling news. He had rolled over a sizable IRA investment into an annuity account. Last year, he took a distribution from the annuity. As he was preparing his tax documents, he realized he didn’t have a 1099-R form for the distribution. In fact, he didn’t have a year-end statement either. He tried to reach the insurance broker who set up the annuity. The guy’s phone was disconnected and could not be reached.

He told me the guy’s name was John P. Slawinski. I did a quick Google search and found that John P. Slawinski of Palm Desert, California was arrested last August on five counts of felony financial elder abuse after stealing more than two million dollars from five senior citizens. Ken confirmed that this was the guy who set up his annuity. The article included a phone number for the Rancho Cucamonga regional office of the California Department of Insurance. I gave Ken the phone number and told him to call on Monday (today) to add his name to the list of plaintiffs.

Later I talked to my daughter, Shauna. Shauna is set to graduate law school May 1st. I told her what happened. Yesterday Shauna called me and said she found out that John P. Slawinski is currently incarcerated and a hearing is set for the end of April. She said she would follow up with the California Department of Insurance to make sure Ken’s claim is properly filed.

It makes me sick to think of scammers preying on seniors and stealing their life savings. Hopefully this guy has some assets that can be seized and liquidated to provide some restitution to his victims.

Last evening, Donna and I went out for Italian food. We wanted to go to our favorite – Roma Cafe Ristorante in the Sun Valley Plaza on Main Street, but discovered that they’re closed on Sunday. So we went to Alessia’s Ristorante Italiano on Higley and Brown Road. We dined al fresco. Donna ordered the Che Calamari plate and I had Strangola. We both opted for cappellini as the pasta. The Che Calamari is calamari sauteed with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil marinara. The Strangola is homemade sausage sauteed with onions and button mushrooms with parmesan in a chicken broth-based sauce. We both thought the food was excellent and the service was fine, but it doesn’t top Roma Cafe. We’ll try to have dinner there before we leave Mesa.

The rain in the weekend forecast didn’t arrive until we had a few smatterings after 7am this morning. It’s overcast and blustery out. Now the weather guessers say we should expect heavy rain around noon and it will continue into the night, with clear weather returning tomorrow.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Stormy Monday

Ponzi Scheme Crook

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