Summer is coming to an end

Thursday

Cool and crisp this morning.  I hope to get the overflow hose installed on the coach this morning and will also start up the refrigerator so we can start to load up for our New England trip.  We are also getting ready for the long Labor Day weekend.  Here in WNY that signals the end of summer.   The kids go back to school and people close up their pools.  By the time we return the leaves will be falling and we be be thinking about winterizing the coach.

I went out late this morning to finish up the overflow hose.  I got the tools and parts together and looked over the situation.

Start of the drain install

I was able to drill a hole through the floor from the outside in as there was no room for the drill inside.  To get clearance I had to trim down the 90 degree elbow.  But in the end I was successful.

All Hooked up

I then sealed up all the old holes and around the new tubing with RTV.  Then I added a little antifreeze to the engine.  I fired up the AquaHot on diesel and then decided to take the coach around the block to get it up to temperature and pressure.  The trip around the block ended up being 24 miles.  Everything came up to temperature and checked out.  So we should be ready to go.

Bonnie had left for Warsaw before I got back she was going to pick up some engine antifreeze and a radiator cap.  She ended up going to NAPA 3 times.  I even talked to them on the phone explaining that I needed HD plane jane green antifreeze.  They said ok we got it.  So what did they send with Bonnie extended life organic acid based antifreeze.  Now we have the expense of returning it.  The good news is that the new radiator cap fit.

Bonnie left almost as soon as she got home to stay with her Dad this evening so her mother can have an evening out.  I talked to my son, daughter in law, and granddaughters for almost an hour.  Also my daughter a couple times regarding getting her internet modem replaced tomorrow.  Not sure I can help as UPS freight is to pick up the old HydroHot tomorrow.

Bonnie got home a little after midnight, I am still up.  Now we are off to bed.

Friday

I did not sleep that well last night even though it is nice and cool.  Up this morning and now waiting on a UPS freight truck to pick up the old HydroHot.

I worked a little in the garage mixing the extra boiler coolant so it is 50/50 by using the refractometer.

My make shift lab

So I mixed up 2 gallons worth and then cleaned up.  I checked my email and still not Bill of Lading for sending the old unit back.  I called Roger and he said he had sent it.  I got one email from him today but not the Bill of Lading.  So I checked my spam folder online in my online earthlink account and there it was.  Once I printed it out I noticed that both our address and phone number were not correct on it.  So my guess is I will not see the unit picked up today.  I notified Roger and he called in the corrections.  I stayed at the house until just before 5, no truck showed up.  Bonnie was over helping at her parents again.

I left for Warsaw to exchange the antifreeze.  Have you bought antifreeze lately.  Not sure how many different kinds there are but there are many.  I was looking for one with a ASTM Spec of 4985.  I found it and it is for heavy duty diesel engines.  The bottle is labeled as for cars and light duty trucks. But since it meets the standards I should be ok.  Its quite a trip to get into Warsaw now since there is a detour in effect as they are working on 20A in the village.  Bonnie called as I was heading home and she is headed home also.  Looks like I am doing chicken on the grill for supper.

The chicken turned out good and we spent the evening relaxing and now off to bed early.

Saturday

Another nice cool night and boy did I sleep good.  Got up after 8 hours of sleep and caught up on blogs and emails.  I headed outside.  I finally decided to wash the rig.  I have been asking for help all summer but the others always had something else more important to do.  Its hard on my shoulders but it had to be done.  I could not stand the film on it anymore.  I started around noon.  One side and the back were in the shade so I started there.  By the time I finished that the other side was in the shade.

Wow this thing is big

By the time I finished the second side the front was being shaded by a tree in the yard.  I got the bug scrubber out and cleaned off most of the bugs on the front of the coach and washed the windshield.  Finally finished.

Nice and shiny

I dried the windows and finally it was time to move it back to its spot.

back in her spot

We should be ready to load up and head out on Wednesday.  The grass needs cut so I will hop on the mower and start cutting the grass.  I finished the front and decided it was time for some food and a break.  I almost took to long of a break but got back out on the mower and finished up.  I did notice a lot of leaves on the ground it sure seems early for that.  I am soaking wet so all my clothes went straight into the washer and I went straight into the shower.  Wow that felt good, but I am still not cooled down that may take a while.

Headed for the washing machine

Bonnie had me grill some sausage on the grill for supper and then it was finally time to relax.  I am really beat, turns out today was one of the hottest days of the year, I think I need to drink a lot of water tonight.

Sunday

I heard it rain a couple times during the night.  Must have been hard as it woke me up.  When I checked the gauge it showed about 1/3 of an inch.  We got going and headed to church.  Today was youth Sunday as it is the 5th Sunday.  It was good to hear whats been going on with the youth.  Alexus was even up on the platform, she did a really good job.

After church we headed for Firemans Field in East Aurora, the same place we camped a few weeks ago.  It was a Firetrucks and Food Truck event and fund raiser.  We had lunch there.  I had a burrito and Bonnie had a Taco Salad.  My back has been hurting me the past couple of days and I stayed in the car while Bonnie picked out our lunch.

From there we headed in to Buffalo RV to see our friend Ron who is working there now and to look at some of the Jayco rigs.  While nothing really spoke to us and it sure was humid.  So we headed home in a light rain and now maybe I can get in a nap.  Well I got the nap and now I am wide awake for the NASCAR race.

Thats about it for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein

Install Time - We Have a New Aqua Hot - We have Hot water and heat

Monday

The big day has arrived, hopefully we will have hot water and heat in the coach by the end of the day.  I have friends coming to help and I think we are ready.

Well its evening its been a long day and I am beat.  The install went well today.  The only thing that delayed us was pondering where and how to install the new Expansion tank.  I still need to run the overflow hose but thats pretty minor.

I started around 9am getting things set up and ready to go by 10.

Tools and Parts ready

Farris pulled in just after 9:30 and we started right in.  First order was to put the coach up on the ramps.

The home mad ramps worked good and I added another bottom board.  Then we got right to it.

Farris underneath 

Time to drop the exhaust

Farris had three things going for him today, shortest, smallest, and youngest.  So he took the underneath the coach work as he could sit up under there.  Bob slipped in under there to help and see what was going on.

Bob said he would be the supervisor

He was a good supervisor he brought coffee and donuts.  He also came up with so great ideas for the way to do things.  He also took some nice pictures to document the job.  So an hour later we had the broken unit out on the ground.

Out with the old

Then we pondered how and where to put the expansion tank, we even ran over to ACE in Attica for some fittings that did not work, so we had Chet the parts deliverer bring some more and they were to big.  Farris finally figured out how to do it after we slipped in the new unit.

Pondering where the tank should go

We grabbed some subs in Attica and ate them on the go.  Mine got baked in the sun so it ended up in the trash, no problem I really was not hungry.  I cleaned out the space for the new unit and mounted the base plate that I modified the other day.

Cleaning out the space

New mounting plate all mounted

The new mounting plate is a nice feature.  The Aqua Hot slides in, two tabs hold it in the rear and one bolt up front.  We slid in the new unit and made up all the connections.  We were ready to fill the boiler with new coolant.

All ready to fill

So we ended up mixing up 7 gallons of coolant and pumped 6 gallons in from the drain to fill the boiler.

Mixing coolant with distilled water 50/50

Once the boiler was full we "burned" the air out of the heating loops that run through the coach.  Then we added the rest of the coolant.  Then we purged the air out of the diesel lines and the burner fired right up just like it was supposed to.  We checked the electric element and it worked after I remembered to turn on the circuit breaker I had turned off.  The unit is much quieter than the old one and no visible smoke.  Then we added the engine coolant that had drained out and burned the air out of that.  We checked for leaks and all looks good.

All closed up and ready to go

We are tired but Happy

All done except for cleaning up and putting the tools away.  They guys left and I took my time putting the tools away.  I gave Roger Burke a call and let him know all went well.  He will arrange for the old unit to be picked up.

I want to thank all theta prayed for a good safe install to day.  We had a great day.  I am tired and sore but happy all went so well.  We also saved $1500 which is what it would have cost to have an RV place put it in.   Heading to bed early tonight.

Tuesday

Up early at 6am.  Today we are headed into the City Mission.  We had to drop Alexus off in East Aurora.  Then to TOPS so Elizabeth could drop off Redbox movies.  Then I went into Valu to get some parts to fix one of our Toilets and a couple elbows for the overflow on the coach project.  Then a quick stop at Tim Hortons (or is it Burger King) and we were headed downtown.

We had lots to do today and kept busy all day.  Bonnie made a lot of calls and I caught up on the statistics.  It was a long day for me as I am sore, my head a bit sunburned, and I am tired.  But we made it and am now home and relaxing a little.  I took out all the trash as tomorrow is pickup day and we missed last week.  Thats it for today.

Wednesday

A very little rain overnight did not even register on the rain gauge.  Bonnie was up and headed back into the mission today to help in the Medical Clinic.  I have my annual eye appointment today.  Plus I need to ready the old HydroHot for shipment.

I went out and got the old unit ready to ship and let Roger know it was ready for pickup.

Drained and blown out

Screwed down to the pallet

Covered with Plastic

Ready to ship

Now its off to Warsaw for the eye Dr.  It was overcast until I got to Warsaw and then the bright sun came out.  My exam went good and all was well except she told me that I have the start of a cataract in each eye.  She said it was completely normal and would probably be 30 years before it needed treatment.  No change to my RX and with the ugly dark lens that you slid behind your glasses because my eyes were dilated,  I left for home.  I made a quick stop at ACE to pick up a little length of tubing.  Then back through the detour and finally home.

Then I packed up all the extra parts and tools Roger had sent in to the Priority Flat Rate box I had picked up at the post office and sealed it up.

All packed and shipped

The brightness was bothering my eyes so I headed into the house for a couple hours to let them recover from being dilated.  They just before the Post Office closed I drove down and mailed the package.

Still too bright out but it is getting cooler.  So I relaxed and worked on the computer.  Bonnie came home from her day at the mission clinic and made supper.  Thats about it for today so I will get this posted

Thanks For Checking In!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein

Tracking Shipments and Yardsales

Thursday

The forecast heavy rains did not show up, no rain at all yet.  Thats good I think.  It was cool enough to sleep good and its sunny again this morning.  No tracking info is showing up on line for my aqua hot shipment and my install kit just shows in route.  Todays big plan is to take the CR-V to the dealer and see whats scraping in the back wheel.

I headed into West Seneca to Ray Laks Honda.  I had the first appointment after the guys came back from lunch.  About 30 minutes later I had the diagnosis.  I thought the noise was the left rear but the brakes were down to the backing plate on the right rear.  So I had them replace the rotors and pads on the back wheels.  They also checked, serviced, and lubed the front brakes.  It looks like the back breaks were not releasing due to corrosion.  The front pads were still in good shape.  So I was there a little over 3 hours at $105 and hour plus parts, plus the inspection that was due in Sept.  and a bill a little over $600.  If I had the time and knew it was not a wheel bearing I could have saved a couple hundred dollars.  Not counting my time and running around to get parts, cleaner, and lubes.  But its done and we should be ready to go after labor day.

While I sat in the waiting room I was able to track down where my Aqua Hot is.  It made it to Buffalo on the 19th and transferred to the company that will deliver it.  They should have called me but had not yet.  So I am glad I checked.  I got hold of Kings Express and they scheduled it to be delivered here to the house tomorrow.  The install kit is coming USPS all their tracking site is showing is that it is in transit.  So I sure hope that it is close by.

I headed over to Harbor Freight from there and picked up a couple 4 wheel dollies that were on sale.  Then I headed for Colton RV to check out their new facilities on Southwestern Blvd.  It is very nice and it seems very busy.  I did get them to open up some RVs for me to look at but nothing they had really interested me.  So I headed home.

I made two stops on the way home.  First at Tim Horton's to try their Pumpkin Iced Capp, it was pretty good.  Second stop was at CVS to pick up a RX for Bonnie.  I offered to pick up Alexus but she is at a friends house.  So I headed home.  Elizabeth pulled in right after me and picked up her peaches.  Bonnie was down getting a haircut and eating out with the girls.  I washed up the dishes and made myself a bite to eat.

Still catching up on recorded shows, but did not finish catching up before bedtime.

My nephew who is a Marine deployed again yesterday, on his anniversary.  Here is a picture as he gets ready to say good bye to his girls.

Friday

Today is day one of the big yard sale at Bonnie's parents farm.  She was up and gone before I woke up.  I was up at 8 today the AquaHot should come and the install kit.  I checked the online tracking and it still showed in transit.  So I made coffee and had breakfast.  I checked again at 9am and the install kit is on its way to Varysburg from Rochester.  I also called Kings Express and they verified the AquaHot unit would be delivered today before 3pm.  So I am here at the house until the packages are delivered.  Might as well wash the towels while I wait.

Well car in the driveway blows the horn at 11:05, its the post woman and she has the install kit from Roger, yeah!

Looks like the install kit has all that we need

Then about 45 minutes later I hear a truck backing into the yard.  All right its the AquaHot being delivered.  I unpacked both things and it all looks to be in good shape and we should be all set for Monday.

2nd delivery of the day

The AquaHot has arrived

Now to unpack it

No damage

The new unit came with a mounting plate, but it has a flange on the bottom.

The flange is made for new installs

I got to looking at it and emailed Roger.  He said he just learned that the flange can be removed.  Good deal I will not need to try to cut the floor of the compartment.  Plus I can use the mounting plate.

I took a rubber mallet to the flange.

Part way removed

Then I switched to a hammer and a chisel, much easier.

All done

This is the main unit, it looks much nicer than the one that is coming out.

New 450D

It only took about 5 minutes.  I took a lot of pictures for documenting the new unit and the numbers and labeling on it.  I think I hear the UPS truck, yep he brought the spare belt I ordered for the mower and Grill brush for in the coach to clean the O-Grill.  I went out and put that stuff away.

I am thinking Bonnie will be home soon.  She will be tired and the yard sale is again tomorrow.

Saturday

Bonnie was up and off to the yard sale again.  Its overcast today but still very humid.  After breakfast I am planning to go out and drain the coolant out of the leaking HydroHot and save what I can for future use.

I finally got out and started around 11:30.  I assembled and cleaned out gallon jugs and found the fittings and hose I needed to do the job.  I loaded it all and some tools into the Ranger and headed down to the coach.

First load of parts and tools

I aired up the coach to raise it up a little and set up to drain the boiler.

Ready to drain

I got over 4 gallons out and it should be good to use in the future as its only 11 months old.  Then I took out what screws I could and removed the overflow tank.  The new tank uses bigger hoses and I need a big unibit in order to make the hole bigger through the bulk head where the overflow tube goes.  I un hooked the ac power and will swap the control board Monday after we take out the old unit and there is more room.  After doing all I could I cleaned up and moved up to the garage and the new unit.

Bare Unit

My idea is to make up all the connecting hoses and put what fittings I can in the the new unit.  That will make it much easier Monday.  Here is what I was able to do.

Ready for Monday

I was able to make up all the connections but two, with the fittings and hose Roger sent.  I will have to move the diesel fittings from the old unit on Monday.  So I cleaned up and headed in for some lunch around 2:30.

Bonnie made it home after the successful yard sale and we relaxed the rest of the evening.

Sunday

Nice and cool last night and I slept good.  It was quiet when the alarm went off and I got up.  Then a short time later I heard the turkeys clucking and that must of woke up the crows.  Then the birds and now I mostly hear the trucks going by out on the highway.  Time to get ready and head for church.

Great message on marriage and weddings today at church.  Plus Elizabeth was up on the platform at the end of the service to make an announcement about the woman's retreat.  She was nervous but she did a great job.

After church Bonnie had a short meeting and then we headed for Harbor Freight.  I wanted to pick up some tools to clamp off the hoses coming from the engine tomorrow.  I found them and there was a big sale going on.  Bonnie bought some vinyl gloves for the coach and a holder.  After that we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant next door but it was not all that good and it was Expensive.  Then we headed home.

Hope I have the ones I need

Elizabeth called and invited us to supper at 6.  So we will pick up a Pizza, her treat and head in there. I am hoping for a nap first.  Well I got a short nap and then headed down to pick up the pizza and wings.  Bonnie was baking the shortcake so we could have peaches and shortcake for dessert.

We had a good time at Elizabeths and watch the movie "God's Not Dead", we all thought it was a very good movie.  Finally home and I am going to get this posted.

Forgot to mention the mouse bait was raided again last night.  I have to come up with a raccoon proof container.  At least I think it is a coon.

Raided again

Tomorrow is the big install day.  I would appreciate Prayers for knowledge, patience, and safety as we remove the old and install the new AquaHot.

Thanks For Checking In!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein

Golden Hill

Sunday continued

Here are a few Sunday pictures before we left East Aurora that I could not post last night.

Getting breakfast ready

Chef Scott with the pancake griddle

Relaxing before breaking camp

The girls stopped after church

We had taken our time heading up to the camp and it was soon supper time.

Bob had an opps coming down the steps with the stuffed peppers

Then it was time for a fire and wait for the sun to go down.

Art built a nice fire

Bonnie borrowed Jake for a while

Sunset

MONDAY

Its a beautiful morning up here on the lake shore.  My Wilson Sleek cradle amplifier is working and boosting the almost non existent signal to pull in LTE and allow us to get email and slow pictures.

Beautiful view

Enjoying the sun shine

Jake enjoyed the sunshine

 I saw a couple state workers trimming bushes over by the Gazebo and asked if they could possibly trim our site a little.  They had to o get a ladder but they came back and did a nice job.

Ready to trim

No branches rubbing anymore, very nice.

I took a nap and Bob and Caroline went fishing, not sure what Art and Donna did I know they did a hike earlier.  Tomorrow we will pick some peaches and I made a few calls about that.

We stayed around the campground all day visiting with each other and our neighbors, turns out Bob also used to work with one of them in Batavia.  They were making a beef stew in a dutch oven, and stacked on top of that was another dutch oven with corn bread in it.  It smelled delicious.  I got out my new O-Grill and fired it up for the first time.  We put two large chicken breasts on it, Bob put a big T-Bone steak on, and Art put on a couple veggie hot dogs and it all fit on at once.  Being unsure of how it cooked I turned the temperature pretty low but it browned the meat nicely and cooked it quickly.  Everyone was happy with the way their food turned out.  We shared side dishes and dessert and once again it all went together good and everyone was full.

Are started a fire and we all sat around to watch the sun go down again.

Art is the fire master

Chatting around the fire

Sunset around 8:09pm

Caroline making sure she stays warm

Just about time to call it a night

Bob and I were the last two to leave the fire, same as last night.  However tonight he made sure he did not drop his glasses.  Bonnie was reading and I worked on the blog a little now its off to bed.

Tuesday

Tuesday has dawned another beautiful sunny day, with a nice breeze.  Cool enough in the shade to wear a light jacket.  We all left around 10am to check out the peach picking.  Art and Donna stopped at Brown Berry Patch to check on the already picked peaches, but they called us and said they were headed to Watts Farms to join us. 

Watts had nice flower gardens

Black eyed Susans

Hardy Hydrangea

And even had some peaches already picked.

Picked peaches

But we came to pick peaches.

This is the spot to start

The trees were loaded

Only about 16 peaches fit in a handle basket

We picked two handle baskets of peaches as did the Rindo’s.  Donna had one plus she picked some plums.  Bonnie also picked a couple pints of red raspberries.  It did not take long but we had a good time and enjoyed our selves.

We took the lakeshore road to get back to the campground, about a 30 minute trip.  We checked out a possible campground and fishing spot for Bob.  There were a lot of seasonal campers there and just a very few sites for overnight visitors.

Back at the campsite, still very nice out, time for lunch.  There is no internet at the moment, so I am just writing this in WORD and will have to cut and paste later.  Time for a nap I can not seem to stay a wake.

A few minutes nap and I was ready to grab a magazine and go out side to read.  As I went out I noticed Donna was out there so I joined her.  We chatted a little and read a little, she had her Kindle.  Soon Caroline came out to join us, then Bob, then Bonnie and soon Art.  We chatted a while and then decided it was time to start supper.  We each did our own main course and shared side dishes again.  Bob and I both had our grills going.

We did the meat on my O-Grill and the pan fried sweet potato fries on Bob’s.  All came out great again.  

Plenty of room on the new O-Grill

Then the highlight of the meal was the Fresh Peach Dump Cake that Bonnie made it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!  There was one tiny piece left.  We had it with a little vanilla ice cream on top.  It was so good no one thought to take a picture.

Art got the fire going and we settled in to watch the sun set.  We watched a big freighter go by.

 

Freighter just to the right of the gazebo 

The clouds blocked the actually sinking into the lake of the sun but we had a beautiful fire.

Another beautiful evening on the lake

Pretty dark out tonight and the Canadian lights are a lot more visible tonight as is the Big Dipper and a lot of other starts.  Finally it was just Bob and I at the fire and we called it a night.  Once I got into the coach I realize I had left my camera out at the fire and went back out to get it.

That’s about it for today and tonight is our last night here at Golden Hill, tomorrow we head home.

Wednesday

The night was the warmest one of the six nights we have been out.  No need for heat this morning.  We all started to pack up around 9:30 and just took out time getting ready.  Bonnie vacuumed and cleaned the inside of the coach an I shook the rugs and packed up chairs and hoses.  The Rindos were the first to leave and then Hanson's.  We pulled out last and dumped our tanks and then hit the highway.  We pulled into home right at noon after an uneventful trip.

We unloaded the food and clothes and then Bonnie made lunch.  I called and got an appointment for them to work on the CR-V tomorrow afternoon.  After lunch I jumped on the mower and cut the front and rear yard.  I was going to quit but decided to fill the fuel tank and cut the little bit of grass out by the road.  I got out there and made one pass and noticed the fuel tank cap was missing.  So it took about 15 minutes of looking and praying but I found it.  When I started the mover up again the blades did not turn.  I looked and the belt was off.  To put it back on I had to take the deck off.  When I did that I could see the belt was really worn and cracked.  I try to keep a spare so I grabbed that and put it on.

Ready for to be cleaned and a new belt

Took an hour or so but ready to go again

The extra ten minutes turned into a couple hours but its all done.  Except for a few sprinkles the rain held off.  I put all the tools and equipment away, blew the apron off and cleaned up a little.  Then into the house for a nice hot shower.

When we got home today the bait station I made was missing in action.  I looked around and found it down in the woods, empty again.

I am guessing a Raccoon is dragging and opening the bait station

This is a view from where I found it back up to the coach

Well I think its time to close this update and maybe get a little rest.  I did make a new friend on the campout.  Jake is the Hanson's Rat Terrier and he seemed to enjoy sitting with me at least for a little while several times.

My new buddy Jake

Well we had a great time with friends and met some other nice people.  We also liked Watts Farms and plan to go back for Apples in October.

Thanks For Checking In!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 
― Albert Einstein