October 11th
2003
I am not going to work on the bus today. There is too much to
be done catching up with e-mail, updating the web site, fixing the
clutch master cylinder for the Jeep, putting up Halloween
party props etc.
The trailer needs to be finished up. There was some confusion
this week from the dealership that gave us permission to strip the
trailer down. They were under the impression that we were all
finished with it, so they had hauled it to a fenced in area where we
couldn't get to it anymore. I popped in the main office and
cleared things up. The dealership offered to move the trailer back
with no problems. I said that I thought we might be able to finish
up our salvage this weekend... Now that it is pouring down
rain, I am a little reluctant to visit it. I did say that I
thought we'd finish up, so most likely I will spend Sunday gutting out
anything remaining that I we might need.
I am having serious doubts about the wiring I have done up to this
point. I think I have done a good job and everything is working
fine, but it just does not seem very secure and my gut feeling is that
the stranded wire that I am using for my 110V AC circuits will end up
causing me grief in the long run. I have pretty much decided that
I am going to remove it all and replace it with standard solid conductor
house wiring. The savings in money and experience that I have had
in the past with it far outweighs the concern that I had up to this
point with movement and/or vibration causing the solid strand wire to
become brittle in the long run. I believe that it will be better
secured than the stranded wire and cause less problems in terms of
movement and vibration for me in the long run. So at this point I
have decided to pull out all of the 110V AC wiring I have done up to
this point and replace it with solid conductor wire that I can secure
better, has thicker shielding and will work with less expensive standard
electrical outlets, boxes and switches securely.
I will use the stranded wire that I have purchased so far for wiring
up all of the DC circuits (it will be more than adequate for the small
amount of current that I will be running to various lights and
plugs. It makes much more sense to me to run the stranded cable
here because of the need to manipulate the wiring in places (like when
changing out batteries). Since there will be a need to manipulate
the DC wiring from time to time, it makes sense to use the stranded
wiring for it. The stranded wire I have purchased already should
be more than enough for the small number of circuits that I will need
and have planned for the near future. I will save quite a bit of
money by making use of the expensive wire I already have and can't
return.
I have received some additional feedback from others that this
decision makes sense and that (if properly secured in the same fashion I
have been using with the stranded wire) I should not have any problems. |
