They're less than $20 from eBay or Amazon and can be used for many things. They turn on/off power depending on the temperature at the remote probe. The original units were Centigrade only but now they can be found in Fahrenheit or selectable. Most have a 10 amp switching rating but if that's not enough a relay can be used. There are models that operate on 12, 24, 120, 220 volts and the switched leads can be independent of the power supply. You could use 120VAC for power to switch a 12VDC circuit or vice versa. Most are selectable for cooling or heat and some can do both.
My first project was a DIY fish tank heater that I wanted to run on 12vdc. I didn't mount any of the components, just had wires going everywhere.
The second project was converting a chest freezer into a refrigerator. Off the shelf the freezer could only be set between -4° and zero F. I wanted to put my beer in the freezer and keep it at 28°. This time I built a tidy little stand alone box with a plug for 120 power and a receptacle for the freezer plug.
Big toggle allowed switching off the controller so the freezer could be uses as a freezer.
My next project was for a fellow who wanted to maintain a stable temperature in a room in his barn for eggs. Sometimes the eggs would need to be heated, sometimes they'd need to be cooled. He didn't want to have to monitor them constantly and I knew one of these gizmos would do the trick. I simplified the construction by just mounting the components on a board. The pic was before I wired the additional recepticle for the heating circuit.
The white connector block is available at most hardware stores and online. Look for:
My current project is my boat's refrigerator. When the 40 year old factory 12/120 volt unit gave out I decided to replace it with a considerably cheaper 120 VAC only unit. I figured to power the new unit via my boat's house battery through an inverter. I bought a dorm fridge that didn't include the tiny ice maker - the half dozen ice cubes it might provide take up too much room inside inside the fridge. This system worked great except the fridge would occasionally solidity/freeze my wife's lettuce.
I still don't know why I couldn't find the correct thermostat setting. Maybe it's because the unit is used on the road and on the water. Maybe it's because the unit isn't on a permanent leveled surface. Maybe it's because the inverter messes with the internal refrigerator components. Rather than research all the possible causes I took the easy way out and installed a controller.
Wire up the controller:
I cut a cheap extension cord in half for the plug and receptacle wires.
Set the controller cooling temp for 35°...that's when the controller will switch off the current to the fridge. Set the controller 'slew' to 5°...any time the probe sees a temperature 5° above the cooling temp the controller will begin feeding power to the fridge.
Plug the controller into the power source. Set the refrigerator to maximum cooling. Insert the remote bulb into the refrigerator. Plug the refrigerator into the controller. Now the guesswork is over. The power comes on at 40° and goes off at 35° and I can see the inside fridge temp on the controller.
What a comfort to know the temp inside the fridge!
The original fridge was larger than this dorm unit. The grates above and to the right are fillers to the original opening. I left those areas open for ventilation.
I didn't want to put any holes in the dorm fridge when I installed it. I secured the new unit in the old space with a reverse clamp setup.
I soldered some long nuts to a piece of brass angle. Then using bolts of the appropriate length, I ran them up out of the long nuts until the fridge was wedged in place. The wing-nuts keep the bolts from working back down. The brass angle was a handy place to mount the controller. This setup has been bulletproof.
And if you're curious, here's an early heating unit with a 30 amp power relay.
This was before I discovered the convenience of the Terminal Strip
What's the square red button for?
This rig was used to cut the power to a hotplate when a given temperature was reached. The controller will cycle on and off depending on the temperature at the probe, but the relay only allows power flow after the button is pushed. So to initiate power to the hotplate, the temperature has to be below the set point AND the momentary red button has to be pushed. When the set point is reached the controller shuts off the power. As things cool the controller will cycle on again but the hot plate cannot get power unless the button is pressed again; the cooking is a one time event. So now, the next time you make caramel and are supposed to turn off the heat when candy thermometer shows 250°F you don't need to be there - this thing will turn it off at the desired temp and it won't go back on.
Big Duck uses a license plate camera mounted to a metal plate on the stern rail with magnets.
At the helm we have a color display that is really quite clear even at night.
And
because the system is wireless I can easily move the monitor to the
truck to see what's coming up behind the boat on the road (it clips over
the rear view mirror), or I can stick the camera to the back of the van
if I'm not pulling a trailer.
The one pictured below is similar - all
you need is 12vdc at each end (for the camera and display) - there's no
wire needed to connect them.
Being a septerian this trip required some 'improvements' so I could reduce the
need for muscle power. I can get along OK for short spells,
however my wife Suzy now requires more help getting around - she uses a
walker up to a couple hundred feet and needs a wheelchair beyond that.
This can be taxing at a Rest Area especially since the trailer
parking can be a quarter mile (sometimes uphill) to the restroom. We usually stop for one
meal a day and take either the walker or wheelchair depending on the distance to the restaurant.
Also, she's now unable to negotiate the steps up to the boat while
Wallydocking (overnighting in Walmart parking lots). It's nice to be
able to offer that we've totally adjusted to these challenges. Here's what I did to get ready.
I found a little step to help Suzy get in and out of the van - it is quite a ways up.
Nice little collapsible step to help Suzy get up into the van
Then for those times when the facilities were too far from parking at the Rest Area.
A steadying rail around the porta-potty for those 'unfriendly' Rest Areas.
For quick access to the walker and wheelchair, I mounted them on the front of the van.
And to get Suzy up the steps at the back of the boat I made a Suzcalator.
Suzy uses the walker to get to the back of Big Duck
I get the Suzcalator ready.
I help Suzy on to the step and crank her up so all she has to do is step sideways onto the deck.
With these additions we were ready to hit the road - and we did, via I40 west.
I don't like having a schedule, but in this case I'd promised my daughter, son-in-law and two grand-kids (2 and 5) that we'd meet them at the Bullfrog ramp at Lake Powell on May 16th. This meant we'd have 8 days to drive 2,000 miles by leaving on the 9th - that's 250 miles/day and easily accomplished, but I wanted to allow a day for the unexpected and an arrival late on the 15th - now we were looking at about 350 miles/day which is still quite manageable.
We overnighted in Wallmart parking lots every night. This gave us the opportunity to buy the food/supplies we'd need on the lake and also to pick up stuff that we forgot to pack before we left.
An Android app called "RV Parky" let us know which Walmarts were overnight friendly.
Before we hit the road, I replaced and repacked all the trailer wheel bearings and checked the trailer tires. I also gave the van tires a once over noticing that the wear bands would be evident soon, I figured maybe another 5,000 miles on the van tires...enough to get to Powell and back. Every evening on the road I checked all the tires again to be sure we weren't calling it too close, especially on the van.
The 2,000 miles to Lake Powell was fun and uneventful.
We settled in the lot planning for a night there and were soon met by "Merlin" and crew. These folks had driven up from St. George Utah to share some time on the water with us. The boat Merlin (named after our dog) is a ComboCruiser - a little smaller than Big Duck and a lot cuter.
Both boats/crews spent the night aboard in the lot.
The next afternoon, after the family arrived.
Suzy, Packy & Sara showing it's a long way from the water to the parking lot.
The boat ramp there is over a 1/4 mile long.
Merlin greeting Melanie as she comes aboard with Trey
We splashed a few hours later with Trey doing all the work. There was no way I would have considered this adventure if Trey wasn't
going to be part of the crew. He did all the muscle work, prepared all
the meals (including baking a cake aboard) and too many other things to
mention - all of which made the experience a joy for me instead of a
challenge.
Big Duck went in first, then Merlin. Merlin got off the trailer OK but couldn't get the motor running right.
Not enough volts to lite her up!
My crew was anxious to get underway, but Merlin's motor was being stubborn.
Cmon - let's untie this thing and head out!
Packy and Merlin wondering how long we'll be at the dock
After about an hour of selfishly tying up the ramp dock, we finally got Merlin's motor running. Off we both went, heading to a place I thought was ideal for our first night on the water...only in my excitement it wasn't the destination I'd really planned for both of us to spend the night. With Merlin following, we snaked our way up into the wrong shallow canyon. By the time I realized this wasn't the place I had in mind, we ran out of water. I drove Big Duck up onto what I thought was a sand beach -- but it was rocks. I signaled Merlin to head away from where I was. We fumbled for a while trying to get Big Duck into a more advantageous position and finally gave up. Merlin drifted slowly beam to a rock wall. We both decided we would worry about things tomorrow and actually ended up having an rather uneventful night with easy exodus the next morning.
Merlin pinned to the wall.
The next day Merlin followed The Duck to a more accommodating canyon. Merlin stopped at a very nice sand beach where it would be easy to get the kayaks in the water.
Big Duck kept on going for a short spell and found a tidy little natural slip to tie up in.
The next day Merlin's crew showed up in their kayaks.
The plan for the following day was to head to a canyon a ways upstream and snake our way about 5 miles inland to see some petroglyphs, then spend the night there. The day after that we'd head downstream to Rainbow Bridge which would be a couple days run.
As we approached the main channel from the anchorage, we were advised by VHF that Merlin probably couldn't make the petroglyph trip AND the run it to Rainbow Bridge without getting fuel. Merlin would just head back to Bullfrog to fuel up while we made our way toward the pertoglyphs -- they'd catch up with us on our way back down to Rainbow.
I got about 3 miles into the canyon to see the petroglyphs and it dawned on me that if Big Duck were to have a problem we'd be ship out of luck - there was no VHF or cell phone coverage in that area and we had a 2 year old and 5 year old aboard. I decided to turn around (when the canyon became wide enough) and head down to Rainbow. The main channel waters were well traveled and cell/vhf coverage was available in case there was trouble.
As we approached Bullfrog, I remembered a beach I thought would be a good place to overnight. As I approached the beach the wind started kicking up. I decided the beach was too exposed and ran the coast to find a better alternative. The charts showed a small canyon nearby that was upwind. We made our way into that canyon up to a huge wall that protected us from the oncoming wind. Trey graciously secured anchors from both sides of the stern to the beach - he buried those anchors deep into the sand.
I
was patting myself on the back for snaking up a small canyon with a wall
in front of us and ending up with zero fetch. Both anchors were
physically buried and we were sitting on the aft deck in 30 - 40 mph
winds; I opened a beer in celebration. I told
Trey how comfortable I was - we weren't moving an inch. Then a good
gust swung the bow off to the lee taking out the starboard anchor. Trey
jumped off the bow
to try and reset it as I scoped out but it wouldn't catch. We were
now only hooked by one anchor off the stern with the bow still barely on
the beach. Then a super gust hit us broadside. Trey said
the boat rolled so far the chine came out if the water and he could see
daylight all the way to the stern under the boat. This
jerked out the remaining anchor and off we went down the narrow canyon
with Trey just making it
aboard in time.
Trey suggested we light up the engine right away
and as I did I asked him if he could get both anchors back aboard. While
he was working on the anchors I pinballed the Duck away from shallows
on one side then the other. With both anchors aboard we finally made it
back into the open bay. The wind was still howling so we decided to head
into the mooring field amidst the 'parked' houseboats and find an empty
ball to tie up to. By the time we were secure on a mooring the wind
quit. We 'rested' on the mooring for about a half hour, then headed
toward Rainbow Bridge. It would have been nice to have some pictures of the 'excitement', but no one had the inclination to grab a camera/phone while hanging on and wondering if we'd get back to safety on our own. On our way back into the main channel the Merlin crew advised us that the (estimated) 80 mile/hr gust had inspired them to trailer up Merlin and regroup before their next Lake Powell adventure in August. We easily made the anchorage about 1/2 way to Rainbow before dusk. There were a couple other houseboats there but we found a really nice spot between them.
We experienced a very nice sunset.
We were in no hurry to leave the next day because Rainbow was only a few hours away. A fellow approached us late morning in a skiff asking if our radio worked. We told him it did and he asked if we'd call the marina to tell them his rented houseboat had been blown up into the shallows in the storm yesterday but he couldn't raise the marina. We tried to contact the marina but were unsuccessful and we radioed him back to say we weren't much help. We later heard that in his exchange with us via VHF confirming where he was stranded, he was heard by the marina and he was eventually 'rescued'.
During our time on the beach that morning I discovered an abandoned anchor set deeply into the sand. Only a few inches of the shank was visible with some poly line attached. My daughter decided to dig it up. It took about an hour and a half but she was finally successful and we have added a nice genuine Danforth to Big Duck's ground tackle.
Then it was on to Dangling Rope Marina. Dangling rope is only accessible by water. It's a great place to refuel, buy basic supplies and souvenirs. The kids remember it best by the ice cream they have.
Big Duck at the Dangling Rope fuel dock.
Dogs aren't allowed on the dock but the help couldn't resist Merlin.
The whole crew happily licking ice cream.
From Dangling Rope we ran the canyon up to the Rainbow Bridge dock. A few years earlier Sara, Trey and Packy had made the trek up to the bridge - Sara wanted Melanie to experience the same adventure.
Melanie, Sara and Packy at Rainbow Bridge 2015
Sara, Trey and Packy on the Rainbow Bridge Dock 2012
Sara, Packy, Trey & Melanie on the Rainbow Bridge Dock 2015
Suzy and I at Rainbow Bridge 2007 only by the hand of Richard Cook who helped me drag Suzy's wheelchair over 1/2 mile up rocky trails.
After the bridge, we leisurely headed back up the lake toward Bullfrog. We found a very cozy place to beach the boat that night with plenty of daylight left to enjoy the beach, water and just being aboard.
As the pics above suggest, there was no hurry to get going the next morning and in fact it was late afternoon before we got underway. We got back to Bullfrog thinking about spending the night on the beach nearby, but decided to put Bid Duck back on the trailer and take in a meal at the resort restaurant.
The food was nothing to write home about but at least Trey didn't have to cook.
Not waiting to put the boat on the trailer until the last day allowed us all to get our sea legs back before returning to real life. The kids could get a good nights sleep before they hit the road for 300 mile drive to the Salt Lake City airport. I could put the boat back together for the 2,000 mile run home. Before calling it a day, I inquired of the ranger at the ramp about the suggested exodus inspection and he hinted that the inspection was mandatory - you couldn't leave the
park without one.
So, we did get the boat inspected. They walked
around the trailer, confirmed that the drain plug was out, made me drop
the outdrive and inquired if I had any water aboard that came from the
lake such as a livewell. When they were convinced I wasn't harboring any
mussels they put a wire seal between the trailer and the bow eye which
would break loose when I launched the next time. This way I would be
free to launch anywhere there might be an inspection required.
When we brought Big Duck home from Lake Mead about 5 years ago we were
told that due to mussel infestation of Mead that we'd need to have our
boat 'cleared' before we could put her back in the water anywhere else
-- unless the boat wasn't going to be used for 3 weeks...so we didn't
need to get her cleared then but we were presented with an intimidating sign that warned us to be inspected.
When we were at Powell 3 years ago there
was a strict inspection of the boat and trailer prior to launch to make sure Big
Duck wasn't carrying mussels from another lake.
This year (2015)
there was an official at the Powell ramp who advised that we'd need to
get inspected after leaving Powell to make sure we weren't carrying any
mussels. Powell had become infested a year ago. They hinted that without
an inspection we could be stopped on the highway and would have to
comply with an inspection by any state requiring one.
Bottom
line - if you're splashing at a lake that is not infested, you may be
required to be inspected before you splash. If you're boating at a lake
that is infested, you will be encouraged to be inspected after you're
back on the trailer.
The kids left in their rental car for the trip to the airport.
They had 300 miles to drive - I didn't envy them with kids that had just been hyped up by their week on the lake.
I decided we'd do I70 back - there was no hurry and the scenery would be different, but before we hit the road I'd need to empty the holding tank, fill the water tank,check the oil and give all the tires a good going over.
There's a convenient dump station at the campground complimented by a fresh water hose; we took advantage of both. The van oil was surprisingly up to the full mark after the somewhat strenuous 2,000 miles pulling 12,000 lbs, but we were only a hair away from a wear band on one of the van tires, suggesting new tires would be in order, maybe, depending...
The run from Bullfrog to I70 is a very pleasant, scenic drive. We stopped in Hanksville to go potty and I gave the van tires a once over again knowing how close we were to the wear bands. Once we got on I70 I thought I felt a slight vibration from the van but couldn't tell where it was coming from. I played with the speed and changed lanes to see if it was a road problem and eventually decided I was imagining something. A couple hours later we stopped for a late lunch.
The vibration I'd experienced earlier haunted me in the restaurant but a close examination of both the trailer and van tires showed no probable cause. The trailer tires were golden and maybe, just maybe we could make it home before those wear bands showed up on the back of the van?
Back on the road my imagination kicked up again and I told Suzy we were going to get new tires on the van. She suggested it would only be a couple days before we got home but I told her - FIRST EXIT! We'd planned on stopping early that night at a convenient Walmart and it was only about 30 miles away. As I pulled into the lot there was no indication of an Auto Center. We circumnavigated the building and at about 270° we did find the garage doors. It was about 5 o'clock.
I hustled to the service desk and inquired about tires for the van. They had four different "E" rated 16" tires and could install them that day before they closed at 7. I leaned over the counter to look at the screen for my choices. It looked to me like there were 5 choices, the last and cheapest being the same tires I had on my trailer. I inquired about those and the clerk said, " We don't recommend those tires - they're highway tires and don't wear as well as the others for the off-road use they get around here". I told her I was
looking for 'highway' tires with only moderate wear ratings - I've found
the quicker a tire wears the better it is on the wet ramp. Put the cheapies on!
I went back to the shop at about 6:45 and told them I'd like to have the best of the 4
tires to keep as a spare for the trailer. They said, "No problem. While
you're here, have a look at this, it was on the passenger rear (with
the wear inside)."
I don't know how I missed this with my constant attention to the tires
or if it always ended up on the road when I checked or if it happened
quickly. I never saw a problem and never felt a thing when I ran my hand
over the tires.
Moral - never take your tires for granted.
PS - I had balance problems with this set of tries from day 1. I had
them balanced 3 times without success. It wasn't until I had a Road
Force balance done that things smoothed out. I'm guessing this tire was
defective all along.
The van was done right a 7.
Where' the van?
Here's the van in the Walmart bay getting new tires.
I hooked us to Big Duck and we spent the night in the WallMart lot. The next morning we were on the road again, how I love to be on the road again.
We had a lovely trip after that. Using Big Duck's stand up hot water shower and her fine culinary conveniences while meandering slowly home.
Rest Area just before the Johnson Tunnel on I70
The air is thin up at 10,551 feet.
Johnson Tunnel
We Wally docked all the way home.
We shared the lot with this fellow who was doing major work due to an ST tire blowout.
The total trip was 4,069 miles. It was 2003 miles to get back home.
Here's a few stats ...
Total van miles = 4069
Van mpg towing = 8.5
Boat miles = 170
Boat gallons 66.4
Boat mpg = 2.56
Generator
hours = 70 This was for the whole 21 days and included keeping me, Suzy
and Merlin comfortable in the van during restaurant stops and naps.
NAPS? Yes! I indulge in what I call the 100 mile nap. Every 100 miles I
get horizontal on the cot in the back of the van for 20-25 minutes. The remote start for the generator was very convenient. We could start the generator from the van using the key fob, then kick in the window unit in the back of the van.
Yellow cord brings power from the boat generator to the van window air conditioner.
BEER
- For the 21 days away, I averaged a six pack a day. Of course on the
road there was considerably less and on the water considerably more. At
Powell, I opened a beer before I changed out of my PJ's. My wife asked,
"Isn't it a little early?" I replied, "You can't drink all day unless
you start before breakfast!".
