Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Day 38 - A Scare Back Home, Early Christmas

I have been using Zip-Loc freezer bags with the sous vide appliance. Supposedly, they are less than optimal as they do have a tendency to break and the seals leak slightly. A vacuum sealer is what is recommended and Bridget had ordered one for me. It is the Aobosi model YVS-102. It only draws 100 watts so no problem using it off of the inverter. I’m trying it today with balsamic-sage chops. Cooking at 136°F for a couple of hours. A bit longer than the recipe since the chops are still half frozen.

We are in a 30 amp RV site which is about ¼ of the electric power capacity of a 50 amp site so we have to be careful what electric appliances are running. For example, the water heater, heat pump, and microwave/convection oven can’t be running at the same time. Maybe two high draw items at a time. This RV has a power management system that will automatically limit what can run at a given time. In general, it works as long as you know what it’s doing. For example, yesterday I ran the convection oven, when the heat pump switched on the water heater and the washer turned off.

The scare back home was that my son texted me this afternoon that the temperature in the house was 59°F instead of the more normal 68°F this morning. I called the fuel oil company and they said that there should be about 200 gallons in the tank but they will send a truck over today and fill it up. Just in case. During his lunch break, my son returned home and found the reset button on the oil burner and it started right up. The scare is that it is supposed to drop to -36°F later this week. The furnace not working would be a disaster.
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9 comments:

  1. Geoff JamesDecember 18, 2019 at 11:37 AM

    That was certainly a scare back home Richard! For those of us in warmer climes, we take such things as minor inconveniences but where you are, it has far more serious connotations.

    Every good wish to you and your family for the festive season!

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    1. RichardMDecember 18, 2019 at 5:29 PM

      Thank you and merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  2. david RDecember 18, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    Maybe -30 but likely not where your place is. I used a Tempstick to monitor the shop and a Sensaphone Web600 to monitor the house and freezer. We always power off the water pump and hot water heater before going out of town. Antifreeze in the heating system is good insurance. I've thought about draining down the domestic water side too. Glad it was a simple fix... now why did it trip off?

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    1. RichardMDecember 18, 2019 at 5:32 PM

      My son is staying at the house and he notified me in the morning when he noticed that it was colder than usual. I probably should set up some sort of temperature monitoring. Maybe when I return in February. The burner needed to be reset about 4-5 times in the last 20 years. I don't know why it tripped or even what could cause it to need reset.

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  3. david RDecember 18, 2019 at 9:41 PM

    Fairly rare occurrence then. In my experience it was dirty burner optical sensor. And always happened at an inopportune time.

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    1. RichardMDecember 20, 2019 at 12:33 PM

      Thank you! I’ll check that. I think I remember the furnace guy mentioning that.

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  4. redlegsridesDecember 20, 2019 at 5:48 AM

    Heck, anything -10 or below would get my attention! Glad Kyle found the reset button. I see another deployment of a Pi computer in your future....

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    1. RichardMDecember 20, 2019 at 12:34 PM

      For just monitoring or a small solenoid to punch the reset button remotely?

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    2. redlegsridesDecember 20, 2019 at 12:47 PM

      Hah, that’d be something

      Delete

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