Leaving the Spittoon Behind

Tonight I got the drain hooked up to the sink so I no longer have to spit into a used McDonalds cup when brushing my teeth.   It is those little things in life that really make it all worth living.  It was another night of landing into my friend Craigie’s driveway.   He wasn’t home initially but since I was last there he has installed a brand new garage door opener.   No more having to hope his son was home to give me the door key.  Just remember a significant date in world history, punch in the year and the door went right up.

First things first, I was again having a very tiny gas leak at a flare union under the area of the kitchen sink.   This is the same spot I took apart last week and thought I had fixed.   Before it had a very small sliver of copper that was crossing the surface of the flare and allowing a very small leak.  I think before it was a remnant of the tube cutting about the thickness of a hair.  An obvious problem with a simple solution.  I was sure finding and removing it would fix the leak but last night when I got in the van I could smell a faint hint of gas again and tracked it down to this same spot.   What I tried to do last night when I found it was was tighten it up just a touch more but I could really barely turn it.   When I would spray on the soap solution it was putting out a small bubble every second or so.  Tonight, fixing it once and for all (again) I applied a very small amount of thread-lock onto the surface of the flare.   Then on the threads I applied some oil.   These were both solutions found on the you-tubes so I will have to see how they pan out for me.  If this again doesn’t work I am going to replace the union with a shutoff valve.

Then on to the drain.  I don’t have money for a holding, or “grey water” tank right now so I am just going to run the drain out through the floor.  My plan is to use a bucket under the pipe if I am going to be going through a lot of water, like washing dishes or something.   For just the small time, teeth brushing, hand washing, I am going to let it run out on the ground.   When you are putting in a drain in a house you have to have what is called a “trap” under the sink.   This is an S curve in the pipe so a little water stays in the drain at all times.   The reason for this is so sewer gas can’t come back up the drain causing a (best case) smelly or (worst case) explosive, gas buildup inside your home.   In my situation I don’t have that worry so I could have just run a pipe straight down.  But, I decided to install a trap any way just to prevent a possible bug infiltration point.  I don’t need mosquitos, which are particularly vicious up here in the frozen wasteland, walking their asses up the drain.

It took a couple of trips to the Big Box to round up all the parts I needed.  I ended up using the components of two different drain pipe kits to amass all the right parts to get this to work.   Most of the kits are made for drains that move the water horizontally to a wall where your house plumbing drain pipe is.   Some are made to move the water downward, through a floor drain pipe, but those don’t move the water horizontally at all.   What I wanted to do is go from the drain of my sink, horizontally to the side wall, then down and through the floor.   By purchasing a couple of kits and an extra 1-1/4” elbow I got all the parts I needed.

I was just looking into my next task when Craigie got home.   I had cut two 1x6 boards, planning on mounting them to the steel frame members of the van down at the foot of my bed.   My original plan was to mount them into position and mark the bolt positions for the TV wall mount.  Then, unmount the boards, drill the holes and insert stainless steel carriage bolts poking from the outside, into the van.   I would shoot some construction adhesive over the base of the bolt and then remount the boards into place.   But, I admit this plan had some problems.   I am not ready to install the interior plywood yet.   Having these bolts sticking into the room, requiring this exact pattern to be drilled into the plywood and then the plywood fit into place without knocking the bolts loose, I knew that was going to be tough.  Plus, I was somewhat worried the glue on the bolts might come loose just from the vibration of driving.   If this happens down the road-a-ways, after I have the walls all done, I could have some real problems if I ever need to remove the TV mount.  I won’t be able to do it because  unless the glue is holding, the bolt will just spin when I try to loosen it.

A T-nut. 

This is where it really helps to have a friend in the business.   He suggested using “T nuts” that would attach to the back of the wood using some little built in spikes that would dig into the wood.  Doing it this way instead of my plan I will be able to fit the plywood in without worry about dislodging the bolts.   If the plywood had to flex, I will be able to do so.  He didn’t have any of these nuts in stock in his van so I put this project off to another night after I picked some up. 

No glue required.   Using a Kreg jig and screw
the joint is unbelievably strong!

What we did instead was cut the walnut floor boards to form the frames for the table legs to fit into.  Again, my friend in the business has all the cool tools.   He introduced me to something called a Kreg jig.  These tools use a special drill bit and special screws to tightly join wood.   In my case I took some of the walnut flooring I ripped down to remove the groove side of the board.   Then, I cut a 45 degree angle into the corners making basically a picture frame with a two inch hole in the middle, like to hold the picture.  Then, using the Kreg jig, we were able to cut screw holes at exactly the right angle to join from one corner to the facing corner.  One screw in each corner and the little frame was amazingly strong.   

With these frames now built I am a step closer to the day I can get the rest of the flooring installed.   Can’t wait!

One more thing.   The last night I was at my borrowed shop I did one really cool thing.   Sitting there, leaning against a shelf of paint cans was a solar panel exactly the physical size I want to install on the van.  It was a few years old, so it was rated a third less wattage than panels built today.   Still, it provided me with a great idea of how the van will look once I get the panels installed.

A 6" PVC pipe clamped on to hid the under
side of the solar panel.

My idea is to run a couple of pipes from the front roof rack frame to the back one.   Then mount the panels on top of that frame.   I want to be able to swivel the panels up to gather peak sunshine during the winter when the sun is low.  And I want  then to sort of blend in and be disguised up there on the roof if possible.   Digging around a bit more I found a 6” PVC pipe and I was able to clip it on under the panel to provide some camouflage to the underside of the panel.

Getting the panel up there was a bit of a chore since I am working alone.  They are heavier than I expected them to be.   It was really great seeing what the van will look like with the panels on.  The whole  setup/teardown and photos took me over an hour but it was totally worth it to get this glimpse into the future!

The panel in place with the 6" PVC disguise
pipe mounted underneath.

The panel will actually have to be moved forward on the van
some so I have room for the roof vent to open behind it.