Space Saving Tip : Those pesky plastic shopping bags

When you live in an RV, you think about space - primarily - how do you get MORE out of the space you have.

One area is those pesky little plastic shopping bags. These are extremely useful bags and by reusing them at least you are getting one more use out of them before passing them on.

Some of our uses are :

• lunch bags for carrying my lunch to work
• carrying my gym clothes with me 
• bathroom garbage can liner
• pick up after the dog bags

But if you SAVE them for these uses, they can easily take up a drawer or an undersink cabinet. In a regular house, no big deal. In a 399 square foot fifth wheel that is a problem.

While strolling through Target recently we found a stick on plastic bag holder and we've been using it for several months now and have been thrilled with the product. On the links I'll point you to equivalents on Amazon. 

RV Lighting LED replacement for halogen G4 base bulbs

Lower your electric consumption using LED lights in your RV!

I've always wondered why there are light bulbs being sold with just two pointy leads coming out their base end. It turns out those have a name and an application.

First off, let me show off where the application is located in my RV. In our 2010 Open Range 399BHS we have a pots and pan hanging rack over an island (pretty cool). Inside that rack which the view you have is looking up at the ceiling, there exists three small recessed lights.

Each of these recessed lights contains a G4 halogen bulb. I'm pretty sure that these are 10Watt bulbs. The fixture itself is round of course with two VERY small holes. I don't think you can mount the bulb wrong with these prongs. To remove I :

• Turned the black cover counter clockwise about 1/3 of a rotation. It just dropped off.

• Pulled the bulb straight out.

RV recessed lighting that typically uses a Halogen G4 base Bulb - Ripe for LED replacement

Below, you'll see the original 10W Halogen I removed from the fixtures. On the right, you'll see the LED replacements I ordered.


On the LED replacement there are 6 High Intensity LED's mounted and on the backside some circuitry that makes sure that the 12V RV power is at the correct voltage for the LED's as well as fix a little problem LED's have. The problem is that while the Halogen does not care which way it goes in, the LED's do, so the circuitry is added to make sure the LED's don't care. Its a very long electrical engineering talk to explain, but just know that all LED replacements must have a little circuitry in them.

To replace :

• I simply made sure that the LED's (the yellow things) were point out as they give off the light.
• I them pressed the two prongs into the holes in the fixture where the original halogen bulb was
• I then put the lens on and twisted 1/3 turn clockwise.

So - how did they perform. They were OK as a replacement. They were not as bright as the halogen in my mind, but they do perform admirably.

One important note : I noted that the halogen bulbs get very, very, very hot and that in the ceiling with the insulation and little bug dust that I feel the halogen are a fire hazard. The LED lights COMPLETELY reduce the fire hazard risk to a very, very low level. I would recommend the LED lights for halogen bulb replacement. If possible, get MORE than 6 LED's on the board for a better replacement. However, there are probably brighter LED"s available too.

RV lighting : On the left a G4 base halogen 10W bulb - On the right G4 base LED putting out same amount of light

921 Replacement Bulb for a 360 degree application

Previously, I wrote about a 180 degree application for an LED light to replace a 921 incandescent bulb. I'm also using that article to collect good LED replacements for 921 incandescents as well so I'll go update that article as well. As we think about RV lighting applications, here is an article that talks about the rich variety of lighting applications within an RV.

However, that application was 180 degrees (about 1/2 of the 921 reflects directly onto plastic). This application is for a 360 degree application. For fixtures in which the light bulb hangs down in the fixture and light needs to go everywhere, you need to have a special LED replacement that has LED's sending light into every direction.

360 degree 921 incandescent RV lighting application suitable for LED replacement

The light bulb that is in MOST LED lighting applications is pictured next. It is called a 921 Wedge incandescent light bulb. I've looked around around and it looks like these bulbs put out around 280 lumens - very source dependent on the number so just use it as a weak reference.

921 wedge bulb commonly used in rv lighting

The LED FORM FACTOR (shape of the light or its physical configuration) that makes lots of sense for 360 degree applications.

360 degree led light with 921 wedge base

There are many places to get these, but ONE place you can get lights like this is from ledtrailerlights.com. The particular light in their catalog is the T10 380 or at least that seems to be the part number.

We bought two of these and replaced both 921's in the application I'm showing above. Here are my notes.

• The replacement 'bulb' fit perfectly.
• The WARM WHITE is a GREAT replacement.
• Given the 380 lumens is significantly larger than the 280 nominal lumens it should be brighter than the 921.
• It was significantly brighter - the wife loves it.
• This is a keeper and we'll mark this as a good 921 replacement for campers.
• The base of the light is COLD TO THE TOUCH! That will be great for the summers.

I'll make a short video later!

Why your RV feels hotter than the thermometer says it is

The other day I was asking some other RV folks why I actually FELT stuffier, or warmer in our RV, even when the temperature inside seems normal, or even on the cool side.

It turns out that the rv air conditioner was working just fine.

But what is going on is very interesting. The rv air conditioner cools the air, but in the summer, the outside of the RV is very hot. Since an RV has thinner wall than a traditional house, there is a NEW type of 'getting hot' that most of us are not as accustomed to being exposed. Its called radiant heat.

The radiant heat warms your body even though the air in the RV is just fine. You can think of the radiant heat as a form of heat that can travel from one body (used for more than human bodies) to the other without actually heating the air.

Most of us did not experience this in a traditional house or apartment because the walls are thicker and the insulation is better.

How do you solve this?

Its easy. You just have air moving in the RV. Have lots of rv fans, or rv ceiling fans, or even make sure the rv air conditioner is moving air. The air will remove the heat from your body and you'll feel great.

Finally, you'll benefit too, because keeping the air moving will allow you to keep your thermostat a little higher, saving you energy.

Excellent led replacements for 921 wedge RV incandescent bulbs

NOT a very flashy title. Sorry. But you'll REALLY want to know this, and you simply CAN'T easily find this out on the web.

The light bulb we are trying to replace is called a "921" light bulb with a "wedge style base". This bulb runs on 12 Volts DC (all/most RV systems operate on this system). This 921 wedge bulb consumes about 18Watts of electricity. I'm thinking this puts out about 280 lumens (hard to find GOOD data on this). So the efficiency of this type of bulb is 15 Lumens per Watt, which is fairly low for an incandescent.

921 wedge style light

The application I tested the LED replacements is pictured here. Notice that any light only needs to send out light in a half circle (180 degrees) :

Acceptable led light replacements for rv lighting 921 wedge style bulb

• superbirghtleds.com - WLED-WWHP10-DAC : $14.95 each : this WARM WHITE color tone LED light is almost a perfect replacement for the 921 wedge. There were two 921's in the fixture and I replaced it with two WWHP10-DAC's. So you can see I replaced about $3 of lighting with around $30 of lighting. I still think it is cool. I can tell you that the LED color tone is VERY VERY close to the 921. Also I can tell you that I think the WWHP10 was just slightly brighter and the color tone was actually just enough whiter to illuminate the area a little bit better. I was very pleased. The specs say the LED light bulb would put out 98 lm.  I'll follow up on that later and verify. The current draw is 0.2 amps so the total power consumed would be 2.4 Watts. ASSUMING that my eyes are NOT lying when I say this is equivalent to the 921, we can probably use 280 Lumens as the reference, then the efficiency of this bulb would be near 116 lumens per watt. I don't understand how the mfg got 98 lm / LED in their specs? But I'm pretty impressed overall.
• ledtrailerlights.com - T10 Wedge 380 : Another warm white bulb, but arranged for 360 degree light. Puts out 380 lumens and it fully replaced another 921 application. These are $17.95 each, but have many more LED's on the 'bulb'. Significantly brighter than the 921. WE highly recommend.
  

As I find out more decent replacements, I'll list them here.

Marlan

WE love our fireplace and we NEVER buy wood or carry ashes!

Why?

Because it is an electric fireplace. In fact, we own an RV and we have a fireplace. An electric RV fireplace - who'd'thunk? I think that is the funniest, coolest, and oddest thing - all at the same time.

When we were shopping for a new RV, Sheri wanted a fireplace and I thought it was very silly. But now that we have it I think I like it better than her. It puts out GREAT heat, isn't too expensive to operate ( see our article on the cost of heating our RV in the Texas winter using the rv fireplace ), and it looks really great.

Look, we know the fire isn't real. It looks FAIRLY real, and it creates a fantastic ambiance in the RV even if it isn't a real fireplace. Before you knock it, I really recommend you give it a try.

I went ahead and took some video of the rv fireplace, which by the way is made by Dimplex, so that you can see the rv fireplace in action. The Amazon links I've provided are not the exact unit, but they are fairly representative and can give you a great start to avoiding wood and ashes. The actual unit we have is called the Dimplex BF8000. Here is the Dimplex BF8000 Manual, which I've put online on Google Docs for all of you.

Disclosure : I added the crackling fire and crickets to the video. I'm so sorry. I just could not help myself.

Enjoy the video...

Hey Texas - I bet I paid less in energy last month than you!

It is Feb 1 and I have my electric bill for part of December and all of January. During that month Austin Texas has been pretty cool overall (not compared to the country, but compared to Austin's normal). We had several freezing days when normally we don't have more than one. Here is the austin weather data from Jan 2011.

During this month AND December we switched from RV LP Gas hot water (flick of a button in an RV). We also ONLY used the furnace about 5 nights when the temperature got very cold. All other heating came from the RV electric fireplace (I love the RV fireplaces - they seem cheesy, but now that we have one, I love it) which easily could keep the RV livable when it was approx 40 degrees outside and the inside temperature could be maintained at 70 degrees.

[ I linked the electric fireplace's above to ones listed on Amazon. I think they are very similar. ]

So HOW MUCH DID IT COST US IN ELECTRIC in 1/2 of December and all of January 2011 in Austin Texas in our wonderful Open Range 399 BHS fifth wheel RV?

$62

That is a month and a half everyone. We NEVER suffered or sacrificed. We kept our water hot (we did NOT use our previous techniques for saving on energy costs for an RV hot water heater) on all the time, we kept the inside comfortable, we used the TV, the stereo, the computers. Sometimes we even left the door open to world (I have children). And it only cost us $62.What did YOU pay? Post a comment.

So you see, this is why living small (like the California tiny house revolution) and in RV's are very energy efficient and good for the planet. Here is another article on why RV's are good for the planet and the green revolution.

RV Lifestyle : The Tiny House Revolution

A great many of my friends & family think I'm crazy for living in 270 square feet. But honestly I love it. Its a little cramped so we're upgrading to 399 square feet (an Open Range 399BHS) which I'll write about in upcoming articles.

But I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of the trend and I've written about this before. But today on Yahoo, I read this article on living in tiny houses and it is nice to get some affirmation. Now this article is NOT about RV's but you can't help but think about an RV.

If you read the article, you'll see a bias that trailer homes are low quality, and personally I think they are. The article discusses the higher quality used in "tiny houses", which happen to have wheels. One thing I'm amazed about is that most people don't realize that the RV is much higher quality than a trailer house - why - because it can't shake apart when it gets 50,000 or 100,000 miles on it.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the article!

RV Lifestyle : List of Ways RV's are Green and Ways to Improve

I love living in the RV so far. It represents so much of what I believe is 'right' and 'true' to do in this world. Philosophically, it is completely against the consumer-ish mindset that seems to be prevalent. It is about less=more, small=big. I thought I would list some of the ways RV's are green and also a second list on how RV's can be better.

Ways RV's are Green or Environmentally Friendly

• Living in an RV, you simply buy less stuff.
• Black water tanks make you conscious of your waste.
• Small hot water heaters make you take shorter showers.
• Small space is smaller to heat.
• Small space is smaller to cool.
• Smaller refrigerator/less storage = more fresh food / more fresh purchases / more local consumption.
• You can move closer to your work so you can drive less.
• Small space means small outdoor space means less 'land footprint' required.
• RV dwellers tend to be outside more (less air conditioning)
• DC voltage system lends itself well to LED lighting
• Small space with windows on both sides means it is easier to get get a breeze through.
• Built in furniture means you don't buy furniture and big things - not filling up landfills.
• Awnings are naturally part of the RV experience and they keep things cool so you use less air conditioning.
• People tend to cook outside more w/ an RV meaning that the heat from cooking doesn't require the cooling to counteract.
• RV hot water heaters are really easy to turn on/off lending themselves to simply turning off and saving energy.
• LP Gas bottles make you THINK about saving LP Gas so you don't have to fill them up so much.

Ways RV's can improve their Environmental impact

• RV's seem to use lots of plastics which I'm not so sure are great materials for the environment.
• RV's don't seem to have great insulation which I think is a problem.
• RV's seem to be subject to the sunlight and get awfully hot. There has to be a way to make them even more able to reject the sun's heating ways.
• RV's black water system may encourage too much water usage to keep clean and waste water.
• RV's black water system probably ought to be more sophisticated - too many people putting chemicals in the black water to keep clean. Maybe the gray water could be pumped into the black to re-use the gray to flush the black out?

Those were some things I was thinking about. What about you?

RV Basics : Showering in the RV Version 2

A seemingly silly subject, but you do it once or twice a day. I wrote about showering in an RV already, but I have an update worth mentioning!

In the article above, I mentioned that how I do it so I can have a very long long shower with plenty of hot water is to have the hot water heater very HOT and just trickle the hot water out and add cold until comfortable. This is in contrast to most people in less constrained situations who will turn on the hot a great deal then add cold to mix. In an RV with a 6 gallon hot water heater, you don't have much time to get showered. Being in a hurry is NO fun.

An alternate which came from a friend who doesn't like the alternate and was complaining to me is this. Don't worry about hot water capacity. Get the temperature correct and then using the on/off button on the shower head itself (most RV showers are equipped with this) you spritz yourself down, turn-off, lather, turn-on to rinse and do this until you are satisfied.

Anyway, I wanted to pass this on. Also I can't help but think that perhaps this different method is more ecologically friendly ( green ). Will the whole world have to do this when water becomes the most sacred, scarce and most precious substance on our planet?

RV Toad : Neat article on an electric cooper

While the RV is just a tent in the back of the mini-cooper, this was a really interesting article on an electric car  charging from the campground pedestal. Since it seems that there is a preponderance of very technical people who are RV'ers  (retired military, engineers, mechanics, and more) I thought this was of general interest to everyone.

Click HERE for the article about the electric mini-cooper.

Outdoor House : More on Outdoor bathroom

For our outdoor house that the RV will be an integral part, we keep coming back to the bathroom as one of the important pieces.

Here is a picture of a bathroom that really captures what we want. It is OPEN. We're completely sure you can do this in Texas and only a FEW days of the year the temperature is a problem.

Green RV - RV is more New Economy than you think

If you search on Google for "green RV", you'll find 100's of articles, such as this fine Peter Greenberg article.

You cannot doubt that innovation will continue around fuel efficiency, lower weight, better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling among other innovations.

Beyond energy efficiency, green RV's have the added advantage that you can dry-camp or boon dock longer, you can do more stops without hookups, you can get by with a smaller tow vehicle or engine, you can make less runs to buy LP. Green is actually a BETTER RV experience. So all the built in incentives have been in place from the beginning of time - regardless of your position on green today. In other words, RV users would prefer green due to the conveniences even if they didn't care about green!

But there are huge shifts in the American economy taking place that may forever change the relationships to RV's.

First, while I am not a full-timer, Sheri my wife, full-timed for two years in Puma. But it is my observation that the full-timers are WAY ahead of the rest of us for bunches of reasons you may have never considered.

1) Since when is living in a 1500 square foot house an entitlement? Prior to 1950 (approx) people lived in smaller houses. It seeems that around 1960 on to about now (2009/2010) the trend has been to get bigger houses. But do you really NEED that space. And now with mortgages being more difficult to get, and American employment less secure, the reality is that homes will be smaller. To a degree, the RV is the perfect small home and you can locate it anywhere you want! In general, living in less space and consuming less space should be the future trend.

2) Go where the jobs are! The idea of staying rooted just isn't what it used to be. For many reasons, people are more mobile than ever. Also, the American economy benefits when a free flow of labor can occur. Look at the problems in Michigan with the car company troubles. A more mobile attitude would allow those people to relocate much quicker. That relocation would get them jobs, and to the chagrin of some, lower wages in the areas with employent. But you know - we're going to have to get used to lower wages. They aren't the end of the world, just the end of too much greed. RV's are the most mobile of homes - sturdy, mobile and you can have fun vacationing, meeting new people, and visiting new areas.

3) Take your job with you. Related to #2, if you can use the network and the computer to make a living, why stay in one spot! RV's are a great place to live if you are a techie and don't have a lot of stuff.

4) American's wealth relative to other nations is coming more inline with reality. We had it great folks but really, we were an abnormality of sorts. Our wealth was unprecedented. I don't see a huge economic disaster with the Obama spending, because our economy - so far - has been good at fairly soft landings, but I think that when all the dust clears, we'll realize that we all will have to live with just a little bit less and have a more realistic attitude regarding our earning power, and consequently our ability to have 'things'. RV's are nice because if you have one and try to live in one, then you learn that 'stuff' isn't so important. RV's make sure that you carry with you, only the most necessary items.

5) If you think about an outdoor house concept, like Sheri and I are thinking, then that will use the RV as the environmentally tightly controlled living shell with a covered but open area that uses non-traditional methods of climate control for MOST of our living. Our goal is to spend most of our days outside! This should be the ultimate in living BIG while living GREEN (because the environmental control zone is small) and lowering the cost and environmental footprint of the home (because the materials are simple - avoiding insulation, avoiding synthetic flooring and more). RV's can and will be an INTEGRAL part of that concept, even if the the 'shell' won't be a true RV in the sense of the word.

These are some thoughts I have had about RV's and the new economy (green, less, and mobile). What do you think? Leave some comments that add to the discussion or give me pause to rethink things.

Hot Water Heaters

It turns out that turning on and off hot water heaters ISN'T just about saving energy. This article, sent to me by a reader of my RV (recreational vehicle) blog pointed out some other thinking about hot water heaters.

Read this article about reasons to keep the hot water heater ON AND at 140 degrees F!

You be the judge? How susceptible to bacteria might you be?

Turning On and Off the Water Heater to Save Electricity

If my recreational vehicle ( RV ) is plugged into an all electric system (like a 50 Amp) and I heat my hot water with electric, is it better to turn off the hot water heater when I don't use it or leave it on all the time?

I spoke with Dr. Paul Ballentine, an MIT and SUNY Grad with expertise in Thermodynamics and he said turning off a hot water heater at anytime is a good idea. Paul is very active in the green energy community in Austin Texas so I consider him a pretty strong source.

The reason people think it is not a good idea, according to Paul, is that there is a misconception that hot water heaters consume more energy when they are starting up.

I personally searched the web and could not find anything that said that hot water heaters consume more energy on the startup phase. So you can feel assured that it is OK to turn off the hot water heater (assuming turn on is easy) and you will save energy.

Here is a reference to a nice simple model from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Notice that there is not a penalty variable in the formula for startup!