index

Putting it all together6 My Poochies

Internal Water Storage

When I first bought the travel trailer it made a buzzing noise every time that a faucet was turned on. And it was normal! I learned that it was called an on-demand water pump. It was the most childish, primitive system that I had ever heard of. Despite the stupid method of pumping, Linda and I decided to continue on with its use, and take the RV to the coast. During one of my showers, Linda noticed water slowly creeping across the floor. It was coming from under a wall. I tracked it down to two leaky hoses. And, in my opinion, part of the cause was the vibration and banging of that damn pump. I called the dealer, where I had a "Bumper to Bumper" warrantee.

Warrantee? Well, sort of: It was not covered. At least not paid for. OK, that is a separate lesson that I will not get into here.

But I had a wonderful sales person. His name was Joe, and remembered us very well; We had just bought the RV. He felt sorry for us, and I am sure "guilty". I told him I had poor cell service and did not know the town. He took charge, and said he would start calling around on my behalf. When he called back, he had located a place that would make me up a couple of hoses on the spot! With the correct connectors and length and everything. In fact, they were waiting for me. He was the only sales person that I ever liked.

When I returned home, the tools came out, and trailer would never be the same. I redesigned the whole darn intire system.

Dad was poor. But he had a superior system than these damn RVs! I created three Expansion Chambers that are more than expansion chambers; They are pressurized water reservoirs. My dad had one on his well pump system. I think it was 30 or 50 gallons, stainless steel, and it was called a "tank". But it actually was a Pressure Tank, and its purpose was to store water. It did not have a diaphragm, or if it did, it leaked.

I guess that I am the only RVer that has such a system; A system, the same as a domestic house or farm with a well. It is vastly superior to normal water-on-demand pumps that are found in RVs and campers.

But it has to be modified for RV use. RVs require no leaks. Especially in unseen areas, for example insulation in walls. Artificial RV wood made of pressed cardboard, or Particle board is especially susceptible. Water itself does not cause the damage. By far, more damage and mold is caused by dampness. A drip can cause more damage than a river. ...Counter intuitive as that may seem.

My dad may of had a bleed valve at the top of the tank. This was used to periodically recharge the tank with air. As a valve, it possibly would leak water, but like all valves, it did certainly leak air, just like in tires. As a consequence of extra air leakage, dad's work was made harder by more frequent Recharging, howbeit easier to do. Water under pressure will absorb air even if the valve is absolutely perfectly airtight. Dad, with a valve on top, had to recharge every few months. We could tell when the pump needed recharging: The pump would cycle on and off too frequently. The tank was "water logged". We would open a convenient faucet valve at the bottom, and there was gurgling and gulping as air once again entered the tank.

In the RV, I got around the problem by using upsidedown bottles, and one huge PVC tube with the end very well capped off. They do not leak - practically impossible - at least in principle.

I got away from the possibility of a leak, and also got away from the frequency of recharging. Water will always naturally absorb air if under pressure. The need to recharge is still there, it is only reduced. But the problem remained of technically just how to recharge, as a procedure.

I was somewhat successful by inserting a valve directly below each Expansion chamber. Now water could be drained and air bubbles introduced. I knew it could be tricky, but I had seen it work for Dad's tank. This worked for two of the three accumulators. So two out of three is a start.

I started thinking. There is a better way...

I got the idea from a lake in africa. The lake "overturned" one day and killed a lot of people and animals. Methane gas or carbon dioxide was held in solution down at the bottom of the lake due to water pressure from above. I could release the air in solution in my bottles by heating. But that is not practicle as the introduction of electrical wires would cause water leaks. But there in Africa, pipes were installed down into the water that pierced the critical pressure layer. Now, with only one atmosphere of pressure at the top of the pipe, the gas rushed to the surface through the pipe. I do not reclaim the absorbed air; I replace the air. I recharge air at the top of the chamber with a plastic hose.

Compared to the Africa thing; This is the same thing, just different. ...As my brother Ben would say. I inserted a smaller tube inside the normal tubes. I fed the smaller tube well up in the chamber.




The small tube was somewhat limp on its own, as it continued on out of the bigger tube. So I fed an aluminum wire up inside the smaller tube. It fed fairly easily as the bumps had already been negotiated and mastered by the small tube.

Down below, the other end of the small tube is routed to a place where there will be air when the drain valve is opened. Before opening the drain valve, the small tube will have the same ratio, or less, of water to air in its line as the bottles. That is fine, the process is spontaneously triggered. After opening the drain valve, the weight of the water in the bottle will produce a negative pressure at the top of the bottle in the air portion. Once the small tube is exposed to atmospheric pressure, and air, at its lower end, the bottle will suck up air and water up into the top of the bottle. The low end of the small tube will be bathed in outgoing water, mixed with incoming air. It is not pure air that is being sucked up the tube; It has a lot of bubbles and water. But it does not matter. All of the water leaves the bottle. It seems to take little effort to start the process. It is spontaneous.


This accumulator is under the kitchen sink.
It is a 1.5 liter wine bottle.
It is lit from behind with a green LED, which comes on when the cabinet door is opened.
It has a couple of Ice Packs, one touching the imput line, one touching the glass, to help conserve heat in case of freezing.
All accumulators have a couple of incandesent bulbs near by, that produce heat if the temperature is less than 35 degrees.
There is a soap dispenser on its left.


Here are all my Accumulators.
And a more in depth description... Accumulator page  


My Main Accumulator is a 4 ft piece of 2.5 inch PVC pipe. It is installed vertically, behind the refrigerator, in the refrigerator vent area. Comparatively, my glass ones are just "pretty" things of little volume. My main accumulator, 4ft PVC, drains OK without an inserted tube.
My big PVC pipe accumulator holds 2/3 of 3.8 Liters of water at 2 atmospheres. Two atmospheres is 32 lbs of pressure. All the accumulators, the two glass bottles and the ABS pipe, hold over one gallon of water. The gallon of water is delivered from 2 atmospheres down to 1 atmosphere. One atmosphere is about 15 lbs.


Many times I have showered with one gallon. But usually the pump comes on at least once; That is over a gallon. So, my showers are a little over a gallon.
But Linda has a different story: With her, the pump comes on three or four times. That is three or four gallons! That is a lot of gallons. In her defence, she says it is her hair. No matter; That is OK, because she is a girl. In an RV, the same rules to not apply to girls.

The order of our showers is important:
We have a 6 gallon hot water tank, primarily heated by the sun. It takes all morning for the water to get above 113F degrees. So we have one shot at this per day. By the time Linda is done, the temperature has dropped into the 90s, and girls have to start to think about time to hop out. But if I go first, we can both get a hot shower in comfort.

Or...

We still have another way to heat the water:
We also have the propane...
I can turn on the propane switch on the hot water heater.
In zero to fifteen minutes, she can go first.
Easy Peasy.

The RV Pouchies

Taffy in the van.
Taffy is not concerned about the water, unless her feet are dirty. In this picture, she only is concerned about me, and if I am coming back.
She is a good little buddy.


Lexy was the only dog that understood water cleaning of the paws. On the outside shower wand of the RV, she would lift, and hand me, each paw to water down, squeeze and clean. I did not have to lift each paw. She would willingly give me each paw on her own in succession until all four were washed. That kept my hands free. She could read my mind. I think she understood RV stuff, and loved to run up and down sandy beaches. With all kinds of tasks, she knew what I wanted, and eager to please me. It was her nature.

I had her totally potty trained in two days working with a cardboard doggie door. She never had a single accident in 18 years of her life.

I taught her not to bark if she wanted something. I taught her to "grount" a sound. She also tapped me on my knee with her paw when she wanted something. A practice which she picked up on her own.

She was the most well adjusted dog that I have had, or that I know of. I miss her.
...A wonderful dog.


Taffy, on the other hand, is impatient. For example in the washing of paws, thinks we are done with only a half paw. But there are three and a half to go.

She is quick and alert. However, she is the only dog that is a "barker". Never had a shitzu watch dog. Never knew they existed. But Linda likes it.

Taffy has sharing issues. She will leave her food bowl to examine the other dogs food bowl to see if it is bigger. She will look up at me if she thinks it is better food or bigger. I know what she is thinking. She will go over and remove a toy if Callie is too close to it. And Callie has absolutely no interest in it.

Taffy is loving, and a continual close contact "touchy" dog. She has to sleep next to you to feel the breathing or heartbeat. Taffy is the most physically loving dog. I have woke many times to find her head resting on my neck or side.

Taffy is so fun to be around, interrelates supper well in a human world. Loves to watch TV. Brings her doggy dish when she is hungry. Stacks her toys in one area, remembers every one of them.

Taffy is also the most intelligent dog that we have ever had.
Also, the most healthy.
...Fantastic dog.


Callie is the most emotionally loving dog. But she also has emotional problems: For example when it thunders she shakes and shivers with anxiety. She never has me out of sight. She hides under my feet when frightened. She runs to me when worried. She barks and calls for me if she has a problem. She has separation anxiety.

Callie is the only dog that I could have off leash with confidence, and know she is somewhere, still near my side. During her play, she always looks for me.

I think she would die without me.


We almost did not accept Callie when she was a baby, but she was basically the only one left, with the exception of one male. And, to make matters worse, she was hiding under a table, and would constantly shy away. You could not touch her as she would cry in some imaginary anticipated pain. And if your hand approaches her too fast, she would snap, and would a bite. But it was this very feature that attracted me to her. I knew for sure that I could help her. Linda was bit several times and wanted to return her, but I said no. Linda said no one in their right mind would ever accept this dog. I thought that some kid, after school playing with the puppies, had stepped on her. Taffie was extremely traumatized by something. But I saw her value. And we should help her. No! We WOULD help her, and she would be part of the family.

In addition, we could not get her to eat. Food would just fall out of her mouth. Clearly, she was too young to eat or had damage to her stomach. Linda and I hand fed her until she could eat on her own.

Today, Callie still has emotional problems; remnants of a lost past memory of her childhood. She still has problems if she is surprised. She will stifle a snap in mid air. She will catch it in mid air, and act so sorry afterward. She does not mean to. She can change a half hearted bite to a lick in one move. And after putting my face to hers, get another lick. Now that shows an involuntary action that from babyhood she can not control. If I raise my voice, Callie will run out the doggie door with her tail down, tucked between her legs. Her greatest fear in the world is to make me unhappy. Just the thought - or possibility - that I could be angry at her is terrifying. When I go outside and retrieve her, she will shake in my arms. I can pet her, but it takes a while to calm her down.

She can also go into an uncontrolled coughing spell. I give her a small pill: Prednisolone 5mg. For anxiaty. Works great.

I merely whisper commands, and she will instantly obey me. I have seen her in a full run after a squirrel. And I have said Stop. And I have seen her instantly stop the chase. And freeze! And look back at me. It is inconcievable to me how a dog can possibly change from doing the funest thing in the whole world - which is something ingrained - to staring back at me - frozen! With total attention to me. But it is true!

I am her reference in life; the center of her world. I know Callie would suffer and fail without her Rock.



Email to C.A.Pennock