DeBary, FL.
57 deg., clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Guess what???? The parts for my Aqua Hot furnace came in by UPS about 10:15 and Dan started to reassemble the furnace right away. Everything went together without a hitch and by about 12:30 the furnace was running and Jim was hooking CLT up to the back of me.
Now, Dan would normally have gone to lunch at noon, but because he knew that Jim wanted to get me through Orlando before the traffic became too heavy, he delayed going to lunch until he had me repaired.
Thanks Dan! : )
So, by 1:00 the bill was paid, and we were heading towards a gas station near there to get me a nice drink of #2 diesel fuel. : ) Then it was a short drive back to I-4 where we turned NE and headed for DeBary.
Just before we got to Orlando, there was an accident in the left lane which caused us some delay, but once past that, the traffic moved pretty smoothly all the way through the city. By 2:40 I was pulling up in front of the office here at the Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort.
Actually, even though we stopped for my drink and got delayed for the accident, it only took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to travel the 75 miles up here.
Once here, I sat out in front of the office while Jerry, (the park manager), took Jim around the park to look for a site that was nice and that I could fit into. They finally found a site but a low hanging tree branch had to be trimmed before Jim could back me in. Once that was trimmed, Jim backed me in and now I'm settled into site #198 which is just a short way past the Clubhouse.
So, this is where I'll be for the next 2 months. I think I'm going to like it here. Already, many of the neighbors have come over and welcomed me into the park. ; )
Seems like really nice people here. : )
Oh and by the way. . . . . I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
I hope all of you have a great day. : )
Did you know that the first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days?
Showing posts with label Aqua Hot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aqua Hot. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
One Problem Repaired and Waiting On The Second
Lakeland, FL.
67 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Patchy fog early in the morning. A slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
As soon as Lester came in to work yesterday morning, Jim went into the office to talk to him. Lester was busy getting everything ready for the work day, so Jim didn't stay long. He did, however, tell Lester exactly what my problems were and how my furnace and alternator were acting.
Glen, (the shop foreman) came out about 8:00 and backed me into a spot along side of the building and plugged me into electric, but being that Lester had kind of squeezed me into the schedule, no one was able to start work on me until about 2:30 in the afternoon.
It was then that Dan, (the head mechanic and the one who had done almost all the work on me when we were here before), came out and started checking out my alternator problem. It took him about an hour to find out what was wrong, and then another hour to fix the problem.
What was the problem? Well, lets just say that two mistakes were made, one by the mechanic where Jim and Linda bought me in Illinois, (that started the whole problem), and another one when my alternator was removed and rebuilt about a month and a half ago here at Creative Coach.
The mistake has been rectified and it will not cost Jim and Linda anything for the repairs. : )
After the alternator problem was fixed, Dan took a look at my Aqua Hot furnace. He finally got it to try to light and it appears that the bearings in the fuel pump have gone bad. He didn't have time to take the furnace apart yesterday afternoon, but by the noise it made, that is the assumption.
This morning he'll take it apart and find out exactly what the problem is. Then the parts can be ordered and the repairs made.
Now, that brings up another problem. Today is the day my reservations at the Highbanks Marina and CG begin. Needless to say, I won't be able to make it and won't know until the parts are ordered and the Aqua Hot place tells Lester when they can ship them. Even then, (from past experience), it's hard to figure out just when the parts will get here, and then be installed, so Jim is hoping that the CG will work with him and hold a site until I can get them there.
There's also the little thing about Thanksgiving. Marv and Inez, (Lindsey's parents), will be having a big meal that Jim and Linda are invited to, but unless everything goes really well with my repairs, we won't get there in time. So, Linda will have to call Laura and Lindsey and tell them what's going on and tell them that she don't know if we'll be able to make it or not. : (
So, that's what's going on here. I hope all your Thanksgiving plans are not "up in the air", like they are for Jim and Linda. The "not knowing" is the worst part, and they won't know for sure until the parts actually arrive and the furnace is repaired. : (
Today, Jim and Linda have made plans to meet up with Roland and Louise, (long time, very good RVing friends), for lunch at a Bob Evans Restaurant here in Lakeland. They always enjoy getting together with them and are looking forward to seeing them again. They're wintering down in Frostproof, FL. and will drive up here for lunch. : )
Did you know that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving? That's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year.
67 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Patchy fog early in the morning. A slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
As soon as Lester came in to work yesterday morning, Jim went into the office to talk to him. Lester was busy getting everything ready for the work day, so Jim didn't stay long. He did, however, tell Lester exactly what my problems were and how my furnace and alternator were acting.
Glen, (the shop foreman) came out about 8:00 and backed me into a spot along side of the building and plugged me into electric, but being that Lester had kind of squeezed me into the schedule, no one was able to start work on me until about 2:30 in the afternoon.
It was then that Dan, (the head mechanic and the one who had done almost all the work on me when we were here before), came out and started checking out my alternator problem. It took him about an hour to find out what was wrong, and then another hour to fix the problem.
What was the problem? Well, lets just say that two mistakes were made, one by the mechanic where Jim and Linda bought me in Illinois, (that started the whole problem), and another one when my alternator was removed and rebuilt about a month and a half ago here at Creative Coach.
The mistake has been rectified and it will not cost Jim and Linda anything for the repairs. : )
After the alternator problem was fixed, Dan took a look at my Aqua Hot furnace. He finally got it to try to light and it appears that the bearings in the fuel pump have gone bad. He didn't have time to take the furnace apart yesterday afternoon, but by the noise it made, that is the assumption.
This morning he'll take it apart and find out exactly what the problem is. Then the parts can be ordered and the repairs made.
Now, that brings up another problem. Today is the day my reservations at the Highbanks Marina and CG begin. Needless to say, I won't be able to make it and won't know until the parts are ordered and the Aqua Hot place tells Lester when they can ship them. Even then, (from past experience), it's hard to figure out just when the parts will get here, and then be installed, so Jim is hoping that the CG will work with him and hold a site until I can get them there.
There's also the little thing about Thanksgiving. Marv and Inez, (Lindsey's parents), will be having a big meal that Jim and Linda are invited to, but unless everything goes really well with my repairs, we won't get there in time. So, Linda will have to call Laura and Lindsey and tell them what's going on and tell them that she don't know if we'll be able to make it or not. : (
So, that's what's going on here. I hope all your Thanksgiving plans are not "up in the air", like they are for Jim and Linda. The "not knowing" is the worst part, and they won't know for sure until the parts actually arrive and the furnace is repaired. : (
Today, Jim and Linda have made plans to meet up with Roland and Louise, (long time, very good RVing friends), for lunch at a Bob Evans Restaurant here in Lakeland. They always enjoy getting together with them and are looking forward to seeing them again. They're wintering down in Frostproof, FL. and will drive up here for lunch. : )
Did you know that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving? That's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
South Carolina To Florida and Kind Of Embarrassed
Callahan, FL. Saturday 11-19-2011
50 deg. scattered clouds, light N. wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Winds east winds 10 to 15 mph.
It was another day of mostly I-95, traveling from Yemassee, SC. to Callahan, FL., and it only took us 2 hours and 55 minutes to travel the 169 miles down here.
We're now back here at Kelly's Countryside RV Park where we stayed at just over a month ago when we were heading North. The trip down here was uneventful except for some very gusty winds from time to time that kept me and almost every other RV on the road on the edge of our tires.
OK, I guess I'm going to have to tell you. I've been putting it off because I'm kind of embarrassed about needing still more repairs, but you're going to find out sooner or later.
I have to go back to see my mechanic in Lakeland. : ( Yep, I've got two problems that need attention and they both need to be addressed before we head to the RV Park near Laura's.
First of all, that engine alternator that was taken off and rebuilt is not charging any of my batteries when my engine is running. Like I've discussed before, that's not a big deal unless Jim needs to run my lights and a bunch of electric 12 volt things while we're traveling. And even then, he could start my generator and run it to charge them.
But, Jim and Linda paid good money, (and quite a bit of it), to have the alternator rebuilt, and it should work!
The second thing is my Aqua Hot furnace / water heater. It works fine on electric, but the diesel burner will not light and in fact blows a fuse every time Jim tries to start it.
Now, it has an electric heating element, which has provided hot water and heat, but when the weather gets too cold, (below about 45 deg.), the electric element will not keep up with the demand of the furnace. In that case, Jim needs to run electric heaters inside of me to supplement the furnace.
This has not created a problem so far, but if temperatures get down to freezing or below, it could become one.
So. . . . . .Jim called Lester and he was able to squeeze me in on Monday. Again, our plans have changed and from here in Callahan, we'll head down to Lakeland tomorrow so I can be there when they open on Monday morning.
Then, we're hoping that the repairs can be made quickly so we can get to the CG near Laura's in time for Thanksgiving. In fact, Jim has reservations for me starting Tuesday at the Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort that will more than likely have to be changed.
Hopefully, they'll work with him and it will be OK if we arrive at a later date.
Did you know that on this date in 1954 two automatic toll collectors were placed in service on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey?
50 deg. scattered clouds, light N. wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Winds east winds 10 to 15 mph.
It was another day of mostly I-95, traveling from Yemassee, SC. to Callahan, FL., and it only took us 2 hours and 55 minutes to travel the 169 miles down here.
We're now back here at Kelly's Countryside RV Park where we stayed at just over a month ago when we were heading North. The trip down here was uneventful except for some very gusty winds from time to time that kept me and almost every other RV on the road on the edge of our tires.
OK, I guess I'm going to have to tell you. I've been putting it off because I'm kind of embarrassed about needing still more repairs, but you're going to find out sooner or later.
I have to go back to see my mechanic in Lakeland. : ( Yep, I've got two problems that need attention and they both need to be addressed before we head to the RV Park near Laura's.
First of all, that engine alternator that was taken off and rebuilt is not charging any of my batteries when my engine is running. Like I've discussed before, that's not a big deal unless Jim needs to run my lights and a bunch of electric 12 volt things while we're traveling. And even then, he could start my generator and run it to charge them.
But, Jim and Linda paid good money, (and quite a bit of it), to have the alternator rebuilt, and it should work!
The second thing is my Aqua Hot furnace / water heater. It works fine on electric, but the diesel burner will not light and in fact blows a fuse every time Jim tries to start it.
Now, it has an electric heating element, which has provided hot water and heat, but when the weather gets too cold, (below about 45 deg.), the electric element will not keep up with the demand of the furnace. In that case, Jim needs to run electric heaters inside of me to supplement the furnace.
This has not created a problem so far, but if temperatures get down to freezing or below, it could become one.
So. . . . . .Jim called Lester and he was able to squeeze me in on Monday. Again, our plans have changed and from here in Callahan, we'll head down to Lakeland tomorrow so I can be there when they open on Monday morning.
Then, we're hoping that the repairs can be made quickly so we can get to the CG near Laura's in time for Thanksgiving. In fact, Jim has reservations for me starting Tuesday at the Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort that will more than likely have to be changed.
Hopefully, they'll work with him and it will be OK if we arrive at a later date.
Did you know that on this date in 1954 two automatic toll collectors were placed in service on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey?
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Somewhere Between Yeow!!!!! and Zapp!!!!!
Lakeland, FL.
68 deg. scattered clouds, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms in the morning...then numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Windy. Highs in the lower 80s. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph becoming east 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Yeah, I'm still here in Lakeland, and will be for awhile yet. The mechanics here at Creative Coach have been working on me every day, and have gotten quite a few things done.
I'm hoping that my slide issue seems to be taken care of. Nothing major was found but it was decided that some minor adjustments were needed and there was a broken brace at the bottom of the slide that was repaired, although they didn't think that it was the cause of the slide hanging up.
Another item that was an issue was some hoses that go from my engine to the Aqua Hot furnace. They are used to carry engine antifreeze to the furnace and back again to heat my engine for starting it when the weather is cold. They were leaking near the furnace and when Dan checked them out, he found that they were hard and cracked all the way from the furnace to my engine and would have to be replaced instead of just splicing in a new section at the furnace.
It was a really big job removing and installing the near 60' of hose that ran along the inside of one of my frame rails.
In my last post, mentioned that it was determined that my tires needed to be replaced. Well, as of yesterday, I now have 8 brand new Michelin tires. The tire man brought them yesterday and changed them right here where I'm parked. He was very good and was very careful not to scratch my aluminum wheels while changing them.
Now, being that I'm 45' long, and weigh a lot, I have to have very large tires to carry the weight. Well, large tires means expensive tires and I'm sure some of you want to know how expensive they were. Well, I don't have the exact figure, but it's somewhere between Yeow!!!!! and Zapp!!!!!
Jim says that in order to have enough money to buy diesel fuel for me, he and Linda will have to eat bread and water for the next few months!! ; )
The weather here has been pretty nice, but wouldn't you know it, it has changed for this weekend. The forecast all the way through Monday is for lots of rain and strong winds. : ( I guess Jim and Linda will be staying inside of me for a few days.
Did you know that today is "National Pierogi Day"?
68 deg. scattered clouds, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms in the morning...then numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Windy. Highs in the lower 80s. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph becoming east 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Yeah, I'm still here in Lakeland, and will be for awhile yet. The mechanics here at Creative Coach have been working on me every day, and have gotten quite a few things done.
I'm hoping that my slide issue seems to be taken care of. Nothing major was found but it was decided that some minor adjustments were needed and there was a broken brace at the bottom of the slide that was repaired, although they didn't think that it was the cause of the slide hanging up.
Another item that was an issue was some hoses that go from my engine to the Aqua Hot furnace. They are used to carry engine antifreeze to the furnace and back again to heat my engine for starting it when the weather is cold. They were leaking near the furnace and when Dan checked them out, he found that they were hard and cracked all the way from the furnace to my engine and would have to be replaced instead of just splicing in a new section at the furnace.
It was a really big job removing and installing the near 60' of hose that ran along the inside of one of my frame rails.
In my last post, mentioned that it was determined that my tires needed to be replaced. Well, as of yesterday, I now have 8 brand new Michelin tires. The tire man brought them yesterday and changed them right here where I'm parked. He was very good and was very careful not to scratch my aluminum wheels while changing them.
Now, being that I'm 45' long, and weigh a lot, I have to have very large tires to carry the weight. Well, large tires means expensive tires and I'm sure some of you want to know how expensive they were. Well, I don't have the exact figure, but it's somewhere between Yeow!!!!! and Zapp!!!!!
Jim says that in order to have enough money to buy diesel fuel for me, he and Linda will have to eat bread and water for the next few months!! ; )
The weather here has been pretty nice, but wouldn't you know it, it has changed for this weekend. The forecast all the way through Monday is for lots of rain and strong winds. : ( I guess Jim and Linda will be staying inside of me for a few days.
Did you know that today is "National Pierogi Day"?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Rantoul to Mahomet, Repairs, and A Talk With Myrddin
Mahomet, IL.
62 deg. overcast
After a slight delay, we left Prairie Pines CG yesterday morning and headed to R &S here in Mahomet. The delay was that Jim had to add some water to my radiator because of the Aqua Hot leak the other day. Then, there was one of my warning beepers going off after he started my engine and he couldn't figure out what was causing it.
I had no way of telling him that sometimes you just have to put me in drive and move me a few feet and the air system beeper will stop, so we waited until he could call R & S and they told him about this little quirk.
It was 8:05 when we left the CG and after traveling 23 miles it was 8:45 when we pulled into the R & S parking lot.
When Justin went to pull me into the shop there was a problem with my starter, so along with the other things, that had to be looked at also.
Now, I'm sitting inside of the shop and waiting on parts. My Aqua Hot is repaired, (just a hose), the dump valve is replaced and so is the black water flush fitting. I'm waiting on my starter, (which is being rebuilt), and a part for my awning.
I don't know how long I'll be here. It could be as much as a couple days, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Oh, and I talked to Myrddin for awhile today, and he said not to worry because Jim and Linda were very understanding about RVs and understood that there would be some problems at first. He said that he had all kinds of problems when they first bought him.
And another thing, you ought to see Myrddin!! He all cleaned up and really looking spiffy!! : ) He said that they've been working on him for a few days now.
I don't think he'll have any trouble finding a new owner. ; )
Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors?
62 deg. overcast
| Forecast = Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs in the lower 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 40 percent. |
After a slight delay, we left Prairie Pines CG yesterday morning and headed to R &S here in Mahomet. The delay was that Jim had to add some water to my radiator because of the Aqua Hot leak the other day. Then, there was one of my warning beepers going off after he started my engine and he couldn't figure out what was causing it.
I had no way of telling him that sometimes you just have to put me in drive and move me a few feet and the air system beeper will stop, so we waited until he could call R & S and they told him about this little quirk.
It was 8:05 when we left the CG and after traveling 23 miles it was 8:45 when we pulled into the R & S parking lot.
When Justin went to pull me into the shop there was a problem with my starter, so along with the other things, that had to be looked at also.
Now, I'm sitting inside of the shop and waiting on parts. My Aqua Hot is repaired, (just a hose), the dump valve is replaced and so is the black water flush fitting. I'm waiting on my starter, (which is being rebuilt), and a part for my awning.
I don't know how long I'll be here. It could be as much as a couple days, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Oh, and I talked to Myrddin for awhile today, and he said not to worry because Jim and Linda were very understanding about RVs and understood that there would be some problems at first. He said that he had all kinds of problems when they first bought him.
And another thing, you ought to see Myrddin!! He all cleaned up and really looking spiffy!! : ) He said that they've been working on him for a few days now.
I don't think he'll have any trouble finding a new owner. ; )
Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I'm Worried, Problems and A Few Pictures
Rantoul, IL.
72 deg. clear, SE wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast, Showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.
Oh! No!!!!! I'm worried!!!!!! Yesterday I was wondering if anything important would happen for me to write about, and now I wish there wasn't!!! : (
First of all, there's a problem with my main awning!! You can put it out but when you want to retract it, it stops and you have to wait for awhile before you can retract it some more and then it stops again!!! Second, my Aqua Hot furnace has developed an anti-freeze leak. Third, when Jim went to dump my tanks, he took off the sewer cap and got a handful of sewage water, and then when he went to flush the black water tank, water squirted all over the place!!!! Then, to top it off, Jim fell down my entry steps!!!! I don't think he hurt himself too bad, (mostly his left leg), but I think he's going to be sore this morning. : (
What I'm worried about is that if I'm having these problems and I already caused Jim to get hurt, will they want to keep me? I heard Jim talking to Steve, (the foreman at R & S where they bought me), on the phone and they're taking me back there tomorrow.
I'll bet Myrddin is still there and they just might put all their belongings back in him and leave me there!!!! Then what would I do? Once an RV gets "tagged" as a "lemon" or a "bad luck RV", they just set on the dealers lots for years and years until the dealer finally sells them as junk!!!!
I know!! I've seen it happen!!!!
Oh, No, What am I going to do???????
I was going to show you a few pictures of me that Jim had taken, but now I don't know if I should or not. But, I guess I might as well. : (
This is of me sitting in site #5 here at Prairie Pines Campground
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This second picture shows my 2 slides on my left side. The front one has the couch, stove and sink it it, so it's pretty big and extends about 18" The rear slide has the head of the bed in it, and extends about 24"
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Jim and Linda have both been working on organizing their things. Linda spent most of the afternoon yesterday going through old papers and documents and Jim worked some more on the things in my basement. Then for dinner they went to Monical's Pizza.
I sure hope today goes better than yesterday, I"m not getting off to a very good start. : (
A Point to Ponder : Grandmas are just ancient little girls.
72 deg. clear, SE wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast, Showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.
Oh! No!!!!! I'm worried!!!!!! Yesterday I was wondering if anything important would happen for me to write about, and now I wish there wasn't!!! : (
First of all, there's a problem with my main awning!! You can put it out but when you want to retract it, it stops and you have to wait for awhile before you can retract it some more and then it stops again!!! Second, my Aqua Hot furnace has developed an anti-freeze leak. Third, when Jim went to dump my tanks, he took off the sewer cap and got a handful of sewage water, and then when he went to flush the black water tank, water squirted all over the place!!!! Then, to top it off, Jim fell down my entry steps!!!! I don't think he hurt himself too bad, (mostly his left leg), but I think he's going to be sore this morning. : (
What I'm worried about is that if I'm having these problems and I already caused Jim to get hurt, will they want to keep me? I heard Jim talking to Steve, (the foreman at R & S where they bought me), on the phone and they're taking me back there tomorrow.
I'll bet Myrddin is still there and they just might put all their belongings back in him and leave me there!!!! Then what would I do? Once an RV gets "tagged" as a "lemon" or a "bad luck RV", they just set on the dealers lots for years and years until the dealer finally sells them as junk!!!!
I know!! I've seen it happen!!!!
Oh, No, What am I going to do???????
I was going to show you a few pictures of me that Jim had taken, but now I don't know if I should or not. But, I guess I might as well. : (
This is of me sitting in site #5 here at Prairie Pines Campground
This second picture shows my 2 slides on my left side. The front one has the couch, stove and sink it it, so it's pretty big and extends about 18" The rear slide has the head of the bed in it, and extends about 24"
I sure hope today goes better than yesterday, I"m not getting off to a very good start. : (
A Point to Ponder : Grandmas are just ancient little girls.
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