My sweet Mary is many things. One of the things she is…is a true environmentalist and she really hates to waste anything. Essentially not wanting to discard an item until it is totally used up.
I on the other hand…being an ex-engineer which means I’m logical…believe when something is nearing the end of its life…you replace it when it’s practical and convenient. For instance…I would much rather replace a coming-to-its-end-of-life item in the convenience of Mary’s yard instead of waiting for it to die when out on the open road with the RV.
So it was the case with the matter of replacing the TV in our motorhome. Even though our motorhome is a 2006…the TV was manufactured in 2004 which makes it seven years old. It’s showing signs of giving up the ghost with about a six-inch round spot of incorrect colors. My sweet Mary was resistant to the change indicating…”But it still works.”
Since our current plans have it structured that once I leave with the motorhome shortly after Thanksgiving…it…the motorhome is not expected to return to Mary’s yard once again until October, 2013. In other words…it will be out in the world for the next two years. Confident that if not changed now…the TV would quit within the next two years…out on the open road. Because changing TV’s will require some degree of modification to the TV’s holding cabinet…and since Mary’s youngest son just happens to be a carpenter…I indicated that it makes sense to change it now rather than out on the open road.
I finally won her over with the comment…”Do you drive on your cars tires until they blow-out before replacing them?” With that behind us…she finally agreed to the change while the motorhome is here. In addition…we’ve got a delightful six-channel surround-sound audio system and the current TV has that crummy picture. True we do not watch a lot of TV…but when we do…why not have a good picture and sound?
So…in my true ex-engineer way…I got on the Internet and spent several days researching new TV’s. I finally found the right one. An LG Led-Lcd 26″ flat panel set. We bought it at Best Buy in Stockton, California….about 60 miles from Mary’s home. Since her youngest son…the carpenter…lives only a couple of miles from Best Buy…he picked it up for us and delivered it to Mary’s home yesterday. Here’s a photo of the box…
Mary’s son…the carpenter…has obligations for the next few days and will return next Monday to help us with the install.
In other news…
I continue working on the motorhome. Up on the roof for the last time yesterday…I applied a covering of Protect-All to all the plastic items on the roof. It protects these items for the sun’s UV rays which in time causes them to disintegrate. Protect-all slows the process.
Also I received this strange-looking device in the mail…
“What’s that?”…you ask. Why it’s an RV Refrigerator Cooling Fan.
RV Refrigerators are not the normal refrigerators with which you might be familiar. They sometime struggle to maintain the recommended 33-40 degree temperature. Usually two things cause this struggle. First is when the outside temperature gets over 80 degrees and secondly when too full. Unfortunately…my Sweet Mary has a tendency to put ten pounds of stuff into a five-pound package. Remember thou shall not waste? Wouldn’t want to waste any of that storage space! 🙂
When an RV refrigerator is too full…the air cannot circulate and here comes the struggle. This silent fan rests directly upon the cooling fins in our refrigerator which is supposed to help circulate the air in the RV refrigerator and hence help maintain the recommended temperatures. At least that’s the theory. For a measly $15…it’s worth the effort to install it to see if it will work. Here’s a photo of it in the refrigerator…
Hooked to the hot wire of the refrigerator light…it draws very little power and runs even when the door is closed. Will it help? Only time will tell.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
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Que Sera, Sera... Whatever Will Be, Will Be... 