The Zig is back! (And more boredom....I mean boarding)

Can't remember whether I mentioned that the Zig I bought from ebay was slightly broken. It worked on batteries but not on 240v. The incredibly nice man at Zig told me to send it to him, he fixed it, then sent it back, gratis. What a nice chap, who I won't name in case my extensive readership includes a member of Zig.

So here it is. It's wired to a voltmeter and ammeter on the right to keep track of charge. It's bad news to let a leisure battery (deep cycle) run flat, so I hope this will help me not do that.







I've mainly been wiring things lately. These two spot lights turn on when the ipsilateral door is opened and with some cool aeroplane-type lever switches at the front.









So this is the state of play at the moment. Most of the boarding has been done, just need to do the window surrounds. Spot lights under the shelf on the right of the van. The electrics are pretty much all done, just need another couple of spot lights at the back (over the cooking area) and a supply to the water pump.




The maiden voyage is this weekend. To Dartmouth Music Festival to see, among others, this amazing singer-songwriter called Larry The News Guy (http://www.larrythenewsguy.com/Larry/Hello.html). Before leaving I'll bolt the bed in, and carpet the front.

I have this recurring day-mare that we'll appear back in Manchester 6 hours after setting off, on the back of an AA truck.....

More electrical stuff, insulation, boarding...

Installing the external 240v socket. Scary stuff cutting a hole in the side of the van. The mains goes to a consumer unit which then supplies 240v sockets and the Zig unit (which converts 240v to 12v for lights, sockets, water pump, heater etc.)

The external socket installed! I now have power in the van. Which is useful. For electrical things.

Next, insulation. Double foil / air bubble stuff. Expensive but very easy to use and keeps warmth in in Winter, and out in Summer.

And finally, got some boarding from 'Timber Recycling in Manchester' (TRiM). For those not in the know, this company picks up wood from building sites, pulls all the nails and stuff out of it, then sells it to the general public at a fraction of the price of timber from a merchant. For instance, these 6mm ply boards were £3 each, instead of £15 from B&Q or around £8 from a timber merchant. Bargain! They also build garden furniture out of the recycled wood, check them out: http://www.timberrecycling.org/

Not the most interesting of blogs this one, granted. So here, for your enjoyment, are my cats. That's entertainment!