Wednesday, September 5, 2012

brunnhilde's shower - part 2

I put the rest the playing with the bath shower head in Brunnhilde after testing to show it is an inferior design to the exterior shower head that also comes with the vehicle.

I later realize I could swap just the shower head/arm without swapping the hoses. Swapping the hoses would require complete removal of the bath sink cabinet which is a major undertaking because one have to re-caulk the sink when done. I really want to make this improvement for the inside bath. The exterior shower is less important especially autumn is approaching.

I prefer the much cleaner design of the exterior shower head made by Rada. It feel much more supple in ones hand - I believe some the main arm is cast alloy instead of plastic.

the stock one in the bath is just too big and ugly for the compact sink

brunnhilde's shower

I hope the choice of the title does not attract the wrong crowd to the post and be disappointed. I have noticed some dubious referencing sites that sent traffic to my other post brunnhilde's new struts. You just never know the wonders with google's search engine...

There is no skin except those of my hands in this post so if you are disappointed please read no further :-)

One chronic thing that bug me it the dual purpose shower head/sink faucet in the bath. When I first acquire Brunnhilde the shower hose cannot retract back into the sink faucet's mixer valve to use in the sink. The problem is cause by the shower hose binding in the very tight space behind the sink cabinet assembly.

the flexible hose cannot be retracted into the mixer valve assembly

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

salmon - my other repertoires

Found these photos from 2 years ago on my venture to make smoke salmon and lox. I did a quick research on the web and just did it after reading the fundamentals.

smoked salmon with goat cheese

Sunday, September 2, 2012

apple popularized white cars

If you are not living under a rock you probably came across in the recent news that a BMW designer credits the recent American car buyers choosing white more than ever is largely due to the influence of Apple's product design.

Somewhat counter intuitive white is the best color to reveal the subtle contours of a 3 dimensional object. Evidently it is the preferred color in Japan for prototype styling design. When I designed my kitchen, I chose the high gloss white for the cabinet finish. I spent countless hours prototyping the projecting of the counter top front under all lighting conditions to determine a satisfactory amount.

To avoid the undesirable shadow cast by the overhanging counter top (at different lighting conditions) onto the gloss white cabinet finish I chose a minute 1/4" projection (overhang).


ventilation fan - preliminary version

This is a iterative step in the making of a ventilation fan for Tatyana. The purpose of the fan is to reduce the cabin temperature from solar gain when the vehicle is parked in the sun.

The three previous posts related to this:
james cook enhancement - part 3
the proof is in the pudding
intelligent venting fan

A lot of owners of this camper replaced the stock bath skylight with the very popular Fan-Tastic Vent. I personally like the stock skylight. I see no downside with it's non-motorized design. I also like the retractable fly screen as well as the high quality design and construction.

The goals of my home-made ventilation fan are:
  • very low power consumption
  • very low noise
  • does not involve permanent alteration
  • easy to deploy and stowable when not in use


sewer gas odor - trouble shooting

In Tatyana's cabin there is often smell of sewer gas odor. I have checked the potential causes including the sink drain vent (one way) valves and ensure all the u-traps are filled with water. The odor would come and go and is more pronounced if the vehicle is driven with window open, or camping in a breeze.

I am suspecting the sewer gas venting to the vent port on the roof is finding it's way back into the bath room skylight adjacent to it, when the slightest air movement brings it into the skylight which I always leave open for ventilation when the vehicle is parked.

adding this long snorkel ought to fix it