Chapter 124...Making Cabinets For an RV Refrigerator

Off Grid...Chapter 124 It's time for another story and to finish up what we did in January. So let's get to it We are still working on the refrigerator situation. The old one is still in the house and being used. Now it's time to get the new "RV" refrigerator in place. As I told you before these refrigerators only come with the shell....no sides and no front door panels. We are going to use 2 pantry cabinets to make up the sides but Mike had to add an extra piece of wood to get it farther out from the back wall to make sure the refrigerator has air behind it. The two sides that Mike painted black to match the refrigerator. Next we have to work on the new cabinet...which I got for 30% off because it had some minor scratches This is the cabinet that will go on the side of the refrigerator closest to the front wall of the house. We have to put in an air vent through the cabinet and out the front wall. Mike drills the pilot hole for the bigger hole we need. Mike using the 4" pipe to draw the circle for the hole to be cut out. Mike cutting out the 4" hole with a jigsaw. That was all we did that night. Now the next day....it's back out to the Buckeye tree that we cut down. We have to try and clean the rest of it up. Of course we ran into the cows on our way down. Mike cutting the big part of the tree to make it easier for us to manage. Cutting the tree into discs to fit our wood stove since we haven't bought a log splitter. And we are loaded up. Back up to the house and we unload the trailer. Here is our new wind generator. Hopefully it is a good windmill. We will see. Mike finished the water pump box by putting shingles on top to match our roof. Back inside the house. It's time to work on the outside vent hole for the refrigerator. The hole is cut out on the inside. Now we have to go outside. While I hold the flashlight Mike draws the hole to be cut. Next he cuts out the hole.....and hopefully the pipe fits in the holes in the cabinet and the holes in the house Mike hooks up the gas, hooked up the 12 volt to run the display panel, and hooked up the 110 to run the refrigerator on electric. It all works. Next we had to do something about the front door panels. Originally we thought we would make them but decided it was easier to order them. I called to see if they made stainless door panels....and they said yes...for $300.00 Really...just for some flimsy decorative panels? I think not...so I ordered the black panels instead Seriously these refrigerators should come with a finished panel for the doors Mike put the top panel front on the freezer door. And sliding in the refrigerator panel. The new refrigerator is in...now we just hope it works like we planned. The next morning I get the cleaning bug. I cleaned all the trim, doors, handles, door trim and now it's time to hit the kitchen area. My last section to clean. Our clock above the cabinets has a blackish ring. No problem....I will just take the clock down and wash it. Well some things never work out as easily as you expect I started to wipe the black ring and realized it was soot on the "whole" wall Apparently when we had that negative air pressure problem when I had the gas dryer and the wood stove on at the same time, I smoked up the house and got the walls dirty. So now instead of an easy clean...I have to wash the wall I got that wall done...but I am not touching any other walls in the house until spring. BTW, the air vent for the refrigerator solved out negative air pressure problem We learn as we go, lol. The cows are enjoying this beautiful day We should be having babies soon And looking out the front door. It's amazing how green our front grass stayed this winter. That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed our story and I will write again soon. Have a wonderful week. Lisa

Chapter 123...RV Refrigerators, Building An Insulated Box, and Cutting Trees

Off Grid...Chapter 123 Mike and I have been trying to keep busy but it isn't so easy when most of our work is outside work. We still manage to get things done. As I told you before, we moved our water pump outside to give us more storage space. Hey..who doesn't need more storage space, right? Mike got the pump hooked up outside on the side of the house. Next Mike had to build a box for it and then of course I got to paint it. Mike cutting out the board insulation for the box. We have to make sure the water lines don't freeze while outside. Adding the insulation to the box that Mike built. Mike walked away to cut more insulation and guess who found the box? Time to bring it outside. We got it screwed to the house. Adding more insulation board to the front of the box. The front and the top are on Mike sticking on the asphalt sheeting we had left over from our roof. It's a little cold and stiff so Mike uses his torch to heat it up. Mike cutting off the extra edges. Our water pump is now protected from the elements Another day and another project It's time to work on the new refrigerator. We bought an RV refrigerator which can be manually switched over to run on either propane for winter or electric for summer. Hopefully this is the answer for our situation Anyway, since it is an RV refrigerator it is not freestanding. That means it has no base, no sides, no top, and no door panels. Mike has a plan to build it all. First he starts by cutting up a 4x4 post for the base. He lays it out for the base of the refrigerator. And then he screws it all together. The back of the refrigerator. We moved our old refrigerator into the living area so we could get the new one in place Now we have two jobs that have to be done. Mike needs to make sure the gas is ready to be hooked up and we also need to run a 12 volt line in the ceiling from our breaker box and out to the kitchen and then down the wall. The refrigerator gets switched over from gas to electric using 12 volt. I helped Mike run the wire in the ceiling, sometimes I am very grateful for ceiling tiles and no sheetrock on the ceiling, lol. Mike working on the gas line. Adding more foil tape to the refrigerator for extra insulation. Mike working on the 12 volt line. We took down the old cabinet that was above the old refrigerator since the new refrigerator is smaller. Mike is sanding the wall so I can paint it. Now we have to test it out to make sure everything works right. If all goes well then we plan on buying a second pantry. We will have a pantry on both sides of the refrigerator to use as the sides. So now we wait Of course Princess Niki is in her usual spot. OK...another day....another job. Since we didn't plan on being here for most of the winter, we are running out of wood. It's time to find a tree and do some cutting. There is a Buckeye tree that our cow family wants us to cut. Supposedly the buckeye is toxic to cows Anyway, since it is easy for us to get to that will be the first tree for us to cut. It is right by the overflow from our pond. Hopefully it doesn't land in the water. I hide by the barn while Mike starts to cut Mike gets out of the way as it starts to fall. And it's down. Now it's time to cut it up and clean up. Of course some of it did land in the water Mike starts cutting while start cleaning. Mike cutting. I get the small branches cleaned up and ready for Mike to cut smaller. We get one trailer load almost full and we are out of gas. Time to go Once we get it all up top, we have to unload. Mike and I unload the wood to bring down to the house. The tractor sure makes hauling wood easy That's all for now. We have to still get the cabinet for the refrigerator and I'm sure we will be doing a lot more wood cutting. I hope all of you enjoyed this story. Have a wonderful day and I will write in again soon.