It has rained every day for the last three weekends that we have spent in NH. This is unfortunate, of course, as we have tried to show off our new traveling home to friends and relatives each of those weekends. And I am still waiting for sun so that I can take a nice photo of the complete rig, to use in applications for workcamping positions.
But the weather hasn’t completely ruined the fun. Last night we hosted a cookout for two couples that are dear to us. We had to spend too much time under the awning, but we still managed to have a nice campfire (complete with s’mores) and vegetables for our steak tip dinner cooked over an open flame. Add some wine and lots of witty banter and the result was a very pleasant evening.
And Gary, our chemical engineer friend, figured out how to light the oven. Good to know. That was our get-to-know-your-RV lesson for this weekend.
Last week’s lesson was the battery backup. It began with Jett calling me in from outside with news that the outlet used by the coffee maker was not working. I dutifully checked the breaker/fuse panel and, sure enough, one of the fuse warning lights was glowing red, indicating that it was blown. But when I removed it and took a look it didn’t seem blown. I replaced it anyway, but without any effect other than to extinguish the warning light. Hmmm…
I then noticed the little sticker on the outlet that informed me that the outlet was GFI-protected. So I began a search for the GFI, thinking that it needed to be reset. No GFI in the kitchen. One GFI in the bathroom, but I was unable to reset it. Or test it. Double hmmm…
Now it was time to test the other outlets. None were working. That is when I noticed the little orange light on the refrigerator that indicates it is running on propane. So, after working the problem for about 30 minutes – and about 30 seconds before Nancy appeared at my door to tell me that the power was out in the campground – I concluded that we had lost power and were running on battery backup.
It is somewhat comforting, I think, to know that we can lose power and not even notice. And I now know that the battery backup works, but only for the 12-volt lights. And I know where the GFI is (and, yes, it did work once the power came back on). It is a little weird to have the GFI in the bathroom controlling the outlets in the kitchen, but I am ok with that.
But why was that warning light on? I haven’t figured that one out yet.