I woke before the alarm so was ready to go when it went off a few minutes later. It was a perfectly still morning but also quite warm as we headed over the field for the first walk. Two cars were parked in the beach car park however we didn’t encounter any FreeLoaders lurking on the Promontory.
Oskar and Fido accompanied Skinny and Isabella on the second walk which went east along the beaches. The sun was still behind the mountains as we walked east but had popped its head above when we walked back later. We encountered no human or other dogs but the seagulls were periodically annoyed at Isabella when she raced into the sea having chased them off the beach. Even she seemed a little calmer this morning so the mood of the walk was tranquil and almost graceful. There was the usual dashing about deciding whether to run after Fido or Oskar but she tired of that quickly as well.
I rode to Krios and spent a little time with Gregor and his dogs who, for some reason, required petting. Someone was flying a drone along the beach as well as out to sea parallel with the coast. It must be a good location for drone photography so I should take mine out there sometime.
I rode back in the gathering warmth and concluded that a swim was the next activity of the day. I parked my bike outside the gate then walked down to the sea without stopping when I got to it only to leave my shoes, phone and glasses with my T-shirt on the sand. I splashed around for a bit when walked back to let out the dogs and commence the remainder of the morning tasks such as poo picking and cat feeding for the nth time. They’re skinny little animals but they eat plenty.
After breakfast, I thought about tidying up some of the connections and wiring for the solar electricity. It was all working just fine only that the connections and cables had evolved rather than been planned so were less than efficient. I bought a new RCD switch from the electrical shop a week or so ago and just needed to prepare the cables and plugs to put it all together. Like most of these jobs, it takes a long time to put it all together nicely so the job took up much of the afternoon too. As a result of this upgrade the power supply for the van and all of the other electrical equipment in the box on the wall of the storeroom, is now protected by an RCD (Residual-Current Device) as well as a 15A MCB (Mini Circuit Breaker). The RCD is particularly important as it constantly monitors for any electrical leakage to earth or from Live to Neutral. It is a very fast switch which will detect a very small leakage and instantly disconnect all the power. Previously, I’d installed an RCD when I put in my own electrical panel between the van and the camping electricity supply. Since then, the camping’s electrical systems have been upgraded but at the time of installation, I wasn’t confident of the protection afforded by the breakers. Furthermore, putting my own RCD at a lower rating meant that mine would trip before the one on the camping’s panel. Much better to just flip a switch on my own panel than have to unlock the workshop, clamber over all the clutter littering the floor between the doorway and the electrical panel to work out which of the many MCBs had tripped. All of this, quite naturally, in the dark when it’s raining. These events only happen when it’s dark and raining. Now that I make my own electricity, the RCD and MCBs I installed in the box on the storeroom only protect my Grid mains supply which is now only for emergency. My power comes from the solar panels, batteries and inverter. The inverter has a simple overload trip but no RCD so would cut off in the case of an overload but might deliver quite a bit of power before doing so rendering the recipient dead. Given the number of animals and the often damp conditions, I concluded an upgrade was in order to protect life and limb both human and canine.
Once I’d prepared the box and cables, I needed to cut off the inverter to replace the old with the new. I didn’t want the power to be off longer than necessary as all of the networking, cameras and WiFi for the lower part of the camping pass through the box on the storeroom wall. This power cut would take out five cameras and an equal number of WiFi access points disconnecting most of the camping.
The installation now has a higher level of security, is tidier and can be easily reconfigured in the event of a catastrophic failure of the inverter for example. It would be very quick to reconnect Grid power and to carry on as normal simply by unplugging a couple of leads and switching them round.
It is the second hottest day of the year with a high of 38.1℃. It is 32℃ at 20:10 so the big fan is still operating in cool mode. I’ve just returned from a shower having only briefly washed my feet after my swim this morning. I’ve been hanging on a little due to an ongoing IT support task. The person has now gone quiet and hopefully gone home so I think it may be safe for me to call it a day and get my evening meal.
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