Crazy idea ... updated, originally posted 6.11.17

Not too much to write about right now.  The news is insane, as usual.  Not worth commenting upon.

I did my screen, but I'd like to improve upon it, if possible.  An idea struck me to glue aluminum foil to the boards so as to keep the sun off the things that are keeping the sun off the trailer.  Why?  Maybe it will help, and not cost very much.

What the heck?  Nothing much to do right now, so go for it.

Update:

I bought some gorilla glue, and I am using it to attach the foil to the remaining board I didn't use for the screen.  This is an experiment to see how well the foil will hold onto the board, and how well the foil will hold up to conditions outside.

If all goes well, I may integrate this idea into my next section of screen.

The first section seems to be working out okay, but it is still using too much a/c.

20:40 :  

It should be noted that this is really a power and electricity lab, so it is now converted into an off the grid post.

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This post will go into the Power and electricity sub-series of the off-the-grid main series of posts.  These posts can be accessed from a table of contents and watched individually or in series from beginning to end.

The glue seems to stick well enough, but after some thought, it doesn't appear to be worth it to me to go through all that trouble for what will likely not be a very useful exercise.

The reason is that the boards do not get all that hot.  I checked during the hot part of the day.  Although the board was warm on the sunny side, it wasn't hot.  Also, it was noticeably cooler on the dark side.  Therefore, I think the boards are doing a very good job at blocking the heat from the sun.

So, the heat is likely coming from the parts of the trailer not covered.  However, I do not want to cover them all.  Instead, I would like to try something different for those.

I looked into some misting systems that I think may work off my bilge pump that I was using for my passive heater system, which isn't being using at present.  The thing that might screw this up is the lack of pressure.  The misting system probably requires a decent amount of water pressure.

Also, I would like to use the rainwater for the misting system on the exterior as I am using on the interior with the swamp cooler.

But the water isn't really clean, and I worry about the dirt clogging up the misting thingies.

What I wanted to do was to get a sand filter, which could cost a couple hundred.  That's a lot for just cleaning up some water.  However, it might include a stronger pump, so there's that.

Finally, lest there be any confusion on why this is in the power and electricity subseries, note that if these experiments succeed, it will significantly decrease the amount of power needed to operate a household out there off the grid.

BTW, I spent some time looking at a Chevy Volt as a possible source of electricity.  But that idea doesn't appear to be a good one.  I was hoping that the significant amount of power in those batteries could be used somehow without having to do very much in the way of modifications.  Looks like that isn't the case.

Update 6.13.17, 7:10 :

The misting kit is on the way.  It will be used on the south end of the trailer, which is not covered.

I will try to use the bilge pump to make the misting apparatus work.

6.18.17, 9:30 :

I have had the misting kit for several days now.  One thing is certain, there is not enough pressure in the bilge pump in order to work it.  I am going to uninstall it, and reinstall it on the north end of the trailer where the bathroom is.  There is a water outlet there in which I can connect to a stronger source of pressure.  The mister should work better off of that.

As for the south end of the trailer, I will use a garden hose and sprayer with the bilge pump.  I tested it with a sprayer and an old garden hose.  The pressure isn't great, but it's significant enough to get a lot of the side wet.  This will aid in cooling it down.  Or we will see.  Such can be done at small cost, but a significant amount of work ahead.

19:27 :

Purchased a hose and a splitter type valve, which will facilitate use of the sprayer.  I will be able to connect an extra hose to the well water source, and control it separately from the other hose.  Each hose will have its own valve.

The procedure will be to shut off water to trailer, and turn on water to sprayer.  When spraying is done, reverse the procedure.

A pain in the butt, but will have to suffice for now.

6.19.17, 9 am :

Installed the new configuration.  The mister doesn't do what I anticipated, but it may be useful as an area climate control device.  This may well be set aside for some future day.  At present, it seems most likely to be the sprayer, since it directs more water where you want it.