Electrical Question

[SBurris28127]

I want to preface this with the fact that I am a capable, single, first time female camper and hopefully will not embarass my gender by asking too many ignorant questions. I'm just "electrically challenged" I guess.  :p

I just recently purchased my Popup and spent two seperate nights backyard camping. My main goal was to determine how comfortable I would be sleeping on the mattress. The first night I tried a memory foam 1 1/2" mattress pad and was not comfortable enough during the night. I woke up each time I moved into a new position and experienced back discomfort. Last night I tried sleeping on my twin aerobed air mattress and was pleased with how comfortable it was. Now I'm just going to upgrade to a fullsize and I will be ready for my first away from home camping trip.

Anyway   ...my reason for this post is to ask about hooking up to my house. My first night I was to far away from the house to plug in so I just used an extention cord and plugged in my electric heater (12.5amps/120v/1500w).  I moved the popup next to the house and last night was able to plug into the outside electrical outlet. I used the 30 to 15amp adapter. Was that the correct thing to do?

Second question, last night I tried using a different electric heater (11amps/120v/1320w) plugged into one of my rv outlets and it barely ran at all. I tried a different outlet and the results were the same. I went back to the original heater which worked fine plugged into the rv outlet. I have used both in the house and the second heater seems to throw off more heat but has lower amps and wattage, but in the rv it would not work. What am I missing here??

Last question, I remember reading that it was best to unplug the battery so that the inside detectors would not run it down. If I'm not mistaken I think the wire to unplug was the white. Is that correct?

Thanks! :W

[tlhdoc]

Last question answered first.  On the battery wire there is a white connector.  Just take the connector apart there.  They are made to come apart.  
 
As long as you don't pull over 15 amps it should be ok.  If you are using an extension cord make sure that it is rated to carry the amount of power you are using.  They can melt and cause a fire.
 
Did you check that the heater is working OK now.  Maybe it is starting to fail.  If the second one (original one) worked ok then your outlet should be ok.

[Calstate361]

As for the heaters, we purchased an electric one for around $30 and plug it in with a heavy duty extension cord run through one of the bunk ends and plug it directly into the campground outlet.  Sometimes there are two outlets on our pole, or if there is a spare one at the site next to ours (if it is empty). We usually camp where there is electricity hook-up so we use that instead of our propane heater. Why use our propane when we can use their electricity?
 
I also have a comment about your comment on the aero bed. I had a king sized one with the "comfort top" for our PU, it was never used anywhere else except the PU and we kept having problems with the valve and then pin holes on the seam between the comfort top and the main part. I purchased a second queen sized one for our Hybred and continued to have the same problems. I loved the aero bed, especially the ease in inflating and deflating, but was disgusted that it didn't hold up for more than a year. It was used only about 4-5 times during that year. That's a lot of money for it not to hold up. So, the last one I purchased was a queen sized one for about $25 from Target. I can't remember what kind it is, but it also had a seperate electic air pump that came with it. It inflates and deflates just as easily as the areo bed did. SO, I recommend that you not spend all your hard earned money on the aero bed and just get a less expensive one. The current one I have has lasted over a year so it already has a better life span.
 
On the coffee issue, I can't help much on that either because I don't drink coffee; but my husband does. He got precise measurements form Alton Brown on the Food Network: www.foodtv.com Alton says that when the coffee tasts bitter you are not using enough coffee. You will have to go to that site and look for Alton Brown's show and look down his show list and hopefully he still have the coffee show still listed. I didn't think to check that before posting here so I'll save this then go check and do an edit.
 
EDIT: I went to the site and it was a bit difficult to find. I did a seach for Alton's TV show title: Good Eats, then searched for the topic of Coffee. The name of the episode was called "True Brew". Here is a copy of it:
 
 
 
 
Brewing a simply perfect cup of Joe can be perfectly simple, if you stick to some basic guidelines:
 
Buy quality whole beans from a reliable purveyor (preferably a roaster). If you don't have a grinder at home, ask a salesperson to grind whole beans for you rather than settling for pre-ground.
 
Purchasing bulk (unpackaged) beans from a specialty shop is okay as long as the bins or jars are relatively small and refilled regularly. Large vats hold a lot of beans and therefore don't need frequent filling. That means that beans can hang around for a long time being exposed to light and air. That can mean stale beans, and staleness is not a desirable attribute.
 
Purchase pre-packaged whole beans only when sealed in a foil-style bag featuring a one-way valve. The dime-shaped plastic valve is usually integrated into the packaging so that it will be as unobtrusive as possible, so check carefully. The absence of a valve means that the coffee probably sat and "gassed out" before it was packaged. That means it could be stale. Stale, again, is not a good thing. And remember: paper bags with twist tops are temporary transportation vessels, not storage devices.
 
Try to purchase only a week's worth of beans at a time. If you live where this is impractical, purchase several small sealed packages rather than one large one. Unopened one-way valve bags will keep coffee fresh for approximately three months. If you buy bulk coffee (not sealed with one-way valves) in large amounts, divide into weekly batches, seal in Mason-style jars and freeze. Transfer these small batches to counter top storage as needed (see below) .
 
Store opened or bulk coffee in an airtight, opaque container and store at room temperature for up to a week.
 
Grind coffee as close to brewing time as possible. For drip method, grind in blade style grinder for 15 to 20 seconds. For French presses, grind for only 10 to 12 seconds.
 
Regardless of method, brew using 2 heaping tablespoons of coffee for each 6 ounces of clean (filtered or bottled), cool water. If you prefer a milder cup, brew to full strength, and then dilute with hot water. Brewing with too little coffee will result in over-extraction, and that means bitterness.
 
If you really want to taste the subtle nuances of regional coffees, consider a gold mesh filter. When purchasing a coffee maker (either manual or electric), look for a model that brews into a thermal carafe rather than a glass pot designed to sit on a heating element. Continuous heating of coffee leads to bitterness. Quality decaffeinated coffees usually cost more than regular beans.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Since Sal has been using his guidelines, he has said that he has been makind "WONDERFUL" coffee.
 
ENJOY
 
Joan

[tlhdoc]

I also have a comment about your comment on the aero bed. I had a king sized one with the "comfort top" for our PU, it was never used anywhere else except the PU and we kept having problems with the valve and then pin holes on the seam between the comfort top and the main part. I purchased a second queen sized one for our Hybred and continued to have the same problems. I loved the aero bed, especially the ease in inflating and deflating, but was disgusted that it didn't hold up for more than a year. It was used only about 4-5 times during that year. That's a lot of money for it not to hold up.

I also purchased a queen size Aero bed and had the same problem.  I will not buy another one.:mad: