I was out for a while the other night, and when I came home, I found an upended table and sofa, manuals scattered hither and thither, the odd tool, and one sheepish looking Kate. "Don't be mad," she urged, looking more adorable than she knew in her wool cap and layers.
We had just bought our second space heater, in anticipation of the cold weather to come. This one was less energy efficient than the first, but was to be the main muscle of the heating operation. With both of them cranking out heat in the background, Kate popped in some toast. Doing so, she noticed the lights dim, and the toaster quit. Rather than take the hint, (and thinking of that warm, yummy toast!), she tried again, and then sat munching, watching the lights rise and dim.
She proceeded to experimenting, turning things on and off, trying to see from our inverter display how much energy each appliance consumed. Back to the new space heater, she turned it on and off, trying different settings up to MAX, and then everything went dark and a system whirring somewhere droned decisively to a full-stop.
None of the usual solutions worked this time- the AC fuse box wasn't tripped, the DC fuse box master-switch was tried, and the shore-line power was reset "at the post." It was already dark and cold, with the temperature dropping. I called Janice next door, pretty sure she could help, but to no avail. She provided a set of eyes that could actually understand the electrical-sections of our many manuals, but ultimately, they weren't helpful. The manuals skipped between high-level overviews and detailed schematics without ever providing an end-to-end view of the system. Many times over the years, I have given a silent bow to the many talented tech writers I've met. None of those fine writers wrote these manuals.
Defeated, we dragged extension cords from a neighbour's post and through our bedroom window to power the space heaters through the night. Janice had a battery-charger as well, so we replenished our trailer batteries so we could try to get the inverter going in the morning.
The next morning, coffee was made at the expense of a space heater, and I made a "daddy-call" for help. Mom intercepted the call, and gave me new story about a lady who had set her trailer on fire, crashed out the front door on fire (to the surprise of her husband who was chopping wood...) and had most of her body terribly burned. I insisted on talking to dad, while wondering where her amazing repertoire of tragic trailer stories had come from. Dad heard my story and then launched into a prolonged lecture on the cost of heating with electricity versus propane. It was some time before I could get him on point.
Dad went through all the reset things we should do, and suggested another thing we could try/rule out at the post. Finally, based on our inverter display, showing 125 amperage (with 30 amp wiring), he said we had probably shorted out our whole trailer, and we needed an electrician. He also mentioned the likelihood of fire if we didn't get it dealt with asap (though I did hear Mom urging him on in the background). Finally, he returned to the theme of propane vs. electric and I made my excuses to get going.
Aarrgh. I imagined dragging out dozens of insulation bags, labeling and sorting each cut-out sheet of insulation, dragging away the ground sheet, etc, etc., and hauling the whole thing to an Airstream dealer hours away. As fate would have it, Kate ran into our friends Linda and Peter while out, and Linda insisted on bringing Peter back to try to help.
I was on the phone just then, trying to interpret insurance-adjuster speak on the topic of whether our after-market trailer warranty covered electrical components. It is impossible to get a straight answer from these people, even given a clear hypothetical case. It's always a matter of - have the work done, have the garage call us to discuss, and we will make an assessment... So you end up with a written answer in 6-8 weeks signed with only a first name, and no number to call. If I owned a cat, it would surely get out of range when I call an insurance company. I swear I will never buy another extended warranty.
Anyway, Linda and Peter show up, and Peter wants to know where the fuse-boxes are. I answer him half-heartedly, envisioning a parade of helpful friends trying things, only to end up with another night under the space heaters. Linda reminds me that Peter taught electronic engineering at a local college for about 15 years, so if anyone can help us, it's probably him. My reserve quickly changed to hope. To my surprise, Peter finds yet another reset button on the inverter, asks, "have you tried this reset button?" He hits it, and just like that, we're back in business! Only then do I realize how anxious I've been, and I feel a great weight lift from me. The phone is ringing, going to message, (leaving another reminder from Mom to get an electrician otherwise we'll burn to death for sure), but I can't get it right now because we've joined in a delirious circle, having a group, hopping for joy.
Here's to friends.
