Fair Winds and Following Interstates
Recently I traveled to the island of Kauai for work, and Elizabeth did not accompany me. She had been there too many times, and we were afraid that most restaurants and other public places would not be open to full capacity. We were right as I could not get reservations at most places.
To show Elizabeth some love, every day I texted her a photo of a flower. here are some of them for your enjoyment. Regrettably I don't know the names of all of them....
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| Red Ginger |
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| Banana |
Some people who have seen my tool collection think that I have WAY too many tools in my RV, and that is probably true.
Some of my more unique tools are my titanium crow bar,
torque adapter, total dissolved solids (TDS) meter, endoscope and refractometer.
This article is about the last tool on this list. A refractometer measures the index of refraction of a liquid. More info on refractometers is at Wikipedia HERE.
Our new RV is the second vehicle I have owned that is
powered by Diesel fuel, and the first that has an EPA mandated after treatment
system. This is a spinoff of the exhaust
treatment systems that are used in combustion power plants to keep our air
clean.
The exhaust system on our bus has a Selective Catalytic Reduction
(SCR) system (Wikipedia article HERE) that converts any nitrogen oxides, also
referred to as NOx and particulate matter (soot) that my engine
produces with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (N2), and
water (H2O). To aid in this process, my engine injects Diesel Exhaust
Fluid (DEF) into the SCR. When I was
told that I would have to purchase DEF, I put it in the same category as blinker
fluid, diesel engine spark plugs, first generation Volkswagen radiator caps, and
from my Navy days, sound powered phone batteries, HT punch, a spool of shore
line and those famous sea bats. Unlike everything else on this list, DEF
actually exists!
DEF is a urea and water solution made with 32.5 (±
0.7) % urea and 67.5% (making up the remainder) deionized water. I would like
to trust, but I need to verify that the DEF I purchase in the store will not
damage my very expensive after treatment system. To measure the percentage of
urea in DEF, a refractometer can be used in the field.
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| My first ten gallons of DEF and refractometer |
I purchased an inexpensive, and therefore cheap, refractometer from Amazon.com for under $25 delivered. It is not laboratory calibrated, so my measurements must be taken with a grain of salt.
I am able to do a field calibration using pure water. I have a demineralizer, and my inexpensive TDS meter said I had zero
parts per million of dissolved salts in the water. Here is the refractometer reading pure water.
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| Note the blue area ends right at the water line. |
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| The top right scale is for DEF. |
I felt confident that the DEF I was pouring into my DEF
tank was good enough, even though it was the lowest priced DEF I could find.
I will test all DEF I put in my RV as I would rather error on the side of caution, instead of paying thousands of dollars on repairs.
While Harold was off at Pacifie Missile Range Facility (PMRF), I was back in Garfield, MN. We had a couple of warranty issues that we wanted to take care of while we were somewhat near our dealer, Steinbring. It just made sense to try to get them done while Harold was working. Plus, I just wasn't convinced that Kauai would be that much fun with any remaining covid restrictions, worker shortages, etc. Harold will likely be out there again in a few months, and I will probably go then.
Just down the road from Garfield, is Alexandria. Known by locals as Alec, Alexandria is home to Big Ole. Created to accompany the Kensington Runestone to the 1965 World's Fair, Big Ole (o-lee), is now in a downtown park. While not a Muffler Man, he definitely qualified for a photo before Harold left for PMRF.
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| Big Ole |
I attended my first boat show. Legacy of the Lakes Museum sponsored a classic boat show. There were a number of beautiful, wooden boats obviously well cared for by their owners. Picking a favorite was tough. I jumped at the opportunity for a free ride on Stella, a 1907 wooden craft owned by the museum.
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| Patriotic hand-tooled leather |
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| Jet-engine |
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| Complete with matching RC-boat |
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| Kids' craft |
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| Dodge Boat |
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| Notable auto influence |
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| Heli-boat |
Years ago a friend (Mark L) talked about the League of (fill in the blank with your name)'s Enemies. League members routinely turn traffic lights red just as you approach, cause you to arrive at a store just minutes after they close, sell out of your favorite ice cream flavor just before you order, etc. You get the idea and can probably name a few instances where the league is active in your own life.
Well, I'm not sure if it was LOEE or Murphy's Law, but my first attempt at fueling our coach was far more involved than I ever expected it to be.
First, as I approached the truck stop, the DPF Regen Active light came on the dashboard. This is a normal process, but the timing is aggravating. According to the fantastic folks at Allstate Peterbilt in Alexandria, MN, who solved our steering alignment issue, you should not turn the engine off while this process is occurring. So, down the interstate I go, driving a couple of exits until that LOEE of a light goes off.
Back at the truck stop, I notice that a couple of the fuel lanes are blocked because they're working on them. I line up behind an rv transporter, figuring his fuel tank won't take as long to fill as a semi. He moves on, and I pull up to the pump.
Ok, so where is the little fuel pump button to open the fuel cover. I search frantically. I noticed that Harold has just texted me. Good, he's up. He's in Hawaii for work travel. So I call and ask him about the little fuel button. Turns out there isn't one. Oh...
Out at the pump, I insert our TSD Logistics fuel card. The pump displays Message 727. What is that? I call Harold again. He doesn't know. Figuring I've somehow screwed this up already, I cancel the sale and start again. Repeat the process and the same message along with see the cashier. Fine. I start the process over with a regular credit card. Hmm...same message. Another call or two to Harold. Now, I'm getting frustrated. Why is this so hard?
I notice that the truck in the lane next to me has backed out and moved over a lane. He looks like a nice, farmer type guy. I ask if he had had trouble at that pump. He had, even after seeing the cashier. I'm not sure what work they're doing on the pumps a couple of lanes over, but I've had enough. I return the hose to the pump and start to open the door to drive. The nice trucker, on his way to the cashier for a second time, reminds me to replace my fuel cap. 😵
I had scoped out a fuel station a couple of exits north while on a bike ride. I pull in the station and pull out the credit card. No discount, but probably a better price than the truck stop, discount notwithstanding. I won't be able to fuel on both sides, but I wasn't going to tackle that on my first attempt at fueling anyway.
Insert the card and I'm asked to select between trucker and reefer. What? I've only ever heard reefer in association with marijuana. Yet another call to my wonderful husband who tells me to select trucker. Turns out reefer has to do with fuel for refrigerated trailers and taxes, similar to off-road diesel and regular diesel.
Then I look at the nozzles. Thankfully, Harold is still on the line. My choices are #1 diesel, dyed diesel, and #2 diesel. We are #2 diesel. Finally, I am ready to start fueling. Harold tells me to relax and have fun, take a selfie. He's right.
Harold warned me that the pump probably has a preset dollar limit. Yep, sure enough. I have to run the pump for a second time. I stopped after that. I figured the way LOEE and Murphy were going, I'd end up with overflowing diesel.
Thankfully, oh so thankfully, I shouldn't have to fuel again before Harold gets back. I love my husband. My brother who's been trucking pretty much all his life, serves as a backup only he doesn't know that yet. 😁
We so enjoyed our evening drive through Badlands National Park last year, that we repeated it this year.
After Spearfish, Harold and I moved to the famcamp at Ellsworth AFB, just outside Rapid City. We had scheduled our annual physicals and dental appointments. With plenty of time for follow-up visits if needed, we took some time to do some more sightseeing. First up on the list was Wind Cave National Park.
Closed last year for elevator issues and covid, all we saw was the original entrance. I can hardly imagine deciding to venture down that 8" x 10" hole to see what was there. The guy must have really wanted his hat back. The cave got its name for the winds at the entrance. The story is that the guy's hat was blown off his head and into the cave.
At any rate, if you want a tour this year, you'd better get there early. Tours tend to sell out by early afternoon. While waiting for our tour time, we took a short loop hike up on the prairie. We really enjoyed the blooming flowers along the way.
In addition to its winds at the entrance, Wind Cave is known for its boxwork. Over 90% of the world's known boxwork is here. The seventh oldest national park, Wind Cave was the first national park to protect a cave.
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| Original Entrance |
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| Not so good example of boxwork |
