As NIE will be at least 3 months before installing mains power we have bought a generator. It is a 16.5KVA 3 phase or single phase generator, currently wired to single phase. It is powered by a 2 cylinder Lister-Petter diesel engine.

The digger man came today and dug a 6' hole for the balmoral septic tank We got it into position, and levelled.

I also got the generator installed today, I had built a dry walled house for it, to keep it dry and also to try and keep the noise away from the caravan.

I got it in and wired in, that should supply the caravan with plenty of power. The only remaining work is to install the remote start/stop for it - but not today.

The other task was to install the piping between the caravan and the septhic tank. This was a slow procedure - we had about 80 yards of pipe to install. But we got there in the end.

Having spent our first night in the caravan there are still a few things needing sorted out...

The generator has now been given a remote start - a toggle button to activate the choke solenoid, and a push button for the starter.

I found that the alternator was not connected to the battery at all, and there seems to be no circuitry there to charge the battery. I bought a small fully automatic battery charger from argos which I then connected to a 240v socket in the generator house. This seems to keep the battery charged.

I also connected up the air pump for the septic tank. I was surprised to see just how much the water swirls when the pump is on!

We have almost decided which contractor to go with, the quantity surveyor was to return tonight to clear up a few details for us.
We had plans out to several contractors, and they were all pricing for the same specification. Over the 3-4 weeks we waited on prices coming back we had several changes we hoped to make, velux windows etc.. Tonight was clarification night, to ensure we have a final price for the work before we get started.

I am also horrendously sick today, it seems I didn't escape the bug everyone else had at all - off to bed for a couple of days...

Finally got a pole strapped to the side of the mobile, and the aerial attached to it. I was a bit concerned that there would be a bad signal here, due to the big hill between me and the transmitter. But first attempt at placing the aerial yeilded a good picture and fine digital reception. It is as good as the reception had been in our house, with the aerial in the loft, and direct line-of-sight to the transmitter.

After having to fill the generator tank using a funnel and 5 gallon jar I decided to buy a small tank to situate near the generator.

After a few phonecalls I found an old steel tank which whould do my job well. It is now installed beside the generator house, so filling should be a lot simpler (and quicker).

As arranged BT arrived today to connect up our phone. I had previously collected cable from the BT depot, and laid it out from the nearest pole. I was told to leave 5 metres at the pole, and about 1 foot hanging out of the wall.

The connection had to come from 3 poles up the road, that was the nearest connection point, so he had to connect there and run a cable down to the pole nearest us, which he then connected to our armoured cable. Half an hour later, and we have a landline!

He expressed concerns about our plan to use the same cable for the house as we are using in the mobile - the surveyor said we should just disconnect the reel from the mobile and roll it down to the house at a later stage. This would however mean leaving ducting to pull the bt cable through, so I dont know how practical that would be. The surveyor is to call with us again, hopefully we will come up with something! [pics]

The contractor came today and marked out where the driveway should go, the digger is to come on Saturday, or Monday to start work on it - progress on site at last! See more pictures here

The digger arrived about 11:30am today, and started removing topsoil for the driveway. All being well they should be back on Monday with stones, and we should see the driveway taking shape. See pics of the digger here, and follow the driveway story here.