Katona

Slam it to the left… if you’re havin’ a good time?

Mostly confident in my socket wiring last week, but I got a plug tester to be sure. The dopamine hit worked; there’s no substitute for the 2 green lights telling me “well done, you’re not an imbecile.”

Euphoria has so many triggers, like fixing an elusive programming bug, finishing a book you wrote, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or meditative bliss. Another one is when you wire the lights, turn the switch and they work.

MOODY.

The 2700K colour is cosier than I imagined, but I think that’s fine for the bedroom; I’ll go higher for the rest. And I kinda forgot about maintenance, wiring them like they’ll never fail… I’ll add some easily-changeable connectors or something while they’re accessible.

And for once, I didn’t electrocute myself.

But there’s an issue with the dimmer programming, as they’re sometimes stubborn about turning on. Maybe the LED driver not getting enough power or the minimum setting is off, I’m not entirely sure; I’ve ordered a halogen bulb for testing to help isolate the issue. And a gripe with the switch fidelity — I’ve used the same one as I’ll need elsewhere for dimming in 2 locations, but the knob feels clicky, like a tinny word. Akin to the first iPod’s piezo clicker, it doesn’t have that satisfying resistance or click of a typical rotary switch, something woody.

Earlier in the week some plumbing kit showed up — the pump and accumulator. The latter is a tank that holds pressure and smoothens out the system so the pump doesn’t need to cut in as often, giving it a longer life and more consistent water pressure.

This is vaguely where I’ll mount them, in the bathroom. Old Katona had a 1 litre tank, but we’re yolo’ing this build and I went for 5. The bigger the tank, the longer water will run without the pump. During a shower it’s inevitable, but turning the tap on to wash your hands or fill up a bottle needn’t shake the boat. Speaking of, I was about to connect copper pipes directly to the pump when I remembered it vibrates, a lot. I’ll get some hose for either side, then mount it on vibration-absorbing pads, or maybe suspend it…

A bunch of copper pipe connectors also arrived, and I went to use them, but they were press fit. I wanted push fit, and that is when I learned those are entirely different ways of connecting pipes. Push fit grabs the pipe when you insert it, no tools required. Press fit requires a special crimping tool, which is expensive. Alas, the correct ones are now en route.

Some 10mm² wire arrived for the pump as well, but then I thought about the other devices needing 12v power, and it’s a lot of thick wire to get enough amps that far down the boat. Wondering if there was a more elegant solution, I asked ChatGPT, and it had the excellent idea of running a higher-voltage cable for the 14-metre stretch.

So, new plan! Bump up to 48v at the stern by the batteries, and run thinner cable to the bathroom where I’ll step down to 12v for the pump, shower drain, extractor fan, and water tank overflow. Converters on order, we are cooking.

I have a newfound appreciation for the national grid, what an absolute wonder. Katona’s getting a mini version, because why not.

Finally, it’s been an order-heavy week; I’ve spent so long wading through websites for the correct fittings, cables or other esoteric items. Eventually you just want to get on with putting things together.

Until next Sunday!

- Nick