I woke up this morning to a chill in the van that made me not want to get out of my comfy bed. The days are getting shorter, and it’s no longer as bright out at 6am as it was a month ago. I suspect that I’ll be getting the furnace running sooner than I had planned if I get a week of cool mornings, but the smoke cover from the fires in British Columbia have kept the days cool, and it’s supposed to warm up over the next few.

I only have a 20 gallon propane tank which with only the fridge running off it takes about a month to empty, but the furnace will certainly comsume more, and be a waste during the time I’m not in the van. So, I’ve come up with a plan…

The van has a standard themostat on the wall, and I can replace it with an electronic one that I can set times for. Replacing it will allow me to set it to keep at 10C (or lower) when I’m not there, and start up the furnace on my way home so it’s nice and warm when I get home, or when waking up.

To solve the water tank issue, I can also install a small aquarium heater into the tank and wire it into the inverter for the battery. I haven’t set up the battery bank yet, but it’s on the “To Do” list.

For now, I have a really warm blanket and a really high metabolism to keep me warm!