Charleston, SC - Lasers are Cool

Kevin used the new infrared laser thermometer to troubleshoot the genset this morning. The problem we are having is that every once in a while the genset will just shut down while it's running (usually when it is hot & muggy and we are running the air conditioning). The first time this happened Kevin saw that the fuel line had air in it (air in the fuel line = bad) so we thought it had something to do with fuel starvation and kept scratching our heads since all the fuel stuff seemed to be in working order. But leave it to the laser to help us find the real problem. Kevin started up the genset and ran a small load on it (our battery charger and water heater). Temperature: about 185 degrees. Then he turned off those things and turned on our air conditioner. The temperature rose until it got to about 199 then he saw a small solenoid click and shut the engine down. Aha! The problem is that the thing is overheating with the AC on and shutting down on purpose so it doesn't get damaged! We are not sure what can be done to fix it, the previous owner already installed an extra cooling pump (now we know why) but at least Kevin doesn't have to keep messing with the fuel lines.

Meanwhile here we are tied up at Charleston city marina (hooked up to shore power so we can run the AC all we want to!) and we STILL have not seen a sight! Today we finished up running errands with the rental car (West Marine, Radio Shack, Home Depot, Big Lots -- no more rusty silverware, at least for a while, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart). We have spent over $800 on groceries and other supplies that we put off buying while we were in the Bahamas. We are all stocked up so hopefully for the next four months we will only need to go to the store for fresh veggies, bread, and eggs. I also stopped in at Fantastic Sam's for something I've been wanting for two months now -- a haircut. When we were in Marsh Harbor I was planning to get my hair cut but as we walked up to the salon a lady walked out with the most interesting hairdo I've seen in a long time: her hairline was shaved at the nape of her neck, it was braided tightly and pulled into a side ponytail that exploded like fireworks off the right side of her head. I wasn't sure if she was a customer or just worked there but either way I decided to wait until I got back to the states.