battery day

Just got my new (used) AGM batteries from local Ron Mohr of Green Desert Living.  These were in service for 2 years by an unknown government agency as battery backup.  Brand new, they run about $450 each not including shipping.  Ron is selling them for 90 bucks a pop.  Time for a new TFL test.  60,71,34,0,B

I got the blue one!

Removed the golf cart batteries from the old battery house.  Now all that remains of the old power plant are a gutted house, remnants of my wind turbine towers, and an old busted solar panel.

The new recoil assembly arrived and it was a perfect fit. (I'm glad they picked out the blue one for me - black would have been so boring.)  Got the batteries all cleaned up and positioned.  65,70,38,0,B

slide puzzle

I used to say any project here was like a Rubik's Cube.  Getting anything accomplished involves a lot of "stuff moving".  I decided today it is more like the old number slide puzzle since it is really a two dimensional game when it comes to shifting things around so everything can fall into place.  The first phase of the battery shift was deciding to do it.  The second phase was today's project - make room for them.  Before I take the bad batteries completely out of service, I figured it would be a good idea to set up the golf cart battery bank right next to them so I can switch the charging back and forth if I need to.  Creating the "right next to them" turned into a half day project.  56,63,50,0,B

battery shift...

Getting ready to take my flawed battery system out of service and replace them with the batteries that are sitting charged but idle in my old wind farm battery house.  I have kept these 3 year old golf cart batteries charged up but really haven't been using the juice very much.  Gonna clean up all the contacts and fire 'em up to see how they do until I decide on different batteries.  Note: my little experiment in rammed earth on the battery house has held up quite well after 8 years. 67,75,41,0,B 

took a shot...

Three years ago I set up a new system with my solar.  I took a chance with deep cycle marine batteries from AutoZone and I seem to have lost the bet.  One of the batteries shit the bed back in July.  The other three are just barely OK but no longer holding a charge very well overnight.  I am waiting on a deal from a local guy on some AGMs to replace these next month.  (My original set of golf cart batteries lasted 6 years - but I  have 2 AGM batteries that are still going strong after 9 years.)  Because of that, I have been having to run my generator for about an hour after sunset and again in the early morning if I get up before sunrise.  About a month ago the pull rope broke and I replaced it.  This morning I got up way too early (5 AM) and decided to fire it up.  Now it seems the entire recoil assembly is about to shit the bed as well.  Took me about a half hour to get it to crank after fiddling with it in 26 degree darkness.

As soon as I got it started I went online and found a replacement on Ebay.  I ordered it at 6 AM, it shipped out at noon, and will be here Thursday.  They even called me at 8:30 AM to say they were very sorry but the red one was no longer in stock - all they had were blue and black.  I told the nice rep that it didn't really matter and they could flip a coin and choose a color for me.  By the time the sun came up I felt like I had already put in a full day.  Our latest 2 day cold snap ends tomorrow.  Looking forward to a nice warm Christmas.  39,44,26,0,B

I think I got a dud...

Been running one of my Frankenstein systems pretty hard and fast the last month along with quite a few spotty solar days.  This is my experiment with deep cycle marine batteries from AutoZone.  Suddenly found a dramatic decline in the bank's ability to hold a charge overnight.  Pretty sure I got a dud in the mix.  A battery bank is only as good as it's weakest teller.  Will check them all tomorrow afternoon after they get a good gulp of juice from our first full day of sun in awhile.  90,98,75,0,B

time to collect the core charge

Took six of my original batteries out of service today...almost 6 years old.  They did pretty good for me considering all the abuse they took over the years.  Didn't bother removing a bunch of old wires from the wind turbine days because this system is going to move over to the hut when the new system for the greenhouse get's installed.  77,94,54,0,B,.12

bad to my batteries

Been putting off cleaning up my batteries since next on the list is moving them and the panels to a new spot by the SW container.  As usual, the positive sides build up the corrosion over time and I decided I'd better do a pre scrub just to keep things running smoothly till their next home and brand new connections.  Cleaned and soaked all the positive ends with baking soda and water (works like a charm)then sanded them back to bare copper.  Bolted it all back down with a healthy portion of dielectric grease at each connection.

Lopped off another squash today - just shy of a full pound.  452g = .996489lb  This one I am going to coat with wax and drive it 1,000 miles so it will taste like what's in the grocery store...

Used my two cutouts from the containers for a heavy duty coop roof and additional shade on the pen.  81,97,59,0,B .99

early post...

Abbreviated day today...slept in while Benita patiently waited for breakfast.  Charged up a sealed 8Ah battery with a 15W solar panel this morning and checked it out with the panning rig.  Ran it continuously for over 3 hours with plenty of juice to spare.

 

Shutting down early tonight....heading to the Ghost Town for the evening - a farewell dinner for my upstate friend Kristinna - one of Terlingua's favorite summer visitors.  She starts her long drive home to Albany tomorrow morning.  Photo added at 1:45AM  82,93,71,0,B

New Batteries

First chore of the day other than the normal morning ritual was to go feed Chucks dogs one more time - Chuck is due back home this afternoon. Had some quick play time with Chris and Hannah which involved asking Hannah where her toy was and scratching Chris' ears - then breakfast. On the way home I saw Benita and Oscar so I stopped and gave them a snack. Went down the road aways and did some rut fillin'. As I wasn't quite out of eyesight of the longhorns - they ended up following me all the way home. Had to gently dissuade them from coming all the way down my driveway. They ended up walking the 2 miles back to where they have been hanging out.

Painted up as high as I could reach on my first wind turbine mount. Took down tower 2 to adjust the guy wire mounts, cut off the top of the pole to square it off, and paint the whole pole. Now this one is ready for turbine #2. Headed back over to Chucks as I knew he and Kathy were going to be home soon...ended up meeting them at the mailboxes just as they were coming in. Followed them home and helped them unload and got ( and paid Chuck ) for my 6 new batteries.

Brought my new power storage home and immediately made a platform for them so sit on in the battery house. Loaded them in and sat and thought about the new possibilities they will provide. Checked in with my friend Dan in Austin - the coast is clear for my arrival tomorrow night. Started clearing off my counter tops as I plan on giving them a second coat of polyurethane in the morning before I head out. The first coat I did one morning 6 months ago and had trouble sleeping that night because of the fumes....this time it is has 48 hours to quit stinking before I come back. May not post tomorrow so this is what is going to happen....Drive to Austin - pick up a few things at Home Depot and Walmart on the way - go out to dinner with Dan, Katherine, and Dylan - go to bed.