We've moved on again

about 200 yards.  Weather people - those pranksters - predict high-90's by Saturday, and I know you have not forgotten the citywide yard sale that we must stay for.  Our old site was quiet, but very sunny for several hours each day.  Our new place is tree-ish (piney), but has cicadas just like the old place.  

 

 I think that horsey people like our new spot, and I don't expect to be as secluded as we were this morning, where we were unexpectedly chatting with three hunter gentlemen and their dogs while we washed and hung out our panties.  The men were pleasant and charming and talked about sun tea, cicadas, beagles and NOT our flashy summer short johns. We pretended they were not the showiest things they had seen since Mabel Louise got drunk on the turned apple cider at the church picnic and showed her foundation garments to God and neighbor. 

 [Picture in your own mind]

Once you get started on a chore, you can’t stop for every camouflagioed visitor who wanders by with a dog.

~~~~~

You also can’t go through today without me telling you that I turned 50 this morning during my second cup of coffee.  I should have stopped at one.  Fifty is the jewel-encrusted netbook birthday.

~~~~~

Marianne, from Frugal RV Travel, has added us to her blog roll.  This is an honor, because it was her blog that I found early on in our planning and realized we could stay in beautiful places for free.  That's what made us think about making the Duck a bona fide boondocking rig.  Her site is a wonderful combination of tips, ideas, and resources for making this lifestyle work without a huge income;  you should go look around.  Marianne has also written a series of guides to lesser-known beautiful boondocking sites in the Southwest.  If you forget her link, it's listed here under "Boondocking Resources."
~~~~~
We've been in this area for nine days, and we've fired up the generator once, for no particular reason.  We use battery power for lights, water pump, fans, and iPad charging. I don't think we had a real grasp on how far our power would go, because it always went.  This seems to mean that 80+% of our power was going to letting the LP detector blink and keeping the solenoid open.
~~~~~
Getting, using, and keeping connectivity is the trickiest part of my world.  I can write a blog post on iPad ... sort of ... and upload it anywhere we have 3G, which is a lot of places.  I can't add pictures that way.  Or, if my computer has a charge, I can write it in email and queue it up until I get my next wifi fix, but I can't add pictures that way, either. It's only with my trusty laptop connected to some good old wifi, or tethered to Annie's phone, that I can compose a post with visual aids.  Tethering drains my computer fairly fast, so if I've got something to say, I'd better make it snappy.


Today I'm loitering in the public library which offers:

• free wifi
• free charging
• quiet
• air conditioning
• bathrooms
• drinking fountains
• open bar

You'd think more people would be living here.  I'm thinking if I mention my birthday they'll bring me cake.

Foreshadowing.

You know it when you read it.  An involuntary shudder travels up your spine;  you have knowledge that the character should have, but doesn't.

BREAKING unresolved news: the power just went out in the Duck, but not in the house. Inverter won't come on. GFCI keeps tripping, and I can't find the fault. I just know it's not mine.

*If you care what, but not why, resume reading at the next asterisk.  You'll get no judgement from me.

WHAT WE KNEW: The fault was the two inches of water standing in the converter bay.  The converter scratched out its message to the world and converted its last current. No problem! we thought with delicious literary irony. We have battery back-up and a decent inverter in a separate system.  Plus, we have a brand-new converter hooked up - bring it on.  By morning we had no DC action. No lights, no furnace fan, and once we were down, the LP detector kicked us by shutting off all gas for cooking and hot water (because of the low battery action).

The culprit.  Notice droplets;  do not question why the converter would be in a wet bay.

Tight conditions.  Longshoremen blushed while Annie made these repairs.

After Annie Pex'd it up

WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW:  The dead converter was converting AC to DC power stored in the chassis battery.  Once our house AC was separated from this system, we were living la vida dulce all night on our starting battery.  [Very, very dead.  Permanently dead.]  The fancy battery bank was useless because the (dead) converter converted AC power from the inverter that had already been converted from DC power in the batteries that had been converted from AC power from the house. 


We spent several cold days and nights not actually considering moving back into the house.   We did dishes in the house and showered in the house, and I can't fully explain why we didn't just put ourselves there for a few days.  I can't.  I don't know.  A need to test our mettle?  I DON'T KNOW.  


Annie found two Optima AGM batteries after talking to our electrician.  One is a new starting battery (R.I.P., Diehard) and the other a new coach battery.  We picked up a battery charger (standby converter) and it is hooked up to the coach battery and the stick house AC.  

Starting (chassis) battery

Marine (hybrid) battery

This isn't the endless loop we experienced earlier, when the house AC powered the batteries which powered the inverter which powered the converter which powered the batteries which powered the inverter which powered the converter.  None of that would be a problem without that pesky Newton and his Suggestions of Thermodynamics.  But, it is a double loop.  


* The second converter is fried and it is an essential component in our system as it is configured.  Annie found an Intelli-Power 9200 at Streetside Auto (the best price, plus free shipping) and may or may not install it today.  If she chooses Option A, she will probably install it upside down on the bay ceiling.  


Sometime this week we got full functionality back, after the new batteries were installed and continuously-charged.  Neither of us can remember when, only that it happened and it was wonderful.

Some Systems Go

This week has given us the chance to actually live in the Big Duck, for fun and to test some systems.

• Water: we have a leak somewhere near the shower inlet, so no running water yet
• Electric: yes, both AC (plugged in) and DC (battery power)
• Toilet: yes and no. The composting toilet is partially functional right now
• Heat: both furnaces work
• Cooking: coffee every morning
• Internet: MT (mooch technology) is effective at close range
• Geese: fully functional

We had propane delivered by the local supplier of propane and propane accessories. An electrician is working to install our inverter and batteries (transferred from the Duckette). We have an appointment with our trailer guy, Bill Fletcher, in May. He will fix the leak, install a solar vent shed for the toilet, and fix any problems we discover before then.

The next phase is to put the Duckette on the market and sell it.


Little Carrot is living large and orange here at the Big Duck. Her new moms made heroic efforts to integrate her into their kitty family; they were very sad that it didn't work out. We were sad to see them so sad, but not sad to take Carrot back with us. We found out she loves to ride, so she may do just fine on the road. Quack Carro-ac.

After three days, we brought Lily over.

They ignore each other. We love that.

Charge it! (Roxi)

Batteries! So, we decided last that to finance today's energy lifestyle would require about 835 AH of battery storage.



We've been looking at Trojan, Deka, Lifeline, and probably some others of good repute. Things that matter:

• battery type
• battery weight
• capacity
  

Just like in your car, a battery may or may not need maintenance, depending on the type. When I started driving, batteries needed distilled water every so often to maintain their vitality. [We did not turn a crank then - just stop it.] Now, chances are your car battery is maintenance-free, which means that it is sealed and the water does not evaporate. Hydrogen and oxygen are still produced in the process, but they recombine inside the battery to form water, so it's all good.

We want this feature. The not messing around with battery acid part appeals.

If your battery isn't pooting hydrogen, ventilation is less of an issue. Presumably, it's also emitting oxygen, but that's not talked about much. Maybe because we don't notice a little more? I'm not clear on that part. But, forget the emissions anyway, because a sealed battery isn't gassing off.

We want this, too.

Sealed (maintenance-free) can be either gel or absorbent glass mat (AGM). Most people seem to prefer AGM, although some people say gel is great. AGMs are more expensive.

AGMs can be starting batteries (for your car or truck), deep-cycle, or marine.

1. Starting batteries have the power to crank a big engine, but they don't have staying power. They are the sprinters of the battery world.
2. Deep-cycle batteries are built to be deeply (up to 80%) discharged before they must be recharged. Less discharge is better, though, as in delicate medical issues. These are the long-distance runners.
   
3. Deep-cycle marine batteries are a hybrid of the first two. Some extra cranking muscle, some sustained capability, but they must not be discharged below 50%. These are those guys who sort of run fast but can run longer if they have to. [This entry is a FAILED SPORTS METAPHOR. Help Blogipedia by cleaning it up.]
   

We choose Door #2, for the sustained power, Monty.

Size matters, but bigger is not better. These high AH batteries pack some serious weight. The takeaway is that one of us (Annie) needs to be able to lift a battery, should the need arise. But, if you go too light, you sacrifice too much capacity.

Here's what that looks like:










We could wire a pair of 6V in series, and then wire that pair in parallel with another pair wired in series. Remember, if you wire two batteries in series, you double their voltage, but amperage stays the same. If you wire two batteries in parallel, the amperage doubles, but the voltage stays the same.

(220AH)(6volts) X 2 in series = 220 AH at 12 volts

(220AH)(12volts) X 2 in parallel = 440AH at 12 volts

If you just tuned out, it just means we need 4-6volt batteries with 220 AH capacity. Since (Amp-Hours)(Volts) = Watt-hours,

(440AH)(12V) = 5280 watt-hours = 5.28 Kwh

This doesn't account for efficiency issues between storage and available power.

But, the battery bank can't fall below 20% capacity, so that means that usage could never exceed 4.2 Kwh between charges. Will we really use that much power? What kind of solar harvesting capacity would we need to supply that much energy? What do the generator ratings mean in this context? Which cereal do I want this morning? Because that sound was my brain restarting in safety mode.

If you actually passed Physics 102, we need a wet clean-up in Aisle 4 by the cerebral cortex.

Physics 102. (Roxi)

Amps X Volts = Watts

Who knew there would be a quiz so much later?

Our ultimate goal is to have a small solar set-up installed on the Duck. Even though this is a "green" area, we've had a hard time finding anyone willing to do this around here. Most solar businesses are familiar with the stick home applications, but solar RVing just hasn't caught on in the Northeast.

Instead, we've decided to buy a smallish Honda generator (reviews say the Honda is relatively quiet) for the trip, and have solar installed when we get somewhere. Arizona is crazy with solar technology, and even bigger with RVs.

Batteries: Unless we plan to plug in every night (we don't), we'll need a battery bank. A solar panel or two can keep batteries charged. So can a generator. So can plugging into shore power. [lingo alert] It's the shore power we want to minimize.

But, how much storage do we really need? This is tricky. I know what we need living here in our house - about 10 kilowatt-hours a day. Batteries are rated in amp-hours. What ... ?

(Amps)(Volts) = Watts

I know the DC system is 12 volts. If I wanted to use the same amount of power that I do here at home, I would use 10,000 watt-hours (10 Kwh) every day. If you stick an "hour" on both sides of this equation, you can make it work. I did. Squeeze the math until it cries.

(Amp-hours)(Volts) = Watt-hours

(Xamp-hours)(12volts) = 10000watt-hours

X = 833 amp-hours

So, we would need batteries that could store 833 AH, and would need to replenish them daily, for this kind of load.

But, this is not an experiment in living the same life we live now. What might we really expect to change?

• propane refrigerator
• propane range and oven
• no dehumidifier
• no cable telephone
• no sump pump
• no Ms. Coffee

We don't have a TV now, so I excluded it in the Change list. It's not an issue for us, but it might be for you.

[You see that we are shifting a lot of the energy to propane. I'm not claiming that this is ultimately greener, only that it permits another kind of economy.]

I really think we could get by on much less, maybe the equivalent of 5 Kwh/day. Less? You out there - tell me what kind of usage you've experienced.