As I went to bed last night the power status indicated that the charge level of the batteries had dropped to 65%. They really shouldn't drop below 80% to maintain a long life. I had a load of laundry to do and it was a cloudy day so I went down to the boat, got my spare gas can and filled the generator. It took about three hours to restore full charge. The indicator stated that I had a net influx of 48.7 amps while I was running my propane powered dryer. The generator three outlets, a 30 amp 120 volt, a 20 amp 120 volt and a 20 amp 240 volt, why that's not 25 amps eludes me. The system charges off the 30 amp outlet. The generator should only be run at full speed. Could I charge faster running off both the 20 and 30 in parallel? Are the two in phase? Surely they must be. Am I wasting gas and putting unnecessary wear and tear on the generator? I don't know. That reminds me. I should probably change the oil, the house sitter was as irresponsible as could be.
What was I running that consumed 25% of my electrical capacity? One ceiling fan and a portable fan. The night was cool and with the breeze I needed a comforter. With the big windows open air moves through the house readily. I have no air conditioning but have never been hot in the house.
Back to the math, 48.7 amps at what voltage? AC or DC? Time to break out the manuals to compute system efficiency. Next time I'll meter the gas for full system computation, but of course I won't know the efficiency ratio of the engine or the generator.
I put on some coffee and watched the parrots flying through a light drizzle. A swarm of hummingbirds visited the flowers near the deck, the sea was flat. Life was good. Some unknown insect, mandibles with wings. startled me but continued on its way. I cleared another swath of jungle but my poor hands were not up to the task having been cut and blister during a flurry of activity yesterday. Hayu ran up and down the hills manically. "This beat's the hell out of being in the apartment old man."
The kitchen needed a little sorting out, there was far more cookware than necessary. The house was stocked with pots and pans and I brought a complete set. I really don't need two to four of every type of pot and pan. I struggled with the pressure cooker. How could the primary release be inoperative, it is little more than a conical weight. Something else to look into, I don't need a high pressure explosion with aluminum shrapnel.
Some programming, a trip to town, down to the bank, pay for all the crap I've been having shipped to me that I don't yet feel comfortable storing in the house. I was reproached by several people for "abandoning them." Sorry, not my job to entertain the town, I have plenty of ways to wile away the days. A very slow return on a ripple free sea met its conclusion in the form of my dog wagging his body from the neck down on the dock.
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