Oregon

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The Fine Line Between Need and Luxury in Electrical Matters

Croft is harping at me to get a second set of batteries. Well, harping might be strong, perhaps ‘heavily hinting’ is better. 😀

Here’s the thing. A second set of batteries is useless without a way to recharge them. So, I’d need to add another solar panel. And then I’d have way more power than I need to run my 12 volt stuff, so I’d have to add a whole-house inverter to run my 120 volt stuff.

I understand that another way of looking at the second battery bank is that it gives you a spare to extend your boondocking trips. But what if my current system can fulfill my needs indefinitely? I don’t ever plan to boondock for an extended period of time in super cold temperatures.

So, battery monitor not withstanding, the next upgrade to my electrical set up will cost about $3,000.

If I had unlimited means, hell yeah, I’d go ahead and do that so I’d never have to think about my power consumption ever again! But I don’t have unlimited means and one of my goals for this life is to be more aware of what I’m doing and to stop spending money mindlessly.

The things I am not able to run with my current electrical set up, such as the microwave, rice cooker, breadmaker, or dehumidifier are luxuries. Not being able to use them does not in any way interfere with my quality of life.

If I had $3,000 to spend on luxuries right now, my first priority would be a Flexsteel captain’s chair. I’m tired of having a sore back after a long day of driving.

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A Sinuous Drive to Florence, OR

Oy. I was not ready for today’s drive at all! It was barely one hundred kilometres, but very sinuous, with several steep grades, only a handful of passing lanes, and no where to pull over and let the very long and impatient column of vehicles behind me pass. I got one honk and too many one-fingered salutes to count today.

What I saw of the scenery when I wasn’t white knuckling was breathtaking, with impossibly tall trees dripping with moss; not the kind you see in Georgia (Spanish) but rather that lush emerald stuff usually found on rock outcroppings. Can we say DAMP?!

I am staying at the Three Rivers Casino until Wednesday or Thursday. After that, it’ll be time to head back to Canada. I’m going through the Rockies, so I want to give myself plenty of snow-days to make the trek.

The casino allows for up to seven nights of parking on a slightly sloped well-marked RV lot. I joined the player’s club (free) and got ten dollars in free slot, which I turned into about forty-five minutes of fun in the penny slots.

My mother is concerned about my being on the coast, what with everything that has been going on in the Pacific, and I believe those concerns are justified. I am keeping a close watch on weather conditions and keeping the rig ready to go at a moment’s notice.

I was able to park with a fully charged battery and 1.5 to 3 amps coming all afternoon. I love having solar!

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Cold and Rainy Eugene Morning

I awoke to dampness. I haven’t been able to run the dehumidifier in forever and look forward to entering a drier climate in the next week or so.

It was a nice day yesterday, being in such a great spot (I will be sharing pictures of it!). I spent a few hours at Starbucks in the morning, went home to work on some projects, and then treated myself to lunch at Chile’s. I discovered this restaurant chain back in Regina in ’08 and have never had a bad meal the few times I’ve been able to eat at one. I made a note in my private journal from back then at that the $25, including tax and tip, that I spent on the ‘Margarita chicken with a bottomless glass of strawberry lemonade was some of the best money I’d spent recently at a restaurant.’ So, I decided to see if that meal was still available. It was and the review still held, but not the price. It was only $15 for that meal here!

I was due for a Walmart run, so I went out in the afternoon to run errands, then I came home and crashed with embroidery and movies (and cats).

I really didn’t watch my battery usage last night, running an LED light for hours, charging the laptop, and plugging in the electric blanket for several hours. I went to sleep with the battery voltage around 11.8 and woke up to it being 12.3, not bad considering that I was up almost two hours earlier than yesterday in much greyer and wetter weather!

I’ll be rolling out of Eugene sometime around noon. I flagged down a security car on the way to the Starbucks this morning and caught the same guy as the night I pulled in. I let him know that I am leaving today and made sure that it’s okay to hang out for a part of the day.

Miranda’s due for an oil change, so I’d like to have that done today but none of my leads can fit me in, so I may have to wait a bit longer. I’m getting antsy to have this done, but we’re not at the critical stage yet.

So, I’m off to the Oregon coast for a few days! I have no idea what internet access will be like there, but there is a Starbucks in Florence. At $1.50 for a coffee, it’s a reasonable temporary solution for getting online.

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24 Hours on Solar

When I got home from the Starbucks last night, I crashed. I had the furnace bring the temperature up to about 25 then turned it off. I watched a movie on the laptop while running an LED light for embroidery, made supper (baked pasta smothered in oodles of cheese, yuuuuuum), set the laptop to charge in the inverter, and curled up with an ebook. It started to get chilly around 9 and I decided to retire to bed and my electric blanket instead of wasting both power and propane. I read till almost 11, feeling very cozy and warm, and turned the blanket off being going to sleep.

I’d unplugged the laptop before going to bed and checked the battery voltage; it was hovering between 11.8 and 12.0, which is a reading I don’t like to see until two nights of boondocking, and I hadn’t run the blanket yet!

I woke up around four, plugged the blanket back in, and slept for another five hours (two sleepless nights will do that for you!) with the blanket on.

When I finally got up, it was to an overcast day with sunny patches.

My solar array was pulling in just over 3 amps and my battery voltage was sitting at 13.6, which I consider a full charge but the controller doesn’t; it won’t start pulsing until I hit a voltage of 14.0. Imagine that, waking up after a night off shore power all snug and cozy in a climate that still requires me to heat and having a fresh start to my power usage!

And, just like that, the self-renewing nature of solar charging finally made its impact. It’s now okay to ‘run down’ my batteries every day and I will get a do-over every morning, even if it’s overcast. And I use so little power during the day that even on overcast days I’m likely to have enough power for the evening. It’s still much too early to make an predictions, and I desperately need a battery monitor to take some scientific measurements, but I’m suddenly very excited about heading out to the Oregon coast tomorrow for a few days of ocean-side boondocking!

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Not Shivering in Eugene

A variety of issues cropped up to keep me in Eugene this weekend. None of the Walmarts allow overnight parking, so I thought I’d end up at an RV park. Then I had an epiphany and I moseyed over to Our Odyssey to find out where Sean and Louise spend the night in Eugene. I’ve been reading their blog for so long and this is the first time I’ve used it as an overnight parking resource!

As it turns out, the Valley River Center (a giant mall) allows up to two nights of RV parking in a remote treed lot against a winding river and walking path. Great location!

I pulled out of AM Solar early this morning since I was meeting Joan in Albany, about an hour away. I got to the Valley River Center around 9, parked where I thought I might be able to stay, and hoofed it to the mall to find security so I could register.

As I got closer to the buildings, I noticed a security car circling the lot and waved it down. Turns out the guard had seen me pull in and was heading straight for Miranda. I think he was surprised that I belonged to the rig. It turned out that I was in the wrong lot, so he guided me to the correct one and had me fill out some paperwork. He was very nice, telling me to be sure not to hesitate calling security if I have any concerns.

I haven’t slept in two nights and knowing that I don’t have to move the rig tomorrow is such a luxury. I’m so grateful that the Valley River Center offers TWO nights of parking. The security guard emphatically told me to not be shy about asking for a third night, but I really doubt I’ll need to be here that long.

As for the title of my post, it is amazing to be able to turn on the heat, get the rig to a comfortable temperature while watching the voltage drop to 11.8-12.0 while the furnace is running, go for a walk, come back into a warm home, and discover the ‘battery is fully charged’ light pulsing. It’s been overcast and rainy all day, but I’ve had a steady 1 to 2 amps coming in!