Diary from the cabin, page 5

5-5-06 

The C12 controller

The weather wasn't what you'd call perfect here in northern Michigan for the past week.  I set my new charge controller, the Xantrex C12 in night light mode; set to turn on the lights at night for two hours a night. The unit will use the solar panels as a photocell and turn the lights on at night. I had it set for a duration of two hours after dark. With the cloudy sky all week, the bank was at 12.74 volts when I got here on Friday evening, so I ran the generator for a couple of hours to top off the bank.

The new generator house works as expected; you can't hear the generator from more than 20 feet away. Even next to it it's pretty quiet. That's good news - using materials on hand I've been able to do what I thought would cost a hundred dollars or so.

The Vector battery charger - it's a smart charger, very similar to a solar charger but in a 110 volt battery charger, works like a champ. It detects charge rates and will go from it's bulk 10 amp charge rate to 6 amps and then to 2 amps when the bank is charged.

5-6-06

Well, off to the open house at the National Weather Service. Of course, I managed to kill my inverter at some point, so off to the store after the open house for a new one. This time I purchased a Vector 400 watt that's supposed to have "noiseless" technology in it. We'll see.

I also started converting the battery bank over to a new connection scheme. Instead of connecting the negative poles together and the same with the positive (battery A connected to battery B, etc.) I connected all the negative cables (2 gauge) to a central point and the same with the positive. Then for giggles, I tested each battery (a couple are sealed) and found one that was a little weaker than the others, so I pulled it out to use in the boat with the electric motor - I had planned on doing this all along, the weak battery just made my decision for me.

That took me back down to 360 amp hours, which is a little lower than I want, so I guess another type 31 deep cycle is on the way.

5-12-06

I'm now attempting to revive my weak battery from the bank. I charged it with the Vector auto charger then applied a small load to it. Next, I charged it for 2 hours at 10 amps to equalize it. I then did 2 amps for 4 hours. I now have it running with a 12 volt CF hooked up to it; 16 hours and all is good. Will apply a 6 amp load later this weekend.