Month: March 2011

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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!

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LED Lighting Experiment

Are you aware of how much power your standard 12V no. 1141 incandescent bulbs are gobbling up every night? Lighting will drain your batteries much more quickly than you would think.

The answer is about 1 1/4 amps per bulb. There are usually two bulbs to a fixture. How many fixtures do you leave on at night? If you’re anything like the average RVer I see in the parks, you have five or six fixtures on. That’s 15 to 18 amps per hour just for lighting! In my old days of boondocking reading by the light of one of these bulbs for four hours would deplete my battery (1.5 amps x 2 x 4=12 amps) when combined with running the fridge, propane detector, and keeping the furnace on all night at a low setting.

So, I’ve taken to using L.E.D. puck lights when boondocking. I haven’t stuck them anywhere, using them as flashlights. Donna gave me a 12 volt L.E.D. bulb for a light fixture, but I’ll admit to seriously disliking it since it emits a blinding blue-white light. That said, it is a power sipper. When I monitor my voltage, I see it drop by two to three points when I turn on an incandescent light fixture. There is no fluctuation when I turn on the fixture with the L.E.D. bulb.

Waiting at AM Solar with me today for work to be done on his rig was Doug, an L.E.D. lighting specialist. His site is LEDTrailerLights.com. He gave me two bulbs to try. They rather look like the Capitol Records Building in L.A. 🙂 :

I put it into a fixture in the study and was astounding to discover warm, yellowish like not unlike that of an incandescent bulb!

I tried to get a comparison shot of the other bulb, but all I got was a blinding flash of white!

Again, no voltage drop.

L.E.D. bulbs last much, more longer than incandescent bulbs. Now that I know I can make the switch with no compromise I’m going to start buying L.E.D. units as my incandescent bulbs burn out. Thanks, Doug!

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Pets are People, Too

Today was a hard day for Tabitha and Neelix. I had to ‘lock’ them in the back part of the rig all day with their food and litter. Add to that the strange noises and smells and they were on edge when I was finally able to spring them loose.

My house door doesn’t close well and it swung open without my noticing it, so I caught Neelix on the front step outside, enjoying the sun. He mewed pitifully when I called his name, but came back into the rig on his own. Even though it’s chilly out, I left the door open for about an hour with the screen door closed and put a mat by the stoop. Both cats immediately went to lie down on the cushioned surface to bask in the late day sunshine and fresh air.

I see so many people who are not considerate of their pets and it breaks my heart. If you have an animal at home, no matter what it is, please remember that it surely appreciates simple pleasures and comforts, and consideration, as much as you do.