I doubt you'll ever hear me complain about the cold. I love it. I might have complained last February when one of our mares foaled in -30 degree weather, but really, it wasn't the cold so much as having to be awake in the middle of the night.
So let me just say for the record that being out in 16 degrees of chilly goodness doesn't bother me. I'm writing this not so you will feel sorry for me, but so you will get a real idea of what it is like "Living the Life."
My alarm went off at 6:30AM like always. After a couple of snoozes, and a little staring into empty space, I was ready to start my day. Morning chores today included feeding the cats (so they will stop complaining about how we starve them to death) and feeding the wood stove. Once I coaxed a bit of flame from the new log I threw in, I checked the power.
Earlier you saw my solar array. That solar power feeds into a bank of 12 6-volt deep cycle batteries arranged to produce 24 volts. Whatever the sun doesn't provide, our generator does. Whenever I come in or out, I check the battery level, it is a good habit to be in as it avoids some nasty surprises. At 23.8 volts, it is time to charge the batteries, at 22.0 volts the system shuts down to avoid damaging the batteries. I consider this a nasty surprise.
After feeding the cats and the stove, I checked the power, and we were down to 23.4 volts, which means we need to charge the batteries SOON. I threw on a flannel jacket, grabbed a flashlight, and trudged out into the pre-dawn darkness. My shoes crunched in the frost on the lawn. I gassed-up the backup generator and started it.
Our primary generator runs on propane and is fed from a 1000 gallon talk, so it never needs to be gassed-up. Our primary generator operates on a remote switch, so there's no need to trudge anywhere. Out primary generator can be started automatically by the power system without any intervention from me. Our primary generator, as you may have guessed by now, is not working.
So there I was trudging back into the house. Luckily the morning fog had lifted from my brain enough to wonder why the batteries weren't charging. Turing on the generator isn't enough, you have to make sure the power is actually being consumed. OK, back outside, yep, the breaker on the generator was popped. Aha, that explains why last night's run didn't charge the batteries enough...
Welcome to life off the grid. Would I trade this in for power lines and electric bills? Nope.
About Me
- Montana Dave
- Frenchtown, Montana, United States
- I am a software-engineer turned ranch hand. I grew up in the midwest, but my wife and I decided to move to Montana and start a horse ranch. I love living this life, but it is rarely without adventure. I hope you enjoy my stories.
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3 comments:
Better you than me, my friend, although I am awfully jealous of much of what your new life has to offer. Traipsing around in the bitter cold would make me unfit to be around for the rest of the day.
I'm no friend of the cold as you well know. So the fact that we're supposed to get our first freeze this week shocks me like those paddles they use on patients in the operating room. A vicious jolt of the upcoming winter reality that I just didn't want. And it makes me wonder, and I've wondered for a while now - how on EARTH we can be related?!?
Ruth, I have often wondered the very same thing. I think you were adopted. If I had not been present at your birth I would be tempted to think you were adopted. My daughter, Dave's sister? not like snow or cold? No way! Like Dave, I cannot wait for winter. I love the snow, the cold, the scooping, and the freezing. I have often said that the best place for me would be Saskatoon, Saskatchewan! That's only if Barrow, Alaska wouldn't have me.
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