Rock and I just got back from a great hike and he enjoyed splashing around in the creeks. We are listening to the water from inside, it's spring finally. The water is high and the mountains have a ton of deep snow sitting on them. It's going to be great run-off year and with ay luck we will get a nice amount of rain as well. There is only a small bit of snow left in the yard, mainly next to the spruce tree and along the cabin foundation where it landed as it slid off the roof.
Compared to this picture of yesterday, wow.
Rock and I brought a truck load of supplies down including 80 #10 cans of long term food storage. I did some quick math and have about 200 more #10 can to move down and I'm kicking myself for not keeping them in the original boxes. We hauled down our new bathroom vanity for when we get the electrician out here (he has to do some work in the bathroom before we hang it). In the load we also have most of our battery backup system (for smaller electronics, lights, fans, etc.) minus the batteries that will be in the next load.
I'm going to build a lighting system similar to one that my Dad had in our house back in the day. With all the great LED lighting it should last a long, long time on a dual battery system. Once it's operational I'll get a couple of solar panels hung to keep the batteries topped off. I wanted a much bigger battery bank but that will have to wait, these suckers aren't cheap.
We wanted batteries that will be good for 10 years and the Optima Yellow Top D31 series seemed to be the best choice. The regular ones don't have the same capacity and aren't 75Ah.
It's a big work weekend; bulb planting, limb cutting, wood stacking, yard seeding, wildflower seeding, increasing the spring pool damn size, chimney cleaning, plotting a deck expansion, loading up on lumber, etc. In the city the grass needs to be cut already but we put that off for a couple of days.
Work is... well it's work. I did a compliance audit and we are out of compliance with a half-dozen or more Federal Agencies, literally 100% failure. I'm the only one who thinks it's a big deal and the person who caused this disaster is being protected and if I don't fix it, nothing will change. I'm drafting a letter to my boss, the owner, because I can't let this sort of thing just slide even if everyone else is willing to. Bah.
Japanese proverb. "The nail that sticks up gets hammered first." That was certainly my experience both during my Marine Corps career and my accounting career in oil and gas.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great job, make good money, and have a super place. My advice, looking back over 63 years, is to look out for number one. Whatever that takes.
Always good advice. I'm going to see what, if anything, happens in the next few days and then make a decision.
DeleteI've been using the Yellow Top Optima batteries for years, and they're great.
ReplyDeleteI have a pair of 200 Watt panels with a charge controller and a pair of the big Yellow Tops that I use to keep my Ham radio gear powered up.
As a friend who does solar stuff once told me, "Cheap batteries are only for rich people who can afford to replace them every two years. Buy good ones and they'll last for many years".