A Near Costly Error, An Unexpected Guest for Breakfast, Happy Valentines, and Getting Things Working.

Our Location today is Imperial Dam LTVA, California, U.S.A.

Hope everyone had a chance to spend Valentine's Day with the one they Love.

Each night after Writing the Blog for the day Kathy then Proof Reads it, trying to correct any Spelling or Grammar mistakes that might have occurred while I turn down the bed. Last night as I was about to go upstairs when I looked at our Remote Monitor I stopped in my tracks. It was showing our Batteries at 11.2 Volts which is way too low. Knowing we needed Battery Power for our CPAP Machines overnight I had to quickly charge our Batteries. 

Turning on the outdoor Security Lights I had to move our Generator from the front to the rear of the Truck Bed. Because there was an increasing number of Coyotes Howling nearby I repeatedly kept hitting the Unlock Button on the Keyless Entry Fob. Because of all the Marker Lights on the truck lighting up the immediate area the Howling would cease for a short while. Once the Generator was running I headed back inside the trailer to turn on the Converter.   

I had noticed throughout the day that we seemed to be consuming more than our normal amount of Battery Power yet we were hardly even on the Computers and the Inverter had only been turned on after darkness. The big Question was “Why were we using so much Power”? As I asked this question the LED Display on the Fridge flashed AU-AC. This past weekend when we were at the Hot-Springs in Niland we were plugged in so we had switched the Fridge to Automatic AC Current. When we left that park on Sunday we had not switched the Fridge back to LP (Propane) so each time we turned on the Inverter the Fridge thought it was plugged in and was drawing heavy Power from our Batteries. After changing the operating Mode on the Fridge to LP you could hear the Generator speed level out while it continued charging our Batteries and feeding power to the rest of the trailer.

Like most LTVAs there is a Generator Quiet Time is from 10:00 PM until 7:00 AM. In the short time that the Fridge was not running off the Inverter and the Converter was Charging the Batteries we would have 12.9 Volts showing after I shut the Generator off for the night. 

Even though the Problem was Resolved after I had been asleep for only a short while I would spend the next few hours Tossing and Turning reviewing what had happened in my mind. When the Sun started seeping around the Window Shades it was hard to get out of bed but better then not falling asleep tonight. 

I’d barely opened the Window Shades and started making Breakfast when Kathy came downstairs. After serving Breakfast and sitting down we were both startled when a Spider dropped in Unannounced for Breakfast from the Table Light right between us. Due to Swift Reflexes, he never got served. 

Lots of deep washes here.

Checking the Remote Display after we had eaten breakfast it was still holding at 12.5 Volts even after we used our CPAPs all night. We did our morning reading on the Computers and Chores before Kathy started doing some Bookkeeping. I went up to the roof and gave our Solar Panels a good cleaning. With all the Dust in the Air and a few Bird Smears they were a different colour when I finished. Back on the ground I even got all the Truck’s Windows cleaned off and the Airbags pumped up before stopping for lunch. 

When Kathy called me in for lunch she had made Chicken Salad Sandwiches for our meal but she had also been busy making a Chicken Base that will become Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup at a later date. From a Simple Small Chicken, Kathy will have made Seven Meals. 

Kathy returned to her Bookkeeping while I headed back to the Basement. Last week while at the Holtville Hot Springs I had tried to solve a problem with the Solenoids used to power our Inverters. When we were about to go to bed that night the one Inverter would not Power Up. This afternoon I rotated the position of that Solenoid and after testing both numerous times we now have them controlled from inside the trailer’s Light Panel Box. I tried to check our Batteries to see if one might be bad but even while using Cheaters I couldn’t read the Analogue Meter on my tester. Time for a Digital Tester. 

The Wind increased again this afternoon carrying plenty of dust with it. Sitting under the Awning with the Sunshade made little difference to the 79 F (26 C) temperature. If we had sat in the shade on the North side of the trailer we’d have been covered with the dust that the Wind was carrying. 

Perogies and Caesar Salad

I had a chance to talk with our neighbours Karen and Chuck for a short while this afternoon. They live in the area of California where five towns were under Mass Evacuation Orders because of the threat that a nearby Earthen Dam could possibly breach. Their daughter had called this morning to say she was finally being allowed to go back home.  

Now the Sun has set, the wind has Calmed

For Supper Kathy served Perogies and a Caesar Salad. With the windows open this evening we are once again being Serenaded by the Coyotes. The Large Inverter is working with the use of the Solenoid Switch tonight but not the one we use for Sleeping. Looks like we need a Newer Solenoid. What we’ll be doing tomorrow is anyone’s guess. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

Many of Today's

Pictures taken by

Kathy, Yesterday.

Krackers 

Words of Inspiration 

Forget love 

I'd rather fall in chocolate. 

Anonymous