Tuesday, October 13, 2009

10/13/09 day 14

A day of disappointments.  The day started off somewhat chilly so I ran the heater.  Today I let it run for about 30 minutes and learned that it doesn't generate a lot of heat.  I tried running the fan on low to help spread the warm air with no luck.  I want something that blasts the heat in quickly for a quick warm up.  So I curled into the blankets and shut it off.

The day warmed up and the heat woke me up by 1pm.  I ran the fan again on medium and the voltage output kept dropping steadily from 12.7 to 11.7 over the course of an hour.  At this point the inverter started providing quiet (yet annoying) warning beeps.  The charger had showed the battery as fully charged on Sunday.  I left another battery trickle charging this week, so I will test that against the fan this week.

The only good news is that the generator started up immediately.  The bad news is that the air conditioner did not.  I took the plug apart and put it back together to no avail.  The parts inside look cheap - I will have to try replacing the plug itself this week.

Monday, October 12, 2009

10/12/09 day 13

Not much.  Chilly today.  Weather reports a low of 45f and a high of 70f.  the battery on my thermostat died so no local measurements.  I ran the propane heater for the first time.  I am so paranoid about it using all the oxygen that I kept two windows open, which didn't help in heating the place.  I will have to look at air sensors to alleviate those concerns.

As things felt warmer, I bundled up and got nice and toasty.  I probably only ran the heater about 20 minutes and used it as a hand warmer.  No battery or generator usage today.

I did however, get more curtains hung up and will install the final two tommorrow.  They are already making a difference.

I am practicing typing this entry on my phone instead of a laptop. Perhaps I can connect my bluetooth keypad to it for faster typing.