Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Battery replaced

Battery D has been completely replaced now.  I ended up spending $49.77 for the replacement.  The warranty is 24-months, but the warranty is really just a pro-rating.  I will have to add that cost to my spreadsheet.

The battery pack held 24 volts overnight.  This morning, I ran the electric heater for a bit, which took it down to 23 volts.  I was expecting it to recharge that almost completely during the day while I slept.  It did not.  The reason is rather simple though -- the panel was covered in snow. 

I also managed to clean out the front and back of the van today.  I never let it get very messy, but there was some stuff strewn about under the bed and in one of the baskets.  Some bread I've been meaning to throw out for several months, things like that.  Since it's nice and cold, nothing was creating a stink, just going bad.

I also finished off another propane tank today.  I have been using the heater a lot more this winter than last.  I usually like to get it up to 50F before turning it off.  That takes about 30 minutes from 25F.  However, I realized that I could avoid that by purchasing a heated blanket.  Last winter, I didn't really have the power (except via generator) to run an electric blanket, but this year I can just plug one in and sleep under it.  It would also be nice just to heat up the sleeping bag before I crawl in.  So that's on my list for this weekend.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Nice weather

Today had some amazingly nice winter weather.  The temperature was at least 45 all day and I did not need to run the heat for anything.  I also managed to sleep till 4pm, which was sweet.

I dropped my battery off on Thursday, and they were supposed to call me either that day or Friday, but as of today, there is still no return call.  They were going to attempt to recondition it, so I hope that takes.  If that, hopefully they can pro-rate me the cost of a new battery.