!!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BRK #441

Happy Taco Tuesday to you...!

Cold temps continue, and I think they're here to stay. It was so cold that I was unable to charge our power stations outdoors. They had to be brought inside so things were warm enough to receive the charge.



I refined the emergency heating system in the Lab's pump house today. The lines have since been drained so I think we dodged the worst-case scenario. Here's the current setup: a lamp points primarily at a large stone. The stone is heated most of the day and into the evening (until the battery runs out), keeping interior temperatures above freezing.



Meanwhile, we're trying to devise a heating system that can be maintained through the rest of the winter with minimal intervention. One of the main reasons for this is that the entire roof of the building lifts up to allow entry, and as one might expect, all the warm interior air escapes when we open it up. Here's a side-view of the roof, with its hinge in the back and the array of burlap sacks used as an insulating seal around the edges.



Finally: replaced the support at the sawmill I had to straighten, after falling on it. Things look good. Maybe we'll have a chance to work at the sawmill Thursday or Friday this week, putting the repairs to the test. We'll see.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BRK #442

Happy Day of Light to you...! It's one of our Half Assed Holidays. I took a bunch of video footage today of my light-bringing projects - repairing and replacing several of the light posts we made last year - and I'll submit it to the editor soon. I want the solar lights to charge up for a day, then I'll see how they all work tomorrow evening. I think it'll be pretty cool. I want to capture some footage of me running around in the dark like an idiot...



Prior to that, I was researching DC-powered heat sources, and how to hook one up to the current power station up at the Lab. It's a solar-powered battery box, and it turns out that it has no inverter, but a Battery Management System (BMS) instead. Big Thanks to all the contributors to the thread elsewhere on Permies, as you all helped this complete novice begin to wrap his head around the various options and things to look out for.

Here's the interior of the pump house at the moment. I'll check it again tomorrow morning to see how the temperature has fared.



Also wanted to send a big THANK YOU to Nick, who I first met last year at our RMH Workshop, then again this past October for the Fall Fest. What a great guy to have around. Thanks for the coffee and stickers, man! Definitely going to dig into this in the coming week.



Going to turn in for the night. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BRK #442
Prior to that, I was researching DC-powered heat sources, and how to hook one up to the current power station up at the Lab. It's a solar-powered battery box, and it turns out that it has no inverter, but a Battery Management System (BMS) instead. Big Thanks to all the contributors to the thread elsewhere on Permies, as you all helped this complete novice begin to wrap his head around the various options and things to look out for.

Here's the interior of the pump house at the moment. I'll check it again tomorrow morning to see how the temperature has fared.

A BMS is needed in any multicell battery to keep cells balanced and to prevent damage from other stuff. It helps to make sure the cells are not crushing all deceivers or mashing non-believers, it gives never ending potency. There is also a need to avoid the hungry violence seeker that would be feeding off the weaker and breeding on insanity.

An inverter can be added to any battery. You just need to make sure it is powerful enough to handle what you plan to run off of it and that the cables you use are heavy enough to handle the amps you put through them.. Slow heating equipment or normal lights should run off of just about the cheapest inverters you'll find and work with the default cabling. I wouldn't mess with the leviathan inverter, but there might be a small inverter around somewhere else. something to handle this should be in the $100-200 range, if not less, if you buy new.

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Coydon Wallham wrote:Battery
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Forgot to mention that the inverter would be taking the battery voltage and changing it to the standard 110 household voltage where the outlet plugs on it are. It needs to be capable of handling the specific voltage of your battery. 12V inverters are common and cheap, 24 or 48V ones slightly less so. Some will handle multiple Vs.

Bat-ter-y!