ArizonaRanch

  Battery Maintenance by rdpecken on Aug.12, 2014, under Ranch Maintenance While waiting for the scrap lumber to burn down, I did battery maintenance. First, I let the solar panels charge until the charger went into float mode (about 1:00 pm that day). Then I checked that the water level was above the plates of the battery (it was in all cells). I had not filled the batteries since May, so I was concerned, but all was well. I checked the initial voltage on each battery. They were all in the 6.53 – 6.55 range (I wrote them down, but didn’t capture the figures in the snapshot I took to bring back to town). Next, I put the charger into equalize mode. I ran in that mode for about an hour, but for the last 15 minutes or so, it had clouded up, so wasn’t fully effective. I’ll have to run another equalize charge next time we come up. Finally, I let the system go back into float mode, and measured the voltages and specific gravity for each cell. All were in the good r

  Cleaning Up… by rdpecken on Aug.12, 2014, under Ranch Maintenance I’m ashamed to admit that I got a little lazy with properly disposing excess lumber during the building process. Since the burn bans are over for the year, and everything is nice and green, I decided to burn up the scrap lumber pile that had been stacking up for years.   Burn Ring Here is what I started with. Pretty disgusting… What a mess… One of the reasons that you don’t want to let debris pile up is that it makes a cozy home for unwanted critters. This guy is about 6 inches long (in the body) with a six inch tail attached.   Critter   Rats!   I burned all day Saturday and got about 2/3 the way through the pile. Here is the remains of what I got done. About 2 feet across and 8 inches deep…   Ashes

  August 2014 at the Ranch by rdpecken on Aug.12, 2014, under Seasons With the Monsoons in full swing, I decided to head up to the Ranch to get a break from the heat. I came up alone, for just the weekend. I did a little cleanup work and battery work, but mostly I sat outside and played with my new iPad while waiting to throw another piece of wood on the burn pile. Here are some pictures of the scenery, nice and green… Anvil Rock, from the west side…    Black Mountain   Grass is lush and green   The prairie   Fort Rock Road, on the way in