Insolation = Electricity

Our
first solar rack for the 100 sq foot solar arrays was completed Thursday of
last week.

We were anxious to get started installing the equipment, but we did need to do a little truck maintenance to Sara's Ranger first. So
Arick and I pulled the truck bed to replace the failing in-tank fuel
pump and got it done in two hours. We also gave the 12-year-old
vehicle its first ignition service and it seemed to really appreciate that.


Where
we needed to work in the Solitario takes about two hours of driving on rough,
dirt roads to reach, so thorough planning was critical. We decided that spending a night on-site would be best, so we could get an early start and avoid working in the heat of the day. So Arick, Sprocket and I
loaded the white Ranger to the gills with gear. Some of our more precious cargo was
two 4,000 watt Apollo inverters, two Apollo T80 HV charge controllers,
and all the necessary accessories for remote monitoring via the
Internet.

We
arrived on site at 5 pm Saturday evening and set up
camp in the the massive 40x60' building. This structure has a lot of
potential for manufacturing parts and  creating bio-fuels with new, experimental technologies. But first things first, we need to provide electricity to
get everything off the ground.


Because
of the high temperatures and intense sun in the Solitario, we started our
work day at 4 am, and with the aid of DC lighting we were able to work in
the dark.

At dawn we mounted the PV rack to the pole and gave the frame
its final coat of paint.  We ran four #6 gauge
wires from the solar arrays to the control center inside. The plan is to have two semi-independent power systems, three arrays tracking the sun and three fixed. The controllers work in tandem so that if one fails the other will pick up the slack.  The Apollo system is one of the most fail-safe systems available, because with most other units if you lose the master controller, you lose everything.


We mounted ¾" plywood to the wall and gave it a coat of paint. Once the paint dried the fun could begin, opening up our new parts and mounting them to the wall.

We
closed out the day at 4pm (at 112 degrees F in the shade) satisfied with what we had accomplished.  We are excited to get work done on this job, but we need to go back East and get married!

Damage

Bobcat Cache #1

Bobcat Cache #2

Bobcat Cache #3

Dead Chicken #1

Dead Chickens #2 and #3

A literal bucket of chicken.  Not pictured: Chickens #4, 5, and 6 -- missing, presumed eaten.

The shell-shocked survivors.

The Cat That Found the Cream

Well, our flock of nine (eight hens, one roo) has been ruthlessly whittled down to three (two hens, one roo).  I'm 99% sure that we have a bobcat who has taken a liking to chicken dinner.

This past Monday we made a run to Alpine for groceries, and came home to find one hen snatched.  This particular hen was isolated in the sick-bay coop, and the varmint had dug under the wire to get the bird.  Poor girl was trapped in the coop with her killer.

We should have taken that attack as a warning and worked to make the main coop more impenetrable.

But instead we kept working on our other projects and now this morning awoke to find three hens dead in the coop and two just gone.

Sprocket was barking his head off last night, but he barks his head off all the time, often at nothing.  We should have gotten up and investigated, but it's too late for should-haves now.

Sprocket found one cache the cat had made, and I still have to dig it up, investigate, and rebury the contents -- along with the three dead birds the cat left behind in the coop.

We're supposed to be installing a panel for a neighbor today and getting ready for our trip, but weirder and weirder hurdles keep popping up.

I'll post photos of the damage (it's not very gruesome) and cache after I finish cleaning everything up.

Buzzing

Mountain Climb

Our solar installation in the Solitario is moving along.  We are currently waiting on parts, but there is still much to do with what we have.

Our group has some experience with wireless technology, and when you have a large area to cover with electronics that becomes useful. My parents' new property does not have internet service, but we do. So our solution is to wirelessly (WiFi) transmit internet to their house.

The distance between the two homes is only a mile, which would not be a problem if we were making a point to point connection, but there is a hill between the properties. WiFi is usually transmitted line-of-sight, meaning if you cannot see the source of your signal, you probably can't receive the signal no mater how powerful it may be. Arick has recently been modifying wireless routers for use as WiFi repeaters, meaning that it simply takes a signal and repeats it. So, voila! The perfect device to put on the hill between the two homes.

We built version 1.0 with a 15 watt solar panel a 20 amp-hour AGM battery. We put the router in a five-gallon bucket for weatherproofing. We have set our repeater up and it works, but it still needs a few more design tweaks before it will be perfect. Right now the signal on the other end is a little weak, so we are raising the antenna five feet.

Recently, we all went for hike up the mountain on the new property and it was quite the journey. We chose to ascend the steep side. There was plenty of lechugilla in our path, but some carefully steps protected our shins. Also, we followed Sprocket's lead, since he usually knows the best path to climb.

At the top of the mountain (technically the foothill of the West Corazon) we found a spacious ridge with all kinds of geological features and foliage. But some of the most amazing sights were the 360 degree views.

We descended the other side of the mountain which was more gradual, and for much of the way we were able to use a solid limestone water runoff that was carved into the mountain. Beautiful and functional.

Yesterday we visited our friend Dennis to see how the results of our solar consulting turned out. The amended setup was a success! Dennis added three 200 watt Sun Electric panels and a MorningStar charge controller.

After that, Sara and I did a run to Alpine for food, building supplies, and Sprocket's booster shots. We got supplies to finish our workshop/shed and lots of materials for Tim's job.

triskaidekaphilia

I'm going to try to sum up our activities for the past several weeks in fewer than five hundred words.

Here goes...
On April 16th, we got to talk to a documentarian from East Texas about living off the grid.  We had a great time talking about what we love, and we got to know fellow interviewees Tim and Julie McKenna, who recently became full-time Ranch residents.

We were sad to see that the Grub Shack is closed until they get their septic system installed.  Hopefully Jerry and Eva will reopen soon -- we currently have three closed businesses at the end of the Ranch Road.

Even though there was no food or drinks for sale, Casey found something interesting to check out.  John's motorcycle and sidecar seem like a perfect Ranch buggy.

Last weekend we set up a small solar array for neighbors Julie and Whitebear.

We had to walk away from the project before it was 100% finished so that we could meet with Tim Dean and Fred Porter in the Solitario.

After marking the locations for the pole-mounted arrays, Tim took us on a beautiful walk along the water drainage.

The erosion caused by the water flow is dramatic and stunning.  The Solitario area of the Ranch has many natural wonders, though Tim's piece is one of the most picturesque.

A day later we went back to the Spirit Tracks Ranch to finish the solar setup we had started.  Working there is always a pleasure, not only because Julie and Whitebear are so nice, but because there are so many beautiful and friendly animals around.  Mishka (above) kept coming around for petting, and the cats we very interested in the panels.

And our truck!

Then there was the wonderful, but brief, rain we enjoyed last week! 
There is a 20% chance of storms tomorrow, so let's hope this is the
beginning of the rainy season and not just a tease.

We even managed to get some work done on the chicken coop last week.  It still needs a lot more attention, but the chickens love their new extension.

The camouflage netting from Bennet works like a dream and gives the birds tons of shade to enjoy, while being protected from hawks and owls.

The metal Casey and Tim picked up in Midland/Odessa is currently in the yard, waiting to be cut and welded into pole-mounted racks.  The new Polish welder is on it's way!

We headed back into the Solitario last Monday to see the holes and trench excavated by Porter Construction.

We were met there by Jack Sullivan and former Ranch road crew operator Mayo Villa. I was surprised and pleased to see my former coworker.
 

Jack and Mayo set the poles in concrete, and we drove the ground rods.

Casey even got to use their nice Miller arc welder to attach reinforcing bar to the poles.

The poles are arranged in a V formation pointing north/south for optimal insolation.

The fires burning in Alpine/Sanderson/Marathon are really affecting our air quality.  At night and sometimes during the day the smell of woodsmoke is quite strong.

The particulates in the air are really dense today, and are obscuring even the very close West Corazon (above) and Turtle/Mummy Mountain (below).

Usually when you look down our valley, you can see clear to Nine Points Mesa, Jack Edom Mesa, and even Black Hill, which is a neighbor of Santiago Peak.

But today, all you can see is gray, polluted air.

594 words.  Not too bad.

RAIN!