Saturday, January 23, 2010

Yes, we do have power!

I'm sorry I haven't written about it here earlier. Russell traveled safely to San Pedro Sula and back last weekend, and purchased the new generator. It is working great, charging up our batteries and running our freezer and washer. Here's what the power schedule might look like, on a normal day (HA! Like we have such a thing as a normal day around here!):

6 am - I get up and plug in the refrigerator, and maybe check the news and emails on the internet (this is using power from the already-charged batteries).

7 am - Gus gets up, and starts the generator. Once the generator is running, we are charging up the batteries and we plug the freezer directly into the generator.

8 am - After breakfast, we switch from running the freezer to running the washing machine. The batteries continue to charge.

11 am (or so) - The timing depends on how many loads of laundry we have to wash, but once the laundry is done we unplug the washer and plug the freezer back in.

1 pm - After lunch, we turn off the generator, and unplug the freezer and the refrigerator.

5 pm - When he comes in for supper, Gus turns the generator on again, so that the batteries are well charged for the night. We probably run the generator about 2 hours or so at this time, and we make sure the refrigerator and freezer are plugged in during this time.

So, we now have power (though slightly limited) all the time, as long as we keep up on the charging schedule. Once the solar panels come, we'll have that power source, instead of running the generator all the time.

So far, so good! Thanks for the prayers!

3 comments:

J said...

Glad you have power! I hope the solar panels require less of a schedule.

The Reader said...

It is great to read your schedule...I had no idea "charging the batteries" would be such an involved process!

Beth said...

I realize how much I take my light switches and wall plugs for granted. Thanks for reminding me what a gift these things are!