Today was planning and diagramming out the electrical wiring for the DuoGen that we restarted installing yesterday. I read and reread the installation manual until I thought I understood what was necessary to get it all wired and running.
I went to Sea Marines parts department to buy wire and fittings. With parts in hand I went in to talk to Jack, the electrician about his ideas on how it should be done. By the time I was done, I was totally, absolutely and completely confused as to how I was to wire it in. Add in frustrated and I went back to Zephyr to rethink my plans. I had a nice lunch and returned to the parts department to get more supplies--three times actually, and then up to see Jack again for clarification of his plans.
The ideal setup is that my energy monitor will tell me the state of each bank of batteries with how much power is in each bank. This way, we will know when to change the switch to the next bank to charge it. Set up correctly, I will be able to keep all three banks(house 1 and 2 plus the start batteries) fully charged. During a nice windy day or while out sailing, the DuoGen will pump out enough power to keep us nicely charged--as long as we practice some decent energy conservation. It will make being at anchor a lot more enjoyable.
After picking up more supplies for the installation, I went back to see Jack about a few more questions. He thought about the installation and redid the diagram all over again. He had miscalculated where the wire should be connected to. I bought a few more connectors and went back to Zephyr to diagram it for myself on a new sheet of paper. By the time that was done, the Sun was going down and we settled in for a nice quiet evening.
As we settled in with the kids wandering around the deck, we saw the same Liberty sailboat coming back in the harbor that we visited a few months ago. I expect we will see them tomorrow. The last time they were here, we were still in the yard on stands. At least this time we are back in the water.
I spent the evening completing the list of items we want to buy at West Marine tomorrow during the sale. They may be providing a nice steak dinner, but they will more than make it back in what we will be buying.
As I've said in earlier posts, Shadow has taken on a totally new personality. He now want to be fed just about every time one of us goes any where near the galley. He thinks nothing of standing up on his rear legs and meowing loudly just to make sure we understand what he wants and that he wants it NOW! As thin as he is, we feed him every time he asks. The other kids pretty much leave him alone to eat and then take their turn after he is done.
Well, it off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
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