Day 815. It is another cloudy morning here but supposedly it is going to get sunny eventually and more importantly for my projects there is only a small chance of it raining.
Yesterday I got really lucky and was able to get that damaged solar panel both cleaned and sealed with one coat of polyurethane during the few hours that it was not raining. One thing that I realized while moving the panel in and out of the shed is that at least I don't have to worry about breaking the glass on It because it is already broken.
Seriously though I did notice that the panel being so large (roughly six feet by four feet) it had lost it's rigidity with the glass being shattered. This concerns me mainly because of the potential for snow load during the winter to possibly buckle the panel especially in the center of it where it has a visibly noticeable concave shape. This particular panel only has an exterior aluminum frame and lacks any lateral supports which makes perfect sense because if there were such supports they would trap heat between themselves and the back of the panel which could damage the panel by overheating it. So noticing this lack of rigidity and considering the possibility of deflection occurring with a snow load I have been racking my brain on how to add at least one support member across the center and how to do it not only with the 'junk' I have at my disposal but in such a way that it does not trap heat. I am still mulling it over but I have a few ideas so far which is better than no ideas.
The seasonal tilt of the panel during winter is pretty extreme (something like seventy-one degrees) so it's not like the panel is going to be laying flat or angled in such a way that the load dispersion is highly likely to buckle the panel but like the saying goes 'it is better to be safe than sorry'. Another thing with that panel that has been tumbling around in my head is how and where I am going to mount it because it's pretty damn big and although my first thought was to put it on the roof I have learned the hard way that the position of the building does not accommodate much sun especially during the winter and pretty much anywhere other than where I have my other big panel is an equally lousy placement. There is also the problem of being able to tilt the panel to gain maximum output during the various seasons which I solved with my other panel by building it's mounting rack on a small trailer but lacking another small trailer I am going to have to get rather creative. I have yet to procure the wire I need to actually wire up the new panel and as I have previously stated the MPPT charge controller is still on it's way in the mail so I have some time to figure everything out.
All that stuff aside I woke up this morning thinking about how I have adjusted to the routines that I find my life consisting of and in this case especially my morning routine. I wake up and if it Is cold I turn the propane valve very slowly so I don't trigger the safety valve, then I initiate the pilot light on the heater before turning the knob to it's 'low' setting (which I always set it to unless it is down in the single digit temperatures outside) and after that I find the USB plug that powers the small computer fans that I mounted on the heater to help disperse the heat and plug it into the USB extension cord that runs through the wall and into the other room where it terminates into a twelve volt to five volt USB adapter. I then open the curtain on my tiny window so the morning sun can shine in better so I can not only see but can periodically gaze outside. I then get my rechargeable 'LED Work Light with Power Bank' (that is what the label on the back of it says it is) and take it along with my stovetop espresso maker into the other room and after setting the light on a shelf where it aims at the propane stove I set the espresso maker on the counter and crack the door (if it's not super windy) so I have a wee bit more light. I then open the espresso maker and remove all the coffee grounds within it before using some tissue paper to clean the metal basket and the rubber seal before adding some spring water from a gallon jug, replacing the basket in the bottom half of the espresso maker, adding an appropriate amount of coffee, gently tamping it down with a tool actually made for doing it and then screwing the two halves of the apparatus back together. I then open the propane valve for the stove and again do it painfully slow so I don't trigger the safety valve and once the gas is flowing I spark a barbecue grill lighter that has no fluid near the burner and ignite the gas after which I adjust the flame and set the espresso maker squarely over the bright blue flames and wait for the science/magic to happen. I then use the ensuing four and a half odd minutes to retrieve my phone from where I have left it charging all night (because starting the day with a low or dead battery sucks) and after taking it out of 'Extreme Power Saving' mode and turning on the data connection I check my emails, messages and whatnot for any correspondence I might have but often do not have. I then open my notepad app and create a new text file with the name Day (What the fuck ever the often elusive day is) and then I start typing out my daily post whilst listening for the bubbling sound the espresso maker makes when it is finished. That last part is very important because if I miss pulling the espresso maker off the stove I risk not just boiling/burning the coffee but also melting the rubber seal inside the espresso maker itself. I then take the light back into the other room (or sometimes just leave it there) and after removing the espresso maker from the stove and setting it on the counter I shut the propane valve off at the tank and let the excess in the line burn off on the stove because failing to do that can lead to the rubber hose being degraded and the oily substance resulting from that breakdown of the rubber (due to high pressure gas) can be forced into the device and ruin it but the bigger consideration is that the hose will degrade and eventually leak. I then take my espresso maker back to my room and set it on a piece of granite to cool and allow the contents to 'settle' as I pour my coffee cup halfway full/empty with spring water before adding the 'too hot for me to drink' nine shots of espresso into the cup. Then I roll a smoke, sip my dark brew and write and write and write some more until my post is finished...much like this one is now.
Have a jubilant day and be well ye fantastic organism of a highly evolved carbon based lifeform.
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