Hiding from the virus :-)

Marc Kurth
Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
in In the Weeds--Member's Choice #1
My wife was in Anchorage helping with the home-birth of my 12th grandchild. She made it back without any undue drama, so my world is right again. The weather has been running 80F to 85F with a light breeze so we have been exploring more of the shoreline while she self-quarantine's for two weeks after flying Anchorage to Seattle to Dallas. I am working from home and just drop shipping all orders.
If I stay off of the throttle, I have a fuel burn rate of 2 to 2.5 GPH at 15-16 mph with my 25' pontoon boat. Gas is priced at $1.59/gallon so I stored a spare 75 gallons (laced with Stabil) spread between the shed, the boathouse, and the shop. So for me, this is low-cost attitude correction!





This last one was taken from our dock while backing out of our slip for morning coffee on the lake. A cold front is blowing in today so my boating will be limited for the next week - need to get while the gett'n is good :-)



Yes, I would love to live in a more remote area and have some acreage - but that requires funding that I do not have. For most of us, it is all about what you are willing to compromise. At this stage of my life, I have scaled-down and I need low-cost living located within reasonable reach of major medical facilities - just in case.
I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • mcgivor
    mcgivor Solar Expert Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    You're very fortunate to have open air isolation, I too have the privilege albeit in different circumstances, spent the last two weeks plowing fields, this is however the hottest season  41°C (105°F) or higher, the recent rain makes the humidity a killer. Fuel prices are favorable down 50% for B20 diesel, the tractor, Kubota 3608, uses around 3 liters (3/4 gallon ) per hour, put on just over 100 hours so far..

    The virus here in Thailand has not, as of yet, had the same transmission rates of some countries, despite being the first country outside China to be affected, not clear if the heat plays a part, or perhaps it's the quarantine of the infected along with all known contacts, thermal cameras in cities and so forth. My friend who arrived shortly before the travel ban and was detained at the airport then put in quarantine for two weeks along with all the other passengers arriving.  
     
    1500W, 6× Schutten 250W Poly panels , Schneider MPPT 60 150 CC, Schneider SW 2524 inverter, 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Battery Bodyguard BMS 
    Second system 1890W  3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.  
    5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #3
    Mcgivor,

    Very happy to hear you, your family, and Thailand are doing well... Early on, Thailand was supposed to be hit very hard as nothing was done early on (at least as we read in the news reports here--Which you have to take with a large amount of salt).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    It is a virulent flu that thrives in cold weather. I'm surprised that Spain has apparently been slammed. I lived in Spain - the climate is mild. I still remember when it snowed in Madrid and my parents suprise - as I recall.

    This whole thing is still shrouded in so much mystery. So many conflicting stories. Vit D from the sun boosts your immune system quite a bit. So does proper socializing. Making many question the official response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjjybyJ59Lw

    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • petertearai
    petertearai Solar Expert Posts: 471 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    So  much information and miss information.
    Here we are in week 3 of a 4 week lockdown, most everyone taking it seriously .   It will take manny years for us to pay back the financial cost . But seems to me that once this is under control   the world will still manage to get back to murdering each other with bomb's and guns .That too is pretty expensive!
    2225 wattts pv . Outback 2kw  fxr pure sine inverter . fm80 charge controller . Mate 3. victron battery monitor . 24 volts  in 2 volt Shoto lead carbon extreme batterys. off grid  holiday home 
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Indeed. People refuse to learn from history. They somehow think that "this time it will different" or that their "new" idea has not already been tried before.

    Marc

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    This should serve as a needed wake up call for the next few decades. Should. But I doubt the lesson lasts for nearly that long.

    Lots of venom being poured into the internet lately. More than usual

    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #8
    No venom from me.
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Marc Kurth said:
    My wife was in Anchorage helping with the home-birth of my 12th grandchild. She made it back without any undue drama, so my world is right again.
    Glad to hear!
    Marc Kurth said:
    At this stage of my life, I have scaled-down and I need low-cost living located within reasonable reach of major medical facilities - just in case.
    Central Missouri / Columbia MO has major medical centers, a University hospital, VA, and a well thought of Cancer center. 
    And land is cheap, outside of Boone county. I don't think you would want to pull up from your friends, I know I don't intend to move any where at 60.

    Marc Kurth said:
     So for me, this is low-cost attitude correction! 
    My friends own a DNA lab in Columbia, MO. So even though I have a room in their house, I don't go inside and haven't seen them in over a month. They are doing coronavirus testing and I want them to feel secure in a serile home. I do go by their home and check in with the Lab and Belgian Malious. I call them my theropist. These are the previous pair and sire to their current Lab and my previous theropists.

    I have had minimal contact with other humans. Live alone. The visits to play with the puppies has been a great relief.



    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #10
    I couldn't imagine living alone without my furry friends. Dogs are so positive as a rule. So easy.
    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #11
    I am a "dog guy" so I do understand the therapeutic effect of the dogs! I have always liked the thought that:
    I wish I could be as good of a person as my dog thinks I am.
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #12
    Dogs think people are God.  Cats do not. Cats think people are the middleman to God. Cats are not ungrateful. They just know better.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #13
    Cats are ***holes with nice fur and a cool demeanor. They literally eat their owners if the owner dies. Dogs cry for days. Dogs are quite human and some are very smart. My Belgian Malinois often figures out what I am saying - the very first time. No training needed.
    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #14
    The current Malinois is very bright, I spent a long time with the 2 Labs pictured above, The chocolate Lab had hip replacement surgery just before she was 1 and I was the daytime walker for her. I had also just spent 3 months mostly living there after my father passed away. Perhaps because she had so much contact with humans, she would understand much of what you were saying. A pointing lab, you couldn't even talk around the subject of going bird hunting. She knew the owner's hunting partner's name, the town where they went bird hunting, she had an amazing vocabulary! 

    We were pack. I've been friends with the owners for a long time, I've been caretaker and friends with their puppies, from the set of dogs before and the current set of dogs, but I've never had the feeling of being part of the pack like I did with those 2 Labs. This is what it looked like when I was packing up to leave. They would block the stairs making it hard to get up and down. They only did this when I got up and started packing clothes.



    Thanks for letting me ramble on...  
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #15


    The fur babies sure are comforting.  Just dropped mine for a trim, nails, and teeth.
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #16
    I had to put down my neighbor's dog who was offspring of my old guy. Not a fun day...
    This unlikely source cheered my up.

    https://www.facebook.com/62507427296/posts/10157375403657297?sfns=mo
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #17
    Here is the you-tube version of the facebook link from Bill M.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEfDwc2G2_8
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #18
    Your post reminded me of when I had to put my dog down ~35yrs ago (distemper).  I'm pretty sure she went instantly (12ga to the skull base) but she let out a whine after that haunts me still.  Not fun indeed.

    The video cheered me up a bit too  :)
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #19
    I am glad!   Speaking of cheer it is almost 5 o'clock somewhere. My Kirkland Canadian is AOL and I was forced to use the Kirkland irish. A bit less smooth, and some bite, but a nice finish ;)
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #20
    Dave Angelini said:
    I am glad!   Speaking of cheer it is almost 5 o'clock somewhere. My Kirkland Canadian is AOL and I was forced to use the Kirkland irish. A bit less smooth, and some bite, but a nice finish ;)

    Kirkland vodka is Grey Goose I think.
    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • Chris11
    Chris11 Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
    #21
    Ah you pessimists.  Wanna revisit history? 

    In 1918 we had the influenza epidemic.  Different sources say up to 50 million people died worldwide.  That was followed by the roaring 20's where quickly the world returned to normal if not ultra normal.

    I prognosticate that soon we'll be booming again.
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  • softdown
    softdown Solar Expert Posts: 3,896 ✭✭✭✭
    #22
    The 1918 Flu had very little relation - it killed young healthy people and very, very quickly. The most lethal thing about Gates patented Rona is the "political" reactions to it. The Rona will come back though - they have a two year life span.

    2020 will be the historical year that Surveillance Valley successfully transformed into Censorship Valley - proving that Darpa has controlled its baby from the beginning.
    First Bank:16 180 watt Grape Solar with  FM80 controller and 3648 Inverter....Fullriver 8D AGM solar batteries. Second Bank/MacGyver Special: 10 165(?) watt BP Solar with Renogy MPPT 40A controller/ and Xantrex C-35 PWM controller/ and Morningstar PWM controller...Cotek 24V PSW inverter....forklift and diesel locomotive batteries
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  • New_Mexico_Will
    New_Mexico_Will Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭
    #23
    Chris11 said:
    Ah you pessimists.  Wanna revisit history? 

    In 1918 we had the influenza epidemic.  Different sources say up to 50 million people died worldwide.  That was followed by the roaring 20's where quickly the world returned to normal if not ultra normal.

    I prognosticate that soon we'll be booming again.
    Yes, but in the 20s, Cocaine was legal :-)
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