I just realized it’s been two years since I installed the LiFePO4. No regrets.

Just before the eclipse started (0913 local) the system was making 260w.... “first contact” began and the MPPT algo started thrashing around... at full annularity (1037 local) it was making only 26w. This lines up with the prediction of “89.6% obscuration”.

I recently bought some closeout honeycrisp apples and bosch pears and ate most of them. I had one of each left over and decided to skin each and cook them down with a bit of cinnamon and lime juice. Then I decided I'd make pancakes the next morning to make use of it.

I cooked down the fruit on the 300w lab hotplate. Tried to use it for the pancakes in the naan pan but the 4" head was too hot in center. Tried to use a flame diffiuser but 300w wasn't enough grunt to get through that. So I ended up cooking the pancakes over a single-burner propane stove.

They tasted better than they looked. :-)

• cooking down the fruit
• pancake
• pancake recipe

I found a tennis ball in a park in SF, and figured it’d make a good aromatic medium for the peppermint oil I bought to repel mousemonsters. I cut it into quarters with a utility knife.

I applied peppermint oil to each fuzzy surface and mounted one under the hood and one on the floorboard near where I saw mice enter.

I've noted before that when I stealth camp in cities my charging percentage from alternator increases from ~5% to ~10% of total production. The increase isn't needed (solar could cover it) but the alt gets a chance to play.

Since I am moving at least twice a day (3x with PF showers) I've had an opportunity to record a higher frequency of engine starts and LFP bank acceptance. The setup:

• 180A alternator that typically runs at 14.2v
• Battery Doctor VSR setup left over from my previous FLA bank
• 150Ah 12v LFP bank
• SoC and voltage measurements below taken from BMS before engine start
• current measurements taken from BMS though it agrees with shunted battery monitor. (I can see the BMS via bluetooth from the driver's seat but I can't see the monitor)
• solar contribution and loads ranged widely, leading to variance.

Over the last ~20 runs, the average state of charge was 72%, bank voltage 13.20v, charge acceptance 0.183C (27.39A)

    SoC Vbatt       C       A
    60	13.07	0.245	36.75
    72	13.15	0.130	19.50
    69	13.13	0.120	18.00
    27	12.95	0.270	40.50
    80	13.29	0.150	22.50
    80	13.27	0.240	36.00
    81	13.30	0.170	25.50
    77	13.22	0.165	24.75
    39	13.03	0.260	39.00
    95	13.30	0.115	17.25
    48	13.06	0.235	35.25
    86	13.56	0.120	18.00
    90	13.25	0.220	33.00
    90	13.26	0.165	24.75
    62	13.08	0.240	36.00
    92	13.27	0.084	12.60
    92	13.27	0.090	13.50
    58	13.07	0.235	35.25
    89	13.26	0.140	21.00
    84	13.26	0.215	32.25
    49	13.07	0.225	33.75

Given average charge acceptance of 27.39A, the obvious comparison here is to a 30A DC-DC like the Orion-TR. The DC-DC would have a much more stable charge rate, typically ~30A except late in the charging process when acceptance at Vabs tapers.

Charge to ~100% SoC then allow the system to settle back to the quasi-float voltage... Final measurements taken when the sun had gone down enough that solar could no longer hold Vfloat.

my first vinagaroon IRL and I did not like it. Also a tarantula, but that was much less freaky.

I contribute pretty regularly to Google maps. I know at some point I should probably switch to Open Street Maps but, I am not ready at this time. I would like very much to share my journeys and to follow other houseless members on gMaps. DM me if you would like a link to my profile.

Right now I am in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It has been a soggy few days but hopefully it will be beautiful by the weekend. I do like this little town. It seems cheaper and friendlier than Durango. It is growing so I suspect I will have to find a place to replace it in my rotation in a few years.

Lots of good camping to the south and also to the Northwest. Much of it with good cell service.

In the springtime you can tube down the icy San Juan River, stop in some hot springs then jump back in your tube for the remainder of the trip.

I have a prescription from the VA coming in, and an Amazon order in the queue. I’ll try to time everything arriving in 14d so I can collect everything, get a shower at PF, etc

Heavy rain was forecast in Los Alamos for the next few days (and lighter for the next week). Highs in the 60s. I needed to move (14d) so I could either scout a location within acceptable distance or chance going into Santa Fe.

You know the locals are well-paid when you see a Ferarri at the grocery store.

Made some cheddar biscuits in a sandwich press; yummy!

Normally the dog is in the pics looking at the food but she was still busy on cleanup duty.

recipe in blog link

[Vpanel] can reveal much after we learn what the controller is doing.

The spot was lovely but had mice. I trapped them but they kept coming. By the time I decided to relo it was too late; they had chewed into the wiring harness...

Last night I watched Oppenheier. I took Muffin out for a break afterwards and could see the lights from Los Alamos, the town Oppie built for Project Y.

I moved into the campervan on Aug 18th, 2018 and headed off to the job I transferred to in El Paso. I hadn’t planned on moving into the van FT until 2028 when I retired but everything fell into place ahead of schedule.

Not only is it a weekend, but the so-called "Ring of Fire" eclipse will be visible from states where boondocking is common:

The narrow path of annularity begins in Oregon and crosses Northern California, Nevada, Utah, northeastern Arizona, southwestern Colorado, New Mexico and Texas - livescience

Be prepared for a deluge of casual campers looking for spots from which to ~~burn their eyes out~~ watch the eclipse.

... in which the high pressure dome moves off New Mexico so the monsoon weather can approach on little cat feet.

Musings on relocating in mud, water provisions, and a wiley coyote

I've been using an angled tarp but it catches too much wind. Just reset it flat and installed a center grommet for drainage. We will see...

I'm hiding from the heat under a forest canopy, so I rewired my series panels into parallel. This revealed a weakness in a poorly-chose breaker...

Today's lunch and dinner were dictated by logistics

• good sun
• a bag of Mexican squash I got for 99c (manager's discount for blem items)
• fridge is very full from yesterday's reprovisioning and needs some relief. I used half of a sausage to make room.

Made two meals, $1.37 each

pics and brief write-up

I usually stay out in 14d stretches. Because of the heat I was staying in one place for 28d and lived to tell the tale.

Bonus story about a dumb-ass sensor design not letting the vehicle lock.

I "baked" some whole potatoes in the IP yesterday (17mins at pressure, didn't measure the Wh) and ate some with butter and sour cream.

This morning I peeled the leftover potatoes, diced them for hash browns. Sauteed 1/4 onion in the pan over the small 300w hot plate, then added pots, salt, pepper, and cooked them until they started to brown. Added a bit of shredded cheese. pic

Hearty with this morning's creekwater coffee.

Total time on the hotplate was 25 mins, so 125Wh.

AKA corn pone, corn dodgers, etc. ~35Wh per patty... Not quite as tasty or crisy as pan-fried, but easier and no grease spatter.

...camping is prohibited and RVs can only remain parked on any street, alley or public parking lot for 16 hours or less