Maybe a bit better here, but not fantastic.MrMike said:In Santiago it is bad but stable, meaning we get at least 8 hrs. a day of electricity.
Chirimoya said:Too right. I have developed strange nocturnal habits like getting up at 4am to check my e-mail and do the washing.... However, I'm doing my best to keep positive, knowing that there are many people far worse off than us. I'm drawing on my late grandmother's Blitz Spirit rather than turning into a Whingeing Pom.
andrea9k said:Here one worst case... We have 5 to 8 hours of electricity daily, my inverter doesnt run the refrigerator and the building shuts down the main water pump at 10:30 pm. BUT! Have enough power to have the puter on all day long...
andrea9k said:Here one worst case... We have 5 to 8 hours of electricity daily, my inverter doesnt run the refrigerator and the building shuts down the main water pump at 10:30 pm. BUT! Have enough power to have the puter on all day long...
Ken said:Chiri and Andrea, what size inverters do you have? I ask because I've been thinking of getting one and am concerned how little service you get from yours.
Chirimoya said:Using the PC brings down the inverter after a short while, so I am using the internet cafe in the Diamond Mall which is just across the way from my house. We have a tinaco so water usually lasts out.
Ken said:Chiri and Andrea, what size inverters do you have? I ask because I've been thinking of getting one and am concerned how little service you get from yours.
Ken said:Chiri and Andrea, what size inverters do you have? I ask because I've been thinking of getting one and am concerned how little service you get from yours.
Mauricio said:we must be neighbours then chirimoya
1) The brand of inverter/size of charger/strength of current.Chirimoya said:Ours is 2.5 so it should be doing a better job. It (and/or the batteries) got a hammering during the summer so there is probably something wrong with it. My husband doesn't agree, he says that 5-6 hours in 24 is simply not enough to recharge the batteries and that I expect too much from it. We have contacted MrMike's people in search of a solution.
Rocky said:1) The brand of inverter/size of charger/strength of current.
If you have a cheapie inverter that only puts out a maximum 50 amps and the street voltage is low, you might only be sending 25 amps to your batteries and this may not be enough to recharge your batteries for the few hours that you have street power.
2) As you mentioned, your batteries may be a bit worn down, but if this is the case, you might want to refer to the EDTA post.
3) You may not have enough batteries and/or street power hours in a day. The only way to overcome this problem, other than having a back up generator, is to reduce your consumption by being frugal, never running any unnecessary lights/appliances/etc, buying economy bulbs, taking the refrigerator out of the circuit and keeping it cold with ice, etc.
The bottom line is that you need to reduce your consumption down to the point that the batteries start building up a bit more reserve power and eventually get them up to a full charge.
If you can get your hands on a cheap voltage tester, here is a layman's guide to a 24 volt system.
All measures are without the charger on, during power failures.
26 volts = Full charge
25 volts = Still looking good
24 volts = Half power consumed
23 volts = Time to get out the candles
22 volts = State of emergency, you're about to shut down
Sounds like you have done everything possible to economize and there should be no problem when grid power is on.Chirimoya said:We are in austerity mode for electricity consumption. The fridge came off the circuit a couple of weeks ago, and when there is no grid power we don't use anything except for one or two low energy lightbulbs at a time, and the fan at our four year old son's bed time. Should we be economising even when there is grid power?