Off Grid Power - Lessons Learned During a Recent Power Failure

Readers of my blog will remember the Battery Cart posts dealing with an off-grid power supply of my own design and construction. A few weeks ago, we had a windstorm which knocked out the mains power in my area for several hours. During that time, I was able to test the capabilities of my power supply. To follow are findings and lessons learned:

1) The Battery Cart worked as intended - maintaining some lights, operating radio and computer gear, and keeping my Internet modem energized.

2) My Internet Service Provider does NOT provide emergency power for its network. While my battery system performed admirably in keeping the equipment on MY END operating, I had no Internet service through my ISP. I had to rely on a "wireless hotspot" cellular modem to use the Internet. It was through the cell modem I was able to get online to learn of how widespread the outage actually was.

3) I have ANOTHER pair of batteries in the basement to power the sump pump during an outage. And while the inverter I had SUPPOSEDLY could in theory run the sump pump, it was NOT able to start the sump pump in reality. I had NOT actually tested this before the power failure because I hadn't had the inverter that long. Note to self: GET an inverter that WILL run the sump pump - or risk having a flooded basement during a REAL emergency. I purchased a new, heavier duty inverter which came in the mail a few days ago. It needs to be tested ASAP.

4) "Op-Sec", or operations security. My next door neighbor came over and asked me if I knew what happened with the power - AND how it was I still had power. From outside, as it was getting toward dusk, he saw my ONE work light shining through the living room blinds. Silently, I pointed to the green battery cart sitting next to my work table. He replied "Oh my God, I forgot you had that big battery!" The point of this is that others WILL notice if you are running lights, or your TV, and WILL investigate to see how you are lit up when the other houses are dark. This could be a serious security breach during a prolonged crisis. Note to self: Have some tarps, thick sheets, blankets, whatever as "black-out drapes" if you are going to use lighting inside during early morning/evening or nighttime hours. Likewise, keeping the ham/shortwave radio or any music turned down would be a wise suggestion - don't attract unwanted attention to yourself by running your stereo loud enough for passersby or neighbors to hear.

5) "IP Phones". I already knew this, but if you have an "internet phone" such as provided through "AT&T U-verse" or Time Warner's Cable voice service, you will very likely lose your phone service during a power failure for the same reason I lost my regular Internet service - see point #2 above. These new "IP Phone systems" are NOT like the old POTS [Plain Ol' Telephone Service] lines of old that DID stay up for a time during power outages. Having a cell phone as a backup, even if you normally use a wired "house phone", is important. My elderly mom learned this the hard way when SHE lost her power and the UPS that ran the "AT&T U-Verse box" failed after 30 minutes. I don't know whether or not this has changed from a year ago, but when my mom got her IP Phone system, AT&T did NOT even offer a backup battery in their units!!

6) TEST your equipment REGULARLY! I can't stress this enough. Exercising your equipment regularly will familiarize you with its use, its strengths and weaknesses, and also will quite likely reveal maintenance issues BEFORE they become a show-stopper during "the real deal".

Anyway, I hope these pointers help someone.

Of Battery Terminals and Devalued Currency

A couple weeks ago, I was given the 3-year old used battery shown in the photo to use for operating my ham radio equipment. In order to make this battery safer and more convenient to store and use in the house, I'm now in the process of making a wooden rack to hold the battery box, an old 400 watt power inverter I've had around for years, a pair of binding posts, and a pair of 12 volt autmotive type cigarette lighter power receptacles. In another couple paychecks I want to throw a couple wheels and a handle on the rack so I can conveniently move it around like a "hand truck".

While I do NOT normally intend to use the inverter to anywhere near its rating, I still for safety want the terminals and wiring supplying it to be safe for the nearly 40 rated supply amps just in case it is needed, albeit breifly. I also want to be able to charge the battery without lifting the cover on the ABS battery box shown in the photo, so again the system needs to be able to handle the 25 or 30 amps my charger puts out at maximum. The threaded bolt type terminals on the battery are either 5/16" or 3/8" diameter. For all these reasons, the wimpy little crimp-on connectors sold at most stores will NOT work. Some stout copper lug type connectors are in order here.

Sticker Shock
While visiting my local auto parts store and big box "home centers" to buy parts for this project, I have been horrified at prices on basic supplies nowadays. A copper "eye" type solder lug for #10 or #12 wire costs several dollars apiece nowadays. So I thought "Hey, a guy can make his own for less than 50 cents each out of soft-drawn copper tubing. I'll buy a foot of it and do that, and have PLENTY left over for future projects." Well, not so fast. They have stopped selling soft copper tubing by the foot; you now have to buy a whole roll of it for beaucoup bucks. The guy in the plumbing aisle suggested I use one of the 2 foot joints of 1/2" HARD-drawn copper pipe they sell for small repairs on water supply plumbing. On top of those costing nearly $5 EACH now, I was not keen on the hardened copper possibly breaking when I hammered part of it flat, nor do I want to fool around with the effort and expense of annealing it. [Annealing metal involves softening metal by heating it and allowing it to cool slowly.] As I started walking away, I heard the copper pennies rattling around with the other coins in my pocket and thought - there's my solution, for literally pennies :)

Pennies
The plan is to solder my #12 gauge stranded wires to the pennies; the threaded terminal post on the battery will fit through the off-center hole drilled in the penny. The terminal nut on the battery will, of course, hold the whole assembly in place and make for a solid electrical connection.
Tonight, I fired up the drill press and proceded to drill 4 pennies off center to use as terminal lugs. Imagine my surprise at what I found! See the photo below. On the left is a 1977 penny, which is solid copper - or at least an alloy mostly of copper. The one on the right is a 1986 penny; it is only plated with copper. The thin copper plating is merely a decorative covering for some cheap base metal. Another penny was dated 2001 - it too has the cheap junky metal core.

I couldn't help but see this as yet one more example of how the US dollar has been devalued by 96% since the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913. (Don't take my word for this - look it up, do your own research, and you will see it's true) And indeed as they pump up the supply of fiat 'funny' money, inflation will only get worse. I've read people saying on the Internet how poor people should hoard pennies because they're more affordable than gold or silver, yet are potentially valuable for their copper during an economic crash. All I have to say about that is if you are going to try that strategy, you'd best make sure the pennies you're getting really ARE copper. The ones I have here will marginally serve for my project; they're not good for much else.

Batteries - Potential Firebombs Lurking In Your Home And Business

Today I found this link on Twitter to a video about a man whose house caught fire due to a 9 volt battery he removed from his smoke alarm and placed in his recycle bin. Fortunately nobody - including the family pet - was hurt, but this is an object lesson for the wise.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJH21WmALc

This clearly is something to consider when storing any kind of batteries.

Why I WON'T Buy a Dell Laptop PC

It's almost January - the start of the Spring 2011 college semester. With my impending graduate school coursework comes the need for a laptop computer. I have been to several stores during the past several weeks, shopping price v.s. features. The college book store offers what seems like "sweetheart deals" on Dell laptops; you simply pick out the recommended machine based on the academic department for your course of study. While this seems like an easy option, and the package had lots of goodies thrown in, I was still put off by the $699 price tag. I ask myself "Do I really need all this or will a $349 Acer at Wal-Mart do as well?" Since I really don't yet know how much computer I really need, I decided to get advice from my instructor based on the actual demands of the curriculum before making a purchase.

One brand I have ELIMINATED is Dell - I will NOT have one of these unless some kind soul gives me a free one. Even then, I'd likely sell it on eBay and buy something else. Here's why:

A Descent Into (D)ell:
Recently, a neighbor asked me to look at his laptop and see if I could repair it. His girlfriend had dropped the machine and it had landed directly on the charger power plug, while it was still connected. This damaged the DC power connector on the laptop and the unit would no longer charge or even run off the AC adapter.

To make a very long story short
I replaced the connector, reassembled the laptop, and it still won't work from the AC adapter. Voltage checks with a DVM show all the connections to be good and that the AC adapter is supplying the proper voltage. The computer runs just fine from the battery; problem is right now there is no way of recharging the battery - and said battery is nearly depleted. On doing some online research, I found out Dell uses a special ID chip in all its AC power adapter/chargers - as well as its batteries. This ID chip "talks" to one located on the motherboard. If the computer does NOT recognize the power adapter/charger as a genuine Dell artifact, the machine will not charge the battery and may not even run, as in the case of my neighbor's unit. Same with the battery - if the computer does NOT recognize the battery as a genuine Dell artifact, it will not turn on.

During the fall, my neighbor's DC power connector got shorted out as a result of being smashed. Evidently this resulted in part of the ID system being damaged and disabled.

For more detailed technical information see the following links:

http://getsatisfaction.com/dell/topics/dell_laptop_wont_recognize_power_adapter_or_charge_battery

http://www.laptops-battery.co.uk/blog/dell-ac-power-adapter-type-cannot-be-determined-solution/

But wait, It gets even worse.
From my research, I've found that these chips fail regularly in both the AC charger units as well as the motherboards. MANY folks have been forced to buy replacement batteries and chargers because their ID chips and/or the three-pin charger power connectors got loose enough where the data line didn't make good connection any more. Dell's solution - buy new accessories and if the problem persists, replace the motherboard, a $330 dollar item as quoted to me by Dell tech support.

Several web sites have commented on the poor engineering and flimsy construction of these things but Dell continues to make them the same way.

While some other laptops also have ID chips in the batteries, I've found the Dell machines seem to garner by far the most complaints online.

A Possible Workaround
If you are in my neighbor's situation and don't want to or can't afford to shell out several hundreds of dollars to fix the problem, there is an external charger that will communicate with the battery's ID chip and thus be able to charge it out of the laptop.

http://www.laptop-junction.com/toast/content/standalone-laptop-battery-charger-dell-laptops

This is definitely a kluge, since you cannot simply plug the machine into AC power when the battery gets low and keep working. However, for those who cannot afford to replace the motherboard, or their entire machine, this is at least a way to retain partial use of it until a later time.

Conclusion
For those of us in the market for a new laptop, Let the buyer beware! If I can, I will select a machine that does NOT use multi-pin power connectors and ID chips for batteries and chargers. This, by itself, eliminates a potential source of unreliability in something I will have to depend on to get work done.

I also would like the option of running mine on off-grid power WITHOUT having to resort to a power inverter to feed the AC charger. Clearly a Dell would NOT be compatible with a home made battery supply or a solar panel without major internal hacking.

In view of the fragility of laptops and how difficult they generally are to repair, I highly recommend buying a 2-3 year extended warranty if the cost of such is no more than 1/3 of the everyday price of a comparable new machine. Even a cheap, "bottom of the barrel" laptop is a big enough investment that one would want to use it for at least 3 years - far longer than the 90 day to 1 year that most manufacturer's warranties last.