I've almost come to the conclusion that the marine batteries are dead as a doorknob. They're 5 or 6 years old and have just been sitting up all this time. I tried charging them with the car battery for 30 minutes and got absolutely nothing... nada.
We finally got our generator running yesterday, so now I have a reliable way to recharge this laptop every day. And gas won't be a problem because the generator is running off of propane. (Does anyone know how long 30 gallons of propane will last? It's a 100-gallon tank and the meter says it's 30% full.) Anyway, now that I can get online, I'm no longer isolated from the rest of the world. What a difference it makes!!
backhoe, I saw your trick for dead batteries using the Epsom salts, but we don't have any distilled water and don't have any way to get any in the foreseeable future. But it's probably best we don't be trying things we're not familiar with anyway. There are no emergency services here right now. If one of us got hurt, it would be really bad news.
Hmmmm... is there any way to use a generator to charge the marine batteries? I've already put tap water into them, so I've probably already ruined them. But it sure would be nice to have 3 fully-charged marine batteries to run this computer with. The lack of electricity is expected to last at least a month, so we're talking about a relatively long-term situation here.
Thanks again for all your help!
Sorry to butt in here, but distilled water is just regular water that has been turned to steam and recondensed. You can make your own by boiling regular water and allowing the steam to touch a slanted receptacle (such as tin foil or any clean surface). As the steam cools on the receptacle, it will condense into distilled water and drip into whatever container you set under it.
Regarding this?
Hmmmm... is there any way to use a generator to charge the marine batteries? I've already put tap water into them, so I've probably already ruined them. But it sure would be nice to have 3 fully-charged marine batteries to run this computer with. The lack of electricity is expected to last at least a month, so we're talking about a relatively long-term situation here.
If you have a battery charger that runs off house current ( surely a neighbor has one if you don't-- ask around-- offer to charge their batteries in exchange, it uses very little power ) you are all set-- just plug the charger into an outlet on the generator and being sure to hook positive ( red lead ) to the + on the battery, and negative ( black ) to minus - .
The tap water won't kill a battery immediately- it depends on how many minerals are dissolved in the water-- can vary from weeks to months, so you might try slow charging them. By that, I mean a day or two per battery. Sometimes, that will revive them.
Try this, also-- open the batteries and sprinkle a teaspoon of Epsom Salts into each cell, recap the cells, rock the batteries to stir the electrolyte, and let sit a few hours, then try to charge. It can't hurt, and might reduce sulfation on the plates ( that's what makes 'em go dead ) enough to take a charge.
One other "trick of the trade" for attempting to revive a dead battery is this-- if the battery charger has a selector for fast or slow charge, or high or low charge, or a current ( amps ) selector, set it on the highest setting for a few hours. Sometimes, that will "startle" the battery back to life.
Now then, regarding this?
the generator is running off of propane. (Does anyone know how long 30 gallons of propane will last? It's a 100-gallon tank and the meter says it's 30% full.)
If you can find the manual for the gen, it ought to have that info somewhere. Not all do, however- a web search for the engine manufacturer might reveal it.
How many horsepower is the engine? Eight? Sixteen? Twenty? And to complicate things, fuel consumption is very dependent on how heavily you load ( draw electric power ) the gen-- obviously, the more power you consume, the faster you burn fuel to generate it.
An old rule of thumb ( which may be inaccurate, given modern, more efficient engines ) was "one pound of fuel per horsepower- hour."
In other words, for my 16-hp plant, an hour run would theoretically burn 16 pounds ( or about 2 gallons of gasoline, At eight lbs. per gallon ) of fuel. This is a very crude approximation, however.
You might get a more accurate idea by noting the fuel gauge reading and timing a one-hour run and re-reading the gauge.
A further note? I think- but am not positive- that you should be able to run your gen off smaller bottled gas cylinders, like those used with outdoor Bar-B-Q's... does anyone know more about this?
It should just be a matter of adapting the connectors, but it's been so many years since I looked at a big propane cylinder that I'm not certain how to advise you.
How do you safely check gas lines for leaks?
Soapy water and a brush.
Paint all connections thoroughly with the mixture ( dish detergent is perfect, in a pinch, any soap that makes bubbles will do ) and carefully observe, in good light, for bubbles, or a "crawling" appearance of the fluid. Never use a flame for leak checking. I know, that should be obvious, but I have seen "professionals" do it. Yi!!
You need a battery charger; or at least a source of DC voltage that is greater than the battery's voltage. If the generator is electric start, it has a battery charging system built into it.
Does anyone know how long 30 gallons of propane will last?
That will depend on the size of the engine it's running, and how hard that engine is working. At least you should be able to get the propane tank refilled. A month of "roughing it"! Be careful!
I would say about 70 hours but that depends on how big your generator is and how much you are running off of it. A moderate load like 1000 watts will not be much different than a light load but if you plug everything in the house, air conditioner, hair dryer, toaster, into it, it will consume more fuel. Best thing to do is keep a close eye on your gage. If you have a propane bbq grill with any fuel, you can also use the smaller tank from it.
backhoe, I saw your trick for dead batteries using the Epsom salts, That one is safe but if you got nothing at all after 30 minutes of charging, your marine batteries are most likely not going to respond and not worth wasting your limited fuel on. The only way to bring back a battery like that is not very safe. This method involves reverse charging the battery, back and forth, several times. It can generate sparks and lots of hydrogen gas, not a good combination and not recommended.
Hmmmm... is there any way to use a generator to charge the marine batteries?
If your tractor battery is any good and your if generator has an electric start, you can charge a battery by connecting jumper cables to the generator battery terminals.
While there are some major lines down, I read that a whole lot of trucks and crews are on their way so hopefully it won't be that long. Good luck and I hope you win at least a few board games.