Camp on East Branch of Sacandaga

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Tiny little campsite, that's just a dirt spur off of NY 8. Rather noisy at night, but it was the only campsite that was open.

My Low Voltage Battery Protective Relay

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Since April, I have added a voltage-activated low-voltage battery disconnect relay that I sometimes refer to as a “protective relay” which protects my truck’s accessory battery from overdischarge. While the accessory battery when discharged doesn’t impact the starting battery (much), it does ruin the accessory battery chemistry by causing the battery plates to sulfurize and warp. Only one or two extreme discharges can greatly reduce the maximum charge and discharge of the battery – even with deep cycle battery that I use for accessories.

While wiring the optional reset switch was a bit confusing, the relay itself was quick and easy to wire. It monitors voltage on the wire going from the battery to all loads inside the truck and in the cap, and when the voltage dips below 12.1 volts for more then 30 seconds, it drops all loads. While this leaves the truck cap and lights running off the inverter dark, 30 seconds after I start the truck and start charging the battery, the relay resets and connects the load. The relay resets when the battery voltage rises above 13.5 volts for more then 30 seconds. This gives the battery a chance to start charging before a load is connected to the system, and minimizes stress on the truck’s electrical system.

It seems to work well at protecting the battery and avoids the annoying chirp of the inverter at low voltage. I like how it works without further action on my part, and I don’t have to worry about monitoring battery voltage to avoid overdischarging the battery while camping. Moreover, it automatically resets about 30 seconds after I start the truck, so I don’t have to go digging around to find a reset switch.

The model I got was $50 from Cabella’s. There are other models out there, but this model has an integrated relay and has an easy to use voltage cut off adjustment and reset button, and automatically resets. So that’s what I use.

September 27, 2017 Morning

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Good morning! Climbing the Hump on this Hot and Humid Hump Day. It’s hot in the passing gear of the week. Next Wednesday is 6:30 PM Sunset. Foggy and 66 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 66 degrees. 100% humidity, the most saturation that is possible in the air right now. Another sorcher of the day, but the heat wave may be officially over today, because it’s not clear if we will break 90. Then much cooler tomorrow. Highs only in the mid to lower 70s. Likewise, the muggy weather ends tomorrow around 1 am.

Today will be sunny, with a high of 88 degrees at 3pm. 20 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 10am. South wind 3 to 7 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 72 degrees. The record high of 84 was set in 1998.

The sun will set at 6:42 pm with dusk around 7:10 pm, which is one minute and 46 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly clear conditions and 84 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 11 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 52 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have isolated showers between 11pm and midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low of 60 degrees at 6am. 14 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. South wind 6 to 8 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. In 2016, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It got down to 48 degrees. The record low of 24 occurred back in 1947.

Ended up taking the local downtown because it was so hot and humid and I didn’t want to be all sweaty before work. That and I overslept a bit so it would have been a hustle to the express bus. So I decided to take relatively early local downtown. Unfortunately though, they didn’t have the air conditioning turned on in the bus. I’m surprised, as the bus was relatively new but I guess the driver was cold and didn’t want to turn on the air conditioning. I bet that will prove to be a mistake later on.

So the heat and humidity breaks tonight. I could see even having to shut some of the windows on Saturday especially if I am planning on being home this weekend and Friday night into Saturday is rainy and damp. I’m glad it will be cooler because it’s not been pleasant since I’ve gotten back from Moose River Plains. I got to get back in the crawl space to put camping gear away but I’ve been waiting for it to cool down.

Been already thinking about my late autumn into winter plans. Cooler weather is going to be upon us shortly, and I don’t think there will be many more full-weekend trips come autumn, especially not leaving from work, as it will be too dark and cold to be driving up north after work. I have that week after Columbus Day where I’m thinking about Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, but that’s not finalized. Then I’m thinking of a mid to late November trip to the North Country, e.g. Brasher Falls State Forest and Deer River State Forest for some hunting, fishing, camping.  Maybe also venture into some more of the State Forests in St. Lawrence County.  Wolf Lake State Forest looks like an interesting one to explore, although I’ve heard it’s “rough country” with rough dirt roads to access it and trails poorly marked and brushed.

As previously noted, next Wednesday is 6:30 PM Sunset with dusk at 6:58 pm. On that day in 2016, we had cloudy skies and temperatures between 69 and 53 degrees. This year might be much warmer — maybe 77 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 86 back in 1891. Definitely that will mark autumn well underway, even if we do have quite mild weather.