Day: August 24, 2019💾

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The night the lights went out

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Removing the reset switch from the low voltage disconnect on my truck was a stupid mistake.

I removed it when I had previously wired up the second assessory battery – to reduce the tangle of wires – and figuring I would never need to reset things as low voltage conditions are relatively rare now with the extra capacity.

That was all fine until two hours of reading with the 15 watt LED bulb and other lights in the campsite – drawing over 30 watts caused the voltage at the low voltage relay to sag below the cut off of 12.1 volts for more than 30 seconds. After three days of camping with only partial sun due to shading and clouds on the panel, the batteries also lacked a full charge going into the evening.

It’s good it cut the load to protect the batteries but I did not enjoy having to open up the low voltage disconnect to reset it. I could have started the truck up and used the alternator to feed it voltage to reset it or waited until the sun rose tomorrow but I didn’t feel like doing that – especially knowing that as soon as I reset the relay and cut the load I’d be fine – and not wanting to lug the alternator with a heavy load.

Needless to say I will be hooking up the switch again, as sometimes having a reset is important.

Map: Crane Pond

Biodegradable soap is stupid

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The other day I saw a post about biodegradable camp soap. I thought it was a stupid idea – buying more soap when you already have soap that works just fine at home – and I pointed that out. It’s just more trash to landfill or burn. For one thing, most common soaps are largely biodegradable and while many detergents are not, it’s not like they accumulate in the soil or really cause much in problems in the dispersed, remote country I usually camp in.

I am not saying one should not practice good outdoors practices. Certainly don’t dump soapy water near streams and bury your poop as deep as you can away from camp and water. Pack out whatever you can’t completely burn. Keep your camp site tidy and pick up whatever litter you find within reason.

But don’t be afraid of the woods or fully utilizing our natural resources. They’re not going to destroyed because you use a little conventional dish soap up at camp.

U.S. dairy farmers are free to use the term ‘mozzarella’ | AGDAILY

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U.S. dairy farmers are free to use the term ‘mozzarella’ | AGDAILY

Dairy farmers received good news when it comes to marketing their products. A crucial agreement has been reached that provides support for protection for the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Protected Designation of Origin in the United States and around the world, while explicitly establishing the free use of the generic term “mozzarella” to indicate a type of cheese.

The agreement, between the Consorzio Tutela Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the Consortium for Common Food Names is of critical importance as it secures the use of common terms on U.S. cheese products, while recognizing the territory of production.