"Makin more stacks than all ya'll..."
The University of Delaware and Gamesa Technology Corporation have joined forces to install a utility-scale 2-megawatt (2-MW) wind turbine at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. The joint venture, First State Marine Wind, is a partnership between UD-owned Blue Hen Wind and Gamesa USA.
On last week’s “The Weekly Roar” I discussed my feelings about car batteries, and how much trouble they can cause. I was having issues with my truck starting, and the clues were leading to a old and punished battery. As you may all know, I am a fan of portable electronics, so you know all of my interior plugs are in use. I found that bad, bad battery post terminals were to blame. I used an old MacGyver trick to temporarily fix the situation until I had the hardware to replace the wires, and terminal.
BEFORE:
A word about serviceable batteries. Don’t buy one unless you have to, the sealed ones are way better, less maintenance, but as a downside, cost more. Just because your batter is non maintenance battery, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to keep it clean. A simple test with a multimeter can show that your batter can “leach” itself to death, even if not connected, just because it is dirty on the top of the battery. If you have to cut the old terminals off, like I did, you will notice that MOST cars don’t have any extra slack for wire, especially if you have a Nissan truck. You might also notice that you can’t get everything you need at one store, which is really, really irritating when you need your car to start, and it doesn’t.
Discharging batteries. Most car batteries, (and by most, I mean all) can only handle being dead three or four times before they cannot be revived and recharged. This has to do with the way that the battery is constructed, and what it is designed for, starting cars. Turning a starter motor takes considerable amount of current (read: cold cranking amps). These are not like the batteries that are used in renewable energy systems, UPS’s or mobile phones which can be charged many times.
A note about joining large (read #4) gauge wires together. Finding crimp type connectors to use for this size wire is difficult, and having a crimping tool for something this large is a pain too. Wire nuts work but are not preferred. I used wire nuts that were too small for the gauge that I had to work with. I got it all to work in the long run by “Y” splicing a cable, also not preferred, but works.
AFTER:
So to summarize, working on cars by yourself is a pain. What is supposed to take you 20 minutes to do, will usually take you closer to two hours. I am happy with the finished product. It leaves me with room for expansion if I need it (read: cool guy stuff).
Wait. What? I could swear I was there, but if I wasn’t here is an article about the actual Whiskey Rebellion.