Will finally got a good day to put up the wind charger, after several months of it sitting in a snowbank because there was snow on the storage barn’s roof, making it too dangerous to climb. Well, kind of. The snow had slid off the roof, anyway. But it was cold and windy. (You’ll remember that the charger wasn’t turning when set on a pole in the yard.) Will had fastened it to a pipe and to the rack of the pickup and I drove down the driveway at various speeds from 3-15 mph to see if it would turn. It did! Then the snows came and kept coming.
Two days ago, he put on his safety harness (YEA, WILL!) and climbed up to the very peak of our storage barn. Then he dropped down a rope and hauled up the charger and hooked it up. Once back on the ground (Whew!), he used the 12-volt winch he’d attached to the mounting pipe and ran the telescoping pipe all the way up.
And once way up there, it began turning. And turning, and turning. What a wonderful hum. Now it’s hooked to our battery bank and is charging. But all is not perfect yet as it’s not charging nearly as much as it should. Oh well, more figuring for Will, I guess. It DID come from the trash and required some work. But, my does it look wonderful, spinning in today’s brisk wind.
And with that wind, we’re getting yet another snow storm with 6 inches on the ground and drifting. Again. What a long winter this is. Not as long as The Long Winter Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote of, but long enough for us!
Meanwhile, our first seedlings are up. Our Copra onions are springing up as I write. I’ve got all the peppers planted and am starting to work on tomatoes. But with three feet of snow on the ground outside, it is hard to get enthusiastic. Yet. — Jackie
So happy for you and Will…He did a wonderful job..
Bonnie,
Yes, he does! I never thought of it at the time. How funny!!! Just a note, we’ve been having wind and that new wind charger is really earning its keep. We’ve been able to cut our generator use down at least by 1/3….maybe more. And when gas is as high as it is, that’s huge to us. Wow. (Now if we could just get a few big solar panels up….)
Jackie
Winter was long enough here in western CO! I am getting my garden ready now, and should be planting broccoli and cabbage next weekend! Stay warm!
Jackie, I remember reading The Long Winter! It was incredible – take care – spring is almost here.
Oh my gosh … Will looks like Snoopy the Dog – World War 1 Flying Ace sitting on his doghouse waiting to shoot down enemy planes.
Getting the windcharger up is a Good job done.
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