Day 32, 33, 34 - Benson, AZ - TT

Thursday (32) - I'm doing the morning test session while sitting outside. It's a very pleasant 73°F with high cirrus. Very pleasant temperature. There is a wind advisory for this afternoon so I brought the awning in. So far, not a lot of wind.

It's now 2:00 and almost time for the afternoon test session. Since the awning is still in, it's too hot to sit outside. The errand of the day was just groceries at Safeway.

Friday (33) - The day started out on the cool side but had warmed up to 73°F by early afternoon. There is another session this afternoon but enough time to use the pool. The solar panels are supposed to be shipped out today from Indiana where they are manufactured. So I should get them next week. Hopefully, there will be enough time to install them while we are here especially since I want to give the Sikaflex plenty of time to dry. 

I’m still thinking of the “best” route from the roof to the charge controller. Since the controller is in the rear-most bay, I’m thinking of just dropping the cables through the closet, into the engine compartment then over into the bay. The solar cables are only 10AWG so not very heavy at all. This is one of the advantages of serial connecting the panels. High voltage and low current. The cables are UV resistant and rated for 600VDC so my 76VDC and 10amps should be fine. 

Saturday (34) - A clear blue sky day and a very pleasant 70°F for the morning test session and 75°F for the afternoon session. We just spent the last hour or so at the pool. Hopefully, the wind doesn't pick up anymore so I don't need to pull in the awning. 

This is the view behind the RV site. No houses or other RVs so it's pretty quiet. 

This is my current project. I picked up a new Raspberry Pi3 B+ and a 7" touch screen. I installed the Victron Venus distribution and added the software to support the touch screen. I had previously ordered the Victron VE.Direct USB cable and have it plugged into the BMV-712 battery monitor and the Pi. To monitor the Victron charge controller, I just ordered another VE.Direct USB cable and a 20' USB extension cable. If that isn't long enough, I could add a powered USB hub. It should work as the limit, according to Victron is 10m. It's just serial communication so the speed isn't as important. To get the upper part of the graphic working, I'll need to replace the inverter which I plan on doing anyway.