Milepost 918

I've about decided that I've had all the pain that I can enjoy. That is, I may be turning around in the morning.  Or in a few days. I'm contemplating making an excursion perhaps to Dawson City or Prince Rupert or somewhere else. I see in the Canadian news that Edson may be evacuated due to forest fires. You might recall I spent a night in Edson a few days ago. I imagine the fire threat will be over by the time I get back there.  I've seen no evidence of recent fires since I left Fort Nelson.  But, there was a lot of evidence of fire in the Edson area when I was there and for a hundred miles or so in any direction of Edson.

Venting at Milepost 635 Watson Lake

 I arrived at Watson Lake yesterday evening after a harrowingly slow drive.  As slow as 30mph in order to maximize range.  I arrived at the Flo charger with 9 miles of range left.  That meant no stopping at roadside attractions.  I found a conveniently located very pricey hotel that specializes in dim room lighting.

The Flo charger initiation was even more aggravating than expected.   About half an hour on the phone to get charging started.  So far the sole redeeming feature of Watson Lake is the spectacular Northern Lights planetarium type show; I had never before been to a planetarium.  With about 100 miles put in the car at the chademo station, I decided to charge at hotel from a block heater outlet.  Which gave me a solid 5 mph at 120vac all night.  The problem with many grid voltage charging opportunities up here is low voltage of 100-110vac.  That's usually a result of three phase power which is nominally 100/208 where split phase is 120/240.

On the road from Muncho Lake yesterday, I saw bear and buffalo at several locations.  When I get an album put together, I'll post the URL 

I'm thinking of turning around at Whitehorse where I hope to find a/some TT30 adapters.  Connecting to RV parks "30 amp" outlets would make such charging more palatable.  I think I'd would rather deal with 200 mile days charging at RV parks than deal with the Flo nightmare that might give me 300-400 miles in a day.  Probably more BrandX charging venting later.  Right now, I will just say that Tesla has solved the charging problems but the various BrandXs have refused to adopt Tesla's strategies on billing, navigating, and maintaining.

A light rain this morning in Watson Lake so I'm waiting a bit before I  depart to do battle with Flo chargers in Testlin and Whitehorse.  Fellow travelers have warned me that Whitehorse is not a good overnight stop but I will likely be forced to stay there tomorrow night.  215 miles in the car right now.  I think Whitehorse is 300+ miles so I can not hope to skip the Flo in Testlin.

The End

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXqPNlng6uI

I decided this morning, in the large town of Whitehorse, capitol of Yukon Territory, to go ahead to Dawson City and then, perhaps make a loop in Alaska to return on the more southerly route.  I did three successful Flo/chademo charges during the day.  When I arrived at Dawson City, I could not get the Flo/chademo started.  After about an hour on the phone with a nice and helpful Flo girl, she admitted that it was broken.  And that Flo would have a repair person out within 5 days.   Enough of this Flo horseshit!  I'm turning around in the morning.  Fortunately and unexpectedly, The Triple J Hotel has several cabins with J1772 charge stations.  I am getting 30amps/30mph out of it "as we speak" so I should be fully charged in the morning.

Dawson City is of interest to me because it is one of the settings in the TV series "Yukon Gold".  YouTube has at least several episodes.  Here is one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAD-3GFvgKU

Reading my "Alaska" trip odometer, I see I have traveled 4172 miles since departing Dale.  I need to do a summary but Triple J Hotel has weak wifi in my cabin.  I should mention that this is the fartherest north I've been.  In mid June here, the daylight hours are about 4am until about mid-night.

StarShip5!

I failed to get my streaming (LABPadre} started until about 3 minutes after launch.

At about 7:11am (Sunday, October 13, 2024}I DID observe the first catching of a StarShip booster on "chopstick" launch tower.  In  Boca Chica.  There are MANY firsts here.  First catching of ANY space vehicle.  And first catching of a StarShip component.  Yet ANOTHER verification of Elon Musk's rapid and low cost development strategy.

The StarShip5 experienced a sudden unplanned disassembly around 8:30 as it was attempting a hover just above Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia.  That was not very relevant since near all mission goals had been achieved.  After the flight, LABPadre introduced us to the first Neuralink  patient.  I did not divine the reason for his presence but he is to control a LABPadre camera for the StarShip6 launch.  We hope within about two months.  To belabor: here is a paralyzed (below his neck) guy who is now able control many devices through his Neuralink which is implanted in his skull. 

Early on in my Teslaite career, about 2012, I noticed Elon Musk's odd personality and ill considered utterances.  With the success of Tesla Motors, his behaviors became completely immaterial in my mind.   With the successes of other of Musk companies, the relevance of personal behaviors became even less.  The Boring Company.  SpaceX.  Neuralink.  What have I missed.  Each and every of the Musk companies has greatly contributed to the progress of civilization; pushing achievement forward decades and at affordable costs.  Many people I've encountered, by way of Tesla car ownership, I have watched shift from "Elon is an genius who single handedly brought EVs into common use" to "Elon is an asshole, I will never buy anything produced by any of his companies".  I have had no such changes in judgement/attitude.  Of the perhaps 100 of the Tesla early adopters that I met in the first few years, at least 50% have gone to the other side and are now Elon haters.

Elon, obviously, has many talents.  Perhaps the most obvious of Elon's strategies is  the "break it as early as possible then, just as quickly as possible, make corrections/fixes".  Right behind is Elon's inspiring and then hiring highly talented and motivated personnel to carry out his plans.  Ms Shotwell, SpaceX CEO, is perhaps the most famous of Elon's minions.  However, there are likely thousands of Shotwells working for Elon's companies.

A pelone:  Looking for SpaceX equity?  It is NOT publicly traded and not listed on any stock exchange.  Look at the mutual funds BPTIX/BPTRX.  SpaceX is SUPPOSED to spin off StarLink in a year or two.  I expect it to be a big stock market event.

Tesla Stuff

I unexpectedly bought a new Model Y near end of February 2024.  Tesla offered a deal that I felt that I could not pass up.

 "What was the deal?" You might ask.  They offered to transfer both FSD AND free SuperCharging from other of my Teslas to a new car.  I transferred free SuperCharging from my 2013 Model S and FSD from my 2022 Model Y.  The people driving the 22 Y had little enthusiasm for FSD and the 13 S is nearing the end of its life.  Free SuperCharging is now rarely to never offered though it was frequently offered in earlier Tesla history.  FSD pricing seems to have settled at $8k to buy for the life of the car or $100/month if car owner wants to use FSD only occasionally.

In case you are a Tesla newbie:  FSD is Full Self Driving.  I have been avidly following and using FSD for about 5 years.  In the early years, interest was mostly academic.  The early versions required constant attention; most drivers found it not worth the effort of supervision.  After a long period of development with software updates coming every month or two, a step function improvement occurred in early 2024 with version 12.1.x; previous versions were <= version 11.x.x.  Right now, I'm running 12.3.6 and eagerly anticipating 12.4.x.  

Rather than recounting current capabilities, I'll refer the reader to YouTube.  WholeMarsCatalog has well demonstrated the current capabilities.  Short story: one can drive great distances and not have to "intervene"  (correct the car's behavior).  Software updates (each with at least some improvement) come every few weeks.  Complete autonomy is likely to come within a year.

https://www.youtube.com/@WholeMars

Down to business! I'll describe a really fascinating incident shortly after I replaced V12.3.4 with V12.3.6. I was returning from Kyle to Dale in heavy afternoon traffic and allowing FSD with navigation to do mostly what it wanted.  This was Wednesday June 12 about 4pm.  As l recall.  The incident was trying to cross SH21 from the north on a county road in northern Caldwell County (I may do a little research to identify that county road).  Traffic was fairly heavy, both east and west bound, on the four lane SH21.  Perhaps it is two traffic lanes plus paved shoulders on the sides.  I needed clear spots in both directions since I was continuing straight across SH21.  I perceived threats mainly from SH21 traffic though there was a car facing me, north bound on the south side of the intersection.  After allowing the car to wait several minutes for clear sections in both directions,  I finally decided to press throttle to tell the car to GO at an opportunity that it was not otherwise willing to take.  I continued to not steer.  The car is not able to over ride my throttle GO command but I allowed it to continue steering.  The next thing I knew, the car took an abrupt violent turn onto left/east bound 21.  Only in retrospect did I realize that the oncoming car in front of me had decided to take a left/west turn (to west bound 21) in front of me.  Ignoring that I had the right of way.  Unable to brake because I was on the throttle, the car (FSD) avoided a collision by turning left/east on 21.  This turn was not part of planned navigation. A short way down 21, I made a U/west turn, then a left/south on the road I had been attempting to go straight on.

Had I not been using FSD, the heavy traffic might have induced me to make a right/west on 21, then a U/east, then a right/south on the county road.  I'm exceedingly pleased with FSD performance.  Though it would have been best had I let the car do what it wanted.  Which might have resulted in a long delay waiting for 21 east bound and west bound breaks to be synchronized at the intersection.

With my wits fully functioning, I would have been prepared to preserve the car's video of the incident.  With the proper command, just after an interesting incident, the car will preserve about a minute of all videos of action just past.  There are five or more cameras that are continuously recorded but uninteresting recordings are overwritten after a few minutes or an hour.

I realize that this is a fairly complex incident and that my writing and language skills may be lacking.  Comments with corrections and clarifications are solicited.

Car Delivery

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ew6F9mdmKFeDCW2r7

Above link to an album of high resolution photos taken at delivery center just south of San Antonio airport.  On display was a camping equipped Y and a CyberTruck.  The first CT I've entered.

New car is a long range Y to which I was able to transfer Full Self Driving (from another car) and free SuperCharging (from yet another car).

PV wind damage

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uBvHqYuF9687R3HHA

Six rails.  One completely down.  Another, about half down.  Only two rails producing some power, a few kw.  Note one inverter blown off it's mount.

StarLink "Service"

 I've been remiss in making recent blog posts.

My StarLink died in my absence on the Yukon trip.  That, apparently due to a thunderstorm.  That failure left me with no internet access at the house.  Since about June 9, I've been struggling with SpaceX to get repair/replacement parts.  In case you have not heard, SpaceX/StarLink has TERRIBLE customer service.  Which I will recount here.

After I returned from the trip in late June, I fiddled with things and confirmed it was a StarLink problem.  With some difficulty, I contacted StarLink "support" and described the problem.  They decided it was a bad cable from the outside antenna to the inside router.  It took about two weeks for the cable to arrive but the cable did not resolve the problem.  Meanwhile SL closed my "ticket" which made continuing the dialog more difficult.  They then sent me a router.  That router resolved the problem.  But for only about half an hour.  Then, that router died.  Again, I had to go through the rigmarole again.  They said they were going to send me another complete SL kit containing all parts needed for SL service.  I waited about three weeks for the parts to arrive.  So, I go through all the rigmarole yet again; they knew nothing of the commitment to send a new kit but promised again to send one.  I wait another several weeks before contacting again.  This time, they actually did send a kit which arrived about November 20.  The router out of the kit fixed the problem; the fix has now lasted several days and I have been enjoying internet access at the house for the first time since the June trip,  SL did refund several of the monthly service fees which I had paid.   In consideration of the low level service I was receiving.

My intent had been to pretty up my trip posts and add a photo album.  But, that fell by the wayside and I have not done it because I had internet access only through my phone or out in the pool area where SL was providing only local wifi rather than wired service into my extensive LAN.  I have had no access to my PowerWall since.   The PowerWall (installed at my house) continued to work, charging in the day from PV and discharging to provide night time power.   That is, no grid power used, day or night.  A few weeks ago, the PW quit working and I am minimizing night time power use.  I am just beginning to address the PW problem.  In the past, I have been forced to fix PW problems myself because I have been unable to get ANY PW service from Tesla. 

12/16/23

Last week, I spent around a day twiddling with at least two different ways to "reset" the PowerWall.  I thought that I had failed and put the project aside.  BUT, while traveling the past few days, I discovered that the PW was working and talking to my Tesla app!  Everything seems to be working properly and I can, in real time, look at current power levels.  As well as looking at historic power and energy levels.  So!  After nearly SIX MONTHS of pain over failed StarLink and PowerWall, my trial seems over.

12/17/23 

 https://www.google.com/maps/@26.3230503,-97.4405342,4006m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en&entry=ttu

On the way back from South Padre Island, we drove by this place.  The take-away is that a 2300 acre shrimp farm in Arroyo City was abandoned in 1990s due to a shrimp virus.

My last Flo visit

 I arrived at the Flo station in Ft St John.  It is behind a GM dealer.  I found myself unable to charge because the GM shuttle Bolt was plugged into the CCS side.  I went into the show room to see if they wanted to remove the connector to the Bolt.  Shortly, TWO Ford pickup EVs arrived.  Apparently belonging to the same guy from Vancouver or somewhere in the area.  Complete EV newby.  I was unable to convince him/them that the charger would work on only one (CCS or chademo) at the same time.  The Flo girl on his phone apparently did convince him.  After quite a bit of pain, I eventually got a charge session started after a GM salesman removed the connector to the Bolt.  ~15 minutes later, my charge errored off.  More pain.  More phone calls.  Flo eventually remotely rebooted and I got another charge session started.  Meanwhile, a Canadian Model Y arrived and hooked to the CSS cable.  Amazingly, that did not screw up my charge and I got charged above 90%. 

So, over a short period of time, we had FIVE EVs contending for that single fast charger.  The Bolt, my car, TWO Fords, and the Model Y.  I was the only one that got a charge while I was there.

Most interestingly, the Model Y had a CCS adapter and reported no problems using it on several Flo stations.  So, most of my Flo problems may be associated with my chademo adapter.  I did not get to observe his CCS actually working, though.

I hope to be done with Flo.  Tomorrow, I hope to reach the Edson SuperCharger.  But first I will have to do a slow charge probably at Shrek's RV Park about half way between here (Dawson Creek) and Edson.

I'm thinking this:

https://www.maxwellvehicles.com/campers.html

may be the answer to the troubles.  A Maxwell (Fiat/RAM converted to Tesla  running gear).  I would want at least a 300 mile battery with significant deployable PV.  I'm thinking at least a total of 3kw in PV.  Maybe flexible that can be rolled up when not deployed.

I am a Banana Eating Fool

 As I approached Liard (lee ard) Hot Springs Lodge around noon day before yesterday, I decided I could go no more.  Going in with the attitude that they could screw me over any way they wanted,  I got a room for about $200C and told them I would like to charge at one of their "30 amp" RV stalls.  Another ~$70C.  The next morning, I found the RV park full so they were justified in charging the $70C.  I stayed in bed for about 20 hours there but recovered little.  I subsequently learned that they have a poor reputation.  Something about "First Nation" land.  "First Nation" seems to be Canadian politically correct speak for Indian / Indigenous Peoples / etc.  Since most such lodges in the area have gone to StarLink, I was surprised to learn that I could not immediately get a wifi password.  Why?  They were in the middle of a daily password change.  That lodge seemed to be trying to squeeze customers for every dollar possible without regard to customer inconvenience.  The daily password change was to minimize the number of drop in customers using wifi but not paying.   I later learned that they are still on geosynchronous satellite service.  StarLink data is MUCH cheaper so that there is no incentive to squeeze customers.  Changing the password is a significant labor cost.   I was not permitted to hook the car to wifi so the car had no internet presence.   The car was nearly visible from my room but I could not access it.  Normally, I leave raising car windows and locking to be done from the comfort of my room.  To do that in areas with no cell service, hooking car to wifi is required. The walk to the car was arduous in my condition so I left the windows down during an overnight rain.   They were on a boil water notice so they gave me two pints of bottled water to carry up the stairs to my room.  Over the night, I drank all that water and could find no more even though I looked. 

I left just after dawn and was surprised that I was doing so poorly.  I attributed to my two week diet of almost exclusively junk food.  Normally, I eat one or more bananas each day.  I could not find a comfortable driving position.  All limbs hurt.  Normally, only my left leg hurts significantly.  After a few ~40 mile stops to walk a bit, I got to a place I had stopped on my way up.  It was quite a contrast to Liard.  On the way up, I was allowed to charge off of a normal 120vac outlet.  But, generator voltage fluctuations limited charge rate to about 3mph;  "normal" is about 5mph.  That place is Testa River Lodge (as I recall).  The first time through, the guy did not want to charge a fee but I made him take $10US.  I later learned that the fee for charging in that area was $60-$70C.  This time, I asked the guy if he had any bananas and/or Tylenol.  He gave me two slightly old bananas and three sample packs of expired Tylenol.  I took Tylenol and ate both bananas in short order.  And, immediately felt a lot better; little pain in three limbs.  I was able to drive normally without un necessary stops.

I had to seek a charge going up at Testa because a Rivian was sitting on the 6kw J1772 charge station provided at the Ft Nelson visitor's center.  In Ft Nelson, I had stayed at Blue Bell Inn which is probably the cheapest of the Ft Nelson options.  By my standards, completely acceptable at $80C.  So, I'm staying with them again tonight.  Between my two stays, I had acquired a TT30 to normal 120 adapter which allows me to charge off of "30 amp" RV outlets.  Right now, I am charging at 9-10 mph at the hotel.  Should be ready to roll about 4am.  I did the same at Liard and, charging to 95%, brought it up to about 250 miles.  About 260 miles should be a 100% charge.  When the car was new, 100%  was 315+ miles.

Tomorrow I hope to get to Ft St John early enough to get my cell phone glass replaced by the guy that saved the trip last time through.

Edson is the closest SuperCharger.  I have a report that Edson was evacuated because of fires.  So. I'm eager to hear more news on that situation. 

Muskeg

 One of the few tales that my father would tell is how they dealt with Muskeg in building the Alcan Highway in 1942. He told of how bulldozers (they used hundreds or maybe thousands of bulldozers) would push trees over the Muskeg and then build the road surface on top of the downed trees.   With trees subject to rot, I imagine that was a fairly short term solution of 10-15 years before reworking/repair was required.

Until recently, I had little idea of what Muskeg is and where it is found.  I had the impression that Muskeg was associated with permafrost and that it would be found farther north.  Today, I chatted with a fellow patron of the Tetsa River Lodge who was wearing a T shirt that mentioned Muskeg.  He informed that Muskeg is soft marshy ground that can swallow both people and vehicles.  Once swallowed, neither is likely to be extracted.  This guy works oil projects.  He said that Muskeg is not much of a risk if trees growing on top are large; small trees are likely to be found growing in Muskeg.  He said that there is a lot of Muskeg around Fort Nelson which is near the beginning of the Alcan.  The guy also said that Muskeg might catch fire in a forest fire.  If so, it can smolder through out a winter and burn again the next season. 

I'll stick in some electric power comments here.  I noticed what might have been some wood power generation plants in the vicinity of Edson.  Here in northern British Columbia many areas are supplied from diesel engine generators, both utility owned to supply entire communities and small private off grid diesels.  I was greatly surprised with the dearth of PV.  I talked a bit with the owner of Tetsa River Lodge who operates his own diesel powered micro grid.  In order to provide for some diesel down time, he has a small battery setup.  He was using 12 large single cell sealed lead acid configured in two banks of six in parallel.  I guessed that each cell was about 300 amp-hours but he informed me that they are about 800 ah.  He charges the battery while the diesel is running rather than from PV panels.  That got me to thinking about how PV panels might be used in the far north.  Even though summer is their primary season, I heard several comments that the problem with PV is low winter production.  My current thinking is that panels should be near vertical, perhaps 10-20 deg off vertical and pointing several directions.  They could not rest on the ground as mine do because of snow ground cover.  I've heard it said that they have knee deep snow coverage for around 7 months.  Near vertical would likely allow snow to slough off.  The ground mount would have to hold the panels several feet off the ground and allow snow removal equipment to operate.

Another aside.  While passing through burned areas, I was thinking what a good opportunity for some carbon sequestration that would be.  Neighbor Ray has long experimented making charcoal for soil amendment and sequestration.  But, he is not oriented to low cost and efficiency.  I offer the idea of, in burned areas, bulldozing trenches and pushing fire debris into the trenches.  Then, making charcoal in place and leaving it.  Details are left to the reader.  Maybe I should do another blog post on charcoal.

With less than 100 miles in my battery, I leave Toad River Lodge for expected better charging 40 miles down the road at Northern Rockies Lodge.  If I get a good charge rate there, I will make Watson Lake later today.  I look forward to seeing the Northern Lights facility that is there.  Watson Lake is supposed to be the end of a string of Flo 50kw chademos that go toward Alaska.  This "charge for 10-15 hours in order to drive less than 100 miles" sucks.

Here I am at Northern Rocky Lodge charging at 5 kilowatts I think. Paying dearly for both charge and Wi-Fi access. I think around $70 Canadian. Their silly web-based Wi-Fi access prevents the Tesla from hooking up. So I have cell phone access but not car access nobody knows where the car is. To kill some time I just loaded up blogger on this cell phone on their Wi-Fi and an experimenting. That is expanding on this post with voice to text. Seems to be working very well.

To reach Watson Lake where there is supposedly Chademo   charging, I will need four or five hours of charging. Watson lake is abouOne attraction to Watson Lake is the Northern lights facility they have there; I'm eager to learn more about the Northern lights.

Let's see if I can insert photos directly from phone.

not what I wanted.  The \above is block heater outlet charging maybe at Ft Nelson. Trying again:

Better.  The above is charging at Northern Rockies Lodge.  Let me set up an album where higher resolutions can be used:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ucvzV3PwaaJbhrkKA

Mile 0

 Since the last Alaska trip post is so poorly organized and is larger than I would like, I start a new one, beginning at Dawson Creek.  On leaving Dawson, after all the below tribulations, the "Alaska" trip odometer read 2914 miles (from Dale) and 723kwh.

I arrived in Dawson yesterday, found my Highway literature and found a tire shop that identified my last Laufenn bad tire.  The car had been complaining of possible rear tread wear and the need for front end alignment.  So, I depart on a perhaps 3000 mile AlCan Highway trip with four good tires but a spare that can not be expected to last more than a few hundred miles.  I don't expect to find a new tire of the proper size until I return to southern Canada.

I used a "block heater outlet" at my hotel last night to charge.  I arrived Dawson with about 25 miles of range left and I will depart for Ft St John with ~110 miles in the battery.  I now have easy access to my Chademo adapter and I hope to encounter Chademo chargers in the Yukon.   Worst case is that I do less than 200 miles per day if I am forced to rely on 120vac outlets.  With SuperChargers, daily distances are more than 500 miles charging at up to 250kw.  120vac can give me 5-10 miles of charge per hour of charging time at 1-2kw  A Chademo might give me up to 50kw or up to about 200 miles of charge per hour of charge time.  Due to payment requirements, getting a Chademo started will be non trivial.   In addition to the fact that Brand X (not Tesla) chargers are notoriously unreliable.

Dawson Creek is known as the start of the AlCan Highway.  The fact is that, when construction began in 1942, a road already was in place from Dawson Creek to Ft Nelson.  The road was completed when crews working from Alaska and Canada met.  My father never mentioned the crew working from Alaska nor the historic meeting.

My Canadian phone is working quite well.  So far, it has reception in the areas I've been.  I've been able to do email most everywhere I've been.  The Tesla cell service has also worked well so I generally know where I am and where I'm going.  The Tesla does not present much information about BrandX chargers.   I have "share phone location" working for those with gmail addresses.

Saturday morning, Ft Nelson

When I pulled into Ft St John yesterday morning, the Flo app directed me to a non existent 50kw chademo charger.  Eventually, through the PlugShare app, I found the charger located behind a GM dealer.  A long and painful telephone conversion with the Flo people finally resulted in getting the charge session started.  47kw peak and declining from there.  The Flo person kept wanting me to do things on the app while I was talking to her.  I had no confidence in maintaining a voice call while using the app.  Sure enough, after the voice call had ended, my phone would not work and had a dark screen.  I was ready to turn around.  Without a working phone, I am left with only the the car for navigation.  Normally, the car is sufficient but it will tell me little to nothing about BrandX charging or RV  parks.  I considered returning to Grand Prairie or Calgary or Lethbridge to get phone fixed or replaced.  The GM dealer's wifi provided me internet access on another phone without cell service and I found a phone repair place.  When I found my chademo session had an error termination, I drove over there.  Queries at a ReMax office occupying the site resulted in directions to another place.  The guy there quickly diagnosed that I had turned the display brightness to zero inadvertently while dealing with voice call.  In order the adjust the brightness, you have to see the screen.  A very big design flaw.  The store guy remembered enough about what should be on the screen to correct the problem.  Rebooting did not solve the problem.  Perhaps removing the battery will, should I get in that situation again.  Or, maybe not.

On my last visit to chademo charger, a sales person chatted with me about EVs.  I had seen the dealer's Bolt shuttle car coming an going.  They have had several Bolt shuttle cars and actually sold several.  She started talking about hybrids and gracefully took my correction about hybrids and BEVs.  She showed me their fast charger mounted in the service area.  A probably 50kw CCS.

Onward toward Ft Nelson!  A few miles out of town, I noticed RF tire was about 37psi, down from ~50.  So, I'm driving along slowly contemplating.  The range to get to Nelson is iffy.  If I go back to get the tire seen to, I'll have to charge again.  So, I stopped in a one of the very few convenience stores between the two towns and asked about a tire repair shop.  He directed me to an unstaffed place around the corner.  So, I went back the the store where I turned $5US into 5 Loonies ($1 C coins worth about $.75 US) and used two of them to air up the low tire.  Also bought a can of tire sealant ($20C).  And went on down the road.  The tire apparently was not leaking; I over inflated to about 55psi which it has held since.  This is the tire I had been carrying as a spare until I got it put on in Dawson Creek and indicated 50 psi until Ft St John.

There was much smoke between Ft St John and Ft Nelson but the trip was otherwise uneventfully.  Well, except for two black bear sighting.  I found the still staffed visitor center late in the afternoon.  And was able to buy a 2022 version of The Milepost as well as getting other needed information.

I charged at about 1.5kw off block heater outlet at hotel overnight.  Then, early, drove over to the visitor center free 6kw J1772 but found a Rivian sucking juice while unattended.  The Flo app had indicated that the charge station was available.  Since I must disconnect at the hotel in order to check availability of the J1772, I am reluctant to check often.  Maybe I'll ride the JackRabbit over there though it is really too long a trip for the JackRabbit.

This morning while searching the car for a TT-30 adapter, my phone slipped out of my pocket, hit pavement, and got a cracked screen.  I apparently failed to pack the adapter which would have allowed me to charge near 3kw out of an RV "30 amp outlet".  Those outlets are fairly common up here.

There are quite a few Flo 50kw chademo charging opportunities ahead of me.  Since I got one to work, I am optimist about using them.  The ones before me are supposed to be free.  I see mention of other slower charging sites costing up around $60C for a charge.

7:30am  FANTASTIC revelation!  This cheap hotel has a kitchenette with electric stove.  The stove is plugged into a NEMA1450R.  My Mobile Connector cables are long enough.  It is giving me 35 amps.  I will monitor voltage for a while and maybe increase to 40 amps. I'll consider trying to leave before 11am checkout time.  Hotel is Bluebell Inn or somesuch.

Later that day, I found my joy was short term,  I greedily bumped the charge current to 40 amps.  A major mistake.  A breaker somewhere tripped and my room was without power.  A breaker box in the room did not contain a tripped breaker.  The electric range was on a 40 amp breaker which was not tripped.  I should have limited my charging to about 30 amps and started it earlier.  I moved the car to charge on a different outside 120vac outlet and reported my screw up to management.   The poor girl working the counter could not find the breaker.  I packed up and went to visitor center to check to see if the Rivian was still charging about 8am.  It was, so I went on down the road with only about 110 miles of range.  The Nelson visitor center J1772 station is a ChargePoint but it is supposed to start through the Flo app.   That got me to Testa River Lodge which is a wonderful place but is off grid and uses a generator for electric power.  I did not want to impose on the guy by charging off his generator but he, VERY helpfully, insisted.  After quite a bit of useful and interesting talk, I went on down the road when I thought I could reach Toad River Lodge.  By driving slowly, I easily made it.  The Toad River area is served by a community generator system which does somewhat better than the local generator at Testa River.  I was only getting 3mph at Testa and 4mph at Toad.  A good grid 120vac outlet will give me 5 mph. 

At Testa. I listened in on a conversion involving a guy that broke down miles from Testa.  It seemed likely that he was going to sell his vehicle locally and cheap because towing to a repair place was going to be several thousand dollars. 

For tomorrow, "good" Flo 50kw chademo stations start at Watson Lake, about 200 miles from Toad.  I don't think I will make that without another supplemental charge.  Or, maybe a late start from Toad.  As I speak I have only about 60 miles in the car and about 10-12 more hours to devote to charging.

Wildlife:  at Toad, there was a moose lounging far out in the swift river.  Earlier, a group of mountain sheep was on the road and slowing traffic.  Yesterday, I made two black bear sightings.  A couple in one place and a single bear in another.

Smoke: there was limited visibility yesterday south of Ft Nelson due to smoke.  This morning, there was no smoke and I've seen none all day.

Down time at Toad allowed me to do laundry.  $12 C for a load.  Hotel is about $200 C; for me, that means not two nights especially since Toad management has no interest in attracting EV business.

I'm enjoying the trip.  But the pressure of "do or die" has not allowed me to relax and do touristy things.  There are some hot springs up the road that I hope to do.

 

Alaska?

So far, mainly notes to myself here. 

Thursday after Friday departure

Friday and Saturday nights in Lubbock to commune with Buddy Holley and do things Confederate.

Sunday night in Sidney Nebraska.  After having successfully avoided IH25 in Colorado.

Monday night in Billings Econo Lodge.  Billings has horrible traffic due to freeway construction.

Tuesday night in Lethbridge Econo Lodge where I bought needed phone with Canadian cell service.

Wednesday night in Edson Rode Way Inn.  I've mostly successfully configured the new phone.  Tracking seems to work (others can see my location) and it works in the car via BlueTooth.  Not far from Edson, there is much evidence of foreest fires.  Smoke in the distance, Evidence of recent roadside fire,  A little smoking from smoldering timber.

Daylight hours here in Edson are about 5am until about 9pm.  I would love to travel far enough north (at the right time of the year) to be able to watch the sun circling me just above the horizon.

Yesterday, in Calgary, I went to Tesla Service Center, then on to local KAL tire shop.  I found no joy at Tesla.  As you might expect, they are jammed.  No CCS adapter stuff.  I had hope that that hardware might be available on the edge of the area where it is most needed.  BrandX fast chargers are well scattered across Canada.  Including Yukon.  A new tire cost me ~$300 Canadian.  Conversion is $.75 US to $1 C.  Most all Canadian businesses are willing to accept US dollars but as if they are Canadian.

Thursday, on to Dawson Creek where I hope to get maps and information on roads, etc.  I fear that there will be some slow charging before Dawson Creek and I may have to stay in Dawson tonight.

I had to charge (for a couple of hours) at the Kiwanis RV Park on the west side of Grand Prairie.  The day before, I bought a new tire to replace one with sidewall damage in Calgary.  As it turns out, the real problem was yet another tire with cord separation.  I bought six of that brand from TireRack several years ago and have been putting them on the car as needed.  FOUR of the six have failed with cord separation.  The other two failed due to road hazards.  I am THRILLED to put that brand of tires in my rear view mirror.  I pulled into a tire shop in Dawson Creek and they quickly diagosed the problem (which the car had been complaining about for days) and put my spare with a new Goodyear on the car.  The tire shop could not sell me another new one of proper size.  Until I can find a tire somewhere, I'll have to use the one with cord separation.   Surely, it can go a few hundered miles if driven slow?  Then, I went over to the tourist office (Alcan Highway, Mile 0) and get everything I need except an newish copy of The Milepost.  That's a large guide book on the highway that is updated annually.  

Charging in Edson and Grand Prairie and finding the Chademo adapter which may make this trip go faster:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZSSKXSfHu9VP4ks37

I found the Chademo adapter buried in the car so I have some hope of making some use of the "fast chargers" that are across Yukon every 100-200 miles. Tonight, I am charging at ~5 miles per hour on a hotel outlet that is used for keeping ICE engines warm in very cold weather.  In the morning, I hope to have enough charge to reach Ft St John where I hope to use the Chademo adapter.  Then, maybe, on to Ft Nelson.  If the Chademo charging goes well.  Else, I'll have to start waiting out slow charges.

Future and past details to be added.

Jean Mason McKemie b May 15, 1954

 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5p8LEfq8HxahoTPy5

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JyBUxWV2Jodgs8546

Happy birthday, Jean!

I came across a batch of photos that had been emailed to me, likely from Jean's cell phone in May 2011.  That is my explanation for the low resolution photos.  I believe that, at that time, Jean had been diagnosed with her final Stage IV breast cancer.  The photos, I believe, are from two farmers markets.  I think the market without the Sprinter in the background is the Sunday Hope market on E4th in Austin.  I can't guess on the one where we were able to sell directly out of the Sprinter.  

At that time, we hoped for Jean to have up to about five years more of life and we were making plans to best use the time we had.  As it turned out, we had only about 15 months left at that time. 

Note that we were selling out of the Sprinter cargo van.  About this time, we were to buy a similar Sprinter, but one that had been converted to a camper van, and build the "RV Building" to shelter it.  We had hoped to travel in the conversion van but were able to make only a single trip.  I did not grow crops to sell for the following year, 2012.  The photos were taken of my last farmers market season.  I don't remember exactly when I quit but I had a crop of okra in the works so I at least sold okra to grocery stores until the end of the season.

Note the seasonal crops: squashes, red potatoes, onions (and probably garlic), carrots, asparagus.  Greens of some sort.  There may have been just a few peaches.  Note the rack of "canned goods".  The very nice wood rack was made for me by Donna Menke.  

I am now semi-content to watch YouTube videos of asian women "homesteading" and selling at farmers markets:

https://wmckemie.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-worlds-sexiest-woman.html

Lithium Mowers

 Right now, this is mostly for my own future reference.

For five+ years, I've been using two models of Black and Decker 40v mowers with good results.  Though the batteries are much shorter lived than they should be.

About 2019, I bought a very pricey 18hp Kubota diesel mower with belly mower and front end loader.  Though useful for many tasks, I have not been happy with it.  May expound on this later.

About 2020, I bought a 38" Ryobi rider which I thought had a lithium battery.  Bad on me for poor shopping; it had 4 75ah AGM 12v lead batteries.  Which were just crap.  The Ryobi has quite a few other problems that make it unreliable.  The blades are WAYto easy to bend.   If you hit a mound of dirt while mowing and a blade hits the dirt in the right way, the blade digs in, stalls, and the momentum of the mower may cause the blade to bend double.  Also, the blades tend to slip on the motor shaft.   After ~10 applications, the tires finally have enough sealant to not go flat very often.

When it became clear that the Ryobi was going to spend long periods of time waiting for repair, I bought a VERY pricey 42" Cub Cadet Zero Turn Radius 48v lithium mower.  I think it was about $4k.  The Ryobi was about $3k.  That was "out of the frying pan and into the fire".  I have never had a more troublesome lithium powered vehicle.  The mower refused to charge at all when temperatures are above about 95 deg F.  I fear the battery did not survive our ~20 deg winter temperatures; it has not run this year.

Both Cub Cadet and Ryobi provide TERRIBLE customer service.  When in warranty, Ryobi seems to provide service out of Dallas.  Tractor Supply sells Cub Cadet but they know nothing of getting repairs done.

The Ryobi is back in service after about two years or so of very intermittent service.  I had four 12v lithium batteries (100+ ah Valence brand) installed and I first used it today, 5/11/2023.  It has an hour meter which read 130 after the battery swap.  First use was an hour or so and it worked ok though mow quality is poor.  In high grass, you can not go slow enough to get an even cut across the width.  That, due to having two blades that do not overlap; three blade mowers are unlikely to have that problem.  The lithium battery gives a mowing time of around two hours and has MUCH better power.  The blade motors are much more resistant to stalling.  With the lead battery, one would stall a blade, have to back up, and toggle power to blades.  Very tedious mowing.

Since reviews (wish I had done more research before buying) say the lead battery is unlikely to last more than a year.  Mine had less than one year worth of use.  That was NOT a case of running the battery all the way down between charges; I very rarely ran it below 50%.  That was the indication given by the very crappy state of charge display.  Ryobi seems to believe that $600 worth of battery each and every year is reasonable.  That reminds me of Nissan.  Nissan swears up and down that about 20k miles on a Leaf battery is "normal" and not subject to warranty replacement.

Another Hog Catch

 My trapper caught a largish sow and SIX small pigs in a single catch.

Of course you can not tell from the above low resolution photo, but there were only THREE pigs when it came time to load into transport trailer.   Only one of the pigs is clearing visible in the transport trailer.  Three had escaped through the "hog panel" wire of the trap.  The transport trailer in the photo was made from hog wire with slightly smaller openings.  So, four hogs left my place yesterday.  

This "escape from the trap" is a fairly common problem.  Some people subscribe to the idea that the hog meat from hog control efforts should be put to good use.  My trapper is one such.  Even though it seems fairly obvious (to me) that hogs, once caught, should NOT survive capture.  Escaping a trap makes then more wary about getting caught again.  Therefore adding to the enormous hog problem that we have.  I have no compunction about shooting the hogs in the traps even if it means the meat will eventually rot.

As I was taking the photo, I asked my trapper if he carried a pistol; the answer was "yes".  But he feels obligated to put the hog meat to use.  When he discovered the trap with the seven hogs, around ten more were milling about in the area.  So, out of a group of perhaps 17 hogs, we removed only four.  At least three of those 15 survivors are now trained to be more difficult to catch; perhaps the other 12 that did not spend time in the trap also received some training.

More serious trappers video monitor traps and the gates are dropped remotely when the group in the trap seems to have reached a maximum.  Further, they are highly likely to shoot those caught while they are still in the trap.  Of course that strategy results in having to manually load dead hogs on to a trailer and then having some risk of the meat deteriorating between the time of death and refrigeration of the meat.  Commercial slaughter houses accept only live animals for processing. 

The World's Sexiest Woman

 An alternate title: "A Challenge to YouTube Viewing Stamina".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgMSjAHIV1w&t=3720s

A video from "Green Forest Farm" YT channel.  A few uncertainties.  She makes mortar from portland cement and something that looks like high organic material dug at a certain place.  I guess it is just dirty looking sand.  Note the livestock protection enclosures.  Stronger and more stable than straight wall enclosures.  I wonder how she developed her expertise at such a young age?  Does she have a "behind the camera"mentor?  I wonder the setting.  Somewhere in IndoChina, I imagine.  This video makes me wish we had access to large bamboo. Our local bamboo is small and offers to cut up whoever tries to use it.

One of my first reactions, after watching her pedel her products at a market, was "that girl needs a pick up truck".  But I quickly realized that such affluence would mean a poorer quality lifestyle.

I thought the above showed construction of the water wheel; it does not.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Bb1gNQdx8

The construction of the water wheel was the most interesting (not to mention astonishing) part.  I suggest you find and view at least that portion.  Maybe flooding is not a big risk on that river.  A flood would almost certainly sweep the whole thing away.

After watching numerous videos provided on the "Primitive Tool" YT channel.  That channel, also, is well worth viewing.  I've seen indications that the Primitive Tool guy lives in northern (hot, sparse population, desertic) Australia.  But, his "actors" also seem Cambodian or similar.  The PT guy also seems to use much more primitive tools and strategies than the GFF.  PT seems to use wood pegs and bamboo lashings instead of nails, screws, and wire used by GFF.

I want bamboo!  I suspect that the three native varieties in North America are a "slicing hazard".  One must use sturdy gloves when handling.  I HOPE that is not a hazard with asian varieties.  In addition, the American native varieties are much smaller than the depicted asian bamboos.  I found a Florida nursery that offers "Emerald" which makes the large canes seen on YTs.  It is supposed to go down to about 15 deg.  The problem is that a ~$35 specimen costs more than $20 to ship.  More shopping is indicated.

https://bambooplantsonline.com/products/emerald-bamboo-bambusa-textilis-mutabulis-clumping-hedge-bamboo

Like most of my blog posts, I grow weary before I said everything that I think needs to be said. 

5/13/2023

I ended up planting two each of two bamboo varieties.  One of each variety near the travel trailer where I can easily keep and eye on them and the other two in a more obscure location where there is acidic soil.  The varieties are "Golden Hedge" Bambusa Alphonse Karr and "Blue Timber Clumping Bambusa" Bambusa Chungii.

More Windmill Tilting

 Here, I intend to discuss how badly we have screwed up by not using heat pumps when installing central air conditioning units.

Since about the 1970s, I think when heat pumps became available.  If "heat pump" does not mean much to you, think "reversible air conditioners".

Early "reversible air conditioners" did a relatively poor job of heating.  That, because the "heated space temperature" and outside air temperature difference can be only about 30-40 deg F.  With outside air temperatures around 40 deg, heated air can be no higher than about 70-80 deg.  More modern heat pumps, since about 2010-2015, can produce sufficient heat with outside air temperatures as low, or lower than, about 20 deg.  "Northern" heat pumps can go as low as about -20 deg but have higher costs than our modern "Southern" heat pumps that go down to 0-20 deg.

Heat pumps can be used instead of air conditioners (only) for an additional cost of $500-$1000.  Most of the heating hardware is present on "only cooling heat pumps".    Even old style heat pumps can produce the needed heat for outside air temperatures as low as about 40 deg.  And produce that heat FAR cheaper than the "normal" heating home heating system.

Why are modern heat pumps so desirable now for both heating and cooling?  The smaller the temperature increase desired, the less power/energy a heat pump needs to reach that temperature.  Heat pumps are most efficient when the differential is ~30 deg (+/-).   A heat pump CAN be the sole source of heat even at much greater differentials.  Overall, heat pumps are almost certain to be more  cost efficient than resistive or combustion heating.  That is even when the heat pump is operating at large differentials because those periods are short compared to the periods when heat pumps are operating more cost effectively.  A ground source heat pump can produce needed heat cost effectively in all climates and temperatures.

I've been speaking of "air source heat pumps" rather than "ground source heat pumps".  Traditionally, ground source has been considered prohibitively expensive in The South because of the expense of reaching the ~70 deg temperatures that are below ~100 feet in our area.

If The Boring Company can tunnel much more cheaply than other digging options, they could create under ground plenum chambers that could supply whole neighborhoods with ground temperature air for direct heating and cooling or as a "ground source" for heat pumps.  In this (central Texas) area, the ground temperature 100-200' deep is about 70 deg year round.  Additionally, here around Dale, the digging is easy; rocks are fairly rare.   Someone might estimate how large a cavity is needed to supply a house with ground temperature air.

For decades I've contemplated how ground water (from a well) might be used for a ground source heat pump.  I'm sure it can be done much more cheaply than boring holes dedicated to the function.  BUT, there are leakage and corrosion problems that need to be anticipated.  The problem is that apparently no one has applied themselves to the problem; all the ground source installers want to sell the expensive excavations.  In The South, I don't believe such expense can be justified.  OTOH, I've estimated that well water costs about $.10/1000gal to produce.  That is a result of my time irrigating many acres from wells.  That cost included power, water well installation costs, etc in the 1970s-1980s.  We are in a aquifer recharge zone; that means that any water put on the ground eventually finds it's way down to the aquifer rather than running off to the Gulf of Mexico.  That is, no second well to put water back into the ground is needed. 

I'm not finished with this.

Good mini split article

 https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/02/set-it-forget-it-how-heat-pumps-resolved-a-long-term-marital-dispute/

You will find a comment from me on what is missing from the story.

I have not yet followed this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcwIz6heDss

The above is WELL worth watching!  About 1.5 hours.  A very significant "take away" is that southern air conditioners are "over sized" because the cooling demand is much greater than the heat demand.  The charts indicate that most of our air conditioners could also serve as heaters for outside temperatures down around 20-30 deg F.  We would be far better off if the air conditioners were sold as "heat pumps", able to produce needed heat under most conditions.  Instead, the "low cost path" has us burning natural gas or electricity at all times that heat is needed.  Another take away might be that heat pump heating becomes more expensive than petroleum burning or electric resistive heating at some point of temperature.  On average, the heat pump is almost certainly cheaper due to the few hours that are spent at those inefficient hours.  In Caribou Maine, the cross over points are -2 and -9 deg  (for propane and natural gas, respectively) both give great heat pump savings over entire winter because few hours are spent below those cross over points.  In Texas, an air conditioner that works for heat also should serve as a heat source under most to all conditions; that is, in part, because our air conditioners must be sized (over sized) for our hot summers.  Another take way might mean that Menkes should run their heat pump more since "always on" instead of daily thermostat adjustments is cheaper to operate.  They seem not to discuss the value of dehumidifying with a heat pump as I have recently discussed. 

Take away from Q&A session:  A heat pump gives better "bang for buck" than insulation and air sealing.  That is in opposition to "conventional wisdom".  Recommendation is do heat pump first, then insulation/filtration remedies.  At least, that is the case in Maine.

Advertised numbers/ratings indicate that the smaller mini spits are more efficient than the larger units.  That was a factor in my selection of units.  Those numbers/ratings may or may not be accurate.

4/16/23

Here is an excellent blog post case study of conversion to heat pumps:

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/16/our-cleveland-duplex-case-study-the-all-electric-side-saves-money-compared-to-the-gas-side/

Note that the heat pump installed was a low-end, low efficiency, unit that is 
"ducted" rather than a mini-split.  The overall efficiency rating (for both heat and cool) is SEER 16.  My Diamond units are in the range of SEER 22-25.  I don't know the heating efficiency rating on my units.  The Cleveland study unit is HSPF 10.  Note that my installation is very much "zoned"; the ducted units do not lend themselves to zoning.  "Zoning" meaning using heat/cooling only in occupied space.  My house has a small (9k BTU/Hr) in the bedroom; it is used only at night.  The two daytime living area units (9k and 18k) are used either one at a time or both and rarely at night.

 

YouTube Addiction

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EINsmLR-4k