POWER PROBLEMS

Apr. 13, 2011---Learned something about inverters. Boat Work mechanic explained the inverter will not operate if the house battery voltage is below 9 volts. Apparently over winter the batteries went dead. He connected an external charger. While waiting for the batteries to charge we ran a water hose through the window so Maryann could do a little cleanup in the galley. Getting reacquainted with storage areas is always entertaining as we find places to put all the things we hauled from home. Seemed like a lot, but certainly not as much as previous years. We have learned what is really important to have on the boat. There is a balance between comfort and excess. Boat Work Mechanic (Jeff) performed what he calls the summerization service. He checked out the engines and got them all started. House batteries now above 9 volts. Turned on the inverter. Low & behold it began to function! Thought power problems were over as electric equipment began to operate. Water pump now working, so Jeff purged the fresh water system to remove the antifreeze treatment. Keith & I installed new filters in our water system, put salt in the softner and then filled the fresh water tank. Next step was TV. No signal from the boxes. Keith had to call to get them reactivated. Even though the bill has been paid every month the service is shut off when there is extended lack of usage. Inverter panel shows house batteries to be fully charged. Should be good for 2 or 3 hours. However when external power is shut off the control board immediately goes dead. Learned about this problem when power was disconnected from shore. We drove the boat from in front of the travel lift directly across to a slip where the transient boaters park. TV and internet----life is good.