My fall last weekend is causing more problems than I thought. Marcela and her Mum, kindly took the dogs for their daily walks for four days, then it was time for me to get back in the harness, but so far, I certainly can’t walk as far as previously, which is disappointing.
However I have been doing some work around the house and garden, albeit, I suffer afterwards.
Yesterday was interesting, Marcela and her Mum were out at the Gym, and we had two powercuts, on both occasions, the solar backup didn’t automatically cut in, I had to go to the battery bank in my workshop and fiddle with the cables, sending showers of sparks in every direction, which is not what you want when the place is covered in wood dust, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, as I do clean up, but it’s still a hazard.
Later I was using a high powered tool and the solar turned off, I went into the workshop, and the cables were red hot, definitely not right! When Marcela returned, I asked her to phone our Electrician for an Emergency call out, he said he would be with us later, true to his word, he arrived about 4pm, we tried to start the system again, and one of the battery terminals was glowing red, an explosion risk. On closer inspection Silva (Electrician), found that the terminals had never been properly secured, they had been like that since installation, I had never tested the bolts, because I didn’t know how to isolate the batteries, and wasn’t keen on frying myself. All the bolts tightened, and for now it appears to be working fine.
I now had all the parts from Amazon to install the generator connection directly to the house system, Silva confirmed they were all correct, and rather than come back again, he asked if he could continue working and install the connection, he had no argument from us!
I think he thought the installation would be plain sailing, unfortunately, like every job related to me, that was not going to be the case. The problem we have is that the overall electrical installation is not straightforward, the power originally went from the meter in the road, to the Cabaña/Apartment, where there is a breaker panel, and then continued to the main house to another panel. When the Solar system was installed, that was diverted, from the road, to the solar Inverter, then to the consumer panels, therefore if the solar inverter is not working, no mains power can get through, with a couple of exceptions, we won’t talk about! Silva was trying to get the Generator connection to override only to the mains power, leaving solar running but that wasn’t going to work. At 8pm he and I had a conversation, which we should have had at the outset.
I wanted a triple system, the main power from Public Utilities, with back up from solar, and when the batteries are flat, leaving us with no power, close off that system, and turn on the Generator, that way, we are not using Petrol unnecessarily, which with the forever rising price, is not what we want. Once Silva realised that, he had all the wires disconnected and reconnected in half an hour. By this time, I was nearly crippled, because it was pitch black, I was the torch holder and Goffer, my back and side were killing me, so was glad when it was finished.
At 9pm Silva packed up and left, having only charged me £57 for five hours work, and a call out about ten days ago, I couldn’t believe it, so gave him a decent tip on top. We then cleaned up, and went to bed, in my case, not only exhausted, but aching from head to toe.
So from a power point of view, I think we have most options covered

Starting with Public Utilities, going on to the solar Inverter

Finally, the Connection from the Generator to the first Consumer panel, so that the power to the road can be shut off, and not electrocute anyone.

That only leaves wind power, which I think we will give a miss for now!
Finally, I have my appointment for the two biopsies on my back for skin cancer, in ten days, at 8am, so it will be an early rise, I am not concerned, the Dermatologist said it is just to remove them before they take a hold, hopefully that’s the case, but as you know by now, skin cancer was my fault, from my years living in Spain, it’s just something I now accept.
I’m trying to get as much done health wise, as possible, before the new system comes in, and I no longer have the option go direct to Specialists by paying extra, when that comes in, I think I will be able to say goodbye to any further procedures, unless we can go privately, in case that will be possible, I have started putting money aside each month, unfortunately for me, it’s far too late to think about Private Health Insurance, I have too many existing ailments.
As if the proposed changes in the operation of the Health System weren’t enough, the current political turmoil is making those changes even more difficult, because we have no idea where this will lead.
I now have to pluck up courage, to do one of my least favourite jobs about the house, painting, I bought 5 gallons of white paint the other day, I think I’ll have to take out a mortgage to pay for it, now it’s a case of working my way around the house, but first, I need to clean the walls in the kitchen, and I hate ladders / steps, so it won’t be a quick job. I could pay someone to do the work, but in Colombia, my experience of paying people to do painting, hasn’t been the best decision, everyone of them has managed to get paint on the wooden ceilings, and make a mess, I rather take my time, and do it myself.
I think just about brings me up to date, so I’ll go and finish tidying up, after yesterdays work.