One month until weigh-in

Remember back in January I mentioned our weight loss program at work, well it is only about a month until our weigh-in. In January I weighed 238lbs. and I must say I haven't tried very hard and now weigh 227lbs., but I had a little spell with my blood sugar last week and now am determined to eat better and shed another 27lbs.
I still want to be around 200lbs. before I retire but will not make that goal by our weigh-in. My 10% goal (214) will require another 13 lbs. this month. Not likely, but it is doable. My main goal is to keep my blood sugar in the normal range.

While there has been hundreds of books written about 12 volt dc power and I own a couple of the popular ones used by rvers.

















For a complete overview of this subject it is hard to beat Mark Neweth's two part article. http://bart.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm While equipment and gadgets change, the basic theory will stay the same.



For solar charging theory and what works (I always like to look at real world working applications from people not trying to sell you anything), try reading what Bob has to say on the subject.





http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/solar-power-that-works/

I failed to link to the manuals about my 2025rv meter.
Users manual:
http://www.bogartengineering.com/TM2025%20Users%20Instructions.pdf


Installation manuals:
http://www.bogartengineering.com/TM-2025Install%20Instructions.pdf

Just to confuse you even more try reading all of Phred's Poop Sheets:

http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html

Tri Metric 2025RV meter

What the heck is a TriMetric 2025rv meter? The simply answer is to call it your fuel gauge for you batteries. The fuel in your batteries is measured in reserve amp hours and the 2025rv meter keeps track of them just like your gas gauge in your car. Use some amps out of your batteries and put some back in by charging them and you will always know to total with this meter.

There are numerous web sights that explain the technicals so I will just do a broad overview.

It is easy to shorten the life of your batteries by using more than 50% of the amps in them. If you have a reserve of 200 amps hours then use less than 100 amps before recharging them, even less is better.

The 2025rv meter by Bogart Engineering is a newer and improved version of their 2020 meter. It has its own housing that will blend right in with my furnace and Fantastic Fan thermostat housings.

It has built in lightning protection and several other features that make it more desirable.

As always, I researched online and found the users manual (had to make sure it would do what I wanted) and installation manual (see if I could install it) before placing my order.

While this meter neither makes or dispenses 12 volt electricity, it is still money well spent (about $200 for meter, shunt, and wiring) if you are planning to camp without hookups and run off your batteries.

Imagine driving a car with no gas gauge and not knowing the last time any was put in the tank.