Alternate Power Scheme Ready For Rollout

After months of work and some worry, I think we're finally ready to actually put the generator under load. We got the generator rehabbed with a new battery (for the electric start), the cable from the generator to the power panel has been completed and is hooked up, and finally, we have functional diagrams of 1) the upstairs power panel, which controls everything electrical for the upstairs, and 2) the downstairs main transfer panel, which controls everything downstairs and outside and handles the feed from Belize Electric, Ltd. (BEL), or from the generator, depending on how the transfer switch is thrown.

I mentioned the electric start, a nice feature to be sure, but while the battery was inoperative, the generator, for as big as it is, was very easy to start. One or two pulls was usually enough to get it to come to life.

Here's the generator in its cage, showing the cable connecting it to the power panels, which are actually located in the utility or laundry room.

Generator Just Rarin' To Go

Just figuring out what each breaker did was a major effort. We had great help from Doug and Twyla. Without them, I think Dianna and I would still be trying to figure out the wiring. Of course, like many houses I've seen everywhere, the power panels had no descriptions saying what a particular breaker controlled. We do now.

The Generator Locked In Its Cage

The diagram below is a compilation of those descriptions and the process to switch from BEL to generator power. It's really fairly simple. It just needs to occur in a certain way to make sure the load is balanced for the generator when it comes on line and conversely, when shutting down the generator to go back on BEL current, to make sure the generator is shut off before switching back.

Our House Generator Transfer Diagram

The Basement Tapes

Oh, wait. That was Bob Dylan and the Band...

This is something different. It's our ground floor. We tend to think of it as the basement, so that's where the confusion came from.

I need to apologize for the delay on posting. I rebuilt my hard drive since it was getting really slow. I mean 3-4 minutes or more to boot up. So, after I got my 1TB hard drive, I used my backup software (you do backup yours, don't you?) and then reformatted my PCs hard drive. Wow! What a difference. A pain to do, and it took the better part of a week, but well worth it.

But first, a digression. I was walking over to the canal a couple of days ago and saw this pretty little flower. As far as I know, it's just a common weed - but, with a really pretty flower. Probably deadly if you touch it or something.

Tiny, But Pretty

The generator room is coming along. I had been looking for a place to house it (a 5.6Kw gasoline genset). They're very loud and very stinky, but necessary down here. Anyway, this location kind of spoke for itself.

It's close to the house, but isolated, and in it's own room, the generator will be relatively quiet. The exhaust smell shouldn't bother us at all as the wind generally blows east to west, so this is on the far west end of the house.

Cindy Showing off the Generator Pad

Walls Going Up

Showing Vent Blocks

Transitioning from the Generator Room to the rest of the basement (ok, ground floor) is a breezeway. This shows part of the west breezeway with the door into the main area.

West Breezeway

Just so you remember, here's a shot of the house with the basement just underway. The floor has just been cast. Looks kinda empty now.

The Way It Was

Casting a beam over each door way, well actually, the whole end at each end needed a beam cast. Complete with rebar. complicated business this construction stuff.

Casting the East Beam

Casting Bucket by Bucket

Nice Pic of the Beam Form

Here's some shots of the main room of the basement. Soon to come will be the louvered windows and plastering the walls. We're going to tile the floors of the main room so that will be something to look forward too.

Views of the Main Room

Views of the Main Room

More Views of the Main Room

Yet Another View of the Main Room

Francisco and Abraham Talking

Did anyone notice anything unusual about Abraham in the picture above? How about the soft cast on his forearm? Let me tell you, Easter celebrations down here can be downright dangerous. Abraham will tell you, it was the last fight of a boxing tourney, when he broke his wrist... Reality says it was when he whacked his wrist with a stick on Easter morning. Not quite as exciting.

I thought it might help to see what the view out of each window is like. Here's five shots showing just that.

A Window Shot

Window and Doorway Shot

As work on the basement goes on, Cody's project with the curbing is continuing. It's almost done. Then we'll bring in lots of black dirt for the planting beds, then finish it all off with white crushed gravel in the driveway/walkway areas, with some 1" white gravel on top to keep the crushed gravel from sticking to your shoes during the rainy season. It will be so nice to stop tracking mud and dust into the house.

Cody Prepping Curb Form

The Long and Winding Curb

The backside of the house, the part that backs up against the septic drain field/garden, is somewhat junky right now. After construction is done, Cody will clean it all up and put in a good layer of gravel to keep it pristine. I'm thinking of putting in some sort of stairs over the drain pipe (for the clothes washer and deep sink) that is in the middle. Right now, it's kind of an obstacle. Unfortunately, there's no other way to run the drain to get it into the septic tank.

Back of Beyond - 1

Back of Beyond - 2

Here's a couple of views showing the new walls getting near to being done. It really changes the way the house looks. Makes it appear much more substantial than before. I like it.

New Walls

New Walls

We started with a tiny little flower. Now, we're going to end with a really large ant. I don't know what kind this is. I thought it was an army ant (you can usually tell by the helmet, rifle and dog-tags), but now I'm not so sure. It's unusual to see just one of them, unless maybe he was on a recce (as the Brits call recon) patrol.

Big Ant, Big Ant

This morning, the last of March, I had to run to Dept. of Transport and renew my vehicle registration. Of course, they didn't have any stickers for the windscreen (mandatory to have that piece displayed) so, I have to come back Thursday to pick up the sticker. Hey, it's Belize, Mon!

And, since it was a Monday, I only made three separate trips this morning to Gomez, for 1) 10 bags of cement, 2) 3 lengths of rebar or steel, and 3) 3 more bags of cement and a 4x8 sheet of celotex (Masonite). But that's not all, I also went to Majil's Block Factory and got 24 vent blocks for the generator room.

I still need to go to Vasquez Windows and Doors this afternoon to get an estimate for the six windows for the basement. Ah, Mondays. What would we do without them?