But now, like so many areas of our lives, I have to deal with a huge array of batteries--not only more sizes than I can possibly ever keep track of, but a variety of materials that are in them--alkaline, lithium, valium, and dozens and dozens more.
Vicky and I have a pretty clear division of labor on our road trip (and even at home). Clear divisions of labor have the benefit of getting everything done without hassle.
One of my jobs is to deal with batteries. Seriously. The job is so big that it actually goes into our informal division-of-labor list.
One of our first additions to the camper was to have a second battery installed in it. It is a "deep cell" battery, which is different from a "dry cell" battery that usually goes into a car. I monitor these batteries on a daily basis, to make sure the solar panel charges them adequately.
There are different kinds and types of batteries and chargers for our three cameras, different batteries and types of batteries for our hiking GPS units, batteries and chargers for our GoPro unit, batteries in the computer and in the ipad, batteries for our bicycle lights and GPS, batteries in our headlamps and in the various other types of electronic gear we carry (like cell phones, the smoke alarm, electric toothbrushes, the camper jacks control unit, the sound machine we use to drown out the sound of yapping dogs, the flushing mechanism on the portable toilet, etc.). At least 15 different types of batteries, most with different methods of charging (and, of course, some electronic devices don't work well with rechargeable batteries so the batteries have to be replaced frequently).
We have three containers, each about a gallon in volume, for batteries, chargers, and cords. I have to recharge everything using completely different set-ups when we are in a full-service campground that has electricity versus when we are in areas where our only source of electricity is the sun. Every night when we camp I go through my mental list of batteries and decide which to charge when. It is as constant a need as is food.
When we returned home for our short January visit there were even more batteries to deal with--this time, with the Prius and with the wine bottle opener.
The Prius wouldn't start. In the good old days when your car's battery had run down, you'd just plug in the battery charger, and by next morning the car would be ready to go. Not so with the Prius. The Prius has two batteries--one is a monster that is hidden deep within the back seat that provides the storage and energy to drive the car. The other, much smaller (actually about the size of those toy batteries I mentioned at the beginning), is next to the spare tire in the back end and runs the computer that tells the big battery to make the car go.
The little one had run down. Not surprising since the car had sat for a long time with no use. I went ahead and got out the battery charger anyway, pretending it was a normal car, attached the cables to the battery, and flipped the switch to turn it on. The car immediately lit up like a Christmas tree, with every interior and exterior light flashing like crazy, and the burglar alarm started screeching. Oh great.
After fussing with it for awhile, what I did was as soon as the lights started blinking on and off and the burglar alarm started screeching, I tried starting the car. Pure dumb luck, but it started! The little battery that ran down doesn't need to crank a starter motor like in a normal car. It just needs to send a signal to big battery to start the car. And the little battery isn't recharged with an alternator, like in a normal car. Instead, it is recharged by the big battery. So I drove around for awhile to charge up the big battery, then let the car just sit for a couple of hours so the big battery could charge the little battery, and everything was a go. I felt so clever.
So I thought I'd celebrate by opening a bottle of wine and having a glass to toast my cleverness. Well, not so fast, Mr. Clever: This meant I had to deal with another battery--the one in the electric wine bottle opener. We had left it unplugged while we were gone, so it had no charge in it when we returned home. It charges slowly, and I wanted wine RIGHT THEN. Because I had been so clever and deserved it RIGHT THEN.
Our other bottle opener is in the pickup, in Mesa, and that was too far to drive to retrieve it, even for wine. And I couldn't just hop in the car and run to the store for a box of wine, which you'd know if you had actually read the blog above instead of just skimming it LIKE I KNOW YOU DID!
Being handy, and desperate (and remember, clever), I just twisted the opener so the screw went into the cork, held the bottle between my feet, bent over, and pulled on the opener. Just like they do in 5-star restaurants. It popped right out!
Problem solved!
Oh........now how do I get the cork out of the opener? You need to use the electric motor to do that. And the electric motor won't charge with the cork in it. Will this end up being the most expensive bottle of wine I have ever drunk? Now, what are you going to do Mr. Clever?
So I had to completely dismantle the opener.
I got the cork out, finally got it back together, and it is recharging. I didn't ruin it. And, I only spent about two hours on the whole process. What else is life for?
(see the yellow thing? that's the battery)
Does the brain's capacity just expand to deal with all of the types of batteries, chargers, and charging methods that we now have to deal with? Was there always a dormant "deal-with-batteries" area of my brain that in recent years I have simply just activated? Or does my brain need to steal from a part that was always working reasonably well to now deal with batteries? Is that why I can't remember my children's names?
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