Nigerian Elections 2b

So it is past 12 noon now. Precisely 12:10 and there are way more people out here now than when the accreditation took place in the morning. The sun is also up there are a few canopy stands around. Someone just brought 2 crates of soft drinks for people to use.
The voting is yet to start but people are hanging around in groups and discussing issues as it comes to mind but so far nothing on the election or the candidates.
Heard the voting will start by 12:30 so I will continue after then.
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Nigerian Elections 2

I am live at the polling station today April 16, 2011. The population here so far is very limited and it looks like people are taking their time to come out I guess this is based on their experience from the last exercise.
When I got here, I saw people seated and waiting for the process to start. After about 5mins, the electoral officer i.e. one of the NYSC personnel announced that those who were unable to vote the previous week should move to one line while those that did should move to the other line. Well I happen to have one of the voter's cards that was at fault. So I went to the 1st line.
I learn't that the names that were not on the list were those that the data capturing machine did not capture the fingerprints properly or the information was not printed on the card.
I have been accredited and I will now wait for the voting which will commence by 12pm.
I will continue during the next section.
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Inverters and the Hype Part 2

At the end of my last post on inverter and the hype, I commented about the fact that I did not understand why my batteries failed on my way before the recommended end of life advertised.

Well, between then and now, I had to review my batteries and the arrangement I had again and I realized that there is way much more to understand about the inverter arrangement.

Using my old setup as example, I will again explain what I discovered and how to make sure it does not happen to you.

When I got the system setup, I read through the attached materials as many times as I could hoping to pick out one interesting tip or trick that will give me an extended experience with my inverter but I found nothing. I read that I should charge my batteries that I will get an alarm when my battery is low and once I recharge, the battery will be ready to discharge again. Simple!

So I thought, with batteries and with a lot of other things, the more you discharge or overload the battery or the system, the faster you deplete its ability to deliver at the optimum capability.

One assumption I made when I read the manual is what really killed my batteries.

I read that the alarm came up when the battery charge was low and the inverter is shut down to protect the batteries. I assumed that the shutdown point was safe for the batteries but I was very wrong.

You see, with battery especially 12V types, you really don't want to consistently deplete your battery below the 12V threshold. That may sound strange but that in my opinion is the difference between long life and short life for your batteries.

When your battery is fully charged, it may retain voltage levels up to 13.6V which is not easily depleted. When this is used in conjunction with other batteries in a series or parallel systems, there is a nominal voltage value that is higher than the typical value when not fully charged. As an example, if there are 2 batteries in series and both are charged to 13.6V, it means the sum of the available voltage will be 27.2V against 24V.

This means that you can deplete your battery from 27V to 24V then start the recharge.

This ensures that the battery cells are not overwhelmed and can function for longer giving you a better battery experience.

What I discovered is that my inverter was set to deplete my reserve to 10V before the system is shutdown. This means I was flogging the battery badly and it failed when the cells could no longer survive the torture.

If the recharge is done with value at 12V minimum, the batteries most likely will last longer.

Have a wonderful time enjoying your inverter system.

Nigerian Elections 2011

Election Day 1

Since the election was rescheduled for this week a week ago, the polity has been engrossed in the process of discussions about what happened, what will happen and what could have happened.

Across the country, whenever you find a group of people talking, it mostly a discussion about who will win, who will not win and who might have a chance in the upcoming election. Also, the ability of the ruling party in the particular state and the nation to retain its seats in the houses also has not left the discussion trend.

Now on Saturday 9 April 2011, the election finally took place in the various wards and polling centers that the electoral commission, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given the go ahead to hold the election. It has been reported that people came out to exercise their franchise and follow through with the process of accreditation and voting. Most people saw their names on the register that was posted at their polling station, some did not but overall, there seems to be a general perception that the process was transparent and credible.

The results are still coming in, some are coming as a shock and others are not so surprising. Some sitting politicians have lost their positions where the result has been declared but generally most people are still waiting for the results to be announced by INEC.

It is the hope of your agent that the process will be the beginning of a good future for the country. That this write up will be outdated and the level of understanding of the process would be much greater than this when time has taken its effect on this document.

After 12 years of the ruling PDP, it seems the polity is sensing that we are finally getting it right in the political sphere. It then becomes more imperative that those who have won seats in this election more that ever now owe their allegiance to the electorate to deliver on their electoral promises and be transparent in their dealings so that the feeble structure that is being setup stands the test of time.

Next week is the presidential election; it will be a good time to observe the performance of the candidates as the results unfold.

See you next week.