Generator woes

Right in the middle of a crazy busy few weeks, the big generator broke down last Monday. We had just finished running a load of laundry through the washer and dryer, when the engine kept running but the lights in the house suddenly started going on and off. Tom ran down and unhooked everything and turned it off, but because we were done the laundry and we had about a gazillion things to do with our guests, and because we can use the small generator for charging batteries and running lights and the satellite, he didn’t get time to take a look at it again until yesterday. It was raining yesterday morning – it’s been raining all week – but Selwyn, who has been working hard and who is suffering from a mild case of the flu, dragged his butt to work because he knew Tom was planning to get the big generator out of its hut and take a look at it, and although it has wheels, it takes at least two men to carry/drag it over the rocky ground from the hut to the porch of the shop. The two of them wrestled it into the shop, and then Tom took Selwyn home.

When he returned from San Antonio, Tom took a look at it but couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t generating power. At lunchtime, he took the cell phone up the hill to call Elvis – a very good electrician in San Ignacio, not the late singer. Neither of us has gone that far over the deep end yet. Elvis said that if Tom could bring it in, Elvis could take a look at it. So, Tom and I wrestled it up some hardwood ramps and into the back of the new truck, and Tom took off through the pouring rain to San Ignacio. He came home with not-so-good news; the motor needs to be rewound (whatever that means) so he has to take some part to Spanish Lookout on Monday to be drilled out, and then Elvis will rewind it. We’re not sure when it will be done – hopefully sooner rather than later – but until then we’re hoping we don’t have too many guests so we don’t have to do any laundry, and we’re hoping we get enough water pressure from the pipe to fill the tank on top of the hill, because we don’t think the little generator will run the water pump. Keep your fingers crossed for us!