{"id":24796,"date":"2022-07-22T09:18:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T07:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=24796"},"modified":"2022-07-27T10:17:22","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T08:17:22","slug":"wilderness-adventure-in-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/22\/wilderness-adventure-in-montana\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilderness adventure in Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this blog let\u2019s hear straight from Montana-based Victron distributor Intelligent Controls<\/a>, about a recent system installation<\/span> for an adventure Lodge which regularly accommodates up to forty guests \u2013 in the wilderness \u2013 with all the comforts of home!<\/p>\n

All year round and in every kind of weather, Sugar Loaf Lodge & Cabins<\/a> provides a comfortable respite for hikers, bikers, fishermen, snowmobilers, and even kite skiers seeking adventure in Montana’s Anaconda Pintler Wilderness area.

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“The Continental Divide Trail is about a mile from here“<\/em>; say owners Jay and Monica Winfield. “Some of our guests have hiked for a few weeks and will stay the night to get a hot shower and restock with items they’ve mailed to us before continuing their journey.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cabins were built in stages, starting in 2002. Fifteen miles from the nearest town, there were no roads or existing infrastructure at the time. Today, the complex includes five cabins ranging from small, rustic cabins that sleep four people and a small kitchen to larger cabins that sleep 16 and include four showers, four toilets, and a full commercial kitchen.

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Weather in Montana is unpredictable, and when running a small business at 7,000 feet and in a location where it snows every month of the year, reliable power is not a luxury. It’s a necessity. “When our cabins are full for a wedding or corporate event, there are upwards of 40 people staying on the property. That means every light, refrigerator, toaster, curling iron, and water pump for the showers needs to run.”

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As batteries age, they become inefficient and take more power and time to charge. This past winter, Sugar Loaf’s AGM battery bank and inverter system first installed in the mid-2000s started to fail: long and frequent generator run times, poor solar performance, and low battery voltage under heavy loads were causing havoc. The transfer relays were suspect on the inverters, and the batteries were starting to heat up excessively\u2014all bad news.<\/p>\n

To charge these worn-out batteries, excessive absorption and float times were needed from the inverter. The sun is a rare commodity here in the winter, resulting in long generator run times. “We were wearing out generators at an alarming rate and racking up an unacceptable propane bill,” says Jay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe system was not only failing. It was also literally running blind,\u201d says long-time friend, Dustin Donaldson. \u201cNo insight into power consumption. No indication of why the generator was running so often. We wanted to not only fix the system, but to partner with Intelligent Controls to implement a much more intelligent, higher-capacity system that is able to accommodate future growth of the business.\u201d

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Working with Victron distributor Intelligent Controls<\/a>, the Sugar Loaf team designed a system that would more than triple the nameplate capacity of the battery bank and double the output and charging potential of the Inverter\/Charger, all while reducing generator run time and saving money on propane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The system includes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n