Mailing List

Testing and Replacing Blue Sea Battery Fuses

July 11, 2018

Blue Sea Battery Fuses are used in the BAT048 Battery Combiner Box and other applications. Determining if a fuse is blown can be difficult. Determining if a fuse is blown in the BAT048 Battery Combiner Box: If only one or two fuses are blown, only the batteries connected through the blown fuses will be disconnected. […]

Outback Charge Controller Data Logging

August 29, 2016

The Outback FM80 / FM60 series charge controllers keep a 128 day running log of many different voltages, wattages and times. This information can be useful in troubleshooting problems, monitoring the status of solar electric systems, and determining system battery status. Data Logging can be thought of like a 128 day history of the charge […]

How Shading Affects PV Solar Panels

June 23, 2016

When installing PV solar panels much care should be taken to ensure that the PV solar panels remains fully unshaded for the maximum amount of daytime hours. This has a much greater impact than some may understand. The most critical six hours of the day are the three hours before solar noon and the three […]

Refrigerator and Freezer Concerns

March 14, 2016

Keep refrigerators and freezers dry: In order to extend the life of any refrigerator or freezer, they should be kept as dry as possible. Water will cause rust on the internal Freon lines causing premature failure. Water can also infiltrate the insulating foam causing damage. A refrigerator or freezer should not be placed in a […]

Water Filter Canister Troubleshooting

March 4, 2016

Proper Placement of Water Filter Gaskets: The NTM Tech Center has received reports of problems with water filter gasket placement. This is for most types of water filter elements: MCR5, Black Berkey, and ceramic water filters. It is important that the gaskets be placed directly on the bottom of the water filter canister BEFORE being […]

Tesla Powerwall for Missionaries?

May 4, 2015

With the announcement of the Tesla Powerwall, we have been asked if the Tesla Powerwall is something that will help missionaries. The short answer is “No”, at least for now. Read on for a more technical explanation, or just know that the NTM Tech Center is always on the lookout for new technologies and products […]

Pump Pressure Switch Replacement

March 4, 2015

Are you constantly replacing the pressure switch on your 12v water pump? Over the years we have found this to be one of the top problems missionaries face with an off grid pressurized water system. The Shurflo 2088 pump is a robust unit that rarely fails, except for the pressure switch. I have seen missionaries […]

The Replaceable Three Legged MOV

August 21, 2014

The NTM Tech Center continues to improve the PV solar electric equipment we supply to missionaries around the world. Part of this improvement includes incorporating new technology into existing products. Metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) have long been the mainstay of lightning protection. MOV’s act like very fast acting switches. When the voltage across them exceeds their […]

Generator Procedures to Prevent Surge Damage

August 5, 2013

We have recently had several cases of equipment being damaged while being used on backup generators. Power equipment needs its full rated voltage all of the time, any time the voltage is outside of this range, damage can occur. When a generator is starting and coming to a stop, the output voltage will be erratic.Simply […]

Generator Problems (specifically Honda EU)

April 29, 2013

We have been receiving a few emails about the Honda EU generators giving people problems, everything from erratic idling to not starting at all. Some people have found that running the generator with the choke partially open or by turning off the echo throttle has helped some, however this is not a long term solution. […]