FirePower: Or, More Accurately, Fire and Power

We have them both!  Last night was the first test.  I stood, fire extinguisher ready, as we plugged the old gal in for the first time.  Thank goodness the only thing that lit up were the lights inside.  All of them work and we’ve only got one burned out bulb.  Sweet.

Now, on to the propane.  Tank was full so we started by closing off the valves to all of the appliances.  Then we opened the main valve and let the tubes pressure up.  After that we sprayed a mixture of soap and water on all of the fittings to make sure there were no leaks (if there’s a leak, it will start to bubble).  We were good to go.  We then tested the old propane lantern, which is missing the glass cover.  It still works!  Now all we need is the glass mantle for it and we can actually safely use it.  Then we moved on to the appliances.  The stove top works great – all three burners lit right up.  The oven was a bit of a challenge.  We’re still trying to figure out where to light it.  Project for tonight.

The real effort went into the fridge.  It’s the original Dometic that came with the trailer and the previous owners told us it didn’t work.  Well, we thought we’d give it a try.  We checked the gas lines and there was flow so it really came down to getting the pilot lit.  This was no easy thing.  First, the flint to create the spark is wasted.  Not too bad, but it does mean that until it’s replaced lighting the fridge is a two person job.  Then we figured out where the flow came from but couldn’t get the thing to light.  I kept looking at it and saying it just didn’t look right, the gas was coming out of an open bolt and was at least 2-3 inches from the cooling unit.  There was gas, but it wouldn’t stay lit.  We tried everything.  It was then that my husband spotted something shiny on the floor under a tube.  It was the regulator!!!  Ah ha!  Now we know why it wouldn’t work.  We screwed the regulator back on and it lit right up and stayed lit!  However, we let it run for about 30 minutes and the fridge didn’t seem to cool down.  I figured that meant it was toast, but when I called a service center today they said we have to let it run for 10 hours to cool down!  So, it’s running now and we’ll hopefully have good news to report later tonight so I’ll update you on that when I know.

Fire – check!

Power – check!

Wohoo!  Tonight we’ll be working on the water and the pump.  We already know the water intake valve is toast so we’re hoping to find a replacement with this weekend’s adventure to Walt’s RV Surplus in Fontana.  We hear they’ve got lots of parts for these old ladies.  We’re hoping that’s true!

For those following along, since I’ve been doing all of this research and whatnot, I’m adding a resources page to the blog.  Feel free to check it out if you’re looking for something or comment with your own great resources!

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