Thanks Richard

On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 8:01 PM Richard Smith (Smirby) <smirby@gmail.com>
wrote:

> In our case we do most of our cooking outside the van, by preference. The
> cooker still works, I just adapted the connector to a small (2lb,
> refillable) tank). With the amount we use it, that is plenty for us.
>
> Another part of the incentive was the state of the under-van propane tank.
> It was in “ok” shape but not great and probably deserved a proper refit.
> Further, my brother, who has an ’83 van, wanted it and I was able to give
> it to him. He will clean it up, repaint it, and (maybe) put in a new
> regulator.
>
> Last reason: it is possible to get it filled, but not always easy. Related
> to this, I live on an island, so every single trip requires a discussion
> about the propane tank with the ferry people. Not a big problem, just
> another thing I don’t have to deal with now (the portable tank can be
> ignored because it is below the threshold that they care about).
>
> …r
>
> On Nov 5, 2020, at 5:59 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> A query:  Why did you take out the propane tank?  It serves the cooktop,
> which is an important item for most of us who use the van for camping.  I
> don't mean that if you wanted it gone you should not have taken it out, but
> without it, no functional cooktop.
>
> Oh, and a note to Eric.  Keep reposting these posts from folks whose posts
> get lost from some of us.  If you hadn't replied to this, I would have
> never seen it.
>
> mcneely
>
> On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 11:45 AM Richard Smith (Smirby) <smirby@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> [I wrote this back in April, but neglected to send it. Hopefully it is
>> helpful to someone taking their fridge out.]
>>
>> Last night I took the propane tank out and managed to keep the lines
>> intact. Probably a waste of time, but… whatever.
>>
>> Some lessons, from the fridge removal which happened today, in
>> semi-random order.
>>
>> The gowesty video speaks specifically about an 18mm wrench for propane
>> lines, but it is 19 (perhaps this is a Canadian thing?).
>>
>> Removing the front of the fridge the GoWesty video mentions “popping off
>> the covers to the screws.” This makes it sound easy. It isn’t. Those
>> suckers do not want to come off. Mangled one before I got the hang of it.
>>
>> The little shelf at the bottom of the cupboard under the sink is not
>> symmetric. The right hand side has a slight curve, which helps you get it
>> in and out. Work with that, don’t fight with the other side and wonder how
>> the heck anyone ever got that shelf in there.
>>
>> The video mentions disconnecting the three wire connector and the one
>> wire connector, but then there’s a jump cut that doesn’t show the struggle
>> getting those apart. Actually, the three wire was simple, but the one wire
>> was devilish. Looks like it should have a tab inside there somehow, but
>> darned if I could find it. Eventually it did come apart when I probed it
>> with a small screwdriver.
>>
>> The 12v lines to the fridge are in a bundle as they go from under the
>> sink to atop the fridge. In the video they are loose. And on my van they
>> looked loose. But they weren’t. They were strapped, with a small little
>> button snap, like you have on the mosquito screen. It wraps from in the
>> cabinet to the fridge side and holds that wire up there neatly. And
>> completely halts your progress when you’re trying to wiggle the fridge out
>> of there. Again, maybe this is a feature of Canadian vans?
>>
>> The screws holding the fridge on the right hand side (inside the sink
>> cabinet) were so enthusiastically tightened that they were completely
>> countersunk into the wood. Maybe a repair person? Maybe the factory?
>> Whatever, it took a lot to get them out.
>>
>> The GoWesty kit includes a little block-off plate for the space were the
>> chimney was. I spent WAY too long fabricating that little piece. (In the
>> end I bought a replacement piece from defunk3D - looks pretty cool, if you
>> ask me).
>>
>> The GoWesty kit includes a dozen or more little black screws to replace
>> the ones that you undo to get the plastic front of the fridge off.
>> Seriously? If you *really* don’t like those tiny holes you could always put
>> the screws in that you just took out. Or fill the holes with putty? Me? I
>> am going to leave the holes there.
>>
>> Found a piece of arborite under the house (looks like it was the back of
>> a cheap set of bookshelves and I must have save it for some reason). Cut
>> off a piece (16.75” wide, 29” tall) and wedged it into the back of the
>> cupboard. It fit perfectly! Who needs a kit?
>>
>> The GoWesty kit includes “L” brackets for holding the front door trim.
>> But if you look up under the edge, where the top right screw goes in, you
>> can see the way that Westfalia did it themselves, and copy that to make
>> your own. Really just a 2 inch piece of steel strapping and bend it into an
>> L in the vise. Drill a screw hole or two on one side and then a smaller
>> hole on the front facing side to meet the metal screw that will be coming
>> in from the front.
>>
>> Under and behind the fridge was way cleaner than I would have ever hoped,
>> and zero mouse poop. A miracle! Sadly, the rust has found its way into that
>> spot right along the floor and the wall, and I have some work to do. I
>> could see it starting from outside along the seam, so I knew it would be
>> there. Just sad to see.
>>
>> [Later - discovered a crack in the “city water” connector. Even though I
>> never used city water, there is water in that line and it leaks -
>> especially when you run the pump. If you go this far, check your city water
>> connector for leaks even if you don’t use it. I think it was the main
>> source of water behind my cabinets.]
>>
>> The space under the van where the propane pipes go through is a tricky
>> little thing. There are six screws, but the centre two just hold the two
>> pieces together. Then the outside four mount that double piece into the
>> floor of the van. But it is a bunch of curved pieces covering up a hole.
>> Foam, rubber, steel, screws… I think I am going to go over the whole thing
>> with some black silicon seal before I trust it in the rain.
>>
>> I did all this partly to save weight. For some time I have noticed that
>> the driver’s side is a bit droopy, even without any water in the water
>> tank. So, today, after removing the fridge and propane tank, I re-measured
>> the distance from garage floor to bottom of the wheel well. They are now
>> within 1/16” of each other. Success! The fridge isn’t that heavy, really.
>> But the propane tank, plus fridge obviously does add up.
>>
>>
>> --  <>
>> Richard Smith, Professor and Director, Master of Digital Media
>> Centre for Digital Media, 685 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, CANADA V5T
>> 0C6
>> Phone: 778-370-1012 http://thecdm.ca <http://thecdm.ca/> Twitter: @smith
>
>
>