Thanks to The Bus Depot, my friend Scott (a.k.a. Helga Wasserboxer), and a sporting goods place in Somerset, WI, I'm ready to go camping! Yes, we managed to remove the old, rusted propane tank, and install the new shiny Bus Depot replacement tank. It wasn't that bad an operation, but it did take both of us to muscle off the last nut and get the tank down. Removing the old regulator also took both of us, a pipe wrench and a big crescent wrench, but it turned eventually. We assembled the regulator, keep in mind the regulator does NOT come with the nipple that fits in the main tank valve, so either buy one or carefully remove your old one and reuse it. These parts are brass and are easily damaged. We then trucked over to Somerset to a sporting goods place that will sell by volume and not just by weight. Filling the tank seems awfully primitive and a bit dangerous... a great deal of propane gas is released during the procedure. It's sort of like filling your gasoline tank until gas pours onto the ground. Liquid propane in the process of becoming a gas is COLD too! We got back to the farm... i parked a safe distance from any buildings... we brought out the soapy water... and did the bubble test as i opened the main valve. No Bubbles!! Scott lit the stove burners.... and then i went for the fridge. Behold and Lo! On the second try there was a *poof* and the thing lit! The little LED even came on faintly! By the time i drove home from Scott's farm the fridge was getting cold and the little heat exchanger fan was coming on sporadically. Then, this morning i woke up to a snow storm (no kidding).... so i guess camping will be postponed until next weekend. But I'll be *ready*! -jspeer '89 Westy, "Mystery Machine" |
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