Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2020 23:56:17 -0600
Reply-To: Jeff Palmer <w.jeff.palmer@ICLOUD.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeff Palmer <w.jeff.palmer@ICLOUD.COM>
Subject: Re: More on fridge-be-gone (home brew version)
In-Reply-To: <F6870558-3319-4522-9344-9C78B409B8E3@shaw.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
I still prefer the tank. I fill up once a season, and don’t have to deal with disposable canisters that are often considered hazardous waste. Haven’t been convinced yet that refilling them is safe.
Jeff
Sent from my iPhone
> On Nov 5, 2020, at 11:40 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
>
> Hey Richard,
>
> Very interesting post. I’d like to replace the sturdy old propane with electric, and the propane tank, and exchange propex for diesel heater.
>
> Of course being me, I’m slow ....
>
> I also find refilling the stock propane tank to be a pain.
>
> Apart from the refill pain, my desire is also to lighten the van as much as I can.
>
> Alistair
>
>> On 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 <mailto: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/> <http://thecdm.ca/ <http://thecdm.ca/>> Twitter: @smith
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