Date:         Thu, 12 Jun 1997 12:52:24 +0000 (ADT4AST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         George Nahrebecky <George.Nahrebecky@stmarys.ca>
Subject:      Dometic discoveries



Here is my first-time pilot-lighter (or should that be 
lighter-pilot?) contribution to the Dometic saga:
       I started trying to light mine about two weeks ago, and went
through all the tips (lighttheburners, opentheventonthebottom,
preheatusingACorDC, pump500times etc.) 
       I set aside 10 minutes a day as "Dometic time". During this
period, people who happened to walk by the open sliding door would see
my ass up in the air, and my head buried in the fridge as far as it
could go while still allowing my arms to hold  the button in  and work
the clicker. I was waiting for the wondrous "pilot light throught the
sight-window hole apparition-miracle" to occur. Never bothered to
check the indicator light. What was there to indicate if there was no
flame, right? Wrong. 
        After my 15th and last attempt, disheartened,  I went back
into the house without shutting off the gas or switches or any of the
things I was supposed to do. When I came out to do so  twenty minutes
later, the fridge was making these incredibly wonderful "I'M ALIVE"
noises, and the indicator light was indeed indicating the presence of
the phantom flame, which was still not visible in  the "sight" window
hole.
        Later that night, I figured out that the "sight" window  is
almost blind. You can see a faint glow in there at about midnight if
you park away from the street lights. 
        The moral of the story, for neophite lighter-pilot is: 
If you have just bought a Westfalia and are unsure of the condition 
of the fridge,  watch your LED  and not your hole. (Sorry folks, I
couldn't resist).
        On a more serious note, can anyone tell me (ball-park) what
sort of mileage  I can expect to get from a tank of propane, perhaps
in terms of fridge-hours with a few meals thrown in for good measure?
Thanks in advance.....

 George


 Halifax, Nova Scotia