We are in hot water!!!

So the accomplishments this week are pulling the furnace out, hooking up the LP, and making the hot water work.

The Suburban NT-30S furnace on the OR table

After considerable angst, work, and several busted knuckles, I pulled the furnace out completely. These things make me waaaaaay nervous, as I've read story after story of how they explode, or worse, kill people in the dead of night with CO2 emmissions. Once the Suburban NT-30S was completely out,  I connected the thermostat, plugged it back in, and bam! nothing. After I gave the fan blower a nudge with my toe, it began spinning, slowly, grudgingly, squeakingly, and then it ground to a stop. So I pulled the entire thing completely apart. If I'm going to feel safe with the family being heated by this furnace, I want to know all about it, down to the smallest part. The end result is a new motor, first. I just hope that after we drop the $120 on a new motor, that there is not more broken stuff in store for us, just to get an 11 year old heater to work again. I could probably find a replacement for around $500, so I think if the motor is not the problem, we're going to have to look at other alternatives.

Magic Chef broken oven

I did get the LP hooked up after a trip to RV Pats in Petaluma for a new regulator and hose, and another trip down the street in Guerneville to Ace hardware for some pipe dope, and now the LP system is working great. Once I turned the valves on, I noticed a strong LP odor in the cabin. Valves off immediately. I'm suspecting the stove, as there is a broken oven knob and for all I know it's stuck on full open. So I climb under the Airstream, and with a hefty dose of WD-40 and some vise grips, I get the rusty, gunky, old  shutoff valves to the furnace and oven closed. Now I'm needing a success here - I decide to switch to the water heater. I cleaned out the water heater compartment, cranked it up, bled the air out of the line, and it fired right up! YAH! Houston, we have hot water. REALLY hot, if we want it to be.

Fire! Fire! Hot water works flawlessly....YAH!!!

At the beginning of the week, I power washed the trailer thoroughly, top to bottom. I'm going to get stock in a sealant company like Vulkem, cause we're going to need a lot. We also have some rust on the back endcap. I'm just thinking that, if I'm going to stay in this Airstream this winter, I need to focus on the outside now, while it's warm out. The last thing I want is to wait for the first really cold, hard rain to find out I have to climb on the top and fix a leak in the freezing rain. nah.

Next week maybe I'll finish the furnace project, and start focusing on the exterior. Been looking at fantastic fans or maxx fans too, maybe a little ebayin this weekend. And maybe even a trip to Camping World - my new favorite box store. Stay tuned, Airstreamers!