Other I heart DIY stories
- Back to What DIY means to me
- Easy LED light fixture install
- How to refill an old screw hole
- DIY and Manquests
We set up our RV trailer, flicked the water heater switch, and…
Nothing happened. No click. No light. No hiss. No sigh. Nothing. Camping-wise it was easy to heat water on the stove and over the fire pit. But the situation really irritated me. I’m ok, sort of, when things don’t work, but when I don’t know why they don’t work, grr.
So, several times a weekend for several weekends, with the trailer back in the driveway, I would flick the switch and prove yet again that classic definition of insanity as failing at the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Finally, I took the trailer to be fixed. Seems, as is apparently common, there had been spider webs in the burner chamber, which caused a backflash, which toasted a key wire, and presumably a spider or two – revenge!
Some years later I got my DIY mojo back when the bottom of the aluminum water heater tank split a seam. I disassembled the sofa, and worked the old heater out from the side of the trailer. Then I wormed the new one into this incredibly tight space, did all the hook ups, caulked the heater into its place, rebuilt the sofa, and we were back in business. Now that’s DIYing, but it gets scarier…
Coming back from a dark night walk around a campground I see a dim blue light on the side of the trailer where there shouldn’t have been any light. The trailer propane feed line was leaking at its fitting with the water heater gas line. Igniting the water heater had apparently lit the leak. Bad! Turning off the water heater switch cut off the fuel flow, which stopped the flame. Yay!
Next morning, we made a trip to the Ace Hardware in Nederland. I recommend at stop here for any DIYer who finds themselves on the road to Nederland, Colorado, perhaps to run the Ned*Ned half marathon or attend Frozen Dead Guy Days. (Depending on your feelings about running you might think the two events are related. They are not.)
The Ace Hardware aisles, overflowing with all manner of DIY needs, are barely wider than the shopping carts. There’s an ammunition cabinet that would do a big city sporting goods store proud. And I saw a box of Denver Bronco Orange and Blue bumper stickers emblazoned with “Peyton Freaking Manning.” This was going on two years after Peyton Freaking retired from football.
But the paste thread sealant I bought did the trick. Better than the original gas sealant tape I put on the threads. So, we were back in business and feeling pretty good that I didn’t have to rely on anyone else for the fix.