1968 Travel Queen Resto Mod - 5. Propane

This is another big picture day. And the last for now in Chapter 5. Propane - maybe the last for the entire category. But I'll close it up some day with a final post, if so.

I've been working Propane for the past two days, and for two days prior to that, which have already been reported on. These last two days I also did some other stuff. Got some Fresh Water worked on, received and looked over the Fantastic Fan, got the mental process gearing up on the camper corner jack mount/tie-downs; lots of little stuff.

But let's start in order. All those openings into the camper interior from outside to allow in propane lines, needed to be plugged. And that one in the fridge cabinet, where the wires go into the galley cabinet. I still haven't decided just how to block the main wire channel from where it enters the fresh water tank cabinet, but we'll seal it up in future, probably with expanding foam when I know for sure I'm done putting stuff through there.

For now, I made wooden c-clip-like grommets. The smaller lines use 1/8" wood paneling hole-saw cut outs, notched for the tubing. The larger lines received something similar in 1/4" plywood.

Here is the left-rear water-heater line. I just pulled the tube to one side and fastened with two small screws. Next these will get expanding foam.



You'll note too a previously unmentioned basic worm-gear clamp to help suspend the tubing in place at the jack mount frame.

Here are most of the rest on the left side of the camper. At the right foreground is the space heater, then range; further away are the lamp and then the fridge.



Here's the right front corner, where the trunk line goes into the camper fresh-water tank cabinet.



And the left side, with a grommet made to also help seal the fresh water fill hose.



Because this hole is just in the propane cabinet, and doesn't pass into the interior, I'll just fill it with foam.



Like this.



And from the inside.



And the rest. Some applied from outside, and some from inside.

First up, the bath drain and right tail/brake light wiring area where it goes into the electric cabinet.



Following along the propane pathway.









The key to this stuff is "don't touch it until it's dry".

Also done was a leak test. I had pretty interesting findings. I simply use a soapy warm water. Plenty of dish soap, like a quarter inch in the bottom of a coffee cup and then filled about 1/2 to 2/3 with warm water. Something that makes lots of bubbles.

I apply the soapy solution liberally to every joint, with a toothbrush. Brushing your teeth for the next few days really sucks, but I hear it cleans your mouth real good. I have noticed after doing this, that my language seems to clean up for awhile thereafter.

The act of brushing on, creates some foaming. Don't confuse foam for bubbles. If there's a big leak, you'll see bigger and faster bubbles. If it is a very small leak, you'll come back in a minute and see very tiny slow developing bubbles, with quite a different appearance than the foamy from brush application.

I discovered two appliance connection fittings that hadn't been tightened beyond light wrench pressure. And three or four fittings (tees, elbows) that were tight, but needed more, because making new flares require that good first seating to final form and to seal. I also discovered the lamp valve was in the "on" position. In other words - leak tests are important.

You can also do a leak-down test, where you add in a gauge to the line, and some appliances can't take the higher pressure, so you have to remove them from the test (like my new Wave 3 heater for example), and then pressure it up and leave it over night to see if it holds that pressure. I didn't do that. I ran my soapy leak testing method several times around to every connection and made certain all was good. I began with listening, and smelling, and finally with soap.

Once it was all good, I tested appliances. Let's start with the range as we had just recently done that on the bench.





Then I moved to the fridge. This one is old school. Newer fridges use igniters and it is all operating in outside conditions. This one is lit with a match, and done from inside. Here is the area below the fridge. I have a piece of wood for covering this area. I need to make a drawer-front style cover, and figure out how to attach it and seal the entire area away from the interior. But I have a plan.

So this shows the gas valve off. And the electric switch (120 Volt) on.



When going to gas, you open the valve, which moves an attached piece of metal that shuts off the electric switch.



Start with the fridge temperature control about medium and have your match lit waiting in the right place, then press the red button and hold.





The flaming loop of tubing is where you were holding the lit match. The holes in this tube light up and flame travels down the tube to the fridge's pilot light and whatever they call the gas heating element which creates the cooling system's boiling function. This fridge (and the previous Hadco 410 fridge I had twenty-five years ago), require the red button hold for only about 15 seconds before the pilot stays lit.



The pilot and heating unit is all at the back of the fridge behind this metal housing.



Which is removable for maintenance and repair.



As I understand it, the gas flame (or the electric heating element) creates the heat necessary to boil and evaporate the coolant. As a gas, it moves through the fridge and freezer coils to try and get back into its natural liquid state, and while doing so, absorbs heat (from your food and beer). That leaves your food (and beer) in a state like is found in space, an absence of warmth. Which makes for great food (and beer) preservation and preparation.

I got this one of two extras out of my Coleman Lantern case.



Spaced it evenly around the lamp and burned the mantle with a match. Once all (as much as possible) of the white burned to black, and then further to fully white ash, it is ready.





And then put the lamp through a full check for operation and acceptable heating above it. That is one thing to really watch for. A couple of original plastic trim pieces, here in this corner, were slightly deformed by lamp heat. I may still build a decorative shroud of some sort to further disperse the exhaust heat.



The water heater will just have to wait until we get water to it. But the space heater, fired right up. This is a normal burn pattern that will change over time.



As one of the several systems, the Propane came together faster than I thought it might.