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Need-A-Vacation's avatar
Need-A-Vacation
Explorer
May 31, 2014

Awesome Neighbor!

When we got our "new to us" Dutchmen last year, the water heater only worked on electric due to the pilot light not working. Main burner would light, but no go on the pilot. So after unhooking the slightly corroded assembly and gas was present out of the valve fitting, told me what I figured: pipe assembly was corroded/ plugged up!

Neighbor from across the street walked over after I brought the trailer home yesterday. Talked for a few, and mentioned the pilot light trauma. After talking a bit more, he moseyed home. Maybe 15 minutes had past, and he walks up with a box, "Look what I found for you"! Opened it up, and there was a pilot light assembly, main burner tube, electric heating element, and a valve unit!

Now we have hot water on gas when needed!

Anyone else have a similar story, or one that you helped a fellow neighbor rv'er?

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  • Golden_HVAC's avatar
    Golden_HVAC
    Explorer
    May 31, 2014
    I was helping a buddy at work once - his refrigerator would not run properly on gas. It as a tiny 4 cubic foot one on a A-Liner type trailer. So the flame looked really small, but who knows? It was about 1/2 the capacity as mine in my Bounder motorhome. SO I took apart the gas lines, found some white stuff inside the gas tube that basically fell apart. I was worried, how would I get that back into the tube, and I never saw anything like that in a catalog before. So I put it back together and it lit fine, had a healthy flame, and ran good!

    It was only later that I finally guessed that the white stuff inside the gas line probably was a spider web, and eggs. Spiders typically like to nest near a methane pit (Pile of doggy doo) and the propane line is a fine substitute in many cases. This only blocked about 40% of the gas flow, and it still lit up. Just did not perform right.

    Anyway he got it fixed for free, only cost him a lunch the following week.

    Fred.

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