Why do it the easy way...

[punomatic]

...when there is a more convoluted alternative. DW and I are out for our first outing in about three months. We settled in to our new home for the next several days in the Chinook RV Park in Waldport, OR. This is the first outing since doing several upgrades to the TC (about which I posted here). To say we were excited to make this trip would be the rankest kind of understatement.

I set up the rig: water? check; electricity? check; Cable TV? check; wi-fi? check. I opened a cold hefeweizen and proceeded to relax. Then I remembered there was one more thing I needed to do. I flipped the switch for the water heater: red light? check...red light??...why isn't the red light going off? Why don't I hear the whoosh of the flame igniting?

I flipped off the switch...that is to say I shut it off; this had nothing to do with those digital messages that other drivers wave at me from time to time. Outside now, I opened the panel for the WH. I removed the heat shield, and of course I dropped one of the screws. After several minutes of searching, I found it in my open tool box, which was directly below my work space (just to make it more difficult to stand in front of the WH panel). I carefully stowed the two screws.

I had DW turn on the switch. After a few seconds the igniter sparked, but no joy. I told DW to shut it off. I removed the igniter and dropped that screw in the rust colored gravel. After about a 30 minute search, I actually found that one, too. I stowed it carefully before removing the burner pipe. I'll bet the burner nozzle is clogged, I told myself. I looked through the nozzle and saw daylight; I could blow through the nozzle. Seems clear to me.

I found a lot of loose rust in the combustion chamber. Aha! Now I am onto something. I carefully cleaned the combustion chamber. Next I reassembled everything except the heat shield. "Honey, flip the switch again." After a few seconds...spark but no flame. "OK," I said to myself, "what do you need to make fire? Air? check; ignition? check; fuel? Hmmm...maybe I should check that."

I went inside to try lighting the stove. "Maybe," I thought,"there is air in the line." Now where did I leave that fire stick? Oh, yeah, I borrowed it to do something in my shop. Must have forgotten to replace it in the TC. Hiked up to the office and scored a box of stick matches.

Back aboard, I struck a match and held it by the main stove burner. Funny, usually I have to be careful that the flow of air/gas doesn't blow out the match. This must be a super match. The flame stands up in spite of that air blowing out of the line. There...is...air blowing out of the line...isn't there. Gee...(insert light bulb here)...perhaps, the gas tank is empty.

I went out and switched tanks. That blew the match out. Got the stove started, and miracle of miracles, when I had DW turn on the WH switch, it had magically cured itself.

I reinstalled the heat shield and came inside for a cold one!! I ask you, why do it the easy way...?

[wa8yxm]

Not exactly the ending I expected...

So what was the ending I expected?:

I turned the gas on and it worked just fine..

Yup, By the way holding a match at the open end of a gas line,, That makes you a Darwin Candidate.

Please do not apply again for a Darwin Award.

(Darwing awards (www.darwinawards.com) are given to folks who best improve the Human Gene Pool by removal of self there from in the most amazing manner possible, Several of them involve vapors that would set off your explosive gas detector.... and a match.)

[bguy]

I've always said if there's a more difficult and more expensive way to do something, that'll be me.

Great story.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Mootpoint wrote:

Caveman Charlie wrote:
Great story! I, of course, have never ever, done something like that.

:E No?! Never!? Please don't stand next to me in a thunder & lightning storm! :B

I was just remembering something today. My brother and I were building a hay bale trailer. There is just a pole that extends down the middle of this type of trailer to attach the front wheels to the back. To hold the pole up as we welded it all together we found that out short scaffolding was the right height if we set the pole on the second step. Problem was after we got everything welded together we realized that now we had the scaffolding stuck in the middle of the trailer. :S We had to jack a wheel up, remove it, and work the scaffolding out slowly off the axel to remove it.

[Mootpoint]

Caveman Charlie wrote:
Great story! I, of course, have never ever, done something like that.

:E No?! Never!? Please don't stand next to me in a thunder & lightning storm! :B

[Dog_Folks]

Don't do it the easy way, there is no satisfaction in that. 🙂

I often trip over the simple solution to dive into the complicated.

Glad there are other members in this club.

Thanks for posting.

[blkdodge]

Darn good thing you put ice in the beer cooler. :B

[JAXFL]

The story of my life... that is why they put microwaves in campers.... who needs gas?

[2012Coleman]

Reminds me of Sling Blade - "Aint got no gas in it"!

[Caveman_Charlie]

Great story! I, of course, have never ever, done something like that.

[punomatic]

DiskDoctr wrote:
I know someone who is probably going to ask for a MAGNETIC screwdriver for his birthday 😉

Entertaining and systematic. You must share an engineering background 😉

A definite Yes! on the magnetic screwdriver. The engineering background, not so much, unless you count my dad's having been an electrical engineer. I spent my career down in the mouth...in a dental office.

[DiskDoctr]

I know someone who is probably going to ask for a MAGNETIC screwdriver for his birthday 😉

Entertaining and systematic. You must share an engineering background 😉

[ScottG]

LOL, I can definitely see that happening.
I was doing some chores for an elderly friend a while back and dropped a small screw from an overhead curtain. After searching for 20 minutes, I finally found it - in my shirt pocket.

[RVcrazy]

Funny!

[RVcrazy]

Funny!