1980 Caravelle Shell Off Renovation

[timzog]

Had a great visit today by some new friends in SLC who go by Youngpeck on the forums. They wanted to check out my project as they are starting a renovation of their own. Not only did we have a great conversation, they brought me the coolest beer ever- Uinta Detour double IPA with an Airstream on the label. My wife immediately claimed the 4 pack holder for a condiment transport device.
http://www.uintabrewing.com/brews.php
Anyway, I am excited to watch their progress.



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[timzog]

LPG installation details

Working on correct sizing for my LPG lines. My Atwood water heater has a capacity of 8800 BTU and has a 3/8" inlet.
I found the following reference for LPG copper line sizing...
http://www.lp-gasequipment.com/produ...0_p157-175.pdf
With 3/8" line, and a 11" WC regulator, even with a 60' line, I would have capacity to run a 19,000 btu appliance with only a 1/2" pressure drop. With a 10' line, the capacity is 49,000 btu. This does not include bends, but I feel comfortable running a 3/8" line for the 10' back to the main branch. I will run 1/2" from the main regulator back to tees which will feed the SMEV gas stovetop, the newport Dickinson propane fireplace and the water heater. 3/8" will be plenty for all of these branches.
Going to half inch line doubles all the capacities roughly. The main half inch line will be less than 10' and would have a capacity of 110,000 btu, which seems like overkill, but should avoid pressure drops when running multiple appliances at once.

[timzog]

Took my old axle to a metal recycler today. I made $20.10. I told my wife that the Airstream project is now making money. She didn't laugh.

[timzog]

Just realized something I should have checked before shopping for copper tubing. In LPG, they use the OD of the tubing instead of the ID like they do for water lines. Took an extra trip to the hardware store.
I did some practice double flares on 3/8" tubing. It is important to keep everything lined up to get an even flare.
Here is the process as I understand it. This is 3/8" ID tubing which goes in the 1/2" hole on the flaring tool and uses the 1/2" die.
Place the tubing in the flaring tool and use the cutter to ream out a slight bevel on the interior.

Use a fine file to smooth any burrs.

Line up the top of the tube with the height of the outer ring on the die and tighten the wing nuts.

The die goes in the tube

The tool compresses the die until the die is flush with the top of the tool

Remove the die and then make the 2nd flare with only the conical tool.

This is what it looks like when you have the die crooked.

This is what it looks like when it is centered properly.

Now to do it on some real plumbing and drill some holes in the floor.

[worldinchaos]

Looks like you've got the copper tubing down no problem. I used 3/8" tubing branching from a 3/4" Black Iron main header, so the pressure drop and flow restriction is minimal, but I also do everything overkill. Honestly, the one thing I didn't want to restrict was the stove, because I like my coffee and the faster I can boil the percolator, the better.

Your flares look great, you didn't even need to practice

BTW, I laughed at the recycle joke. The logic is flawless...

[DFlores]

Double flares, more overkill perhaps?


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David & Diane

[timzog]

I believe that double flare is the standard for RV LPG copper lines.

[DFlores]

I have used the double flare for high pressure applications, like my Jeep brake lines, but was unsure of the need in a low pressure system like LPG, thus my question. I am currently running lines thru the floor prior to cabinet building.


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David & Diane

[timzog]

I think the need arises from the durability of the double flare to vibration. I agree that pressure is not the issue. I am basically quoting Lewster on this and he has way more experience than me.

[timzog]

Attached the switching regulator the other day.
I am running 1/2" OD copper straight from there to appliances. Below each appliance there will be a T to a 3/8" copper line which will go through the belly pan and floor straight to the appliance. My super cheap custom bulkhead fitting goes through a 7/8" hole in the floor and bellypan. It is made from 1/2" conduit and a sawed off union fitting.
. I simply glue one cap in place, run a bead of Vulkem around the lip and run it through the hole.

Then the other cap is glue in place while squeezing the whole thing together. I usually leave the end long and cut it off with a back saw after the glue is dry. After I run the tubing through I will squeeze in some sealant that doesn't mess with copper.
I've run the 1/2" line so far and installed 3 bulkhead fittings for the fireplace, the stovetop and the water heater. I've run the line for the stovetop. Now I need to run the 3/8" line for the water heater and fireplace.


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[timzog]

I ordered a Newport Dickinson P9000 propane fireplace a month ago and it finally arrived today. It is really well built like most marine systems.
I installed it today.
The worst part was getting the courage to drill a 3" hole in the roof


I mounted it above the kitchen counter. It only takes a 12v power source and the gas line. The flue has an inner exhaust pipe and an outer fresh air intake. It is quite flexible and is able to make the bend to the roof quite well and mount on the wall it comes with a backing plate which provides an offset to minimize the heat transfer to the wall.
The vent attaches to the roof with 6 stainless screws and a thick rubber gasket. I added a bit of Vulkem for good measure.

The inner pipe and outer pipe are both screwed into the vent fitting and then the whole assembly is slid through from the top. Then the interior trim is installed with 4 stainless screws.

I drilled a hole in the standoff piece for the power wire and then attached the standoff piece to the back of the fireplace. The whole thing was put into place and connected to the the flue stack. It is screwed to the wall with 4 10x 3/4" SS screws.





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[timzog]

A few thoughts about the fireplace.
Why I like it:
-totally solid construction and really simple.
-visible fire ambiance
- low power draw for fan 0.2 amps on high setting
- able to run without any power if necessary
-super quiet fan even on high
-2 settings for propane consumption
-direct vented so does not draw air from the interior for combustion or exhaust in the trailer.

Some concerns
-no thermostat. It is either on or off. Once it is off, you have to relight it manually to turn it back on.
- the place I ended up mounting it is not ideal. It would be better to mount it closer to the floor, but that just doesn't work with my floorplan. The heat is exhausted out the bottom so it may result in hot heads and cold feet since it will blow onto the counter. I am going to leave space for a duct in the kitchen cabinet in case I need to add a fan to blow the air from the bottom of the heater to the floor.


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[timzog]

Filled the water tanks today and tested the water pump. It was a bit louder than I had hoped, but it works! Here is the requisite running water pic!

[timzog]

Finished all the LPG connections today and tested the water heater, stovetop, and fireplace. All worked beautifully.



Also, tidied up some of the fresh water connections.
The big lines are the fresh water fill and the small lines are the vents.




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[timzog]

One step backward, two steps forward.
So my fantastic fans have been leaking. Brand new installs 1 and 2 years old respectively. I went on the roof to check it out and the plastic flanges have cracked at the screws. I think there are two problems. I used rivets to attach them and the attachment of a flat piece of plastic to a curved piece of aluminum. Fantastic fan immediately sent me two new fan bases at no charge, no questions asked. Excellent customer service!
I stole Aerowood's idea but not his tools or expertise and tried to do a better install of a fan. The back was a significant challenge since it is very curved at that position. Approximately 1/2" from flat in 16" in both directions. I had tried originally to use 1" angle underneath the skin to flatten the aluminum skin so that it would mate with the plastic flange. This may have worked if Imused different rivets, but I decided to try this new approach.

I bent some .032 stock into 90 deg angle about 1 1/2" x 1". I used my metal stretcher to match the curve in the outer skin. This is whatnot looks like when you are gentle

This is what it looks like when you try too hard.

These were clecod into place and then the top edge was cut into a straight line. These were buck riveted to the outer skin creating a lip all around the hole for the fan. This should stop any water from the skin getting under the fan. I should have got some help bucking rivets since one of them is sub par.

Then I buck riveted 4 pieces of 1/16" angle to each one of these pieces to make a flat horizontal flange. Sorry not to take any pictures of this. I had too much Vulkem on my hands.
Then I used the the fantastic fan supplied gasket to attach the fan. I had already transferred all the parts and electrical to the new base.

A couple of things I like... Buck riveted flange is the primary weather seal on the roof. Any water that lands on the skin will never see the fan seal.
The fan seal will be easy to change should there be a problem in the future.
The main problem is this took a lot of work and a lot of fussing to get all the parts together.it was easy to buck rivet the flange to the roof, but tough to buck rivet the top piece of angle to the flange. Here's hoping for a big rain storm to see if it works. By the way, I think this turned out OK, but if you want to see it done right, go to Aerowwod's thread.


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[timzog]

Front fantastic fan replacement.
The front fantastic fan was easier to replace since the roof is much flatter at this location. Again, I think the problem was the use of rivets to attach the plastic flange to the metal roof. I used Vulkem to make the seal and the system failed In that the plastic flange cracked in several locations.

I first reinforced the interior and out skins by inserting some 2" u channel into the gap in the square hole. This was attached to the inner skin by pop rivets. I then cut two square pieces of 1/8" aluminum plate 16 1/2" square with a 14 1/4" square hole in the middle. This was used to create a 1/4" lip that would exclude most of the water that could get under the fan flange.
The aluminum flanges were buck riveted to the outer skin and u channel with 1/8" flush rivets in countersunk holes. A bead of Vulkem was applied between each layer prior to riveting. Here is the finished flange as I was drilling holes for the fan install.

Then I drilled 5/32" holes aligned with the holes in the plastic flange. I put a gob of Vulkem in each hole, put the fantastic fan gasket in position and installed the fan with #10 x 3/4" SS screws.
I put a gob of Vulkem on each screw top and hooked up the electrical. I took the opportunity to clean everything in the fan when I put it together on the new base.




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[timzog]

Creating a shower pan. Needed a transition between the vinyl floor and the aluminum floor of the shower. Used a 1/8" x1/2" Al bar which is the same thickness as the vinyl floor and a 1/4" x 1" bar which served as the threshold. Sanded the corners with 110,220 and 500 grit paper to make a nice soft edge for bare feet. Here are the pieces ready for install.

Installed with two thin beads of Vulkem and 1/8 x1/2" pop rivets.




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[timzog]

Now working on the door to the bathroom. Since a square door would too easy, decided to make it with a more nautical looking round top. The opening is 28" wide x about 76" tall.
I made a full template of the opening with hardboard. I stretched 2 pieces of 1/8"x 1/2" Al angle into semicircles with a 14" radius.

I had to sand them extensively with a random orbit sander and 110 grit paper to remove most of the marks from the stretching. Here is a before and after sanding. Still not perfect, but I am afraid to sand it down to nothing.

I cut aluminum sheet to fit front and back from the arch to the ceiling and pop riveted the whole thing together.


Now that the frame is done, I am working on the door. It will be a sandwich of .032" 5052 sheet, 1/2" blue foam, and Luan plywood, with aluminum channel frame all held together with rivets and epoxy.
I hope it works.
Here is the full template.

.


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[youngpeck]

Tim, looks like you have two good helpers there! Keep up the good work!

[timzog]

Originally Posted by youngpeck

Tim, looks like you have two good helpers there! Keep up the good work!

Yep! It is most fun when I get help. Help is always available when using clecos!!