Magnet18's 1983 310

[Isuzusweet]

Sounds like the PEX A Uponor/Wirsbo stuff I replumbed my 310 with.
Great system; cut PEX, place collar over end of pipe, insert tool, expand pipe and collar while twisting tool 1/8 of a turn; three expansions, remove tool and insert fitting; wait until collar and pipe shrink around fitting, no leaks, no heat, done.

Glad you're having success with the stove.[emoji41]
Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

Sounds like the PEX A Uponor/Wirsbo stuff I replumbed my 310 with.
Great system; cut PEX, place collar over end of pipe, insert tool, expand pipe and collar while twisting tool 1/8 of a turn; three expansions, remove tool and insert fitting; wait until collar and pipe shrink around fitting, no leaks, no heat, done.

Glad you're having success with the stove.[emoji41]
Cheers
Sidekick Tony

Yep that's the stuff!
I had only seen the crimp fittings until that joint, now that I have the tool I think I'll prefer it, it's easier to make a joint in tight spaces


Didn't get as much done as I wanted to today, but did the initial offgas burn (spent most of the morning playing with fire) and got the heat shield cut/prepped/ready, made a bunch of spacers I can rivet to the wall, then rivet the sheet metal to the spacers.

Will look about like the attachment, but the forward wall will eventually get off-white tin cieling tiles hopefully with the most era appropriate pattern I can find. The side wall/cieling will get a second panel to bring it up to the same line as the front wall, and will be left the copper color

[Magnet18]

All that's left is to...
Nevermind, I'm not even gonna tempt fate with a comment like that

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

All that's left is to...
Nevermind, I'm not even gonna tempt fate with a comment like that [emoji38]

Ahhhh, grasshopper, you're learning fast; the force is strong in this one.[emoji6]

[Magnet18]

Need to check that the flashing will work on the outside at this location, think it will, if so that's where the hole will go

[Magnet18]

So for more reasons than I need to trouble you with, going has been slow, but this afternoon I finally "finished" the chimney install!

Need to do some work trimming out the heat shield and extending it up further, and some tin tiles are ordered for the flat wall. The red pipe boot will be replaced with a grey one that's currently backordered. I thought red was fine, the wife disagrees

First fire went great! Definitely need some fans to move the air around!

[Magnet18]

Need to get some woodgrain decals and dust off the tablesaw so I can finish the cabinet underneath which will hold the splendide washer/dryer combo

[Magnet18]

You can see here the joint at which the chimney separates for putting on a driving cap is shorter than a low profile AC would be

[mayco]

So are you using the wood stove every day now? What's your report and evaluation? How is the heat up front in the living area?

[Magnet18]

If by "every day" you mean the last 3, then yea
Sunday and yesterday were basically novelty break-in fires, playing around and getting a feel for it

Today was the first day i fired it up when I got home and let it burn for about 3 hours. (Currently 28F outside). Furnace hasn't kicked on since i lit it about 3.5 hours ago (went out about half an hour ago and is currently just embers, still radiating into the room like a 1500W space heater)
Up front without the furnace it stayed t-shirt comfortable, in back it got up to about 85* (this is with no fans running at all, obviously I need to get on that). I had it damped down pretty far, with only one piece of wood really going at a time, I could have had 4 pieces in with the air open and easily burned way hotter, but it woulda cooked me out of the Airstream!

Wood use was probably one third of a standard log, adding a small piece (1/3rd of a split quarter, if that makes sense) about every hour or so


Obviously I really need to get some fans set up to move the air around. The rear AC set to heat might be perfect for that, will play around and see. It's currently disconnected as I finish up installing a second breaker box.

Also need to finish the heat shield above the stove and maybe shield the AC somehow, both got quite warm to the touch, I'm mostly worried about discoloring things over time


I did make some tea on it, which was nice

[Magnet18]

It's in the teens the last few nights, haven't had any problems. Currently 20F. In the last 5 hours the stove has eaten about half a log, and has easily heated the airstream to about 75, damped quite far down. The rear AC set to low heat does a great job of moving the air around to heat pretty evenly.

In other news, finally put the connectors on my 100' 50A cable so there are no outside connections, and I added a second breaker box for the rear 30A cord and put a plug in the closet toe kick for heat/my wife's hair dryer. 30A input, 20 to outlets, 20 to AC, will add one for the washer dryer. Yes, it's a sub box, isolated neutrals, yada yada

And we decorated

[Magnet18]

Yank the tank, or chop and drop 🤔

Either way, it's gonna be a fun night tonight

[mayco]

What's wrong with the tank?

[Magnet18]

Nothing wrong with the tank, it's just too tall. Finally installing the natures head (I ended up prioritizing the woodstove, a much more fun job). Trying to put it on top of the tank as is would mean I'd need a ladder to use it, and the drawer won't open, and while it would be an imposing looking throne, it would never look right.

I can delete the black tank entirely, but I'd like to have it around as extra grey tank storage, so I'm gonna try to chop it down flush with the floor. If that fails miserably, I'll yank it all the way out, patch the floor, and see about getting an aftermarket tank to mount underneath in its place.

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

I can delete the black tank entirely, but I'd like to have it around as extra grey tank storage, so I'm gonna try to chop it down flush with the floor. If that fails miserably, I'll yank it all the way out, patch the floor, and see about getting an aftermarket tank to mount underneath in its place.

That sounds like burning bridges, I like to avoid doing anything un-reversible.
If it is in the way, I would pull the tank and install a substitute, if you need the extra capacity.

Otherwise just pull it out and see how it works out without it.



If you end up selling your rig, having the original parts available for re-installation is a big plus for $$ value. Hence I have a basement full of OEM parts from mine

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by WayneG

That sounds like burning bridges, I like to avoid doing anything un-reversible.
If it is in the way, I would pull the tank and install a substitute, if you need the extra capacity.

Otherwise just pull it out and see how it works out without it.



If you end up selling your rig, having the original parts available for re-installation is a big plus for $$ value. Hence I have a basement full of OEM parts from mine

That makes a lot of sense, and I really don't want to put on a respirator and spend all night in my black tank, so it won't take much to sway me to just pull it out.

On the other hand, if I sold you an RV and said "And I've got the 40 year old used black tank if you want it!"
Would you want it?


I also need to carefully ponder if I can even get it out in one piece. It won't drop out the bottom, unless I cut a bigger hole in the floor, and it was definitely put in before the bathroom walls.

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

On the other hand, if I sold you an RV and said "And I've got the 40 year old used black tank if you want it!"
Would you want it?

For me, hell ya, others who dont get dirt under their nails, who knows. When I got mine, I scooped up all the parts I could find in the PO's garage.

Originally Posted by Magnet18

I also need to carefully ponder if I can even get it out in one piece. It won't drop out the bottom, unless I cut a bigger hole in the floor, and it was definitely put in before the bathroom walls.

My 84 270 has the rear bath with black tank on the right. I always assumed that by removing some plumbing, (and the toilet), it would drop strait down.
But I never spent the time looking from underneath to see what may complicate the project. My tank is happy where it is and other than a sensor getting a false reading, it has had no problems after all these years. (probably just jinxed myself on that statement)

[Magnet18]

Originally Posted by WayneG

For me, hell ya, others who dont get dirt under their nails, who knows. When I got mine, I scooped up all the parts I could find in the PO's garage.





My 84 270 has the rear bath with black tank on the right. I always assumed that by removing some plumbing, (and the toilet), it would drop strait down.
But I never spent the time looking from underneath to see what may complicate the project. My tank is happy where it is and other than a sensor getting a false reading, it has had no problems after all these years. (probably just jinxed myself on that statement)

Could be that yours would drop down, but mine has a lip all the way around where it gets bigger and that sits on the floor, and that's all that holds it in. It's easy to shift it around an inch or so in any direction, and I can lift it about an inch. I'm quite surprised it held up to 25 gallons of "liquid" and 40 years of potholes!

I'll take some measurements when I get home and see if I can find a tank that will fit. This, for example, looks like it might drop right in, and comes with free 2 day shipping

On the downside, it looks to only be about 10 gallons, but that's about what I'll have after chopping the original anyway. So maybe none of this is worth the effort, just delete it and keep the wet weight down to make up for all the appliances I'm adding on this side


https://www.amazon.com/Icon-22-1-Bot...P12ENPGNKKFYRM

Thanks for tuning in to Robs stream of consciousness

[mayco]

Are you semi-permanently parked on your own property? Is there a sewer line within 100'?
Might be easier to install a proper pvc run of sewer pipe with a cleanout for your waste valves than going through the time/effort/expense of your mod. If you've got a friend with a backhoe, no big deal. Just a thought. Pretty radical mod to nix the black tank. But, it's your coach......I would have more tendency to completely change the waste handling system if I was doing a total gut and rehab. But...once again..it's your coach to do what you want.

[Magnet18]

That was actually really easy, waaaayyyyy easier than I thought it would be. The airstream gods favored me today.
4 screws on the dump valve, unhook the vent tube, and it came right out, and a 2'*2' piece of plywood temporarily dropped in its place.

Question, should I totally remove the vent tube and patch the roof? Leave it and just cap it on top? Curious your thoughts