Friday, September 21, 2012

Crazy - I Know

What l'm about to tell you is crazy. I know it is, there is no reasonable explanation why l waited other then fear.

I finally had a friend turn on my propane fridge. Crazy hunh? I had been without a fridge since l haven't been hooked up at campgrounds, so that is since May.  I got by, ate food that didn't need to be refrigerated, and ate out cheaply.

As of yesterday, my fridge is working and chilling up a storm, thereby l can stop eating out and cook most of my food.

Why did l wait?  It really is a fear of propane.  I think l mentioned about my experience with propane when l was in my early 20's.  Obviously it wasn't a good experience and it has colored my propane experiences since then.

What happened?  My friend and l had a landscaping business and with that business we had bought a old city owned propane fired van.  One day we had stored the propane van inside our storage unit, the next day we came back and went in the storage unit.  My friend plugged something in an electrical socket, which caused a spark and ignited the propane that had leaked on the floor of the unit.

The fireball shot across the floor, l could see the flames fly pass my running shoes, melting my laces, burning my eyebrows and lashes (just like a flash from a BBQ).  My friend got the worst of it and burned a portion of his face (it healed without scar because it was propane and not gasoline - gasoline boils, propane is a 'gas' and once gone source of fuel is gone - causing less damage).  The building burnt down, and we were in court for 10 years. 

So, l have been a bit leery of propane since. Then of course l read about TravellingMan's (I tried linking the blog "we are experiencing technical difficulties" but it didn't work - so search for that article to read his story) experience with his fridge and it solidified my hesitancy to turn the damn thing on.

I figured it was time to conquer the fear, and l really wanted cold food - lol 

So now Fiona has a working fridge and l have a place to store my cheese.

7 comments:

  1. I'm afraid of propane, too. It's not that crazy.

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  2. Just in time for winter when it will be cold enough so you won't even need it :P

    I'm not afraid of propane but I am very careful to check for leaks and make sure it's working properly.

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  3. Travelling man here!! Thanks for using me as a reference tool. I was leery at first after my incident but I am now back on full time propane usage. I guess the # 1 lesson I could share is to make sure you have a professional certify your system (which i didn't). I was a little too cavalier with mine and paid the ultimate price of losing a rig I loved.
    I'd check it yourself...and also get a pro to check it. It may cost a few pennies...but it can save a lifetime of regret.
    That being said...once it's checked, fire it up!!

    Happy fridging!!

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  4. Not crazy at all Tammy! Especially after that horrible experience! I am glad you, your friend, and fellow blogger are all okay. Fire is my biggest fear and you sharing this was very inspirational - thank you!

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  5. I have been using a regular apartment sized fridge in the 24 foot C class since 2002. A replacement RV fridge was $1,500 and a 2 week wait, I was on a month long trip with my children so a 2 week interruption was not possible.

    Lowes had a $300 fridge that fit through the door and into the spot left by the old RV fridge. I thought it would be a temporary replacement but I have liked the 110V fridge so much I still use it.

    I drive a bit every day when I am traveling and the 2 Trojan T105 6V batteries were enough to run the fridge for 24 to 48 hours on the inverter.

    That may not work for everyone but I am thinking of getting rid of propane now that the fridge runs on battery power.

    Would be even better if I added solar panels, soon I hope.

    OffRoadCruiser

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  6. Good to Know OffRoadCruiser. The draw on the battery is better then l would have thought.

    If you get rid of propane, how are you going to cook and heat?

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    1. Some of the higher end diesel RVs come with a diesel cook stove but not like the old kerosene Primus some of us may know.

      Each stove top burner is a flat hot plate with a burner underneath. All of the gases from the flames are contained underneath the 'hot plate' and exhausted to the outside of the RV.

      For heat I would like to try water pipes under the floor. The water (actually engine coolant) would be heated by the engine or when parked by a hot water heater that burns diesel instead of propane. Should be much quieter than the furnace fan. The same water heater would be used for the kitchen, shower etc.

      OffRoadCruiser

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