Walt's Corner

Issue resolved on Norcold N611 Absorption fridge. 2015 Lance model 1995. We ride it hard and put it up wet. Been on 227 (over 22k miles) camping trips with it since 2015. Mostly boondocking in the national forests, BLMs, and remote state parks (like interior Big Bend Ranch State Park, IYKYK).

TLDR – in gas mode fridge would light, but didn’t know it was lit, so eventually would shut itself down for safety. Taking an emery cloth to the igniter and burner resolved the issue.

Long version with theory and disclaimer.

Disclaimer. If you aren’t experienced with working with propane appliances you probably shouldn’t attempt this. Proceed at your own risk. There are professionals who get paid to do this shit.

Problem: fridge would light, you know that “tick tick tick tick tick.” It would light right away, but the tick tick ticking would continue every every 5 seconds or so, indicating that it didn’t know it had lit, or thought the flame had blown out and is attempting to relight. This is a built in safety feature. If it senses no flame after so many attempts to light, it will shut off the gas and your green “on” light and orange “gas” light will flash on the front of the fridge alerting you to the issue. This prevents gas build up that could potentially cause a fire.

When the fridges senses it’s not down to proper temp, it sends a signal to the gas solenoid to open the flow of gas as well as a voltage to the electrode that sits about 3/16th inch above the burner, creating a spark. The spark ignites the gas, then the same electrode acts as a sensor by continuing to supply a small voltage measured in milliamps. The computer board monitors the milliamps. This voltage travels through the electrode and through the carbon of the flame and reaches the burner – which is grounded. No flame – no circuit for this small signal to travel to in order to reach ground. Computer board shuts off the gas flow if this happens.

In the picture, you see the blue flame. Looking exactly like it should. You see the red cable plugged into the frame, and to the right of it is the gas tube flange nutted to the burner. One Philips head screw holds each item to the frame. Removing both is as simple as removing the one screw that holds them in. Turned off the gas at the tanks. Burned the remaining gas off with the stove.

Prior to removing the burner tube, you must unthread the flange nut from the copper gas tube securing it to the burner tube. Then the tube slides right out.

Cleaned both the electrode and the burner with emery cloth (like fine sand paper). Reinstalled both. Reconnected the gas and checked for leaks with some liquid gas detector. Sealed fine. Turned the fridge back on. Fired right up as usual. Additionally, the minute it fired up, the tick ticking stoped. It now knows there’s a flame. Side note, since the part was so cheap anyways, I ordered a new igniter electrode off Amazon for about $19 and replaced the 10 year old one since I was in there anyways. Replacing that part did not fully fix the issue but when combined with cleaning the burn tube the issue was fully resolved. Also, while I was in there I went ahead and vacuumed the entire area and wiped it all down.

I was low-key hoping I wouldn’t be able to fix it. Would’ve provided me with the excuse I needed to get one of them high speed 12-volt compressor fridges. The one I was eyeballing that would be a direct-fit replacement costs about $1300. We’ve got the solar and battery power to be able to run it instead of the propane.

Last year, about July, I received a replacement credit card. My green coffee bean subscription was on that card. I attempted to change it but they told me there was no way to change it. Rather, I’d have to cancel and start a new one with the new credentials.

I cancelled. But when it came time to start a new one I just bought 20 pounds of a single bean instead. That lasted for several months and I then I repeated by buying yet another 20 pound bag of a single bean. I did miss the rotation of origins and the surprise of what beans I’d be getting every month.

This month I started the subscription back up. 4 new, unknown beans a month. A pound each. This month’s subscription just arrived and I’m all giddy inside.

May 2024 brings me, in layman’s terms, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Costa Rica. For the coffee savvy lot of you, here are the exact lots: Guatemala Michicoy Finca Rosma Lot 2, Ethiopia Hambela Benti Nenka, Rwanda Milles Collines Peaberry, and Costa Rica Red Honey Don Oscar.

This was my first read by Nick Roberts, and boy was it good. From the opening sequence in the prologue, it had the hairs on the back of my neck standing straight up. And that happened several times during the story. You learn really quick, once them lights dim, shit’s going down – and fast.

A story about Matt Matheny, a teacher, who through a random series of events takes on the responsibility of caring for the dog of a former student of his who has died. But is it just a dog? Or is something more? You’ll have a hard time putting this book down to get your answer.

My favorite quote: “The lady with the two-thousand-dollar designer dog is quoting me on the virtues of animal rescue.” Golden.

Reading another book by Jeff Strand is always a pleasure and will certainly interrupt the old “To Be Read” queue like no other. Well, like no others. Plural. King. Konrath. Strand. Crouch. These are my favorite authors and will always take precedence.

Strand’s latest tale weaves together feels of the classic Devil Doll (1964), Amelia (part two of the Trilogy of Terror), and Conky (from The Trailer Park Boys), and throws them at you all at once. Coincidentally, Amelia has always been the most scary movie I have ever watched. I remember watching it with my dad, who then terrorized me for many nights after, chasing me around the house with his comb as a make-shift spear, sliding it back and forth under the door. So thanks for bringing those memories back, Jeff.

Ezra visits his mom after the death of his father and receives his inheritance – a box containing a ventriloquist dummy, named Virgil. What happens next is neither traditional nor expected from the Devil Doll subcategory. Prepare for Strand’s typical fast paced delivery, quirky dad-jokes, and immersion into a hellish story that will certainly have you locking up your own dolls and sleeping with the lights on. Warning: do not fall asleep.

Available at all the usual sources.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote.

“He wanted to strangle that bitch. Rip her head off and gargle the blood as it poured into his mouth.

Ezra, Creep Out

For those of you who may have been curious, such as myself, if you can use your welding helmet to view the upcoming eclipse, here is our answer from NASA.

Short answer is yes – if your lens is at least a shade 12. NASA claims 12 may be too bright for others and 14 too dark, and most don’t offer a 13. But this article is from 2017. My Harbor Freight Titanium 9.3 sq. In. claims it’s a shade 13.

Many people find the Sun too bright even in a Shade 12 filter, and some find the Sun too dim in a Shade 14 filter — but Shade 13 filters are uncommon and can be hard to find.

NASA

So am I going to attempt to look through my Harbor Freight welding helmet? Fuck no. I aint gonna trust my already aging, worsening vision to some Harbor Freight tool. In the last words of Michael Dewayne Smith, who was convicted of killing 2 people in 2002, “Nah, I’m good.”