Walt's Corner

During our last FTX (Field Training eXercise for you civilians) our absorption fridge, a Norcold N611, locked up a couple times. The infamous Gas and Power lights blinking, meaning no AC power or propane available to run the fridge. Not a good thing for weekend warriors who primarily boondock. About a year ago we experienced this fault but was due to a dirty igniter/flame sensor.

We were 3 nights in to a 4 night camping trip – not cool. After resetting it quite a few times, it finally started working again. By the time we made it back home I could not get it to light anymore. I was wondering if this was my sign to finally swap out this 10 year old propane fridge with a nice 12-volt variable compressor model. The Norcold DMC 4081 would be the perfect drop-in replacement. But we’re talking about dropping a cool grand plus after taxes, shipping, and anchoring parts.

Disclaimer

Standard disclaimer applies. Do not attempt this unless you are comfortable and experienced with working on gas lines. Better to hire a professional.

Symptoms

When turned on, the fridge would tick-tick-tick-tick-tick but no light. We all know we need 3 things for combustion: spark, air, and fuel. The tick-tick tells me we had spark. There was definitely air. Must be missing fuel. After so many attempts to light it might finally give off a WHOOMPH! But die out immediately. Wouldn’t stay lit. I could hear a strained release of propane – like something was trying to make it through. But not enough to sustain a flame. That could only be a few things. The burner tube, the gas solenoid, the control board, or a blocked gas line. I knew the gas pressure was good coming from the tanks. I knew voltage was present at the solenoid. That left me thinking either the burner or the valve. Both part numbers are listed below and are an easy find on Amazon. Just be sure your particular model number fridge is listed. Going for the cheapest item first, I ordered the $15 burner tube. Pulled it and cleaned it. No dice. Replaced it. Still no dice.

The Cure

Next up was the $69 gas solenoid valve. Turned off and burned off the remaining propane in the line using the stove. Simple gas line compression nuts came clean off and connecting the lines back up to the new solenoid was a breeze. Used some liquid propane gas leak detector and no leaks detected. The fridge fired right up. Success!

Tools Required

Offset (or low profile bit set) phillips for valve retaining screws
5/8 inch stubby wrench (valve output line)
3/4 inch wrench (valve input line)
9/16 inch wrench to hold the valve in place while torquing down the nuts
Gas leak detector

Parts

Gas Solenoid Valve – Norcold 633726
Refrigerator Burner – Norcold 621957

It is that time of year once again when my wife is unemployed for the summer. Did I mention she is a teacher? After slaving the entire school year away from oh-dark-thirty AM to oh-dark-thirty PM, she has certainly earned her summer off. But these summers seem to be getting smaller.

I remember as a kid, summers were hella-long and are where some of my most favorite memories stem from.

3^rd grade summer is especially memorable for me. We lived in the country in Michigan. The forest was our back yard. Our nearest neighbor was miles down the road. My sister and I would be gone all day exploring those woods and dirt county roads. Once we found a pear tree. None of them were ripe. None of them were given the opportunity to become ripe. We had the entire tree bare of fruit within a couple of days.

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Roasted 3 pounds of Brazil over the weekend. I like the flavor of this coffee but I don’t like roasting it. It makes my roaster dirtier than other coffees. Puts out more smoke while roasting. Also, the cracks are very hard to hear compared to my other coffees. I’ve only got one more pound left.

Finally ran out of the last 20 pound bag of Nicaragua and opened my next one from the Papandayan Region – think Maylasia, Indonesia area. This is Java Sunda Wet Process Siki Alit. This time the 20-pound bag came in just 43 grams over weight.

I was also lucky enough to score a pound of some Kona before it sold out, and it sold out fast. Really looking forward to that coming in!

I thought it was my lucky day yesterday. During lunch I went to the Fort Bliss Post Office to send off a certified letter. During lunch the staff is down to the absolute minimum of one. I was expecting to have to wait in line for 10 or 15 minutes.

I opened the door, looked around to gauge the wait time. Lo and behold, there was no line. The one guy standing at the counter. A beam of sunshine lighting up my path to the counter. Ecstatic, I said “It’s my lucky day!”

The clerk said, “Unfortunately, it’s not, motherfucker.” OK, he may not have dropped that F bomb. My Head just throws random F-bombs throughout the day. He continued, “We can’t print any postage,” and proceeded to give me directions to the nearest post office. He then complemented me on my shirt, saying something to the effect that my day was somewhat lucky with a shirt like that.

I’ll try my luck today.

This was not only my first time cooking a tri-tip, but I did it unconventionally – smoked it like a brisket. It turned out amazing.

Mustard was the binder. Seasonings consisted of Killer Hogs AP, Fiesta Fajita Seasoning, and shit-ton of fresh cracked pepper. I do not eat brisket by the slice with the exception my taste test after smoking it; I use it for my tacos, nachos, and burritos. That’s why I went ahead and threw some fajita seasoning in the mix.

Post oak and a small amount of cherry wood was used for the smoke. Temperature was maintained between 250-264 for the whole cook. Reached 165º at almost 4 hours in at which point I wrapped it in foil and placed back on until it was probe tender, almost 2 hours. Final temp was 203º.

After a 30 minute rest on the counter the slicing began. It was so juicy and pull apart tender. Tasted just like a brisket.

This tri-cut is going to be my go-to for when I don’t spend all morning, afternoon, and some evening smoking a real brisket. Previously, my go-to was a good chuck or roast and I would end up discarding probably a fifth of the weight in fat after it was cooked.

There’s not a whole lot of fat on a trimmed tri-cut but there is enough internal marbling to keep it juicy during a 5-6 hour cook. In the picture here you can see just how lean this piece was. There was no fat left for me to cut off. Most impressive.