Now that spring has sprung we are busy getting things done for when we head out for our vacation fun.
Spring cleaning is always a chore, fun-timers of full-timers. We all have certain tasks we need to address before we can put the rig back on the road.
We supplement our heat with a small cube heater. Our gas furnaces work very well on nights when the heat pumps can't supply heat. The biggest problem for us is feeding those little gas suckers. I have installed a extend-a-stay tank supply but I still have to find a propane supplier. That is not always easy and it can be pricey in some areas. DW's dad passed in November. We relocated from WA to AL to camp in the in-laws yard, at the family request, to help care for mother. When the weather turned cold we ran into the propane supply issue. My brother-in-law lent me 2 small tanks. It was cold enough long enough that I was exchanging them every few days at the local Walmart.
Melissa found a cube heater in the basement one day. We tried it that night, as it got into the teens. What a discovery! That and the electric fire place kept us snug. Propane furnaces didn't come on much. Needed some to keep the basement plumbing from freezing. So, now we use the cube heater on a regular basis.
What does this all have to do with maintenance? The cube heater needs deep cleaning at some point of long usage.
I happened to look into the fan side of the heater. Saw lots of dust. When I took the maintenance screen off and looked deep into the unit I could see that the heat exchange ports were blocked with dust. The only way to clean it was to pull the guts out of the case.
Now things get a little more tense. Once I had the unit apart I found that one of the connectors on the line cord was failing. It was obvious that the connection was overheating. The wire was brittle and the push-on connector was discolored and deteriorating.
I cleaned the components of the dust buildup, cleaned the tarnished terminal and replace the connector. The air flow is much stronger and the unit noise is less. I feel confident we can safely get much more safe usage out of this little big heat supplier. It is amazing just how much supplement heat these littler heaters put out.
Happy, safe and comfortable trails to all.