Sunday, March 14, 2010

Shiny Propane Tanks

Today, was a beautiful day, so I was on a mission to get some spray painting done.  I have a bunch of things to spray paint, but thought I would do my part to get the Airstream on the road soon! 

We have the original Propane tanks from the 1963 Ambassador, but they have the old valves that can't be refilled.  After looking at new ones this size and finding them to be $150 each.  After looking a little further, my dh found the new valves for the tanks for $23 each.  Now all we had to do is make them look a little more presentable.

Have I said before that spray paint is a wonderful thing?  Well, the kids sanded the bad spots down, I primed it and then used Rustoleum Aluminum Spray Paint.
Here are the results.  They almost look better than the Airstream at this point, at least from this angle.  Just a view from far away.  It will be nice to not switch our small tanks back and forth from our grill at home to the Airstream everytime that we leave.
The other thing that my dh got done today was to shuffle the Airstreams around.  I guess this is the downfall of having a fleet is that it's never easy to figure out where they go.  We had stored the '53 Clipper besidePenny Pinching Party - The Thrifty Home the garage in the front of the house for the winter and put the '63 Ambassador in the back yard.  We are working on the '63, so we wanted it out to get it ready to go for our trip.  The '53 is going to retire for awhile in the back yard.  I have plans of making a large yard ornament and planting flower beds around it.  It will be a fun little place for the kids to have sleepovers, until we decide we need it again.

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10 comments:

  1. Tanks for the memories!

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  2. Oh wow that is a good way to do it. Thumbs up!

    Candle shade

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  3. Years ago my friends and I would have "campouts" in our neighbors camping trailer in their backyard- such great memories! We felt so grown up because no adults were allowed!

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  4. I love this blog-my hubby and I have been wanting an airstream for a while, and we are just waiting for the right time. We talk about all the places we will go...! I love it!

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  5. Hey, just a heads up...being married to a propane man I have heard some nightmare tales of painted propane tanks. Propane inside the tank is a liquid that changes to gas which is under pressure, depending on the temperature. The warmer it is, the more it expands. NEVER PAINT A PROPANE TANK in a paint color that will absorb heat. Shiny silver or white, maybe even shiny cream, but never dark colors or flat paint. My husband prevented a near accident which could have leveled someone's home when a crafty wife decided that brown with pink polka dots would be a great look for her tanks.

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  6. Point well taken! We only want to have shiny silver on this one. I think it actually used to be that color or a grey. Good caution to keep in mind!

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  7. I'll never forget when I was a teen we went out west. They were having an Airstream get together. There were thousands of them. Do they still do that? Your tanks look great.
    Win Rachael Ray bake ware at my blog.
    Thanks!
    Sherry

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  8. Yes - we do have rallys. We attended last year's International Rally in Madison. The club name is Wally Byam Caravan Club International, or WBCCI. Wally Byam is the originator of Airstream and started with many caravans all over the world. There are regional units that meet all the time, and a once a year International Rally in the first week in July. This year, it will be held in Gillette, Wyoming. Usually, if a rally is in your area, they will have an open house where you can go through the campers. If they don't, don't be shy about approaching them and asking questions. I've not met an Airstreamer that won't give you a tour and take you in like family. We give more tours on vacation or going to an area park than you can imagine, and enjoy sharing with others.

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  9. Ooh! That is a great idea! I hope the good weather lasts so we can have lots more spray painting days!!

    Thanks for linking to Creative Cats!

    Andy
    Poppies at Play

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  10. Speaking of safety:
    "It may be illegal, either by federal regulations or administrative code in your states, to refill a small cylinder that is older than twelve years without being inspected according to strict procedures. "

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