Heater Installation

Because of the flooding inside the Ambassador before we purchased it, the heater had been rusted out.  The entire bottom of the heater that was located under the oven was gone to rust when we took it out.  There really was no help, for it, so it went directly to the trash.  This was not top on our priority list for fixing last year, as we really didn't know what we would do to replace it.  At the WBBCI flea market in Madison, WI last summer, Mr. Airstream was determined to find a heater.  After a few discussions with others in the Wisconsin unit, he had his heart set on a catalytic heater.  He found one while I was setting up my booth at the flea market and tried to get his hands on it, but was beat by another eager Airstreamer to get one.

Mourning his loss, he continued on his search for another one, with no luck.  Meanwhile, another Wisconsin unit member, who knew Mr. Airstream's plight, found one for $30 and snatched it up for us!  We were astounded and elated that he took the chance that Mr. Airstream hadn't found one!  Of course, Mr. Airstream, has been carrying this thing around with us since then, trying to find the perfect spot for the most covetted Catalytic Heater in Wisconsin (or possibly the world!).I wanted to give you a glimpse of the installation underneath the refrigerator.  He used gas grade flexible gas line.  The extra is for a reason, to be seen in a minute.

Now you know the structure that we used to hold up the  refrigerator.  It was similar to what Airstream originally used, but much sturdier now.

Ta! Da!  The perfect little spot - except one little thing!  With the heater attatched and running in this location, it was pointed directly at our bed!  Not a problem for me, but Mr. Airstream likes it cool at night.  There is also the entire rest of the 28' of the Airstream to heat, too.If you hadn't already guessed, we attatched the heater to hinges so that we could swing it around and face it towards the back of the Airstream as needed (most of the time!).  A reason for this location, besides the oven space was that the gas was run in this location for the refrigerator, so it made sense.

Let us know what you think.  We are expecting to use this on our trip to the mountains in May, so we'll update you then too!  We do expect to use a small ceramic heater back in the bathroom for extra heat.  I'm trying to convince Mr. Airstream that we need another one of these in the bathroom....We'll see!

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