george101 Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Hello, Has anyone ever taken out their stove in their Chinook? What I want to do is set up the interior of my Chinook like the 75 Chinook rather than the 78 Chinook. If you've seen a 75 Chinook, you know that the bed is on one side and all the appliances are on the other. The 78 Chinook is set up so that the bed is kind of scrunched in there and the appliances are on both sides of the Chinook. This is not an ideal set up for me because I can't fully lay down in the bed and I need to lay diagonal across the bed and my feet touch the end of the Chinook (which is annoying and I don't get a good night sleep). So what I want to do is, I want to move the stove from one side of my Chinook to the other side. This, of course, requires re-piping the propane pipes to the other side of the Chinook. I'm sure no one is crazy enough to have done this before (because I imagine that it's a huge, painful effort), but I thought I'd ask anyways. Also, has anyone out there ever installed pipe for a propane tank? This is something I have 0 experience with, but I'm willing to give it a try! I guess I should probably also worry about the safety aspects of installing the propane piping. I wonder if there is any safety concerns as far as getting into an accident if you change the current set up. Then, again, who knows if they actually took that into consideration in the 70s when they originally made the vehicle. Thanks, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Some where on the MH is a sticker that says it conforms to the NFPA codes I guess you could look it up on line. Some where there is some thing about black steel piping and I think it has to be what is used under the MH. I don't think they hired master plumbers to pipe the motor homes so I'm sure it is some thing that you could do. Leaks of course are the biggest threat things like double flared copper fittings etc. would be mandatory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george101 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Well, if I can get this operation up and running I'll make sure to document it with pictures. That way, if anyone else at some point needs to do this, they'll be able to see some pics of what the operation looks like. My buddy is a plumber, and he has hooked up LP piping for houses so he might be able to provide me with some useful tips for the RV re-piping. I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm sure I'll gain some valuable knowledge if I don't blow myself up first. So, Maineah, is this black steel piping a particular type of piping? Is it different than regular piping? I know at some point the regular piping turns to copper piping. At least, that's what it looked like happened in an episode of This Old House (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20176436,00.html). So, perhaps that's what happens with Chinooks as well?? The other thing I suppose I'll have to do is cap the end of the propane pipe going to the refrigerator. I am going to remove the refrigerator all together, but the refrigerator takes both electric and propane. So it will require me capping off the propane pipe going to the refrig and disconnecting the electrical unit going to the frig as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Good deal on the plumber friend he should be able to answer your questions. Black steel is just steel pipe (not iron) and from there you can use copper line I'm pretty sure it does not have to be thick copper because of the low pressure again pick your buddy's brain I don't want to lead you down the wrong path. Maybe he even has a threading machine to do the steel pipe. They do make a plug for the flared copper line so you can cap the fridge. It's all low pressure back there but you do not need leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george101 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Maineah, You're right about the steel piping. I just spent some quality time underneath my Chinook and I tried scraping off the crud from one of the pipes and it is, in fact, steel. I am adding a pic to this comment diagramming the propane piping system for the Chinook (well, a 78 at least). I think all I need to do is change the T connector to an L connector so that it just goes to the heater and not to the stove. Then I'll have to cut the main pipe, somehow figure out how to thread it, buy a T connector and the bend pipe up through the floor. I'll have to ask my plumbing buddy if he has tools to thread pipe and if he knows how to bend it. Maybe just get it hot enough with a torch and bend?? Not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Don't think you want to bend it not even sure you can. Your plumber buddy should be able to help you out with fittings to make all the angles you need to make. I'm guessing it would be easier to remake the entire system then to try and rethread the old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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