From the "can't leave stuff alone" file

[oltrunt]

A short while ago I was crowing about finding a new gas valve for my bus heater.  I no sooner finished that up when the gas valve on the wall heater in out "granny flat" failed (or at least so I thought at the time).  By the time I finished researching a replacement valve I realized that both the bus and the flat used the same basic valve.  Since the flat has a wall thermostat it requires a thermopile to generate the millivolts required to run the thermostat while the bus with a manual temp set uses a thermocouple.  Other than that the valves are identical.  While I waited for the new valve from e-bay I monkeyed with the heater and after cleaning the pilot tube and getting the scale off the thermopile the heater works just fine.
E-bay came through with a new valve, a new thermopile and a new thermostat.  Not wanting all those goodies to go to waste, I tore the heater out of the bus and adapted all the new parts to it.  It works great and I don't have to crawl around on the floor to set the temp.  Without thinking I shared my success with Wifey who looked at me with that raised eyebrow "Yea sure" look—I swear, it just happened that way even though I really did want to make the change in the bus heater back when I repaired it----.
Things often happen to me in sets of three.  Today the thermopile in our 5 year old water heater gave up the ghost.  The fixins for that ran $187.50 and I didn't even get any spare parts!
Jack

[PP]

And I'll bet you were a handful for your parents growing up...

[Geoff]

I am also a DIY.  How come you couldn't get the parts for your house water heater as cheap as the parts for the bus?

I had the water heater go out in the house, so we took showers in the bus while I put in a new house water heater.

Oh, and what does any of this have anything to do with your parents and when you were growing up???

[luvrbus]

I screwed up 2 gas valves on a Atwood in 2 days on the van @ 100 bucks ea by not reading,they have a disk inside the valve that pops when the pressure is set to high.lol I got it figured out now 5lbs is is 4.66 psi to much 11 inches of water is not much PSI

[oltrunt]

"Oh, and what does any of this have anything to do with your parents and when you were growing up???"

pp is right--made me laugh.  I was 9 years old when I learned just how heavy an old Chevrolet's door actually was as the last bolt came out of the door hinge.  Ha.
Jack