It was a beautiful day so we decided to take a ride, and where better to go than Llano, TX, home of Cooper's BBQ. Larry and Mary Ellen had not yet been there so it was a perfect opportunity to introduce them to perhaps our favorite BBQ place in Texas? A very pretty ride ended in us parking at Coopers and finding just a small line at 1130 on a Sunday morning. At Coopers you line up and go to a "serving" pit where you choose what you want and how much you want. Choices abound, such as sausages, pork chops, brisket, both pork and beef ribs, prime rib, rib eye steaks, chicken, just to mention a few :-) The server puts what you choose on a plain plastic tray and then you go inside where they slice and weigh it, you pick your sides, and be sure you get some cobbler, either peach, apple, pecan, or blackberry. Then you pay and find a place to sit on the long picnic tables. Make your way to the huge pot of pinto beans at the side of the room, add some pickled jalapeños and white bread from the table and you are on your way to BBQ heaven. We made our way back through the pretty Texas hill country, sat and visited over a bit of the grape and waited til we, yes, decided to go get more food! A light mexican snack was decided upon and we went and had some more great food at a nearby restaurant. Our visit came to a very quick end, too short, but we will be back, and have more time as Larry enters the life of leisure we enjoy next year!
Once we got the hydraulic leak fixed we thought we were home free for a bit with problems. We got a little clue about a month ago when our Aqua-Hot wouldn't light off one morning when we needed a little heat. A bit of explanation is required. We have a hydronic heating and hot water system in our motorhome. It is a very efficient and effective unit at making domestic hot water and providing 4 zones of heat. It is a combination unit that uses electric and/or diesel to heat a boiler. In the warmer months the electric element provides all we need, endless hot water, as there is a domestic hot water loop immersed in the boiler. If for some reason we need even more hot water or in cooler times we need heat, we turn on the diesel burner and then we have a 50,000 BTU burner as the heat source. Other advantages of this system are 3 separate zones of heat in the living area, another zone in the basement area, unlimited hot water, a loop to preheat the engine on a cold morning, and the ability for the engine when running to become the heat source for the boiler. So back to our little warning sign, we were in Ridgway, Colorado on a 32 degree morning and we turned on the diesel for a bit of heat, and it wouldn't light. I checked the several things that might cause this to happen, low voltage, low coolant for example, but all was well. I played around a bit, but it wouldn't light. Roger Berke is considered the guru of hydronic heating and runs his own forum and service and parts company. I contacted him and he had me do a couple more things and it lit off, and then continued to operate perfectly for a month, right up until yesterday morning when it was 35 degrees in Georgetown when we were supposed to leave. This time I couldn't get it to light using all the techniques I used previously, so I contact Roger again, he says it's most likely a control box, and gives me contact info for a mobile service guy in Houston as the nearest to Georgetown. I don't need to remind you that winter is coming, we're heading north to Louisville, and although we'll do what we can to avoid winter, we still NEED heat. I call the guy in Houston, Rudy, and we discuss our issue and he is virtually certain it is a control box as well. He very nicely offers to have me come over to Houston, will meet me, sell me the control box, let me put it in myself, and not charge me a service call or labor. Jan and I consider this for a bit, but detouring over to Houston will add almost 400 miles to our trip to Kelly's.
We decide since Roger and Rudy are virtually certain it is a failed control box we opt to order one from Roger, have it sent to Kelly's, and I will install it myself. All pretty straight forward, good stuff, except for the small fact a control box is $800! But, as Jan says, we have to have heat. So in case any of you thought things were going just a little too smoothly, you can breathe easy now:-)
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