[VAC] Plumber Hell

["Bob Kiger" <bobkiger@xxxxxxxx>]

Dear Airstream compatriots,
	Two days ago, inspired by the handiness of group members, I decided to
tackle what appeared to be a simple task.  I set out to replace the kitchen
faucet in my 1966 Safari which was leaking terribly.

I found a four inch laundry faucet that fit perfectly and the instructions
appeared to be very simple.  Then I tried to remove the old faucet.  Of
course all the fittings were corroded to the point that I spent half a day
twisting the nuts and finally hacksawed off the cold water side.

So, there I was with a shiny new faucet sitting perfectly on the back of the
sink.  All I had to do was screw back on the fittings and I was ready for
dinner.  Wrong!

The old fittings weren't designed to seal against the modern faucet.  Four
times I made adjustments and four times, when I turned on the H2O I got a
torrent under the sink.  So I finally decided to cut off the old fitting and
go get joiners and modern flex hose to connect to the faucet.

When I brought the fittings home last night I anxiously began to join the
Airstream copper pipe into the joiner and . . . it would not fit!  The
outside diameter of my copper pipe was to large.  So I took off in an after
dark search to the big boys at Eagle hardware.  An older fellow, who looked
like an expert on all things plumbing, said "What you've got here is Type K
tubing which was used in older trailers and in some medical applications".
He did not have any Type K fittings but suggested I shop around to more
specialized stores in the morning.

So I took a piece of my "Type K" tubing to the True Value store here in
Ashland and the guy said that Type K might be thicker tubing but the
thickness was on the inside and that he felt my tubing had been stretched by
being frozen.

So now I am frozen in plumber hell.  I can't find any way to join my copper
tubing to contemporary flex hose and activate my sink.  Please help without
telling me, as the guy did at True Value, that I might have to replace the
whole line.  That would be a true can of worms.

Sincerely,
Bob Kiger aka Cruiser Bob
bobkiger@home.com