# Suburban Furnace Recall See Post#18 For Link



## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

Hello. I just had the opportunity to use the furnace in my '07 SYDNEY 31 frks fiver. With the record lows we had here last night in the Orlando area of FL, it was a must to use the furnace. It did heat the trailer, however, it's behavior doing so left me a little uneasy and perplexed as I have not had these issues in previous rv's. The model in question is the low profile Suburban SF series.

The unit would cycle on and off as it should and as one would expect it to. However, the cycles seemed long. 
During each cycle, you could here the ignitor click on and off several times as if the pilot was going out and having to be relit all the while the fan still ran. There was no wind on the furnace exhaust side of the rv. As best I could tell, both the intake and exhaust ports on the outside look clear.

During each cycle, I could here noises like a drum beating at times. The noise sounded like a blow torch trying to be blown out - the sound a flame makes when it is blown on. The heat was hot and again, it would cycle, but the cycles were long accompanied by these sounds and the sound of the ingitor several times during each cycle leading me to believe that the burner is going out.

All of my other gas appliances have a steady blue flame so I don't think that it is a supply or regulator problem.

I don't know if I'm making sense, however, anyone who knows what this is, how to fix it, etc., please let me know. THANKS and happy New Year. Phillip


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

They do sound like a blow torch at times. Not sure what you re hearing but when the trailer reaches temp and the thermostat tells it to shut off, the 'blow torch' sound will disapeear and the unit will continue to blow for a min or so to cool itself down, then shut off completely.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

my furnace runs and runs and runs and the only way to shut it off it to use the emergency shut off. Put it in the shop, they said it ran fine.It doesn't.


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

tdvffjohn said:


> They do sound like a blow torch at times. Not sure what you re hearing but when the trailer reaches temp and the thermostat tells it to shut off, the 'blow torch' sound will disapeear and the unit will continue to blow for a min or so to cool itself down, then shut off completely.


Yes, I know the flame makes a bit of a blow tourch sound while the unit is in the "output" mode. Just like a home heating unit, the fan will continue to run a bit after the burner is exstinguished. Both of these are operatonally normal. However, the symptoms I'm describing are not these. It's more of a sputtering sound from the burner exhaust while the burner is on. Again, I hear the ignitor a few times during each cycle as if the flame is being blown out and having to be relite.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Can you open the access door on the outside and see if what you see matches what it sounds like. Someone here will know what its doing exactly.......right CamperAndy


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

tdvffjohn said:


> Can you open the access door on the outside and see if what you see matches what it sounds like. Someone here will know what its doing exactly.......right CamperAndy


 I wish I could open an access panel door on the outside. My furnace is a Suburban model located under the stove behind a decorative vented louvre panel. The only thing outside is the silver dual porthole intake/outake plate.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Duh........they all are that way. As Jessica Simpson said...."my bad"

John


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Since you have a 2007 I'm hoping it's still under warranty. It sounds like the burner is cycling on and off excessively. Ours caused the whole rear slide to vibrate. There was some kinding on this forum, I know thats hard to believe, about putting quarters in a slot. Anyway the dealer took care of it and it runs fine now. It's noisy but they all are.


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

ED_RN said:


> Since you have a 2007 I'm hoping it's still under warranty. It sounds like the burner is cycling on and off excessively. Ours caused the whole rear slide to vibrate. There was some kinding on this forum, I know thats hard to believe, about putting quarters in a slot. Anyway the dealer took care of it and it runs fine now. It's noisy but they all are.


Yes, mine is an '07 delivered on April 07, 07. So, i do have some warranty left. If I'm not able to see anything that I can fix at no cost, I will take it to the dealer up in JAX. Such a pain, so I will try to see whats up first. I do not think it is a supply or regulator problem as all the other gas appliances work very well with a constant, staedy flame. I'm wondering if something has vibrated loose in the venting system or if some trash has gotten into the air supply vent. It seems to be getting blown out and having to relight. I'm all ears folks. Thanks. Phillip


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I'm not sure if this helps but I don't believe there is a pilot light. Mine starts with the fan starting, then the igniter, then the burner lights. The igniter goes on for a little bit just to make sure the flame is going. I've never heard the igniter going once the burner is up and running. It's fairly noisy when the burner is going but I don't hear anything like a drum beat. I can't think of anything in the furnace that would make that sound but it could be the ductwork vibrating from the airflow. I would take it back to the dealer and show them what's going on and ask them to take a look at it. If they say it's normal I would ask to be shown one on the lot and see if it works the same way.


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

After much research and the input from the folks here and an e-mail from a Suburban Furnace rep, I solved my furnace problem today. It was the intake vent tube. It was to short. There was even a recall on some Keystone branded rvs for this exact problem. BUT, not mine!!! So I made it longer, made sure there were no gaps in it, and now it works great with no sputtering, druming sounds, shorter run cycle, and no constant relighting. PCM


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

hooray! glad you found the problem


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## Fanatical1 (Jan 9, 2006)

Thats great you fixed the problem on your own. I would never have guessed that the intake tube was too short???


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

Fanatical1 said:


> Thats great you fixed the problem on your own. I would never have guessed that the intake tube was too short???


 Yes, we are really pleased, too. No delay getting it reparied despite its still under warranty. Plus, its so inconvenient to get in in the shop up in JAX. 
The heater unit has an intake and exhaust tube that is part of the heater burner assembly. They marry up in a sleeve like manner to the silver stainless furnace vent on the exterior of the rv. The intake tube of the exterior plate barely met the intake tube of the furnace. Per the install instructions, a minimum overlap of 1 half inch is required. The lack of overlap was decreasing the intake pressure and causing the noise of the flame I was hearing. I fabricated, via a quick trip to the Depot, a longer metal intake tube. Again, this was a recall item on many Cougar models. I suspect there are many other Keystone products out there with this same problem. Again, thanks. PCM


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Any chance of a picture?

Glad you got it fixed









John


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

tdvffjohn said:


> Any chance of a picture?
> 
> Glad you got it fixed
> 
> ...


Thanks! I'm glad, too. PIC? Never thought about it but with the repair done, there is nothing to photograph. I bought a galvanized conduit coupler to bridge the 2 intake pieces together. That's pretty much it. PCM


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

jdpm said:


> After much research and the input from the folks here and an e-mail from a Suburban Furnace rep, I solved my furnace problem today. It was the intake vent tube. It was to short. There was even a recall on some Keystone branded rvs for this exact problem. BUT, not mine!!! So I made it longer, made sure there were no gaps in it, and now it works great with no sputtering, druming sounds, shorter run cycle, and no constant relighting. PCM


Awesome!

Do you have a list of which year/model TT were recalled with this problem. Perhaps we coud have it here for any future questions.


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

Here is the Keystone RV recall for the Suburban furnace intake. It is for Cougar fifth wheels. I would not be surprised, however, it other models are affected. PCM

Recall - 06-074 Cougar 5th Wheel Suburban Furnace Intake

http://www.keystonerv.com/media/pdf/Recall...ce%20Intake.pdf

copy and paste above link.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Because it is a Keystone recall that has affected a Outback model, I changed a little the title line and pinned this thread.

John


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## tcoyle2 (Dec 3, 2007)

jdpm said:


> Hello. I just had the opportunity to use the furnace in my '07 SYDNEY 31 frks fiver. With the record lows we had here last night in the Orlando area of FL, it was a must to use the furnace. It did heat the trailer, however, it's behavior doing so left me a little uneasy and perplexed as I have not had these issues in previous rv's. The model in question is the low profile Suburban SF series.
> 
> The unit would cycle on and off as it should and as one would expect it to. However, the cycles seemed long.
> During each cycle, you could here the ignitor click on and off several times as if the pilot was going out and having to be relit all the while the fan still ran. There was no wind on the furnace exhaust side of the rv. As best I could tell, both the intake and exhaust ports on the outside look clear.
> ...


Don't know if this will help but it is information you may find useful.

I have a 26RKS that has a Surburban gas furnace installed. On my trip a receint trip I spent two nights in the trailer and noticed that the heater worked well but there was a vibration in the sofa, where I was sleeping. When I got home I took the sofa apart and obtained access to the heater. It appeared to me that the heater was installed to high and the covering panel was resting on the heater. This provided a noise during operation. Addtionally, the mounting was not how I wanted it and the furnace was transmitting all vibrations to the surronding framework.

I corrected the issues by removing the unit, adjusting the hight of the mounts to allow installation of regular door insulation rubber where contact with the floor and fender wells interfaced. I also raised the covering wood panel with the same door insulation to insure no contact was made. The furnace now runs with less noise and the vibrations are much more acceptable.

I should point out that I took the time to adjust the downward duct work for a better fit and used aluminum tape to seal the interface to the foor ductwork inside the duct. I also used this tape to secure the removable side panels on the furnace that were loose and noisy. I found that one was partialy off during my first instpection.

As far as I can tell the burner chamber is isolated from the inside of the trailer and flame out would need to be caused by gas flow interruption or perhaps wind blowing in the intake at a rate that would impact the flame. Was there a lot of wind during the night the unit kept making the noise?

Hope this information helps.

tim


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Glad you got it fixed and it was an easy one at that!


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