# First Furnace Start Up



## heron

312 bh

Going out next week for a few days. Wondered if anyone can give me some directions on how to start up the furnace. Is there an automatic ignition or do we have to light a pilot? Also, any recommendations, things to check etc... before we start it up. We'll be at full hook ups.


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## Oregon_Camper

For the furnace to work, you will need propane and power (12v or shore power)

If this is the first time, make sure the line are primed by lighting the stove. Takes a while to get the air out of the lines. Then once that is working, simply turn in the wall switch and you'll be good to go.

Did you do a Pre Deliver Inspection before you brought the trailer home? If not, I'd highly recommend you go over my list (will take about 3-4 hours) to ensure EVERYTHING is working properly and installed correctly

You can download the file here
http://home.comcast.net/~tannerjim1/Master%20PDI.pdf


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## heron

Oregon_Camper said:


> For the furnace to work, you will need propane and power (12v or shore power)
> 
> If this is the first time, make sure the line are primed by lighting the stove. Takes a while to get the air out of the lines. Then once that is working, simply turn in the wall switch and you'll be good to go.
> 
> Did you do a Pre Deliver Inspection before you brought the trailer home? If not, I'd highly recommend you go over my list (will take about 3-4 hours) to ensure EVERYTHING is working properly and installed correctly
> 
> You can download the file here
> http://home.comcast....aster%20PDI.pdf


Yes, went over the list after we found out we had been lied to and the PDI was not done. We had our TT delivered. All in all everything has been fine, no issues except a dent in the rear door from the factory from where they left the grab handle against the door when the fiberglass was curing. I have a new door in the garage waiting for my time to put it on. 
We have just used the camper twice this year since our delivery 4 months back. This will be our first time out in somewhat cooler weather so I simply could not remember about starting the heat up. 
On a different note should I drain the water heater when I'm not using the camper for a month or so at a time? 
Also, we live in South East TN. Does not really get cold here except in January/Feb and even then we only have a handful of mornings when it's around 20 degrees. When/Should we winterize? I think we'll be using it up thru December at least, maybe Disneyworld.
I'm also worried about Black Widow spiders. We do have them around here and I've been reading about spiders in the various compartments. The camper is kept under a RV port with a gravel pad. It is sealed really well underneath but I'm not sure if I should be doing something else.


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## Oregon_Camper

heron said:


> I'm also worried about Black Widow spiders. We do have them around here and I've been reading about spiders in the various compartments. The camper is kept under a RV port with a gravel pad. It is sealed really well underneath but I'm not sure if I should be doing something else.


Those are a bit larger to have an impact on the normal spider problem area...the hot water heater. Smaller spiders like to get into the propane injector line and the web cause problems. Get a large pipe cleaner and remember to clean out the injector after long storage periods.

...the other issue with spiders getting into your trailer...well, that is something I can't help you with. Yuck!


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## CamperAndy

Just remember that the first use of the furnace can result in the somke alarm going off. There will be a smell of hot/burnt oil. This is left over from manufacturing of the firebox.


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## heron

Oregon_Camper said:


> I'm also worried about Black Widow spiders. We do have them around here and I've been reading about spiders in the various compartments. The camper is kept under a RV port with a gravel pad. It is sealed really well underneath but I'm not sure if I should be doing something else.


Those are a bit larger to have an impact on the normal spider problem area...the hot water heater. Smaller spiders like to get into the propane injector line and the web cause problems. Get a large pipe cleaner and remember to clean out the injector after long storage periods.

...the other issue with spiders getting into your trailer...well, that is something I can't help you with. Yuck!
[/quote]

I'm not too worried about it but we have seen the black widows over at the lot where my enclosure is set up. 

Thanks for all the help fellas!


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## Howier

For the outside of the TT you need to keep the exhaust outlet clear of obstructions. Also dont leave anything around the exhaust that you value. I have a table we set in the area and I will forget about it in the cool weather. The exhust will discharge some small black dirt particles. They wipe off of the table, but if you left clothes there or something like that, you will probable ruin them.


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## my3chis

CamperAndy said:


> Just remember that the first use of the furnace can result in the somke alarm going off. There will be a smell of hot/burnt oil. This is left over from manufacturing of the firebox.


Yes it does! Didn't realize how loud they are until I was in our little TT and they went of.


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## Irishcampers

CamperAndy said:


> Just remember that the first use of the furnace can result in the somke alarm going off. There will be a smell of hot/burnt oil. This is left over from manufacturing of the firebox.


I wish I had read this before we went camping last weekend. We had not used the furnace before and it set the smoke detector off. I realized what went wrong after I did it, and wished I had done a first time start up at home. After we aired things out, everything was fine. The smoke detector scared the heck out of the dog though (she thinks it's the invisible fence signal).


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## Jewellfamily

heron said:


> 312 bh
> 
> Going out next week for a few days. Wondered if anyone can give me some directions on how to start up the furnace. Is there an automatic ignition or do we have to light a pilot? Also, any recommendations, things to check etc... before we start it up. We'll be at full hook ups.


On our 312BH, as long as you are on shore power or have your battery charged, turn the propane on, and turn on the switch on the thermostat, it fires righ up with auto ignition. I noticed on ours that the discharge vent outside for the burner gets pretty hot and would probably melt chairs set too close. There has also been some recent discussion that the center vent by the fridge will blow lots of hot air, and the front BR and rear BH only blow about 1/4 as much. Maybe a good spot for an adjustable floor vent cover.

As for your question about the water heater. You dont have to drain it, but I drain mine just because I like fresh water in my rig when I go. A month is a bit long for me for letting my water sit. When we did our PDI walkthrough with our service guy, he said he recommended pulling it if it was going to sit for a while because he liked having fresh water, but also because these newer water heaters are steel casings and have an anode rod attached to the plug. Dont know if it will matter or not, but takes 2 minutes to pull the plug.

There was a cool modification post within the past day or two with an outback mod where they put screens over all of the ports. Sounds like it might be just what you are looking for to prevent spider problems







.


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## bka4tcu

Used out furnace for the first time this past weekend, smoke alarm went off even though we had the roof vents and windows open prepared for the smell and the odor when first staring up. Ran the furnace for about 10 minutes on high with a portable fan blowing on the vent near the detector to disperse the odor and keep the alarm from going off. In the end we closed the windows, left the vents cracked and the trailer was warm without any more alarms going off.


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## hautevue

Our @#$%%^ detector triggers when we turn on the furnace the first time, whenever we cook on the stove, etc. Our solution is to just remove the battery. That stops the squealing, and we replace the battery after cleaning up the kitchen. A bit of a nuisance but we don't want to eliminate the detector completely. I admit I've given that some thought.


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## thefulminator

We have a trick for the smoke detector. A sandwich size zip lock bag will fit snugly over our smoke detector and it keeps the smoke out of it. We install one every time we cook indoors.


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## Up State NY Camper

thefulminator said:


> We have a trick for the smoke detector. I sandwich size zip lock bag will fit snugly over our smoke detector and it keeps the smoke out of it. We install one every time we cook indoors.


Awsome idea! Thanks.


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## hautevue

@thefulminator: GREAT idea for zip-lock bags. I leave on the 13th for Tucson (DW is doing El Tour d'Tucson on the 20th) and I will take some bags. Thanks for sharing.


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## Scoutr2

We have a small electric bathroom heater that I set on the stove and I let it run on LOW all night. We stay toasty warm, even in below freezing weather. I'm already paying for electricity with may campground fee. On a cold weekend, the furnace will consume the majority of both propane tanks. That's more money than the campground fee!

We have used the furnace on occasion, just to take the chill off. Then the bathroom heater takes over.

Mike


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