# Heater



## ilovemydog (Aug 18, 2006)

We had a slight problem this past week with our heater. We had a cold snap down in LA and attempted to use the heater and it would come on then after about 20 sec go off. I was wondering if this could have anything to do with air in the line or what. We have the remote thermostat and I did this several times and never did get heat. I looked thru the paper work but couldn't find anything. No instruction manual given with the camper. I have a 28RLS, 8 months old. The heater worked fine in GA. Could the move have anything to do with it. Appreciate any input.


----------



## kyoutback (Jul 12, 2004)

The blower comes on first so that is probably what you hear coming on. Then the ignitor will attempt to fire the furnace. You can hear the clicking of the ignitor if you listen closely. If it lights you hear the whoosh of the furnace and then you will get heat. I believe it tries 3 times and then shuts down if it doesn't light. It could be air in the lines. How many times did you try to light the furnace? It could also be an obstruction in the exhaust such as spiders or bees or even a stupid bird built a nest. Good luck.


----------



## NobleEagle (Jul 8, 2006)

I am on a camping trip right now and had the same problem as you are describing. After trying to turn the heat on the blower ran for a minute or so then just shut off. So after about 4 attempts, I figgured air in the line was a possibility. I then tried to "purge" the line by lighting the stove and the burner lit then went out. I finally figured this one out. I was out of LP Gas. I went outside and manually switched to my other tank and upon my return inside I tried to turn the heat on again with success this time.


----------



## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

If your LP tank is starting to get low to the point pressure begins to fall off, the furnace is the first thing to fail. It can be deceptive, because the stove will appear to work OK, making you think you still have plenty of gas. Switching over to the other tank solves the problem.

Bob


----------



## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

If your propane isn't low, try lighting the stovetop and let it run a minute or so, then restart the furnace.


----------



## Crismon4 (Jan 25, 2005)

We have a 2005 28 RSDS that had precisely the same problem! Don Palen of At Your Service Mobile RV Service and Repair arrived at our storage site and within 10 minutes' it was fixed.

I can almost guarantee your problem is the same - a high temperature safety stat has failed. The part costs about $12.00 and is held in place with one screw and a slip tab - additionally it has two slip-on wire connectors that go to the control board. As I recall, it can be checked with a voltmeter across the two wires - it should show no voltage (contacts closed) when operating normally. If you show a voltage, the stat has opened (failed). When open (failed) it prevents the gas valve from opening, therefore no heat! If you can safely turn off power and remove the two wires, you can also check its continuity with an ohmmeter. These things typically only fail in infancy or after many, many, heat/cool cycles. But, actually it can fail anytime it wants !

One major drawback to having your repaired is that Don covers No. Calif to the Canadian border.... I don't think he goes to Georgia









Good luck, hope this is your solution









gordo


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

We had this problem and it was due to not having a fully charged battery. If the furnace circuit boards doesn't detect the proper power, it will not pass the safety test and it will fail to ignite.

This can be caused by a low battery or simply not having the battery cables connected well enough. Cost me $100 to have the Mobile RV Tech tell me this....I'm giving you this advice for FREE!!!


----------



## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

Debbie,

I'd check the propane level in the tank if I were you. Best to start with the simple things first. Once the temperature gets low, propane will not go to a gas from a liquid quite as well as it would when it's warm. This means that even though there may still be gas in the tank (you can hear it swishing around), it won't come out at a rate that supports combustion. As the weather warms up, you'll be able to use the tank a little more until it goes completely out.


----------



## rtavi (Jul 8, 2005)

I had this problem due to dirt dauber wasps building a nest in the heater---it burned up ignitor and furnace had to be completely disassembled. 
There were 3 rigs with the same problem as mine at the campout we were at. If you live in the south you will have this problem eventually. Everybody-get the insect covers for the furnace and hotwater heater vent they are cheap insurance
I learned the hard way


----------



## dominer (May 20, 2007)

What about this one..... Trying to light furnace, can hear the ignitor from outside, when standing by the exhaust vents, I can smell the propane being pumped into the furnace everytime the ignitor attempts to fire, but, it wont lite. I know I have propane, (can smell it) The ignitor is firing,(can hear it) not heat!! (cant feel it)


----------



## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

dominer said:


> What about this one..... Trying to light furnace, can hear the ignitor from outside, when standing by the exhaust vents, I can smell the propane being pumped into the furnace everytime the ignitor attempts to fire, but, it wont lite. I know I have propane, (can smell it) The ignitor is firing,(can hear it) not heat!! (cant feel it)


Did you try manually changing over your propane tanks? You may be able to smell the propane, but the pressure may not be high enough to keep the furnace running.


----------



## dominer (May 20, 2007)

yeah, tried that, second tank is full.... heater actually fired once.. let it run for about 10 minutes..... shut it down, couldnt get it to light again... very frustrating. Guess I need to take it out (that ought to be fun) and check all the orfices and such.... looks like it will be a pain in the @#$ to get out from there


----------



## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Had mine repaird under warranty for this problem. It also looked and sounded (igniter) like everything was fine, but it just wouldn't light. As I recall, there was some kind of adjustment necessary.

I now light the furnace once in August so I'll have time for repairs before I really need it.

I also permanently carry an electric heater, which could serve in emergencies. (It's mainly just to use electricity I've already paid for instead of my gas.)


----------



## Cabana Dave (Jan 29, 2007)

We had a couple cold nights in the Poconos last week, and wouldn't you know - the furnace did not pump heat. Here's the symptoms; turned on heat - blower came on. I could hear the igniter spark, the flame ignited, and heat came out the chimney output outside the rig. When the igniter stopped clicking (about 5 to 10 seconds), the flame went out. As usual, the cycle repeated 2 or 3 more times with the same result. She then shut off. I changed my LP valve switch to the tank that was full, and got the same results. The owners and installation flyers are of no help, so I called Suburban. I was told nothing was user servicable, it had to be brought to a service center to get hooked up to a computer for analysis. Does anyone have a link, or know of where I can find a service guide. The schematic is of little help to me. This weekend I'm going to see if I can find the high heat sensor, and thermocouple, and if there could be dirt or a blockage.

Thanks,

Dave


----------



## Moosegut (Sep 24, 2005)

W4DRR said:


> If your LP tank is starting to get low to the point pressure begins to fall off, the furnace is the first thing to fail. It can be deceptive, because the stove will appear to work OK, making you think you still have plenty of gas. Switching over to the other tank solves the problem.
> 
> Bob


Ditto on that. I had that problem once and my stove worked fine. Just to try something else I went out and switched to the other propane tank and the furnace worked fine. The other tank was not quite empty, but apparently low enough in pressure to not charge the furnace.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Cabana Dave said:


> We had a couple cold nights in the Poconos last week, and wouldn't you know - the furnace did not pump heat. Here's the symptoms; turned on heat - blower came on. I could hear the igniter spark, the flame ignited, and heat came out the chimney output outside the rig. When the igniter stopped clicking (about 5 to 10 seconds), the flame went out. As usual, the cycle repeated 2 or 3 more times with the same result. She then shut off. I changed my LP valve switch to the tank that was full, and got the same results. The owners and installation flyers are of no help, so I called Suburban. I was told nothing was user servicable, it had to be brought to a service center to get hooked up to a computer for analysis. Does anyone have a link, or know of where I can find a service guide. The schematic is of little help to me. This weekend I'm going to see if I can find the high heat sensor, and thermocouple, and if there could be dirt or a blockage.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dave


It will not be a blockage but the other two items are very possible but of the two I would point at the thermocouple as the fault. This is based on the timing of the even and the fact that it does light. When the over heat detector fails it will normally fail permanently and prevent the gas valve from opening. The fact that you get flame but the ignitor keeps firing indicates that it does not know it has lit. The ignitor will normally turn off within 2 seconds of the burner lighting.

The control board could have an issue but this is only a remote possibility with the symptoms you indicate.


----------



## dominer (May 20, 2007)

well this past weekend more of the same....... doun in the low 40's... after the furnace cycled through 3-4 times, finally lit, never lit again for the nighttime. Just cannot get it to fire... I cant tell you how frustrating this is when you have kids screaming that they are cold!!I have read it all... tnaks not full, etc... why sometimes and not others?? I guess Ill have to take it the 40 miles to the dealer and pay an arm and a leg to have it fixed


----------



## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

If it hasn't been asked before, I wonder if you're burners on the stove-top work when you're furnance doesn't? This would eliminate some repair choices.

When we're on shore power we have a 1000/1500 watt portable heater that keeps our unit toasty (about $25)

And as a back-up we have a Coleman catalytic heater that's safe to use indoors and runs on those 12 oz. little green tanks (and we always have at least 5 on hand for emergencies - heck we even have a Coleman portable stove from our old tent camping days for those same emergencies). Knock on wood, I haven't had one of those emergencies yet.

I do, however, have a dial type gauge on each of my two propane tanks so I know what my level is. These things are less than $20 each at Wal*Mart - another cheap insurance policy. :


----------



## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Sorry to hear of the problem. Please let us know what the problem was when it's fixed.


----------



## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

dominer said:


> well this past weekend more of the same....... doun in the low 40's... after the furnace cycled through 3-4 times, finally lit, never lit again for the nighttime. Just cannot get it to fire... I cant tell you how frustrating this is when you have kids screaming that they are cold!!I have read it all... tnaks not full, etc... why sometimes and not others?? I guess Ill have to take it the 40 miles to the dealer and pay an arm and a leg to have it fixed


Sorry to read of your misfortune. Yes, unfortunately, sometimes there really isn't an easy fix.

I had to have mine repaired for exactly this behavior, luckily still under warranty. From what I remember, it was a simple adjustment of some kind, but something for which you would have to take the furnace apart and know what you're doing.


----------



## samvalaw (Feb 17, 2005)

I've ignored my heater problem all summer and now its getting cold again. My fan does not even come on. I have tried the battery reset, check the thermostat tip, etc., but no fan. Any last minute thoughts out there before I take it in for service?


----------



## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

How are the batteries in the remote?

We had to had=ve the furnace in our popup replaced because we had been in so many hard rains that there had been water standing in it at times and it rusted.

Please keep us posted on what they find.


----------

