Furnace no go

Topic: Furnace no go (Read 1176 times) previous topic - next topic

Furnace no go

September 01, 2018, 11:03:49 am

Turned furnace on to take off the chill and it's mot working. Oregon Motorcoach changed the micro switch on the bay door and it was definitely working then (3 weeks ago).

Thermostat show Zone is furnace option on and and temp set high enuf to turn on.

Plenty of propane. Fuses OK. Batteries charged.

Ideas?

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #1 – September 01, 2018, 11:23:22 am

Randy,
Take the outside cover off of the furnace, remove each wire and put a bit of dielectric grease on each connection, reassemble one at a time. On our '98 U270, there was also a small local On/Off rocker switch that sometimes lost good contact and would recover when "wiped" hard, on and off, a few times. Seem to recall that I had to replace it once also.
Had this happen a couple of times, always after "longish" term travel and furnace inactivity.
No guarantees but worth a "wiggle" of the wires/switch. Remember that there is a short delay once the thermostat calls for heat, before the circuit board starts the audible ignition sequence.
HTH,
Neal

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #2 – September 01, 2018, 11:34:51 am

Good luck fixing the furnace. I quit using my furnaces and strictly use a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy. $69 at Walmart.
They are much more efficient than your furnace.
Portable Buddy Heater, 9K Btu, Propane - Walmart.com

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #3 – September 01, 2018, 11:55:01 am

Randy, check that new microswitch and it's connections.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #4 – September 01, 2018, 01:10:37 pm

Quote from: Dakota Slim – September 01, 2018, 11:34:51 am

Good luck fixing the furnace. I quit using my furnaces and strictly use a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy. $69 at Walmart.
They are much more efficient than your furnace.
Portable Buddy Heater, 9K Btu, Propane - Walmart.com

We have one sort of like yours but any coach owner should know the dangers involved before they purchase one. They do use up the available Oxygen and produce CO, a deadly odorless gas. Most are made in Asia and there is a good chance they are not assembled correctly. This was the case with the one we purchased. Any yellow in the flame mean lots of CO is being produced. The safety devices may or just a likely, may not work. The radiant type are the most dangerous from the fire aspect. They can cause a fire a couple of feet away. The catalytic are probably the safest as they produce the least CO. If you forget to crack a window, you may never have to worry about it again.

All state in the directions/user manual, etc., NOT FOR RV or TRAILER USE. This is for a reason. Lots of people buy and use them but...

If you are exposed to CO, it will stay in your blood for an extended period. It does little good to step outside in "fresh air" as it will still remain in your blood and interfere with the blood's ability to carry oxygen to your body for hours. If you are at high altitude and have a heart condition and or COPD, this is really asking for trouble.

So, we use one occasionally but know the consequences of a mistake. No unvented heater is safe to use in a coach. Lots of people make fatal mistakes every year.

Caveat emptor!

Pierce

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #5 – September 01, 2018, 03:11:49 pm

Hi Randy,

Our front heater stopped a few days ago. Then after a bumpy drive the following day it worked fine. I suspect loose connections. Perhaps this is your problem as well?. However, there is that electronic ignitor to check and micro switch.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #6 – September 01, 2018, 03:40:50 pm

Neal nailed it. Cleaned connections and exercised the manual on/off switch and we have heat! In nearly 4 months on the road we just haven't needed the furnace. Most times just a few minutes with the a/c heat strips takes the chill off but where we're staying only 120 house current.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #7 – September 01, 2018, 05:07:15 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – September 01, 2018, 01:10:37 pm

We have one sort of like yours but any coach owner should know the dangers involved before they purchase one. They do use up the available Oxygen and produce CO, a deadly odorless gas. Most are made in Asia and there is a good chance they are not assembled correctly. This was the case with the one we purchased. Any yellow in the flame mean lots of CO is being produced. The safety devices may or just a likely, may not work. The radiant type are the most dangerous from the fire aspect. They can cause a fire a couple of feet away. The catalytic are probably the safest as they produce the least CO. If you forget to crack a window, you may never have to worry about it again.

All state in the directions/user manual, etc., NOT FOR RV or TRAILER USE. This is for a reason. Lots of people buy and use them but...

If you are exposed to CO, it will stay in your blood for an extended period. It does little good to step outside in "fresh air" as it will still remain in your blood and interfere with the blood's ability to carry oxygen to your body for hours. If you are at high altitude and have a heart condition and or COPD, this is really asking for trouble.

So, we use one occasionally but know the consequences of a mistake. No unvented heater is safe to use in a coach. Lots of people make fatal mistakes every year.

Caveat emptor!

Pierce

I disagree Pierce. I've been using a "Mr. Heater" for 15 years and I know others who use them.
"sort of like" is not the same, and I challenge you or anyone else to provide "directions/user manual, etc.," that says "NOT FOR RV or TRAILER USE. "
That is simply incorrect.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #8 – September 01, 2018, 05:53:30 pm

Like I said, I use one but understand the risk. They are totally against the law and cannot be sold in California. I had to drive to Reno to buy ours. Here are a couple of sites:

Avoid Unvented Gas Heaters | BuildingGreen

Map of where they are/are not legal: Ventless Products State by State Code Information

Commission Proposes Ban On Unvented Gas Space Heaters | CPSC.gov

Vent Free Heater Cautions

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Unvented Gas Space Heating Appliances (AEN-204) •...

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #9 – September 01, 2018, 06:34:15 pm

Our town has outlawed ventless as a primary heat source for sticks and bricks. The insurance company I represent has never written houses with ventless as the primary heat source.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #10 – September 01, 2018, 06:44:58 pm

Mr. Heater OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS AND OWNER'S MANUAL
http://www.mrheater.com/downloads/dl/file/id/1085/portable_buddy_heater_manual_usa_2017.pdf

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #11 – September 01, 2018, 08:11:43 pm

Fun to watch threads go off in all directions like bunches of bottle rockets.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #12 – September 01, 2018, 08:37:24 pm

After reading the Mr. Heater Buddy manual I'm wondering what "adequate combustion and ventilation air" is. That term is used a few times without saying how much is adequate.

My favorites.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #13 – September 01, 2018, 08:42:27 pm

I miss bottle rockets

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #14 – September 01, 2018, 10:03:32 pm

Quote from: Old phart phred – September 01, 2018, 08:42:27 pm

I miss bottle rockets

I love bottle rockets.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #15 – September 01, 2018, 10:47:12 pm

I know a bunch of folks that use ventless heaters in their RVs and none of them have woke up on the brown side of the grass yet. Personally I open a window or 2 slightly along with a roof vent if I'm using any gas heating device or the stove for cooking anyway.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #16 – September 02, 2018, 12:28:29 am

Do what makes you happy. The unvented heaters higher efficiency claim is based on guess what, releasing a boatload of moisture from the combustion process into the coach. At that point you have to leave a window open reducing the big picture efficiency, or having that moisture condensing on any surface that is cold enough and absorbing heat and reducing big picture efficiency and possibly destroying your coach. Just air side physics that can't be denied. Do what makes you happy. Not to mention the CO thing.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #17 – September 02, 2018, 10:12:29 am

So, while I can't in good conscience recommend them, we do use one in our coach occasionally. Probably the biggest reason is the noise the coach's heater makes. I can't sleep with the racket it makes.

Before I turn it on, I crack the window next to it a little. Since they are nearly 100 percent efficient, I don't mind loosing a little heat and water vapor out the window.

As a firefighter in California, one of the items on our commercial building inspection list was unvented heaters. While I never had to cite anyone myself, others in the department did.

CO is the biggest danger. We never even went into basements of structures where we extinguished a fire upstairs without breathing apparatus. You just never know what the CO level is without a CO indicator.

If you do consider purchasing a unvented/ventfree heater for your coach, consider one of these Carbon Monoxide indicators: 10 Best Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors and Alarms 2018 - Reviews . I would think that the models with a digital readout will give an early indication of the CO level.

Pierce

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #18 – September 03, 2018, 11:47:26 am

I use a big buddy heater all the time in the cold weather. Plumbed it into my stove connection with a quick connect. I just wish it had a thermostat on it.

Re: Furnace no go

Reply #19 – September 03, 2018, 01:47:06 pm

Quote from: krush – September 03, 2018, 11:47:26 am

I use a big buddy heater all the time in the cold weather. Plumbed it into my stove connection with a quick connect. I just wish it had a thermostat on it.

I know others who have done the quick connect. I simply run a 12' hose in through a window from a 5 gallon tank for my portable buddy.

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