Re: Atwood (now Dometic) Hydroflame Furnace replacement
Reply #7 –
Here is an update on the Atwood Hydroflame furnace replacement process. I have ordered the NOS Atwood 2540 DCLP from an outfit called Tristate Surplus out of Michigan. I first saw the item as a result of one of my followed eBay searches, but I found their business website as the result of a web search and discovered the same item. So I called them this morning to get a feel for their operation, since this is an NOS item, there is no warm fuzzy return option (not that returning a large 45lb. box is fun!). Anyway, I spoke to a nice lady who told me that their tech goes through everything to make sure that the items are in working condition. She let me talk to the tech which went a long way to reassuring me about the condition of the furnace. He mentioned that since Dometic had absorbed Atwood, he was working on ironing out a lot of engineering issues on Dometic's furnace offerings. He stated that things were improving but that the transition to the new product lines was far from smooth. His opinion was that Atwood was a more quality oriented company than Dometic. Interesting tidbit that before Atwood was bought out by Dometic, Atwood developed the helium based absorption fridge that was promptly axed when Dometic acquired Atwood. In any case, as these LP furnaces these are relatively simple beasts and parts are still available, I decided to pull the trigger on the Atwood 2 stage 25/40K BTU furnace. I may add a couple more 2" ducts for the basement to allow for more air flow through the unit, but I am hoping that the furnace will operate on the low setting most of the time. If they had had the next size down (23/34K BTU), I would likely have opted for it just because the smaller physical size (matches the old one) would have required less adjustment in the furnace compartment.
On a side note, buying the unit from the website resulted in a lower total cost (probably because the seller will have no eBay or PayPal fees) as well as free shipping, saving a whopping $160 over what the buy it now price on eBay would have been.
I will update this thread as I learn more and post pictures of the unit I receive.
Don
Thanks Don for the amazing thoroughness of your project... we have an 86 GV with the front and rear Atwood furnaces. Front living room furnace is in good working condition but we are unable to get the bedroom small unit to light up.... we will continue to watch this post and see your progress. We agree with your comments about BTU needs. We have been using JUST the living room unit to heat the entire coach with no issues here in Colorado