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Old 01-18-2005, 11:25 AM   #1
party of 5
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no warm air from heating duct

Has anyone had a problem with low air flow from the front bedroom
heat register? The rest of the trailer gets very comfortable and the
bedroom is still cool. Also any idea where water would get into that same duct? Not much water just a little, approx a 1/2 cup.
 
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Old 01-18-2005, 12:01 PM   #2
Montana_657
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Don't have that model, but follow the duct back to the furnace... something is not right...plugged??? disconnected???
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Old 01-18-2005, 12:33 PM   #3
Montana_2779
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We have low air flow, as well, in the bedroom of our 2005 Mountaineer 297RKS. We assumed that it was an engineering issue (this, being the duct furthest from the furnace, would have the lowest output). As our rig stays comfortably warm throughout (a bit cooler in the bedroom), we haven't investigated any further. Theoretically you should be able to detect a blockage issue if you cover the other vents and the flow to that vent doesn't improve. If this does work (meaning that this may be an air balance issue), using dampers would be one way of distributing the air more evenly. I'll be interested to see input form others who have pinpointed the cause of the imbalance in their rigs!

P.S. Gruffy has the right idea here. Along with his suggested causes, look for any bends and kinks in the duct that may be severely resticting the flow. Straighter the hose, better the flow (ask the hotrod exhaust guys!). Good luck!!
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Old 01-18-2005, 03:04 PM   #4
sreigle
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Party of 5, low airflow from the bedroom furnace ducts is pretty common, not only in the Montanas but in the other fifthwheels we've owned, as well. I think part of it is a design limitation, as Pete suggests. I don't think the mfrs worry too much about it since heat rises, many people spend their daytime hours downstairs, and many prefer cooler temperatures when sleeping. That doesn't mean it's the way it should be, though.

There's also a possibility there's something wrong in yours. In our first Montana the dealer removed the top of the step going to the upstairs (there are screws hidden in the carpet in the corners of the step's top side). There was a junction box there. He found the hose to the bedroom duct was on the outlet that would naturally receive a lower percentage of the airflow coming into the box and the one going to the water closet was getting the larger share. He just reversed the hoses in that junction box and that did improve things a bit, although not a lot. But that's something you could check into. Or your dealer could.

We keep an electric heater upstairs, also, and prefer to use the CG's electricity rather than our propane when we're not paying extra for electricity. You're definitely not alone with this problem.
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Old 01-18-2005, 05:41 PM   #5
RC and Samantha
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Our air flow is pretty limited too. It's a problem with all existing Montana's and by the looks of many posts I read, many campers. We use a supplemental ceramic heater in ours.

The water in there is a total mystery to me. I'd call my dealer and have it looked at.

Keystone reads here and maybe this is a subject they'll address very soon? They've made so many improvements since we bought ours. That alone makes us want a new one. Alas they are not making the Big Sky anymore and the Cambridge is out of our price range to say the least.

Patty
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Old 01-18-2005, 06:27 PM   #6
patodonn
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I was putting some air filter material behind the furnace grill and discovered that the duct from the furnace to the plenum was only;y partially connected (or had become disconnected). Hooked it up and put some duct tape in place to hold it. Been much better since then. Also found that the furnace doesn't need the return air grill....it is sitting in a big open area under the range, pretty much open to unfiltered air from everywhere under the sink and range. Strange set up....our heating is much better since I checked the ducting...like Gruffy said, trace it back to the furnace..

Best,

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Old 01-21-2005, 06:16 PM   #7
ragdoll
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Ours was not good in the bedroom either and found it was the way the vent was made which crimped the duct work. My son works in heating and airconditioning in Vegas and he made us a new vent - Jack installed it hooked up the duct work and we now have a good air flow - we also use magnetic vent covers in the toilet area as that is way too hot plus the one by the sink in the kitchen.

Safe travels.
Lorraine
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Old 01-24-2005, 04:23 AM   #8
Montana_2779
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We tried the "cover the other floor vents" trick over the weekend, and voila!, the bedroom vent expelled a great deal more air. As a southern boy, I don't have floor vents in the home heating duct work (it's always tied into the A/C wall/ceiling ducts down here). However, I remember my Dad's house in Salt Lake had them. If I recall correctly, he had some vent covers with sliding partitions that could direct or cut off flow on demand. You may want to check with your dealer (or an A/C or hardware dealer) to see if any of these are available. Some of the MOC members from more northern regions may have a tip or two on this.
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Old 01-24-2005, 04:45 AM   #9
Bill and Ann
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We replaced our living room vent covers with ones that you can close or open as you want. They are available at Home Depot or Lowes.
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Old 01-24-2005, 06:48 AM   #10
sreigle
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Pete, we haven't done what Bill and Ann did -- yet. They're standard home register size so you should have a good selection to choose from.
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Old 01-24-2005, 09:27 AM   #11
Montana_2779
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Outstanding! We noticed that, just by bad luck, the kitchen vent in the 297RKS not only gets 50% of all forced air, it also sends it straight into the cabinet faces (doesn't tend to disperse well). I'll grab a damping vent this week. This should help us balance the rig better at night when Cheryl is complaining of cold toes!
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