Suburban furnace - Montana Owners Club

SlickWillie · 01-23-2008, 07:22 AM

I got up this morning and it was 59* in the RV. The furnace was set at 68*. I switched the thermostat off, and then back to heat. Furnace blower runs, no heat. Cycles back off. I pulled the air intake grill, and took a look at the furnace. Dang, the electronics are on the end against the outside wall. Looks like that thing will have to be removed for service.

I found Suburban actually makes an outside access door for the furnaces. Anyone have one of those. Looks like that might be a good project for the future. IIRC, the door is around $4o.

It is still in the 2 year warranty period, plus we have a Extended Service Policy w/$50 deductible. Guess we'll see how good all that is. I am waiting on the authorized repair serviceman now.

Icehouse · 01-23-2008, 08:25 AM

Will,
just to ask the obvious - are you sure you have propane? Our furnace just blows cold air when I run out of LP ('cept we hit 49* before I knew we were out

)

SlickWillie · 01-23-2008, 09:31 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Icehouse

Will,
just to ask the obvious - are you sure you have propane? Our furnace just blows cold air when I run out of LP ('cept we hit 49* before I knew we were out

)

Been there, done that. That's the first thing I checked this morning. Both the range and water heater work fine. Thanks for asking though.

snfexpress · 01-23-2008, 09:57 AM

It's probably the circuit board.

Remove the 12v fuse for the furnace in the 12v distribution panel. Wait a moment, then replace - this action of removing power resets the furnace so it will try to light. Otherwise the furnace goes into a lock-out situation to prevent any big booms.

Now, go outside after setting the furnace to Heat and at a temperature setting that will kick the furnace on. Listen for a distinct clicking sound (the ignitor trying to light the propane). This will happen 3 times, then if not lit, the furnace will go into lock-out mode.

I actually had to replace the circuit board AND the ignitor on our Atwood furnace. But, since doing this, the furnace has worked flawlessly.

Ozz · 01-23-2008, 11:49 AM

Good luck with it, bud. Sounds like you are scr*@%&, hope it is a cheap fix.

SlickWillie · 01-23-2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

Good luck with it, bud. Sounds like you are scr*@%&, hope it is a cheap fix.

The tech hadn't made it by 4PM, so I tinkered with it again. Got-r-done! I sort of suspect it got air in the line when the tanks switched. I know I have had trouble with the water heater when it gets air in the line. Guess I'll find out tonight and tomorrow, as it is supposed to be colder.

OZZ, if I understand right, the inner part of the heater slides out of the cabinet doesn't it? I am not going to pull it, but I like to know how everything works. BTW, this is the door I mentioned earlier. Sure looks like that would make servicing the furnace a snap.

Ozz · 01-23-2008, 03:03 PM

Wow, I would think the air would not be there if all other appliances worked, hey, you never know I guess.
The door is just to access the controls, I think the entire unit slides out, not just the 'innards' But I haven't taken one out.

Icehouse · 01-23-2008, 08:23 PM

I disconnected and refilled both my LP tanks a few weeks ago. Everything worked fine after re-install except I had to to turn the furnace OFF and ON about 3 time (about 9-12 ingnitor attempts) to get air out of the system for the heater. Never had that happen before and has not happened since. I thought it odd.

SlickWillie · 01-24-2008, 02:29 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Icehouse

I disconnected and refilled both my LP tanks a few weeks ago. Everything worked fine after re-install except I had to to turn the furnace OFF and ON about 3 time (about 9-12 ingnitor attempts) to get air out of the system for the heater. Never had that happen before and has not happened since. I thought it odd.

I think everything has to fall just right for the air to effect operation. I suppose one could operate the range for a while after changing bottles to purge the lines. I had a problem with the water heater once; I never could get it to fire up. I took it in for service, and bang, it fired right up.

I don't think the air is our problem though. The furnace had locked out again this morning, after cycling several times last night. I did what Michael suggested, and she fired right up. I canceled the service call yesterday, and I intend to make it through this nasty weather before calling anyone back out. It's not really that cold here, in the 40's, but is raining.

OZZ, I was thinking you had had your unit out and modified something on it. My bad. The furnace in our Mountaineer is under the fridge. I think I'll have to cut the lower part of the framing out (wood) to be able to slide the unit out. I was thinking with that door outside, you could open it, and service the blower, electrode, or any of the electronics without removing the furnace. Looks to me like the end of the furnace case against the wall is open. When I do get someone to check it out, I am going to quiz them about pros and cons of installing the door.

VanMan · 01-24-2008, 04:25 AM

I was thinking Ozz had taken EVERYTHING out (at least twice) and modified it !!

SlickWillie · 01-24-2008, 04:54 AM

I'm leaning towards a bad propane regulator on the secondary bottle. Our problems started when the bottles switched. I noticed that the full/empty indicator is about half red, half green when on the secondary bottle. I filled the primary bottle this morning, and switched the system back to it. The indicator is all green now, heater works fine. If it continues to work good, I'll switch sides with the propane bottles to eliminate a bad valve on the bottle, then proceed to the regulator.

HA! Can't believe we found something OZZ hasn't improved. Just give him time!

Ozz · 01-24-2008, 09:59 AM

I had the circuit board out, and did some wiring to it, does that count???????

SlickWillie · 01-24-2008, 10:44 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Ozz

I had the circuit board out, and did some wiring to it, does that count???????

Undoubtedly, if you got to the circuit board without pulling the whole heater out, it is located differently than ours is. I was thinking you had changed the fan operation, but thought maybe I was wrong.

SlickWillie · 01-26-2008, 03:46 AM

update.... Looks like the single stage regulator on the secondary bottle (driver's side) is bad. Made by DHP India; 18 psi. I'm thinking this regulator is strictly there for safety purposes, so as not to route high pressure gas across the trailer to the switching valve. I cannot locate this valve anywhere on line. I keep finding a single stage regulator, but it says it is not approved for RV use. I'm thinking in this location, it would probably be fine, since the two stage regulator is down stream. Any thoughts?

You may also like: