Heating our new Oliver

[wyofilm]

I'm back for some great insight.  I haven't been able to get our furnace working, yet.

Our 2020 EII Oliver has a Dometic (formally Atwood) DFSD 20111 furnace.  **I'll get my Oliver gripe out of the way first: their online manuals don't include any furnace manual and of course I didn't receive hard copy manuals with the trailer (online manuals only?). **

When I go to engage heat from the thermostat, I have fan on 'auto' and set a heat temp well above ambient.  Fan will kick on for about 10 sec or so.  I have had the same results several times.  If I look at the furnace by removing the outside cover I see a single flashing light, the code for the flashing is 1 single flash every 3 seconds.  From the Dometic manual for this furnace, I see that corresponds to a Limit Switch/Airflow problem.  If I turn the unit off, then on, I get the air running for about 10 seconds or so, at which point the unit cuts off and the indicating light comes back on.

 

Here is the rub: we live at 7300'.  I have read the previous thread on the Oliver site (observing this problem).

Some owners have had no problems, other have.  So here is my question (finally!): are my symptoms consistent with this furnace not functioning at high elevation?  Is there an adjustment that can be made to rectify the problem?  Are there better high elevation furnaces out there?

For the record no where in the manual or on Dometics site is high elevation discussed.  However, the indicating light (Airflow problem) would be consistent ... I think.

Thanks for any help.

[wyofilm]

P.S. I have repeatedly bled the gas lines by turning on the stove top burners.  Gas is turned on!

[John E Davies]

This may or may not relate..... https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f6/dometic-furnace-will-not-operate-at-high-altitude-61353.html

They reference a high altitude conversion kit .... http://www.upgnet.com/pdffileredirect/035-14461-000-c-0404.pdf

This comment is important...

"Altitude Considerations
Some owners have experienced problems with furnace operations at high altitude, where the furnace works correctly at lower altitudes. Propane suppliers in low altitude areas (less than 1,000 feet above sea level) may mix additives into the propane. While this can provide improved operation at lower altitudes, at higher altitudes (greater than 5,000 feet above sea level), it can lead to furnace failure, including intermittent lockouts and other symptoms.
If planning a cold weather trip to a location greater than 5,000 feet above sea level, filling tanks after arrival may provide for more reliable operation of the furnace."

Step one IMHO would be use your bbq grill tank, or borrow a tank that was filled locally, and try it. If that works, take your tanks to a local supplier and get them refilled with a normal mix. Then if your system operates, see if Oliver will refund your expense. And ask if they get their new tanks already full, or do they have a big supply tank at the factory that they use.

I hate rv propane appliances with great passion. NO WAY should a new owner have to go through this.

Good luck, and please keep us posted.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited March 30, 2020 by John E Davies

[wyofilm]

John -

Thanks for the links.  Just the type of info I was looking for. 

I agree with you about propane appliances ... For the furnace my first step will be take the trailer down below 5000 ft.

Jason

 

[STEVEnBETTY]

Our Oliver is hull # 219 with a suburban furnace, but this may apply to yours. If we are plugged into shore (ac) power the furnace works fine, but when we are boondocking or just running off of the batteries, any voltage below 12.5 allows the blower motor to slow down enough, so that the “sail” or proof switch doesn’t engage and therefore the burner won’t ignite. The fix is to slightly bend the sail switch to lean more into the airflow of the blower allowing it to engage easier. I haven’t done it yet because with the suburban furnace you have to remove it to get to the switch, but with the Atwood it’s accessible from the outside.

[wyofilm]

STEVEnBETTY-

I tested with and without shore power with the same outcome.  I will look into your suggestion.

 

Thanks,

Jason

 

[Patriot]

Following....

[Townesw]

14 hours ago, wyofilm said:

  **I'll get my Oliver gripe out of the way first: their online manuals don't include any furnace manual and of course I didn't receive hard copy manuals with the trailer (online manuals only?). **

I was also displeased with the documentation provided on Oliver University for the equipment on my Oliver. I took pictures of the identifying information or data plates on each piece of equipment and then downloaded and printed the specific manuals for the model number and, if applicable, the serial number range, for the equipment onboard my trailer. You can often find installation and service manuals also, which will provide more information than is available in owner’s or user’s manuals alone.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Townesw

[Patriot]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:15 PM, wyofilm said:

STEVEnBETTY-

I tested with and without shore power with the same outcome.  I will look into your suggestion.

 

Thanks,

Jason

 

 Wyofilm,

I am interested in learning your furnace issue final outcome. Did you get your issue resolved? 
Any and all feedback appreciated.

-Patriot

Edited April 22, 2020 by Patriot

[ShallowGal]

This is a long shot since our furnace is the Suburban, however; last fall while in Alaska our furnace behaved the same as yours. ScubaRX said it was most likely a stuck sail switch & suggested beating on the furnace (from the inside of camper) when the fan was blowing. Success! We had heat for the remainder of our journey. 

[topgun2]

In other words - "get a bigger hammer OR do more drugs".  😇

[Mainiac]

9 hours ago, topgun2 said:

In other words - "get a bigger hammer OR do more drugs".  😇

Not helpful?

[Mike and Carol]

38 minutes ago, Mainiac said:

Not helpful?

Sometimes a little humor is good.  Not every post will be serious and on topic.  We have a number of members who like to inject some sarcasm or humor.  Not a problem.  As long as we don’t get mean, personal or too political we can read, smile and move on.  Mike

[PapaBiker]

As a follow-up to a thread referenced above, the failure of our furnace to fire was repeated at home - 1300 ft.  After more research, the issue seemed to be with the sail switch.  I thought I had resolved the issue by removing and gently cleaning the switch, but it failed to fire earlier this week while we were in Hohenwald the night before our service appointment to find a rain leak.  Jason indicated that the sail switch malfunction was known and That Dometic had developed a new mounting system for the larger furnaces, but not for the small one used in the Oliver’s.

i had a new sail switch that I ordered as a spare and the service team installed it - all appears well after several tests.  We’ll find out about high altitude this fall when we return to Colorado (hopefully).  The symptom of fan on for 30 seconds and then off is classic air flow/sail switch problem.

[theOrca]

I modified my sail switch by bending it so as to make it more sensitive to the fan air. Fixed that. Now if I can just get the darned limit switch to keep from kicking off the propane every minute or so (for 20 seconds)... Oh well, at least the sail switch is workingl..