The Furnace

[dougi]

During our extended RV outing, which we are still on, we have started to use our furnace for the first time to warm our trailer. It really heats the trailer rapidly.

 

Our problem is that the furnace cycles on and off too infrequently. It gets too cold before it cycles back on and it gets too hot before it cycles off again. Might the cycle points be adjustable? If they aren't, I suppose the only solution is for us to manually and frequently change the thermostat setting to suit our comfort zone.

[herm]

DougI,

 

I could be wrong, but I think there is some sort of mechanical adjustment that can be made inside the thermostat. If I remember to take a look at it this weekend and learn anything, I'll let you know. Or, maybe someone else has already checked into this?

 

Herm

[JuniorBirdMan]

What a coincidence! Herm, you're right on!

 

I was boondocking in rural Maine when my furnace decided to go on strike. When I get somewhere with WIFI I'll post pictures of the 'fix' that I stumbled across. But the problem turned out to be in the thermostat. When I pulled the cover off the thermostat I noticed a small dial inside that controls the cycle times. By turning the dial toward "shorter cycles" I was able to get the furnace to cycle more frequently and to maintain a more consistent temp in my Ollie. It's a 30-second fix and no tools required! Yahoo!

 

Aubrey

[mountainborn]

Thanks, Aubrey ! We have never had the cover off of our thermostat. We are now in North Dakota with snow on the ground and this might come in handy.

[astrocaster]

Yes, thanks, Aubrey! This could be very handy information.

 

Steve

[dougi]

Thanks Aubrey,

 

I just pulled our cover off and saw the dial that adjusts the cycle time of the furnace. Ours was set on the longest time possible which does not surprise me. I changed to a dramatically shorter cycle time and will see how that works out for us. It has to be better.

 

Best regards to you,

 

Doug

[JuniorBirdMan]

Here's a fast furnace fix that saved me from a cold damp night along Moosehead Lake in Maine:

 

I returned from hiking along the lake to a cold, damp Ollie only to find that the furnace wouldn't work. Without going into all the detail, I finally isolated the problem to the thermostat. The electrical contacts can become oxidized and prevent contact from being made. The fact that not even the fan in the furnace would work led me to believe that that might be the problem. A scrap of paper inserted between the contacts and moved back and forth a few times resulted in the furnace instantly coming on when the paper was removed!

 

If you check all the usual suspects (fuse, connections, etc.) and even the fan won't run, this just might be the problem.

[dougi]

After turning the hand on the dial that controls the length of the furnace cycle all the way clockwise, to the shortest cycle time, the furnace is performing much better now.

 

Thanks again for the tip.

 

Doug

[DonnaDuane]

OK Gang, I hope I’m not occurring as a pain in the rear, but now my furnace won’t fire up. It was working fine before the generator got hooked up. I’ve checked the fuse. I’ve got plenty of gas. The stove and hot water work fine. When I turn the thermostat off, then back on, the fan comes on for a minute then shuts off. What do you think?

[KountryKamper]

Doubt it has anything to do with the generator since the furnace runs on 12 volt.

 

Go through this post for some items to check.

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/need-help-in-a-really-cool-place-but-no-heat/

[DonnaDuane]

Thank you Tom. I reset the furnace switch and did the tank valve reset too, but that didn’t work. Gonna see if I can find the fan sensor flap next.

[DonnaDuane]

Discovered it has a limit switch/airflow problem.

 

Tried to get the little paddle out but stopped when it got difficult and I was afraid of breaking it.

 

Will take to Jerry’s RV on Wednesday.

 

Will use Mr Heater Big Buddy in the mean time with window open

[DonnaDuane]

Mr. Heater Big Buddy Was close to worthless. Tanks freeze and the whole thing shuts down after about an hour of use. Then I wait for it to thaw before restarting. It’s only saving grace was keeping Ollie warm enough not to freeze up. 23F Needless to say, didn’t sleep much last night. Called Jerry’s at 8am and bless their hearts, they answered and will fixit today?

[DonnaDuane]

I guess this is my “Trial by freeze” learning the RV lifestyle LOL

[KountryKamper]

Let us know what the problem is.

[topgun2]

Strange with the Mr. Buddy - I've used mine for over ten years without a single problem.  I assume that you are running it from the little one pound propane tanks?

 

Bill

[DonnaDuane]

Yes 1 lbs tanks. Mine was called Mr Heater Big Buddy. Took it back today. Just checked in with Jerry’s RV. They said “Your furnace works fine.” OMG Turns out I opened the newly filled tank TOO FAST, which triggered a safety valve to shut.

 

I guess some things one can only learn from experience. Hope I don’t go through another cold like that again.

[topgun2]

Hard lesson learned on the propane tanks but glad it was nothing more serious.  With regards to the Mr. Buddy - I wouldn't give up on them.  They are highly rated and it is ALWAYS nice to have backup heat.

 

Bill

[DonnaDuane]

I turned the newly filled propane tank on TOO FAST. Can you believe that? Learning this RV lifestyle can come with some uncomfortable lessons to learn.

 

Furnace working just fine now. Jerry’s RV came through again. They at least charged me $20 this time.

[SeaDawg]

Well, this will certainly be a Christmas to remember. Looks like you've made new friends at jerrys rv.

[DonnaDuane]

Oops almost forgot! (That is until the furnace stopped working tonight!) The furnace will stop working if trying to run off batteries at 50%. The fan requires shore/generator power,or well charged batteries. When the sun went down, so did the batteries. But, hooked up my little generator at all is working and well again. Looks like a good nights sleep tonight ?

[DonnaDuane]

Yes for sure. I brought them jars of my homemade jams as a small token of my appreciation today.

[SeaDawg]

If your furnace is shutting off because if low battery, you are running the risk of shortening the battery life.

 

If you're running the furnace a lot, and not getting a lot of sun, try running your generator an hour or two in the morning, and an hour or two  in the afternoon if you're not topping out with your solar. Looking at the weather for  Bend the last few days, I doubt you're getting  a lot of solar power...

 

Our furnace fan slows a little  as the battery capacity drops, but it doesn't  cut out til 10.6 or so, well below 50 per cent. The fridge won't work, either. They're  built in safety features, but, that's still really low, and a number of days on end , depleting your power, will eventually shorten your battery life..

 

Cold weather boondocking is certainly challenging.  Stay warm. We usually turn the furnace way down at night, and pile on a good warm comforter. I also like flannel sheets for winter camping. We try to keep the trailer somewhere in the 50s at night. Easy enough to reach over and crank up the furnace in the morning, before getting completely out of the nice warm bed.

 

 

[DonnaDuane]

OK gang, here’s the latest. Furnace (generator running) worked fine all night long BUT quit inexplicably this morning around 7am. Thought I’d run out of propane, but when went to fill, the two only needed 3 lbs to top off. Hooked everything back up. Turned furnace and thermostat switch off. Opened tanks slowly. Turned switches back on. Fan cycles on for 30 seconds, then off with no ignition. Jerry’s says they’ve had problems with this particular furnace before and had to replace them. What do you think?

[DonnaDuane]

Thank you Steve and Ken!!!!!!!!

 

Good news! I disconnected the sail switch to see if I could get the furnace to ignite by bypassing it. I saw dirt on the connection, cleaned them off. Decided to reinstall and retry startup before bypassing. Furnace fired right up!? Jerry’s RV thinks it might have simply been a reset of the system when I disconnected the switch, so if it fails again, I’m likely going to get a Dinasour Board to replace the original.