No Heat

tsimpsonerau · 02-25-2013, 04:21 PM

Hello! Propane heater quit working about 0400 this morning. Woke up to the heater sounding like it was surging with cold air blowing out of the floor vents. My 36FB has a heat pump (electrical strip) in the aft air conditioner unit so between that and the fire place (Eden Pure too) I was able to get it warmed up. Unable to get the suburban propane heater fan motor to stop - other than to pull the fuse.. Called customer service at RW but no return calls yet.

Any troubleshooting recommendations greatly appreciated.. personal recommendations for customer service agents also greatly appreciated!!

Regards,
Tim

COLJDM · 02-25-2013, 04:31 PM

Tim, did you switch the tanks over? Are both your tanks empty?I would recommend you check both tanks and try switching over.

tsimpsonerau · 02-25-2013, 04:34 PM

John & Sam, checked both tanks - just filled one up last week and the other is still half full.. tried switching over this morning with no luck.. fan just runs with no impact by raising or lowering temperature on thermostat.. except to pull the fuse...

Thank you!

Tobys Home · 02-25-2013, 05:11 PM

We had a heat problem this past fall. I just could't get it to work. I even requested a new board and limit switch. Was ready to install both and Brian that I had to make sure the line was purged and TO MAKE SURE TO TURN ON THE GAS VERY SWOWLY. Well needless to say it worked and I returned the the unused parts. Good luck.

tsimpsonerau · 02-25-2013, 05:18 PM

Toby, many thanks! How did you purge the lines? What's the process? Thanks!

Tobys Home · 02-25-2013, 05:33 PM

I ran the stove to get the gas to that point. Then unfortunately it's just time till the line clears. It took some time but once it started to work it was great! I think the system times out after three tries, I believe I may have turned off the 12 volt system a couple of times to speed up the process. Something else. The regulators in the RWs are like the ones on your grill, I have take a few hits on it with a hammer handle to make it release the diaphragm. Good luck!

tsimpsonerau · 02-25-2013, 07:10 PM

Thanks Jay & Linda - I'll give that a try....

In case it doesn't work does anyone have Brian's email / phone number?

COLJDM · 02-25-2013, 07:17 PM

Tim, one more thing, check the wires on the thermistat to be sure all wires are connected and tight also, i would go to the airexcel website and find a local service center under their rv service center as you do not have to go to a crossroads/redwood service center as this is a suburban issue most likely and if the problem is the furnace there will be no charge.

tsimpsonerau · 02-25-2013, 07:44 PM

Thanks John (COL J?)... hadn't thought of that approach...

**Dave&Ginny** · 02-25-2013, 11:38 PM

A couple of things to consider:

Turn the heater on and off a several times with about 10 seconds between. This will tell the furnace to prime. Also if it gets anywhere close to zero, LP doesn't want to work because the valves will freeze. You can check this by trying to turn on the stove top. In below zero weather, you can wrap a 12 volt electric pad around the tank to keep the gas flowing.

Good luck

tsimpsonerau · 02-26-2013, 11:28 AM

Thanks Dave! it was in the high 20s so probably no frozen lines based on yours/everyone previous experiences. Something I notice just a couple weeks ago, if the heat pump is not able to keep the temp inside the 5er to the level set on the thermostat, the propane heater turns on automatically.. maybe you guys knew, but it was news to me... My new problem - in addition to the propane heater blowing only cold air - is the blower for the propane heater blows continuously - I can't turn it off - unless i pull the fuse out.. my thought is the sensor that automatically turns on the propane heater was stuck to the closed side, so as COL John said yesterday - i may need to kill all power to the 5er - both AC & DC (propane fan continues to blow even on DC power).

Tobys Home · 02-26-2013, 02:19 PM

The heat pump can only be turned up three or four degrees at a time or else it times out. We had the same problem and that's what the factory told us. It does work but it is a slow process. I suspect to not put as much of a load on the ac unit all at once. Try it and good luck. Funny after thinking about our furnace failures they seemed to begin after we tried to force the heat pump to carry the load. The heat did come on from the furnace but then eventually just cold air everytime we turned it on. I don't know if it was a missunderstanding between the units causing the problem with the furnace. I'm happy however that it resolved itself and when we closed up for the winter it was working. April the saga begins anew.

**Dave&Ginny** · 02-26-2013, 02:31 PM

Jay,

I've never heard of such a thing. Between my heat pump and the fireplace, my RL hardly ever uses the gas furnace unless it gets below 35 degrees. I have had problems with it sometimes not switching over automatically from the heat pump to the gas furnace. But it's not consistent and so far hasn't been a problem.

Tobys Home · 02-26-2013, 03:23 PM

Thanks Dave. Hopefully in one month all will be as I left it in October.

2Bucks · 03-22-2013, 10:56 AM

was just wondering if this is normal turn on the furnance set to say 65 it comes on comes to temp shuts down with in a minute refires runs maybe 3 to 4 minutes shuts down again 1 or 2 minutes refires when on heat punp it cycles maybe every 29 or so minutes . checked all conections all look ok keep in mind out side temp is in low50h andhigh 40's. isn't there a high and low limit on the furnance if so where is it. there is nothing in any of my manual anywhere that i can adjust. my HR ran may be every 20 or so and that was last winter in md.

atom ant · 03-22-2013, 11:10 AM

I've had those continuous short cycles on my last two campers and never figured out why other than just a change in design? It's kind of annoying.

2Bucks · 03-22-2013, 11:17 AM

is this something i'll have to live with? no quick fix?

atom ant · 03-22-2013, 11:23 AM

I never found a resolve, but I didn't try real hard. You could ask the Dealer service, but if he doesn't respond immediately with an answer, then he doesn't know either and would just spend time and money trying to figure it out like you. You could also try the furnace manufacturer tech support to see if it's normal or unusual? (Suburban? - I don't know who it is)

2Bucks · 03-22-2013, 11:32 AM

i though it might be the 't' stat but kind of rulled it out when the heat punp seems to work ok

atom ant · 03-22-2013, 11:40 AM

The old bimetallic strip thermostats like our first camper (which ran perfectly by the way) had a sensitivity adjustment for the response. These digitals are beyond me.

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