Furnace trouble

mrhits

Member
I was camping at Strawberry Reservoir in Utah for the long 4th of July holiday and at night the temperature dipped below a comfortable level. I kicked on the furnace, it heated up the Cyclone quickly so I turned it off. In the morning it was again a bit chilly, so I went to turn it on and here is what it does:

I hear the fan kick on...it runs for about 30 - 45 seconds. Then it just shuts off. No heat nothing.

I figured I might be out of propane so I switched over to tank #2, however I still have the same problem.
I tired turning the furnace off and on a couple of times, as well as running the burners on the stove for a few minutes to make sure I didn't have any are in the system. I did notice though that on tank #1 the valve turns to red indicating there is no propane, however, the propane tank is full.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Try this. First, direct the regulator switch to the tank that is full for sure. Turn off both tanks. Disconnect the full tank and then reconnect the hose. Now, SLOWLY open the valve on the full tank. Check burners at the stove again to remove any air then try the furnace. If it still doesn't work, I'm at a loss and would be calling my dealer. Sorry I can't be more help.
 

mrhits

Member
When i switch over to the other tank, it works fine. When i switch back to the main tank it dose not work, even through the tank is full. I'm thinking something is wrong at the transfer switch thingy..(not a technical term).. :)
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
We have had trouble and replaced the supply lines on ours. There is a valve in the supply lines that shut down if they sense too great a flow. That can happen if you turn the valve on too quickly. Your change-over regulator could be defective also. BTW could you ship some of that cold air to us. We won't need the furnace until late December or early January.
 

hankaye

Member
mrhits, Howdy

When i switch over to the other tank, it works fine. When i switch back to the main tank it dose not work, even through the tank is full. I'm thinking something is wrong at the transfer switch thingy..(not a technical term).. :)

Sometimes the transfer switch thingy will lie to you. I know hard to believe isn't it... did you try switching to the "Empty " tank to see if it works then? If so, then you have probably been reading the switch worng..... OOOPs, my bad...... That was LAST July... did you find out what the problem was? Would you mind sharing?

Thanks

hank
 

mesteve

Well-known member
I was camping at Strawberry Reservoir in Utah for the long 4th of July holiday and at night the temperature dipped below a comfortable level. I kicked on the furnace, it heated up the Cyclone quickly so I turned it off. In the morning it was again a bit chilly, so I went to turn it on and here is what it does:

I hear the fan kick on...it runs for about 30 - 45 seconds. Then it just shuts off. No heat nothing.

I figured I might be out of propane so I switched over to tank #2, however I still have the same problem.
I tired turning the furnace off and on a couple of times, as well as running the burners on the stove for a few minutes to make sure I didn't have any are in the system. I did notice though that on tank #1 the valve turns to red indicating there is no propane, however, the propane tank is full.

We had the exact same thing happen, exept the 'other' tank was actually empty. Tried cycling the furnace, ran the burners, closed and reopened the propane tank, cycled the switch inside the furnace and unplugged and jumpered what I believe was the sail switch on the outside of the squirlcage.

The thing is, it heated the trailer all the way up to 70*, and cycled on/off a few times until we went to sleep...

Any ideas before calling the dealer for an appt?
 

mesteve

Well-known member
Well, a bit of research and guessing and I bypassed the hi-limit switch and viola, we had heat.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Well, a bit of research and guessing and I bypassed the hi-limit switch and viola, we had heat.

Good for you for troubleshooting and solving the mystery. There are actually two high limits. One is an automatic reset and one is a manual reset. The automatic reset switch opens the circuit first, and closes the main burner gas valve while the fan continues to run. The other one opens and will shut everything down until it reset. Which one was locking you out?

I'll point out the obvious, which is that you need to replace the high limit switch immediately as either one is a safety device. If you overheat your heat exchanger, it can crack, cause a fire, etc.
 

mesteve

Well-known member
Yeah, we were already home when I started troubleshooting, so that was all the longer it was running, not actually heating the trailer. I am guessing its was the automatic one on the back side of the firebox.
 
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