Suburban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

lwmcguir

Well-known member
We have had the furnace on the past couple of days due to the 40-50 degree temps. The bath register is hot enough to burn you if you should step on it when the furnace is operating. Is this typical or do I have an air distribution problem?
 

PSF513

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

It happened in our 2010 Big Country so we went out and bought a magnetic cover for the floor register. It is the closest register to the furnace and, I presume, there were no baffles (or improperly set). We now have a Big Horn and are sorta expecting the same thing.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

I don't know about any baffles, but I changed all of our floor registers to the adjustable/closeable type early last year. Helps direct the heat where you want it, rather than turning the bedroom into an oven and the rear into a meat locker. And, contrary to warnings in the owner's manual, it has not affected our furnace these past two years.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

I have replaced the registers in the bath and bedroom with adjustable style. That does help put the heat back into the body of the coach where you need it. I was changing out the bath register when I found out it will burn you. Slowing down the air in the front has really helped with the heat distribution.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

Something else to consider in your heating ductwork is how much excess there is and where the bends are. I haven't dropped the underbelly to look at that area, but the bedroom duct was draped over the plumbing, back to the floor and then back up to the cut-out at the top of the basement wall. It then drooped into the basement and came back up to the bedroom floor register. I cut about four feet of the flex hose off, added an adjustable elbow and got better air flow. Unfortunately, the bathroom duct enter the register right above the drain line, which gives it a bit of a crimp, so I can do much with it other than the adjustable floor register. It still puts out a lot of heat since the furnace is almost directly below it.

The photo is the bedroom ductwork mod.
View attachment 10074
 

dennis2188

Member
On our 2010 3055rl had the same problem, ended up putting an adjustable vent on from Menards and closing it completly shut. It helped directing more heat to the rest of the camper. The vent still gets warm but not hot enough to burn you. Being from NE like you the temperatures this weekend gave me a real good chance to check out my furnace operation. I also put the thermostat mod that was on another thread and it has made a big difference in the heating and cooling temps. The digital thermostat holds the temperature constant and you don't feel those big swings in temps.
 

Willym

Well-known member
My bathroom vent registers over 80C. It gets darn hot on your when you are on the throne some mornings. I've installed an adjustable register, but the air is still too hot. It's on my list of warranty repairs for my dealer to look at later this month. My bedroom register is also hot, but the other registers give temps between 50 and 60. I don't think that such a range of temperatures is correct. It suggests poor air mixing in the furnace plenum. Maybe my dealer will be able to switch the current hot outlets to the longer runs which are currently running cooler. The Surburban manual does not give much information except for the required square inches.
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RoadJunkie

Well-known member
The Home Depot stocks proportional vents that are direct replacements for OEM vents. They are intended for mobile homes and I have replaced a couple of vents with them. It doesn't stop the rather extreme temperature at the vents and I like the idea of looking into switching the outlets. I'll check with dealer, as well.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Another thought is to use a smaller diameter hose (maybe 2") from the furnace to a reducer at the bottom of the register. I believe we use the smaller hose for the basement. Maybe swap them?
 

wdk450

Well-known member
I haven't noticed this problem, but we used the heat infrequently and had a bath floor mat carpet covering most of the outlet.
 

traveler44

Well-known member
Hi! If the register is hot enough to burn you that sounds like it could be dangerous. I would be worrying about it being even hotter in the duct work. Do you have decent heat from the rest of your registers? I removed and plugged the bedroom outlet at the furnace plenum and ran a duct out the other side to the livingroom on mine but I didn't notice any of the registers getting any hotter on account of it. My bathroom duct does put out enough heat to heat the bedroom too. Hot enough and plenty of volume. Maybe a real heating expert can tell you if you need a baffle in your plenum or something. Tom M.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

That's not a half-rack of Labatts next to the furnace is it? :rolleyes:

Yes it is, but it's actually closer to the other side of the basement. Doing my part to keep our northern neighbors in the chips.

As for the registers getting excessively hot, I have not experienced that.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

Adjustable registers are nice to push the heat where it's needed more, but remember that every register that is closed restricts the total airflow of the furnace. Any reduction in airflow causes the discharge temperature of the furnace to go up. That could account for the "hot-foot" problem. The furnace heat exchanger will suffer long-term for the excess heat. It is protected by two thermal cutout switches. The first one (auto reset) closes the gas valve. If the for some reason the second one trips (manual reset) the furnace locks out completely.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

Adjustable registers are nice to push the heat where it's needed more, but remember that every register that is closed restricts the total airflow of the furnace. Any reduction in airflow causes the discharge temperature of the furnace to go up. That could account for the "hot-foot" problem. The furnace heat exchanger will suffer long-term for the excess heat. It is protected by two thermal cutout switches. The first one (auto reset) closes the gas valve. If the for some reason the second one trips (manual reset) the furnace locks out completely.

Great points. The open no adjustable register will burn your hand or foot. Seems to be a distribution problem that I need to get in the basement and fix.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Hi! If the register is hot enough to burn you that sounds like it could be dangerous. I would be worrying about it being even hotter in the duct work. Do you have decent heat from the rest of your registers? I removed and plugged the bedroom outlet at the furnace plenum and ran a duct out the other side to the livingroom on mine but I didn't notice any of the registers getting any hotter on account of it. My bathroom duct does put out enough heat to heat the bedroom too. Hot enough and plenty of volume. Maybe a real heating expert can tell you if you need a baffle in your plenum or something. Tom M.

All the registers except the one across from the entertainment center put out heat well. It hardly has any air flow.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

Adjustable registers are nice to push the heat where it's needed more, but remember that every register that is closed restricts the total airflow of the furnace. Any reduction in airflow causes the discharge temperature of the furnace to go up. That could account for the "hot-foot" problem. The furnace heat exchanger will suffer long-term for the excess heat. It is protected by two thermal cutout switches. The first one (auto reset) closes the gas valve. If the for some reason the second one trips (manual reset) the furnace locks out completely.

We had to slow down the air in the Bath/Bedroom. It would be 15 degrees warmer there than in the living area.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
On our 2010 3055rl had the same problem, ended up putting an adjustable vent on from Menards and closing it completly shut. It helped directing more heat to the rest of the camper. The vent still gets warm but not hot enough to burn you. Being from NE like you the temperatures this weekend gave me a real good chance to check out my furnace operation. I also put the thermostat mod that was on another thread and it has made a big difference in the heating and cooling temps. The digital thermostat holds the temperature constant and you don't feel those big swings in temps.

We have the digital theremostat and that did make a world of difference in finding where to set the temps. I actually got the adjustable registers from Menards as well. Certainly concerned about how hot the register is getting there. Sounds like a trip through the basement to see if anything looks odd. I had contacted Suburban but nothing back from them yet. Thanks for the reply.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

We had to slow down the air in the Bath/Bedroom. It would be 15 degrees warmer there than in the living area.

I understand. We did the same. I also installed an adjustable vent in the bedroom, it stays pretty warm by convection. I'd recommend checking the discharge air temp with a thermometer before and after, and listen to see if you hear the burner cycling on and off. Check for obstructions in the other vents. When I checked behind the utility wall I found a lot of excess flexible duct that was kinked. Straightening, shortening, and supporting them properly improved the airflow to the other rooms/registers.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
Re: Subur ban Furnace Register Temp in Bath Gets Extremly Hot

Sure sounds like mine might be a bit hotter than normal. Going to crawl into the basement today and check for kinks and anything else that don't look right. Thanks for all the replies.
 
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