Torque TQ291 SS
1) When I am plugged in to power does the furnace use propane and power or power only ? Suburban furnace I believe is mounted under stove ! There is 2 exhaust outlets on the outside wall ! When I had the heat on last night the bottom one was blowing warm air so the top one must be for stove ? I assume !
2) when does the water heater fill up from empty ? From fresh or city or both ? So I know when I can turn on the switch for heat ? I know it has gas & electric switch ! Atwood brand ! I also removed garbage plastic drain plug & installed brass plug with petcock !
Your furnace is designed to operate on 12V and will always require propane. If you are connected to shore power, the converter will be supplying 12V to the coach, as well as maintaining the battery. No shore power, the battery alone runs the furnace.
If you're talking about the two round ports on the side of the rig, near the furnace, one is the heat outlet for the burner and the other is the intake for the heat exchanger. If you have your manual, the diagram will help explain it. Although the manual warns against blocking these, putting the screen covers available for them is recommended by most owners to keep mud daubers and other nesting critters out of them.
If you have an Atwood water heater, then you do not have an anode rod in the drain hole (different tank design), so you can install a brass plug with valve. Suburban's have an anode rod in the drain and won't work with a petcock on them (that I know of). Filling the water heater
must be done before turning on the 120V electric heating element. Failure to do so will destroy the element in a very short time. Not expensive to replace, but a PITA in many cases. To fill from city water, open the pressure relief valve until water starts to dribble out, then close it. Filling from your water tank, same thing while running the pump. Without shore power, the unit will only heat on propane, being operated from the battery. I don't know about Atwood's, but the Suburban's can be operated simultaneously on 120V element and propane. This gives faster recovery if the whole gang wants to shower in a short timeframe.
One other note on the water heater. When winterizing with antifreeze, it is not necessary to put any antifreeze into the water heater unless you want to waste however many gallons it takes. Simply use the bypass valves to segregate it from the plumbing system and drain it, leaving the plug out until you need to fill it again. And
never,
ever put antifreeze into your fresh water tank, or you will spend a great deal of time trying to flush it out.