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Topic ClosedRPod 177 Furnace Deflector
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podwerkz View Drop Down
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: RPod 177 Furnace Deflector
    Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 10:52am
Yes, reduced airflow might not mean less efficiency, but it might mean hotter exchanger temps and possibly over-temp sensor activation and maybe a shorter lifespan for the fan motor and the exchanger...

Restrictions in the airflow would possibly mean more current flow thru the motor windings. But we can assume there is some 'leeway' in the specs.

What I don't know is: does the deflector increase the noise level or reduce the noise level?

Just thinking outloud mainy....(no pun intended!)....the furnace in my 171 is located in the main cabinet facing outward, so it blows right into the 'living space' directly. 

With my 171, the interior volume is small, and the trailer seems to be insulated pretty well. No slide out and only four windows (five if you count the frosted glass in the door) so the 16,000 BTU furnace is way overkill. It heats the trailer up fast! Actually I have done some space heating (when it was cold) with just one burner on the stove on low for a little while and it could be used as a 'backup' heat source. (insert dire warnings here)
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6329 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 10:57am
Originally posted by podwerkz

As an observer on this thread I have to wonder if the air flow thru the furnace heat exchanger is reduced with these deflectors.

Has anyone tried to simply put a small fan in that opening that will blow the heated air into the living space?
That is exactly what I have been doing. I use an O2 Cool fan set next to the wardrobe end, figuring that the airflow from the furnace is headed that way. Then the rest of the opening is left for cold air return next to the furnace. I plug the fan into one of the 12V outlets I installed so I don't have to worry about carrying spare D-Cell batteries. It has worked quite well. However, I like the simplicity of this cake pan version. I think I now have the tools to be able to fabricate a diverter. The pan may form the foundation of one, taking the best of the various designs I have seen. I'm not sure about putting the U channel strip on though. There is a lot of heat there and I don't know how well that would hold up when placed on the output side. Covering the edge on the cold air return side should be okay though. I think I would try to just roll the edge of the output side so there are no sharp edges.

As for airflow, as long as the opening of the diverter has the same or more square inches as the output size of the furnace output, then it should be okay. If it has less, it would restrict the flow.
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geewizard View Drop Down
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Posts: 347 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 11:56am
Originally posted by podwerkz

As an observer on this thread I have to wonder if the air flow thru the furnace heat exchanger is reduced with these deflectors.

Has anyone tried to simply put a small fan in that opening that will blow the heated air into the living space?


I sized my cake pan to have plenty of volume to try and match the existing vents and airflow.  Same with the air intake.

My goal was to redirect the furnace air flow out into the living space instead of under the bed primarily because I have a rolling drawer under the bed and it was interfering with the furnace as well as getting too hot.
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podwerkz View Drop Down
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 12:15pm
Yeah you sure don't want your drawers getting hot!

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geewizard View Drop Down
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Posts: 347 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 1:08pm
Indeed!  LOL
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Pod People View Drop Down
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Posts: 1081 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:31pm
I also used a cake pan for our 179. I thought it worked grat until I started reading this post.
My question --I did not realize that some part of the front vent cover was an air return. So, I covered the whole front grill with the pan.  It seemed to work ok and certainly redirected the warm air into the cabin instead of under the bed-my storage area which doesn't need the heat. I don't think it is any louder.  However, I am sure the air flow has been reduced simply because the air is now being pushed against a dead end and must make a right angle turn to get outside of the deflector pan.   It seems logical this has to decrease overall flow and/or strain the fan.

what harm does covering the whole face grill do without having air return space????That return is not for combustion air so I am confused.

Is there another way to deflect the air so the cargo area is not overheated and still leave proper air return on a 179?? I don't want to use a fan, but some type of physical deflector.
Thanks as always for all of the great ideas.
Vann

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podwerkz View Drop Down
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Posts: 966 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:54pm
If the home-made deflector causes heated air to re-enter the intake, then that might cause overheating issues, but if yours is working, then probably no harm is being done.

Still, I would try to separate the return air intake from the heated air outlet.
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 7:27pm
If you are just redirecting heated air right back into the furnace that hot air is not doing any space heating, so its counterproductive, and might cause overheating. If you measure the temp of outlet air from the heater with and without the pan then you could see how much of an issue you actually have. If its a few degrees its probably nothing to worry about, if its 15-20 degrees or more I'd start being concerned, and would try to work out a way to separate the outlet from the return air if you can, as podwerks suggests. 

I have a 179 too and was thinking about just placing a lightweight aluminum plate at an angle midway in the under bed storage area in order to divert air into the room while still leaving a large area for air to flow in and out to the heater. 
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geewizard View Drop Down
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Posts: 347 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 7:37pm
Originally posted by Pod People

I also used a cake pan for our 179. I thought it worked grat until I started reading this post.
My question --I did not realize that some part of the front vent cover was an air return. So, I covered the whole front grill with the pan.  It seemed to work ok and certainly redirected the warm air into the cabin instead of under the bed-my storage area which doesn't need the heat. I don't think it is any louder.  However, I am sure the air flow has been reduced simply because the air is now being pushed against a dead end and must make a right angle turn to get outside of the deflector pan.   It seems logical this has to decrease overall flow and/or strain the fan.

what harm does covering the whole face grill do without having air return space????That return is not for combustion air so I am confused.

Is there another way to deflect the air so the cargo area is not overheated and still leave proper air return on a 179?? I don't want to use a fan, but some type of physical deflector.
Thanks as always for all of the great ideas.
Vann


Cut the end off the cake pan so the air shoots straight out.

The air return is important.  All forced air furnaces require a cold air return whether in your RV or in your house.  That's why I went to the effort to make a separate "air duct" for mine.
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