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Topic ClosedR-pod 172 T Thermostat question
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madisonprep01 View Drop Down
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Posts: 17 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: R-pod 172 T Thermostat question
    Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 2:58pm
Hi all, 

Another question for an R-Pod newbie.  I went to test the heating unit this weekend.  To give you some background, our R-pod has a cieling mounted Air Conditioning unit and a wall mounted heater thermostat.  I am assuming the two are not tied together via electrical.

I turned on the LP gas tank (which I just recently filled) and then pushed the thermostat up from off (all the way to the left) to about 90 degrees (all the way to the right) to see if I could generate heat.  After about 10 minutes, nothing happened. The heater vent was cool as a cucumber.  Is it possible that the analog thermostat on the wall is just broken?  If so, can it be replaced with a basic analog unit from Home depot?

Thanks in advance!
Brannon
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wherestheyeast View Drop Down
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Posts: 8 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 3:13pm
Hmm.  What year is your pod?  I have a 2014 172T and it has a digital thermostat that controls both the roof-top a/c unit and the furnace..  Did you buy from a dealer or private party?  

I guess I wasn't much help -- I just wanted to jump in on a 172T question!
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madisonprep01 View Drop Down
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Posts: 17 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 3:27pm
2010 R-pod 172 T.  We bought it from a dealer, but honestly this was the first Rpod they had ever had! So they weren't super helpful, at least on the Q&A side.  As far as service and sales goes, Leo's Vacation Center (Gambrills, MD) was amazing! 

I'll post pictures later today, but our overhead A/C unit has a knob selection that says "OPT HEAT" and then there is an analog thermostat on the wall.  I am making a large assumption that the Heating and Air are separate units in our version.  
Brannon
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Posts: 556 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 4:21pm
I have a 2010 173 with a Coleman A/C.  The "Opt Heat" on the A/C control knob is for an optional heat strip that can be mounted within the ceiling unit.  It is unlikely that you have the heat strip. That knob is only for fan and A/C speed as well as on/off unless you do have the heat strip.

The wall thermostat is for the furnace only.  If the furnace fan won't even go on, check the 12 volt fuse for it.

Bob
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madisonprep01 View Drop Down
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Posts: 17 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 4:26pm
Bob, 

Thanks for the response!  I didn't see any Fuse lights tripped in the fuse box (below the fridge), But I will check that out this weekend.

Nothing turns on when I move the analog thermostat on the wall.  Luckily for now, we are in North Carolina, so the heat isn't really an issue yet:) But it will be soon enough!
Brannon
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kymooses View Drop Down
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Posts: 1807 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 4:59pm
The heat and air are two different units.  None of the AC's have the heat strip installed to function as a secondary heater, thus why we have the propane furnaces in our Pods!
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Posts: 556 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 5:30pm
Mine has a heat strip installed.  I don't know if FR has them as a factory-installed option or not.  Cost is minimal, if not, and a DIY-install.

Bob
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Posts: 556 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 6:03pm
Travis, I better clarify my last post.  My pod came with a Coleman A/C, and I bought it slightly used.  The heat strip was already in place, although I have installed them in other used units we have owned.  Coleman sells their units both with and without the heat strips, and I don't know if FR offered the buyers their choice back then.  I know virtually nothing about the Dometic units.

We have spent well over 200 nights camping since we moved to Florida, and always with at least partial hookups. Rather than start the noisy propane furnace, which is over-kill for our climate, we have always used either a heat strip and/or a small electric heater.  Even when we lived in the Midwest (IL, IN and MI) I can't remember ever using our propane furnace.  After all, if you have an electric hookup, why waste propane and listen to the noise? 

But, that is just the logic of an old Scotchman.

Bob
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Posts: 704 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 6:25pm
If the furnace fan came on but no heat came out, you might try lighting the stove burners. Really. Since you say you just installed the tank the gas line might just need to be purged. The easiest way to do this is to get the stove burners lit. Once they light you can turn them off again. Your gas lines are purged. I have to do this almost every time I switch the fridge to gas.

If nothing whatsoever happened, then it's likely an electrical issue.
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Posts: 556 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Sep 2013 at 6:31pm
Originally posted by HuronSailor

If the furnace fan came on but no heat came out, you might try lighting the stove burners. Really. Since you say you just installed the tank the gas line might just need to be purged. The easiest way to do this is to get the stove burners lit. Once they light you can turn them off again. Your gas lines are purged. I have to do this almost every time I switch the fridge to gas.

If nothing whatsoever happened, then it's likely an electrical issue.


That is very good advice and might be part of the problem.  However, apparently nothing happens (the fan does not turn on) when the thermostat temperature is turned up.  And that brings up another possibility.  If the ambient temperature inside the pod is too high, the furnace will not turn on.
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