Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks: furnace

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furnace

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Topic: furnace

Posted By: ilthyn
Subject: furnace
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 2:19pm

With the thermostat set, the furnace will come on initially, but rarely comes on a second time. My wife says she can hear a buzzing in the furnace which suggests to me that the problem may be a sticking relay.

Anyone have an opinion?

Thanks,

ilthyn

Replies:

Posted By: asreichler
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 5:32pm

When it first comes on does it heat up? If you raise the thermostat will it run again or just make that noise? Does the fan run but no heat? There are a few safety devices on the heater and one of them may be not letting the unit run. What do you have to do to get it to run after it stops, or did it only run one time?

Allen

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2014 178 TV 2004 Dodge 2500 deisel

Posted By: dsmiths
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 8:44pm

I had problems with mine initially, but the problem was the furnace is on the last in the circuit on the gas line. you will hear the purge blower come on for a few seconds and then the snapping of the igniter. then the air should get hot and the exhaust outside of the pod should be warm. I found that I had to turn on the gas and let it be on for about 6 hours to let the pressure equalize in the line because the tank has a restrictor valve that wont let large amounts of gas escape. turn the gas valve on the tank on slowly. Light the stove and let it burn for a while, run the fridge on gas. this may take a couple of tries before you get the air purged out of the line to the rear of the unit. when the furnace runs it will get the pod warm quick. The furnace is to noisy for us. we use a 1500 watt electric heater and it keeps the pod toasty warm. good luck.

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Dane and Donna Smith
2011 RP-172
2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer 4X4
lift kit
prodigy wireless brake controller

Posted By: ilthyn
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 10:11pm

Thanks for the answers.

The furnace will run initially. After that, it only occasionally will come one for one time only and not for a second time. Setting the thermostat up does not trigger a response.

If it comes on the first time, how can it be a gas supply issue?

I am really puzzled by this.

ilthyn

Posted By: Outbound
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2013 at 10:30pm

Originally posted by ilthyn

If it comes on the first time, how can it be a gas supply issue?

Well, I think that we're still confused by your answer. When you say 'comes on initially', does the furnace actually produce heat? Or does the fans simply run and the furnace blows cold air?

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Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150

Posted By: kymooses
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 9:02am

Ilthyn.

What some are trying to ask and why is this.

If it comes on but does not make heat, meaning if you flip the switch and then you can put your hand next to it and never feel heat from it then it's and issue of the furnace not lighting. Thus a gas issue as some have said.

If that is the case, if it is coming on but making no heat, which is not uncommon you can try lighting the stove burners before turning on the furnace, or sometimes the water heater works just as well. But lighting another appliance usually gets the furnace going.

Hope that makes more sense.

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Posted By: ilthyn
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 12:22pm

OK, valid points. Let me be more specific:

Furnace selected on.....Heat is produced.....furnace goes off at selected thermostat setting.

When the Pod cools off, the furnace only comes back on about 30% of the time ( in other words occasionally, erratically). It has never come on a second time and it gets cold inside the Pod.

There is a buzzing sound within the heater unit after the temperature inside the Pod cools which is why I suspect a relay is the problem. Increasing the selected temperature will not start the furnace.

I don't think this is a gas issue....but I have been wrong before (once).

Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 1:00pm

I'm thinking you diagnosis is correct or close. If the unit does produce heat sometimes it is not a gas problem. If it buzzes when it attemps to come on it is probably not a thermostat problem. In normal operation the fan should come on first when the thermostat calls for heat. The fan will run for a short time to clear any accumulated unburned propane, then the gas valve will open and the ignotor will attempt ignition. If the burner fails to ignite the cycle will repeat or terminate.

If the thermostat calls for heat, but the fan never spins up, the ignition sequence will never commence. The fan must be blowing air for the ignition sequence to begin. Therefore it sounds like either a relay is not contacting or the relay is working but the fan, for some reason, is not starting. a service shop can probably find the problem.

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Charlie
Northern Colorado
OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

Posted By: ilthyn
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 1:39pm

Thanks, Charlie

I tried to test the thermostat was initiating furnace 'on', but the guts are different to what I am used to.

The Pod is put away for the winter now, but I wanted to try and get some input ready for next year.

Posted By: kymooses
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2013 at 1:55pm

Okay now that we're all on the same page now, thanks for the extra info there Ilthyn.

I think you are on the right track, I imagine a t-stat replacement might be in your future.

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