Hydronic Heat Problem

[akadeadeye]

Popular topic this time of year.

I ran the furnace (hydronic) last night while in storage to be sure we had heat where we needed it in case of freeze. Worked fine.

Tonight I go back to turn it back on again for the overnight freeze warning tonight and it seemed at first to start up, some condensation comes out of the exhaust, but then all exhaust action stops and the fans never come on inside the coach.

Suggestions? It is a Precision Temp unit. Thanks

Don

[Saber77]

I've had to replace the thermostat twice. Last time was almost a year ago and it's worked fine ever since. I believe it only affects the propane heater though, so you should still be able to get reduced heat by using the 110 volt heater -- turn on the outside Twin Temp switch and the inside 110 volt switch and set your furnace controls on and you should get enough heat to prevent freezing. Also, ensure your antifreeze level is up to the line or it won't work.

[suwanneefl]

I have the precision-temp furnance on my 09 dutchstar and am having lots of problems. I was told these furnances were installed at the factory with a faulty connection where the PEX tube (used by precision-temp) is connected to regular automotive heater hose with a screw type hose clamp by Newmar at the factory during the building process. What happens is the hose clamp compresses the plastic PEX tube causing a small leak of the fluid. At the same time allowing air to get into the system and contaminate the rest of the fluid in the system. In other words the air contamination is much worse than the small leak. I found my leak at a bad connection under my sink. I am of the opinion that Newmar is responsible for this problem and should repair it at their expense. I have tried to get a reponse from Newmar with no luck. Does anyone know how to get Newmar attention ?

[Lug_Nut]

I may be more of a burner issue. To me it sounds like it is failing ti light. This will only start up the outside exhaust fan for a breif period ans after failing to light up it shuts down, There are several possible causes including a blocked burner noozle. Check the monitor panel beside the unit. There are faults, however, that are not displayed on it.

[akadeadeye]

We got the problem fixed (I hope) at Texas RV Supply in San Antonio. They are great folks, by the way.

They contacted Precision Temp (PT) and Newmar. It turns out that this PT unit is designed to have an exhaust pipe no longer than about 2 to 3 feet. Since our coach is a mid-engine diesel model, Newmar extended the exhaust all the way to the other side of the coach, about 8 feet. I can only surmise that the reason for this was that the engine exhaust pipe comes out right below the PT unit in front of the right rear tires. The exhaust blower/fan resistor was designed to let the fan run at a slow speed to push the exhaust fumes out of a 3 ft. pipe.

The cure was to bypass the resistor (wire around it) to allow the exhaust blower to run faster to push the gases out the 8 ft. pipe. So far so good. Newmar picked up the tab on this even though we are about 3 months out of warranty. The PT and the Newmar tech said this has happened to a number of the Allstar units due to the length of the exhaust pipe and that the cure has worked in every case.

No one has been able to tell me why this was an intermittent problem though.

We shall see.

Don

[GaryKD]

Hi suwanneefl,
Contact Phil Stilley at 800-731-8300 or email at pstilley@newmarcorp.com. Ask Phil the best way to close your issue. Ask for the chain of command from Phil up to Matt Miller and those in between. See what Phil recommends. Once you know the hierarchy, make contact with these people to see what Newmar will do. Consider working your way up the chain of command.

[dougburi]

While the folks at Newmar's tech line are great, an even better source for problems is the manufacturer's tech line. In this case contact Precision Temp. Specifically Gary Wulfmeyer (email gwulfmeyer@precisiontemp.com ) This guy really knows this stuff backward and forward and responds very quickly and in an understandable fashion.

I know it's not fun, but in general dig out the manual for whatever component is the problem; find their toll free number and/or the email address and contact the manufacturer directly. They built it, they know how to fix it.

[akadeadeye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougburi While the folks at Newmar's tech line are great, an even better source for problems is the manufacturer's tech line. In this case contact Precision Temp. Specifically Gary Wulfmeyer (email gwulfmeyer@precisiontemp.com ) This guy really knows this stuff backward and forward and responds very quickly and in an understandable fashion. I know it's not fun, but in general dig out the manual for whatever component is the problem; find their toll free number and/or the email address and contact the manufacturer directly. They built it, they know how to fix it.

Yes, our contact at Precision Temp was Gary and his contact at Newmar appeared to be Leon. Gary had called Leon about our problem and by the time our RV tech called Newmar and got Leon, he said he was expecting the call after talking with Gary.

Don

[Doc C]

Hi suwanneefl,

I was wondering if you could be more specific about the leak you were descibing above. I have an 09 DS with PT and want to make sure I am not having an undected issue. I did have a leak were the tubing conntected to one my radiators (the radiator under the refrig) Did have system pressure tested after leak repair and seems ok since. I do agree that Gary at PT is excellent. Had trouble with the PT short cycling - of coarse dealer could never reproduce issue x 3, but I never had any issues reproducing when not at dealership. Gary worked with me after hours by phone to go through a step by step trouble shooting. Turns out it was not the PT. Rather is was the thermostat sensor was located. As soon as the PT blowers came on a digial thermostat next to sensor would read 80 degrees within 20 seconds and turn the system off. Had to have the senor moved and since then problem resolved.

[dougburi]

Yes, Precision Temp has provided some of the best customer service I have ever experienced with a manufacturer. TOP NOTCH all the way.

[suwanneefl]

hello Doc C

Here is my expirence with precision-temp. It started with low fluid in the overflow reservoir. I filled the Unit but now it was using more and more of this fluid ( which has a brand name of RHOGARD). I called Gary at PT. He said air had got into the fluid lines and contaminated the fluid causing it to boil and be used up as steam. I had much trouble finding a dealership that would work on the PT. Gary from PT was no help as where to get service. I finaly found a Aqua-hot tech who was able to get the air out of the system. After a short while the PT started using fluid again to the point that it used over a gallion of the fluid in 4 days. I found someone who told me about the bad PEX to heaterhose connection being done by Newmar at the factory during assembly. I checked and my unit had these connections with stainmarks showing a leak had occured. What was happening was the leak at the bad connection was allowing air into the system. This would contaminate the system causing the fluid to boil and evaporate. Gary said I need to stop the leaks, purge the system and put all new Rhogard into PT. As of today I am still trying to get a dicision from Newmar as to their liability on this matter..

I also had trouble with the blower motor on the PT. Gary has sent me two that I have had to install.

I would like to know who you are using to work on your PT.

[Iron Man]

Is the heater hose standard heater hose and is it being slipped over the pex and the clamped using standard clamps? If so maybe the pex is collapsing when the clamp is tightened. If you had a ferrule to slide into end of the pex it would keep it from collapsing Maybe that will solve the problem.

[Doc C]

Suwanneefl,

The dealer that I purchase my RV from worked on the PT - Beckley's in Thurmount, MD

Doc C

["007"]

Welcome Suwanneefl to the Newmar forum & irv2.
You often wonder when MFG's change plumbing systems in these heating systems that have previously worked OK for other people they didn't leave alone.
Stick with it your sure to get it resolved with people here to help.
Enjoy the forums and do post often hopefully with lessor problems.