Community Forums

winniman · 12-15-2019, 02:29 PM

That's why I asked if you had changed the tanks. Im glad you have it working. There is definitely a learning curve to rvs. Don't feel bad, we all were there. Some lessons are more expensive than others. Every day is a learning experience with these things. As soon as you get one problem solved, another can arise. They are a house, and we all know houses need constant work as well.

1st-tt2018 · 12-15-2019, 02:31 PM

Actually this sounds like you may have actually solved it. When you changed tanks and all you may have reseated the OPD(overfill protection device) on the tanks or you may have let the regulator reset after initial flow. It is nearly impossible to introduce air into a LP system that has been used since it is pressurised unless you have a leak...but air would show at all appliances. You also could have had a blockage in the piping or orifice that has been cleared.

Anyway. Keep checking on it, glad you got it running, and just beware it could come back so keep those backup remedies handy.

aether_one · 12-15-2019, 02:35 PM

If you had an Atwood furnace I'd say you had a wet control board and it dried out.

tuffr2 · 12-15-2019, 02:39 PM

Lol, I know somewhere along the line you turned everything off, waited 30 seconds, then turned everything back on. That is what fixed it...lol.

Anyway, all in all good news. The propane furnace really heats up a trailer fast.

But, getting another dog is not a bad idea either. One dog equals 100% effort from an owner. Two dogs add only 25% more effort and the 3rd dog only adds 10% more effort. I at one time had 3 dogs and was amazed that taking care of 3 dogs is really not much more difficult than taking care on just 1 doggie.

Tcounty1 · 12-15-2019, 05:04 PM

Good deal. Glad it’s going

thecityman · 12-15-2019, 09:02 PM

Thanks, everyone, for not making me feel like a bigger dummy than I already do and for offering some possibilities besides i was turning it on wrong. ABout all I know for sure is that I was operating it the same way the whole time, so whatever it was it did just clear itself up and it was't something I did different (nor certainly was it anything the repair guy did). Winniman did ask if I'd unhooked the tanks....and I didn't the first time it wasn't working. But I did after that. I will admit that it is possible that the very first time it wasn't working I just wasnt giving it enough time and then I unhooked tanks to check them and thats when air got in line. BUt the stove has worked flawlessly the entire time so I don't know.

Anyway, at this point it is all guess work and maybe we'll never know 100%. Like some of you said, my fear now is that it will do this again, but thanks to all of you I have lots of things to try next time, and I'll let it run much longer each time in future. The repair guy said the same thing several of you guys did.....that if the blower is on AND if you can hear the igniter clicking that 95% of the components on a furnace are operating as they should and it almost has to be some kind of gas issue- though I acknowledged 2 rare exceptions to that (the firing point could be bent to where it is sparking over to some other grounded metal is one of the rare things he mentioned- he used a fouled spark plug or a spark plug with an incorrect spacing at spark location as possible, but again, he felt some sort of gas problem was more likely). I know one of you mentioned the possible spark point problem so everyone seemed to be on right page.

Tuffr2 : I didn't take your dog-as-heat- thing very seriously until recently. One night my dog stayed outside all night (He had gotten all muddy so I put him in my barn in his pen until I could wash him the next day) . THere is no question whatsoever that my little camper was harder to heat that night! Keep in mind I always close my bedroom door at night so the space I have to heat is tiny at night. "dog heat" really is a thing and it was obvious that night compared with other nights the same temp! He is about a 60 pound Brittany so thats probably like 2 little dogs.

Since I feel like all I ever do here is complain and ask for help, I'd like to report a few positive things now. First, I am blown away by how little gas I have used so far. Now, keep in mind that I use electric heat 95% of the time. I also only turn on my hot water heater about 15-20 minutes once a day. I don't even heat it all the way up- just to the point that I can take a shower using pure hot water, then cut it off the moment I step out. But I cook quite a bit, I cook 2 meals per day (breakfast and supper) and usually use 2 burners for 10-15 minutes. In spite of all this, when I unbolted my 30# gas tanks to check their levels, I was blown away by how full they were. THe one that wasn't on, of course, was 100% full. But the other one honestly felt like 90% full!!!! Even if it was 50% full (I am pretty sure it was more than that), I think that is amazing for a full month of use!!!

One thing I haven't mentioned in a few weeks is my leaking kitchen sink. While a leaking sink may not sound like a big deal, it was a HUGE pain in the a$$. Every single time I turn my water on it would leak at the bast and run across my counter. SO, since I had the mobile repair guy there anyway and had paid his service call anyway, I asked him to fix my sink. He suggested it would be about as cheap to just replace the faucet as to try and repair it. Long story short, not only did he put on a new, working faucet, but the one we used had a sprayer on it, which my original sink did not have. So he drilled a hole in the counter and plumbed it in, and now I have an AWESOME new, non leaking kitchen sink AND a sprayer- something I had already missed a lot. So that kept his trip from being a 100% waste of money and I love me new sink.

Otherwise, I'm enjoying RV more each day, and I look foreword to just communicating with you all on a more positive, less needy way! Thanks for everything so far.

BPoland · 12-16-2019, 06:45 AM

Don't feel bad. Anybody that says they haven't had a similar situation happen to them, is probably not being honest.

I had a problem with the pressure produced from our water pump, I closed a couple valves so that I could remove the filter and clean it out. I reinstalled everything, and went to test the pump. I used the shower faucet in the wet bay to test it. I couldn't get the pump to prime. Tried everything. This went on for about 45 mins. back and forth. Change this valve setting and change it back. No difference. I finally unscrewed the hose to the shower head, and wore a face full of water. Turns out, the pump was working perfectly all along. It was the little shut off switch on the shower head that was turned off.

Most of us have been there, and those that haven't will be soon.

thecityman · 12-16-2019, 11:16 AM

I appreciate everyone not giving me a hard time after I ask for help and then can't explain what the problem was! I especially enjoyed folks like BPoland admitting that lots of us have made silly repair problems. Perhaps many others have had issues that turned out to be something simple they should have spotted sooner.

Speaking of which, I had one today!!! I work up this morning and my electric heat wasn't working. Further checking revealed all but one of the plugs in my RV weren't working. I'm embarrassed to admit all the things I did and checked and considered before I finally figured it was as simple as my ground fault circuit being tripped!!!! Pushed the button on one plug and WHALA....all the plugs worked. Its such a good feeling when you see something start working because of something you did- even if its something a 6 year old could have figured out! ha

I am curious why it tripped. It has been POURING rain all night and all morning so perhaps water got somewhere it shouldn't?

I'm also curious why one plug isn't on the same ciruit as the others? Is there any chance that that one plug runs off the battery? It will operate 110 volt appliances so I doubt it, but perhaps it has an inverter with batter whereas other plugs are just stright 110??? just curious.

Mtn. Lion · 12-16-2019, 03:08 PM

The problem will probably happen again. Think about it. It was working fine, then it quit. Then it started working fine again because the repair man was there. Consider a backup heater.

You can get an inexpensive space heater for $30. I'm using the Comfort Zone space heater. It has a thermostat, low (750W) and high (1,500w) settings. Just let it run for a while and it will heat the whole RV at the 750w setting. https://www.farmandfleet.com/product...ter-1500w.html

Podivin · 12-16-2019, 03:21 PM

Obviously I don't know the exact layout of the gas lines in the RV, but it makes sense to me that the heater could have air in the line while all other gas appliances are working.
I'm thinking that at some point there must be a line that Ts off a main gas line and goes to each appliance, one appliance per T. If that's the way it's laid out then it's certainly possible that the T the feeds the heater still had air in it while the lines to the stove and water heaters had been used/tested enough that all of the air had been removed.
Maybe the lines aren't laid out that way, but it make sense and you're welcome to use this as an explanation on why our heater was being balky.

thecityman · 12-16-2019, 04:07 PM

MTN. LION I totally agree and live in fear that the problem will likely reappear. In fact, I told the repair man that it would probably happen just about the time he got back home! But if it was air in the line, maybe it wont, and for sure I'll bleed off the lines a lot longer if it happens again. I have an electric heater very similar to the one in your link. But they don't heat NEARLY as fast as my gas furnance. WHen working, my gas furnace can raise the temp of my little camper as much as 20 degrees in about 20 minutes or less. Its crazy how good it works WHEN it works. Also, I wanted my gas furnace for times when I may not have electricty. I live out in the country and we have power outages quite often. And of course when I travel with my camper I would like the option to camp in places that don't have electricity. I own a wooded farm way up on a mountain a few hours from my house and I can't wait to go there. My friend and I often camp there in deer season so it will really be fun having a warm camper!

I've thought about some kind of kerosene space heater as a backup heat source, but I fear I'd kill myself with carbon dioxide!

Podvin, you could be right. After all, the stove and water heater are both on opposite sides of my camper from where the furnace is, so the line has to branch off at some point. Still, I'd have thought if gas was flowing to one it would probably flow to the other? But yea...I'll use your suggestion as an excuse to explain the unknown problem! ha

Tcounty1 · 12-16-2019, 06:02 PM

I’d get one of the electric oil filled radiator style heaters. They aren’t good for instant heat but will maintain heat and not use a lot of power, plus less fire hazard.

winniman · 12-16-2019, 06:31 PM

If you have double propane tanks, you shouldn't run out of propane. The purpose of the dual tank valve is to give you the ability to remove an empty tank without shutting down the rv. Im assuming your rv has a dual valve like this one. Does yours have the red and green indicator on top like this one. If you do, do you completely understand how it works.
https://www.amazon.ca/MARSH-EXCEL-ME...Z99RAD655H0TKQ

Nudge · 12-16-2019, 07:34 PM

Awh....come here Kevin (Hugs)

It was a lesson a 200$ lesson but it is what it is.
I can only imagine how many people can relate on one level or another.
I love posts like this. I learn allot. So thank you for that.
Thanks for the update.
Iffin’ you don’t have anymore problems between now & new year...
Merry Christmas to you and your awesome mouse eaten’ pooch!
Best Wishes