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Old 01-11-2021, 03:25 PM   #1
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Water Bay Ceramic Heater Checkout? 2005 Monaco Knight

Howdy,

Can someone please help me figure out how to checkout the operation of the Water Bay heater(where the dump and water service valves are located). Our 2005 Monaco knight has the Bay heater option and I can see the small rectangular heater in the back of the Bay. The power switch is located inside on the switch panel and has an operational light next to it which I believe should come on when the heater is operating. I have had the RV for years and we leave the power switch on whenever we camp during the winter, however we have never seen the light come on or seen/ heard the heater operate.

Is there a way to test out the operation of the Bay heater to make sure it works? I believe the manual said it comes on when it gets below 40 degrees in the bay, but I just don't think it is powering on when colder than 40 degrees.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to check its operation? Any idea where the thermostat is located? I would like to bypass it just to make sure everything works.

Thank you!
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Old 01-11-2021, 03:40 PM   #2
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Going by pics people have shared .Look for an odd little can thermo switch about the size of stack of 5-6 nickels , or quarters , might be coming out of a wire loom, if not a a bare metal rotary knob thermostat, knob might not be on it just a stem. If the heater is hidden out of reach an IR thermometer is a handy tool to check tire & rim temps as well. I think some OEM bay heaters were 12v.
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Old 01-11-2021, 03:59 PM   #3
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FT,
Only certain way is to stick your hand in front of little heater box (may need to be contortionist to reach) and actually feel heat coming out. And make sure it's moving air, not just warmth since it has both an element and a fan. You're right about the "System Heat" switch, make sure it's on. Switch lites up when on, when snapdisc (thermal switch) in bay energizes the lite next to the switch will come on.

Mine was not working. Pulled out, tore open, cleaned out lots of junk (highly recommended), reassembled. Found nothing wrong with heater as verified by connecting to power while removed. Still not working after reinstall (expected). Next was snapdisc, access/removal of which is contortionist X2. Will be near heater box, just follow wires. That was the culprit. Located, ordered, and and installed one (not exact mounting configuration) with same open/close values viola!
Having said that, monitoring temps I noticed snapdisc was not closing reliably before crossing 32 degrees. Ended up installing a jumper in snapdisc connections and simply turning on System Heat switch when temps got anywhere close to 32. It's a relatively low heat output unit so you're not going to "overheat" your basement by leaving it on full time when below freezing. Chances are, if you're below freezing -- with the minimal insulation value of the basement enclosure -- the unit would probably remain constant on even with properly functioning snapdisc.
Not recommending you do same -- will probably normalize mine when I get around to finding a trustworthy snapdisc. Just advising that if you replace snapdisc, make sure to verify accurate functioning before you encounter below freezing conditions.

Hope helps,
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Old 01-11-2021, 06:33 PM   #4
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If I know I'm going to be seeing some colder temps I test the heater by using a male to male spade connector, I remove both spades from the snap disc, hook them together and turning the heater switch. I make sure the operating light comes on. '
Next I put the snap disc back in place and use two ice cubes to get snap disc to close and turn on the heater and check for heat.



If the heater doesn't work there is a thermo fuse that is known to fail, it can be replaced.



Also, the power for my wet bay heater circuits comes from a auto reset circuit breaker attached to a buss bar in my rear passenger side. The heater didn't work one time and I found the connection loose.
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Old 01-11-2021, 06:52 PM   #5
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This little heater works off a snap disk like this, with one wire coming in from power, and another going to the heater. This snap disk is located in the wet bay; it is a thermostat of sorts, usually 6 inches from the heater. Jump across it with a piece of wire connected to two alligator clips, and the heater will come on -- hopefully. It will start blowing, and soon become warm, not hot. They are a higher than normal fail item, pretty weak when they work and they gobble batteries -- they will flatten your 4-bank overnight if you are not plugged in to at least 20a shore power.
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Old 01-11-2021, 06:58 PM   #6
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To test the snap disk, remove it with a hand tool. Put it in the freezer. With your ohm meter, it should show open until it gets pretty cold. Once it shows closed, put it straight in the fridge. It should stay closed is a 35* fridge. Set it on the counter, it should open about 45*. Look at the number in the example above, now look at your snap disk number. For the snap disk above I searched "STO-160 Snap Disk" and got all its particulars. Search yours for its particulars.
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Old 01-11-2021, 06:59 PM   #7
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Thanks for the replies. I will dig into it tomorrow. The fan sits way back in the back of the Bay. I hope I can find the snap disk. I assumed it was 120VAC but it sounds like it is 12V from your comments. It may be a power issue since the red power light does not come on with the switch. Thank you so much for your help!
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Old 01-11-2021, 07:09 PM   #8
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Sounds like you have no 12vdc to the switch, and therefore no power to the snap disk; jumping it will tell, but I bet it won't come on. Set your volt meter to 12vdc ans see if you have power to either side of the snap disk. Yes, the whole system heat runs off 12vdc -- lots and lots of 12vdc. Check your 12vdc fuses, it's likely a big one, not 5 or 15a but 30a or so.
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Old 01-11-2021, 08:27 PM   #9
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You can also check the snap disk by spraying. It with component cooler. This is usually sold at electronic repair shops like the old radio shack also available on Amazon
Mine was on the rear sidewall of my wet bay
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Old 01-11-2021, 09:03 PM   #10
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I have a 2005 Monaco Knight. This subject has been discussed on the forum just in the last few days.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/furnace-heat-question-520859.html#post5589987

A few observations based on my experiences with the Cargo Heat 3000RV 300 watt heater. The red lights in the POWER rocker switch and the ACTIVE indicator burn out frequently. That doesn't necessarily mean the heater is not working. Both of our lights are presently inop but I don't mess with stuff I don't absolutely have to when it's this cold in case I accidentally screw something up or need to wait for parts.
We are presently camped where night time temps are in the mid-teens. Our bay heater runs when appropriate. I can see the heater elements glowing orange and hear and feel the fan running when I open the wet bay door and look.
My first line of defense is a 75 watt heat lamp in a clamp on aluminum reflector tied to a Thermo Cube which acts just like a snap disc but comes on well before the snap switch which turns on the bay heater. I monitor the water bay temperature from inside the coach with a remote wireless temperature sensor clamped inside the water bay inside a Ziplock bag. The snap switch is mounted in a colder place than the plumbing in the water bay I want to protect.
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Old 01-12-2021, 06:41 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FL420 View Post
I have a 2005 Monaco Knight. This subject has been discussed on the forum just in the last few days.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5589987

A few observations based on my experiences with the Cargo Heat 3000RV 300 watt heater. The red lights in the POWER rocker switch and the ACTIVE indicator burn out frequently. That doesn't necessarily mean the heater is not working. Both of our lights are presently inop but I don't mess with stuff I don't absolutely have to when it's this cold in case I accidentally screw something up or need to wait for parts.
We are presently camped where night time temps are in the mid-teens. Our bay heater runs when appropriate. I can see the heater elements glowing orange and hear and feel the fan running when I open the wet bay door and look.
My first line of defense is a 75 watt heat lamp in a clamp on aluminum reflector tied to a Thermo Cube which acts just like a snap disc but comes on well before the snap switch which turns on the bay heater. I monitor the water bay temperature from inside the coach with a remote wireless temperature sensor clamped inside the water bay inside a Ziplock bag. The snap switch is mounted in a colder place than the plumbing in the water bay I want to protect.
Nice simple setup. What kind of temperature differentials do you get on your temperature sensor with your setup? Obviously, you use an incandescent bulb as florescent and led bulbs generate very little heat.
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Old 01-12-2021, 10:46 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyMac View Post
Nice simple setup. What kind of temperature differentials do you get on your temperature sensor with your setup? Obviously, you use an incandescent bulb as florescent and led bulbs generate very little heat.
The 75 watt lamp in an 8 1/2" diameter aluminum reflector is sold at Walmart, Amazon and just about any Farm & Ranch store sells them as heat lamps. They are available in different wattages.
I use a single 75 watt in the wet bay and two 250 watt lamps in reflectors laying on the ground under the coach pointed up at the bottom of my fresh water tank. The black and grey tanks are mounted on top of my fresh water tank. All three get power through the Thermo Cube from the 20 amp CB on the power pedestal. All connections are protected from rain and snow intrusion. The amp draw of the 575 total watts is ~5.
The water bay temperature is about 20-30°F above the OAT with just the heat lamp on. Last night when the OAT was 22°F the water bay temperature was 59° F with both the heat lamp and the Cargo Heat operating.
More than a few folks in our campground have heat lamps glowing under their coaches at night now. We can avoid the expense and hassle of messing with heated and wrapped hoses and hydrants and skirting. Most of the 5ers here have foamboard skirting. Class A's with basement storage aren't nearly as easy to skirt.
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Old 01-14-2021, 07:01 AM   #13
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A recent post I saw suggested using Dust-off compressed air to cool the snap disk. It works! Turn the canister upside down and spray the cold gas directly on the snap disk. With the switch on, the heater should start within a minute.
By the way, you can get 4 cans at Sam’s Club for 9.98, which is about what 1 can costs on Amazon.
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Old 01-14-2021, 11:13 PM   #14
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I'd just reiterate what I mentioned in my earlier post:
If you've had problems with your wet bay heater and restored it by replacing the snapdisc or some other repair --- definitely monitor and verify the heater actually works if you encounter less than 32 temperatures.
That is, unless you've verified the accuracy of the disc's switching temperature as a few others have described.
It's not only important that the disc "snap", it's equally important that it do so before crossing 32 degrees. Trusting that the system will work fine solely because you verified disc operation (be it the orig. one or a replacement) with freeze spray, which is a great/simple troubleshooting technique, could lead to a bummer of a discovery some "morning after."
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