Suburban furnace smell really strong

[Dominiqueb]

I Have a Fleetwood flair 30H
and I try to use the furnace, first it do not work, then after troubleshooting I found out the alarm system for propane located under the cabinet kitchen was disconnected????

I reconnected the alarm system and the furnace start working, BUT, the smell of burning was very strong and scary, I shut off immediately!

I know when you don't use it for long time normally does a burning smell.

But someone disconnected the alarm in purpose to disable the furnace ( I presume).

I believe the system needs to be cleaned very well, I found some nutshells surround the furnace(wild animals)
maybe that's what I got inside burning.

Definitely I should protect the exhausted to prevent animals to get in.

Anyone knows the temperature for the exhaust system, it seems to me very hot, such a waste of temperature or something is wrong.

Question??
How dangerous is? I want to turn it on and run until the smell gets to normal, but my concern is how risky is that furnace to fail and get and fire??? The strong smell definitely definitely is very scary.

I sincerely appreciate it anyone could respond to me, I definitely going to need it for the winter.

Thank you!!!

[Lt46]

The exhaust is always very hot. Too hot to keep your hand in the airflow. I'm speaking about the exterior, where the air intake vents are. I've always thought this was very inefficient. The odor could be a dead mouse since you found nut shells. I would suggest removing the propane heater and give it a good cleaning/inspection. Yes, they always smell when 1st used. Good luck.

[Old-Biscuit]

Model Number of this Suburban Furnace?

Year/Make/Model of your RV?


Furnace not being used for a while can have a smell from dust being burnt but would quickly go away after running

Furnace with evidence of nut shells means small critter has set up house and you have now burnt their house and possibly one of them up....that smell will NOT go away W/O removal/thorough cleaning of furnace components


LP Detector disconnected...no propane
Sounds like you RV is older and has an LP Shutoff Solenoid that Detector gets open when all is OK....if sensor goes off the DC is removed from that solenoid and it closes shutting down the LP System

Being disconnected just for furnace sounds unlikely
Detector is most likely old/expired....needs replaced (S/B every 5-7 yrs)
Check dated stamped on backside of detector
Could also be due to LP System issues that it got disconnected
***Be aware and check for propane leaks on any appliamce that uses propane...propane lines...propane regulator etc


Details help us help you
Signature line with Year/Make/Model of RV
Brand/Model of components when posting about problems

[Outbound]

Finding nut shells make me think you have a dead varmint or nest in fan section/duct.

[US1]

Depends on are you talking a hot heating smell or an animal odor, do to that you found nut shells. I wouldn’t think anything is actually inside the burner chamber as that’s only open from the outside of the RV and you found the nut shells inside around the furnace housing. Since you are smelling a strong odor, I’d be inclined to believe a critter chewed thru the flex duct and made a nest within the ducting. Just mice droppings inside a heated duct will stink. Does not mean you have a dead critter. Turn on furnace and see if all of your registers have good airflow. A low flowing duct may be a sign of blockage inside of that duct. Possibly if you have a duct leading to your black and grey tank compartment, mice had found a way inside the compartment either thru an uncapped access cover or any other type of access hole, and made its way into that heating duct. If you find a low flowing duct, remove the grill and shove a vacuum hose in it as far as possible and see f you pull out bedding material.

[Dominiqueb]

FC30 2001 Suburban

The smell is not about the dead animal probably burning the shelves or the nest, my question for you is since I don't have the knowledge to disassemble the whole system, do you believe it will be safe to let the system burn all those particles?
I am definitely want to be safe than sorry!

I'm not really a handyman to be able to disassemble the unit especially dealing with propane connections, I don't have the necessarily skills to be safe, unless you think it's something very simple.

Please let me know I appreciate any comments.

[Old-Biscuit]

FC30 2001 Suburban????

NOT a model number of any Suburban Furnace

S/B an SF-35, SH-35
Here is Suburban Service Manual...covers all models
http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.co...ing-Manual.pdf