Propane camper furnace issues...

[Sniper-T]

So I bought that camper last year, and plopped it down in the back 160 of my buddy's land. I go out for hunting season, and the damn furnace wont do shit!

Luckily, it only went down to -18C for a few days, the rest were around -5C so it was comfortable enough for sleeping, but it caused the windows to fog/ice up in a nasty fashion.

does anyone have experience with these things. I spent days making sure that the camper was level, the stove worked fine, but the furnace... not so much. Following instructions on the door, I turned it onto 'PILOT" lit it, held the button in for a couple minutes, and released, it 'seemed' like the burner lit, but no heat.

Thoughts?

Oh as an aside, when I closed it up, it had two 20# propane bottles in it, both half full in the beginning, but emptied via the stove. I added one new one for the last couple days, but no change on the furnace.

When I left, I pulled the new bottle, and took the second original bottle out, to find it was only finger tight on the hose. without the second bottle hooked up, a single bottle just vents through the open line....

Now, the camper is old, hadn't been touched in years when I bought it, and had a nice pile of dead moths/dust (no mice)

The grate to light the thing flips open, and like I said, everything works fine, except the heat. To take the rest of the grate off, will take some doing, (bending fins, etc)

does anyone know anything aout these things. cleaning, adjusting. ???
I'm thinking maybe the contacts, or an issue with the chimney. When I go back out on the weekend, I'll take what I need to pull the front off, but then what?

thoughts?

[bacpacker]

My parents used to have a camper and several times they had insects or ants build in the heater. Clean it out and worked fine again. Other than that, no clue.

[Sniper-T]

yeah, that still means ripping it out fro the wall. it is essentially built in.

I may try taking an air cylender and try blowing it out first, but am not sure how they work and don't want to blow something apat.

In a perfect world... I woulda gone up there a month before season... but... oops.

And no... it really isn't feasible to call in a repair guy.

[helomech]

yeah, that still means ripping it out fro the wall. it is essentially built in.

I may try taking an air cylender and try blowing it out first, but am not sure how they work and don't want to blow something apat.

In a perfect world... I woulda gone up there a month before season... but... oops.

And no... it really isn't feasible to call in a repair guy.

Find a guy that knows how to fix them and invite him on a hunt. Tell him he may want to bring some tools.

[Possom]

What I did on my deer camp camper is disconnect the original furnace and put in a single burner propane heater that mounts on the wall. I know this isn't the fix you were wanting to hear but it is by far the easiest.

I just crack a window to let a little air in while the heater is on. Never had a problem with carbon monoxide build up. I will not let the heater burn while I am sleeping but heat the trailer up before I go to bed. It will hold the heat fairly well and heats up quick again the next morning.

This is close to the unit I have in my camper. Works great.

http://www.ruralking.com/mr-heater-p...FeHm7AodmBUA5Q

[Sniper-T]

Possum, that would probably work for next year, If I can't figure this one out by then. Helo.. too little time... I leave again in 4 days. but maybe I can look into that before late season... but by then we're playing with -30C. be nice to get it working before then. I know I'll be warm enough... but after snowmobiling for 6+ hours, I know the wife will want toastier! lol

A propane furnace is a simple thing... I HAVE to be missing something simple!

[helomech]

Well it probably has a thermocouple that will not let the gas heater part turn on until it gets hot enough from the pilot light. That is usually what goes wrong on them, easy to change. That is to stop the heater from turning on when the pilot light is not lit.

[Daca102090]

One issue for the older (1970s and 1980s) RV heater and stoves are the thermocouples that register there is a pilot light before opening the main burner valve.
I had both the oven and furnace ones get internally corroded, I think due to condensation over the seasons of non-use.
I took a propane torch to the thermocouple and heated each one until it was red hot then let it cool off before trying to light the appliance.
The one in the oven gave off a green flame before the torch got it completely heated up and I think that was some of the corrosion burning off and allowing it to work properly.
Both work properly three years after the fix.
Easy enough to try.

[Sniper-T]

except that the furnace thermo is screwed tightly against the panelling under the furnace. from the wrong side. I can cut the straps and try that, and then overscrew/washer to re-attach, but the theromo, looks sweet clean, and the stove/oven and fridge all work.

[Daca102090]

This isn't the thermostat, it would be the little copper rod looking thing that the pilot light touches when it is lit. This senses that there is a pilot light capable of lighting the burner and intended to keep raw gas from flooding the space.

To get to it with a torch would be through the little half dollar size grate/plate that you lift to light the pilot.

That is assuming that the furnace is older than the 1990's.
I think in the late 80's manufacturers went to sealed units that almost have to be disassembled to get to the internals and light using a push button piezo electric sparkers.