Propane camper furnace issues...

[Sniper-T]

yep sorry I should have said that. it is a 3 position dial
OFF
Pilot (with a note) will not heat from this positon)
On

for the pilot, you have to depress and hold until it lights, and then I assumed it was like the old seville fridge we had at the cabin, continue to hold until it 'clicks' and lights.

My furnace didn't click, but seemed like it lit. release the button, seemed fine, turned to ON. no heat.


For Friday:

I refilled the tanks with fresh propane, the old tanks expired in 84, although I am sure it is not the issue, since they worked fine on the stove.

I packed a level. The camper isn't equiped with it's own, and all I did was eye ball it to start, then used a glass of water on the floor. Just before I left, I borrowed a level from a buddy and checked to see, and it is a couple degrees off to the stern. I'll level it properly this coming weekend.

I packed a butane torch, to try heating as suggested.
I packed a small nail file/emory board like chicks use to do their nails. It's going to be tough reaching in there with anything but that might be better for cleaning the contacts than an 8x11 sheet of 250 grit.
I packed some compressed air. a quick blast might dislodge a moth or something from in the chimney.
I packed a mirror, maybe a different angle of view might let me see in there a little bit better.
I packed my larger truck tool kit, which should have everything I may need, toolwise.

Is there some kind of thermostat for these things? How do you adjust the heat once it does work, or does it just keep pounding out the heat until you're cooked or you throw open a window?

Directly below the furnace, there is a cabinet door, which when the camper is loaded onto a truck would access the area in front of the wheel well, for a jack, or towstraps or whatever. The door doesn't close properly, so there is a 1/4" gap open to the outside. (probably how the moths got in). So if there was a propane leak, it is being readily vented.

I also hate the smell of raw propane, and can detect it rather well. Before lighting anything, I gave the whole camper a good sniff test, and didn't smell any leaks. And no... spraying water isn't feasible, especially since it doesn't heat up, and anything sprayed would just freeze.

Incidentally, I stayed in it every night anyways, even without the furnace. Most nights it was around -10C so rather comfortable in my sleeping bag. Two nights it dipped down to -23C, and it would have been nice to have.

[Daca102090]

On the older convection heaters there is usually a numbered knob that sticks out of the front of the protective grill. That is the temperature setting with 1 being lowest and 9 being highest. On mine (11 ft) I usually have it set between 3 and 4 and this is usually plenty warm. Without looking for myself I am just guessing now.

yep sorry I should have said that. it is a 3 position dial
OFF
Pilot (with a note) will not heat from this positon)
On

for the pilot, you have to depress and hold until it lights, and then I assumed it was like the old seville fridge we had at the cabin, continue to hold until it 'clicks' and lights.

My furnace didn't click, but seemed like it lit. release the button, seemed fine, turned to ON. no heat.


For Friday:

I refilled the tanks with fresh propane, the old tanks expired in 84, although I am sure it is not the issue, since they worked fine on the stove.

I packed a level. The camper isn't equiped with it's own, and all I did was eye ball it to start, then used a glass of water on the floor. Just before I left, I borrowed a level from a buddy and checked to see, and it is a couple degrees off to the stern. I'll level it properly this coming weekend.

I packed a butane torch, to try heating as suggested.
I packed a small nail file/emory board like chicks use to do their nails. It's going to be tough reaching in there with anything but that might be better for cleaning the contacts than an 8x11 sheet of 250 grit.
I packed some compressed air. a quick blast might dislodge a moth or something from in the chimney.
I packed a mirror, maybe a different angle of view might let me see in there a little bit better.
I packed my larger truck tool kit, which should have everything I may need, toolwise.

Is there some kind of thermostat for these things? How do you adjust the heat once it does work, or does it just keep pounding out the heat until you're cooked or you throw open a window?

Directly below the furnace, there is a cabinet door, which when the camper is loaded onto a truck would access the area in front of the wheel well, for a jack, or towstraps or whatever. The door doesn't close properly, so there is a 1/4" gap open to the outside. (probably how the moths got in). So if there was a propane leak, it is being readily vented.

I also hate the smell of raw propane, and can detect it rather well. Before lighting anything, I gave the whole camper a good sniff test, and didn't smell any leaks. And no... spraying water isn't feasible, especially since it doesn't heat up, and anything sprayed would just freeze.

Incidentally, I stayed in it every night anyways, even without the furnace. Most nights it was around -10C so rather comfortable in my sleeping bag. Two nights it dipped down to -23C, and it would have been nice to have.