More Atwood furnace woes.. ('07 escape 21 removal)

[Brookfielder]

We just got our 2017 19 back from ETI. To make a long story short, they found something in our furnace that they had not seen before. A failed flame sensor, which is part of the ignitor.
It was an intermittent problem, and in the end was giving a two-flash code..
Reace and Dave told me it was a new one for them. Thank you gentlemen. Appreciated.

[threeacers]

Another 8012-11 problem. I took it in because it was failing to light after the fan ran for some time - sounds like a sail switch problem. Not according to the tech who replaced the ignition circuit board. The furnace ran fine for a test at the shop, then again at home. But the first trip in the fall (first time we needed the furnace) it would not start at all. The green indicator light went on solid when the electronic thermostat was turned on. Back to the shop and replace the circuit board again. Same story - tested ok at the shop and at home. Two weeks later, temperature down to 0 C, out in the bush, no furnace. Green indicator light in the furnace on solid again. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by threeacers

Another 8012-11 problem. I took it in because it was failing to light after the fan ran for some time - sounds like a sail switch problem. Not according to the tech who replaced the ignition circuit board. The furnace ran fine for a test at the shop, then again at home. But the first trip in the fall (first time we needed the furnace) it would not start at all. The green indicator light went on solid when the electronic thermostat was turned on. Back to the shop and replace the circuit board again. Same story - tested ok at the shop and at home. Two weeks later, temperature down to 0 C, out in the bush, no furnace. Green indicator light in the furnace on solid again. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Are you using the stock Atwood replacement board? No idea if this would help, but just throwing out there that if I was having circuit board problems I would consider the compatible board made by Dinosaur Electronics.

https://pdxrvwholesale.com/products/...ard-fan50pp%20

[Hollybee]

This subject really concerns us. Being from the "Sunny South" we are not really experienced winter campers. The few times we used our Texas-built Casita in coldish weather, we had no furnace issues. WE used our AC 'heat strip' much more often.
We are eagerly awaiting our new E-21 but are having trouble figuring out this furnace issue.
"Pulling this" "shoving that" "screwing up the wiring", "getting to a sail switch", "not getting to a sail switch" etc etc..seems daunting, and one does wonder why a company which is located "up nawth" in Canada cannot find and install a heater which works well ...and simply. Umm ie..why not put the pesky sail switch out were it can be..serviced? How big of a problem IS this anyways? Really?

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by Hollybee

This subject really concerns us. Being from the "Sunny South" we are not really experienced winter campers. The few times we used our Texas-built Casita in coldish weather, we had no furnace issues. WE used our AC 'heat strip' much more often.
We are eagerly awaiting our new E-21 but are having trouble figuring out this furnace issue.
"Pulling this" "shoving that" "screwing up the wiring", "getting to a sail switch", "not getting to a sail switch" etc etc..seems daunting, and one does wonder why a company which is located "up nawth" in Canada cannot find and install a heater which works well ...and simply. Umm ie..why not put the pesky sail switch out were it can be..serviced? How big of a problem IS this anyways? Really?

Bear in mind that problems you see on the forum generally happen to only a minority of people. That being said, the furnace sail switch seems to be a relatively common problem. There aren't a lot of manufacturers / models to choose from, especially for a small furnace like this. Apparently there is an issue with either the design or the sail switch quality with this one - most RV furnaces have sail switches and they don't seem to have this issue.

Over a year ago ETI switched to a furnace installation that has an access panel on the exterior, easily removed with 4 screws, that makes it very easy to get at components like the sail switch and circuit board - previously the furnace had to be removed inside the trailer to access them. It also sounds like the manufacturer, Dometic, recently made a change to the sail switch mounting bracket in an effort to correct the problem. This improved part should be on new furnaces, and many of us have ordered it to replace on our own - it just became available so there's no word yet on whether it eliminates the problem.

All RV manufacturers are constantly battling issues with the quality of components, increasingly made by several large conglomerates who have gobbled up all the small companies leaving very limited choices in components. ETI has always tried to stay on top of issues when they arise, switch compenents or installation processes when there are improvements to be made, and helps owners work through any issues.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Hollybee

This subject really concerns us. Being from the "Sunny South" we are not really experienced winter campers. The few times we used our Texas-built Casita in coldish weather, we had no furnace issues. WE used our AC 'heat strip' much more often.
We are eagerly awaiting our new E-21 but are having trouble figuring out this furnace issue.
"Pulling this" "shoving that" "screwing up the wiring", "getting to a sail switch", "not getting to a sail switch" etc etc..seems daunting, and one does wonder why a company which is located "up nawth" in Canada cannot find and install a heater which works well ...and simply. Umm ie..why not put the pesky sail switch out were it can be..serviced? How big of a problem IS this anyways? Really?

Hi: Hollybee... I for one can't believe the furnace issues croping up!!! Our furnace always works. Wanted to warm it up to show a few days ago and oops no heat. Run shut off, run shut off. Only blowing cold, Oh NO!!! Then remembered I had shut off the propane to winterize it. Went out and carefully turned on the bottles, tried lighting the cook top, then the furnace and VOILA heat. Still sailing after all these years. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Hollybee

This subject really concerns us. Being from the "Sunny South" we are not really experienced winter campers. The few times we used our Texas-built Casita in coldish weather, we had no furnace issues. WE used our AC 'heat strip' much more often.
We are eagerly awaiting our new E-21 but are having trouble figuring out this furnace issue.
"Pulling this" "shoving that" "screwing up the wiring", "getting to a sail switch", "not getting to a sail switch" etc etc..seems daunting, and one does wonder why a company which is located "up nawth" in Canada cannot find and install a heater which works well ...and simply. Umm ie..why not put the pesky sail switch out were it can be..serviced? How big of a problem IS this anyways? Really?

We had the same experience with our Casita furnace
“ ZERO ISSUES IN OVER 6 YEARS” and actually large enough to heat the trailer ( 16,000 BTU ) in the Spring and Fall camping seasons
Our Escape furnace has failed twice in a little over a year
( Defective circuit board , sail switch , leaky outside vent )
Our Casita also came ( Standard equipment ) with a heat strip in the A/C and it worked well
Why a $20K trailer built in texas comes with a backup heat system ( heat strip) that works and a $40K trailer built in Canada comes with an unreliable furnace and no backup still amazes me
I hope that someday Escape will come out with a true 3 season trailer.

[LeonW]

knock on wood, but we have never had a problem with the furnace in our 2014 Escape 21.

[padlin]

Same here, instead we were blessed with a crappy fridge.

[Greg A]

We’ve been fortunate on solid furnace and fridge. Our only issue has been aberrant mood swings on the crappy accurite thermometer. Putting an old fashioned fridge thermometer inside the fridge for a double check solved it.
The sail switch issue on the new furnace is distressing reading about it. I don’t see the volume of the issue being discussed on the sticky forums, but some. One comment that seemed interesting is that the furnaces have less or no issues when they are used regularly. The sail switch issues seemed to be when they were coming out of storage or long sits. Maybe firing up and running the furnace while in storage as a kind of best practice, could be a possible help?

[Patandlinda]

Yes I will knock on wood , never had a problem with our furnace on our 2013 . As for our refrigerator had to work on that to fix To improve . . Combination of manufacturer and installation not following manufacturing directions . Pat

[ColoradoSwany]

And our furnace (and fridge) works fine after two years. Only issue we had was water heater that quit working on our first trip. One call to Escape tech helped narrow the problem to a probable defective mother board. Escape immediately shipped out a new mother board, which arrived at our home before we did. Simple plug in operation to replace it and it has worked fine since.

We are very happy with Escape quality and their great customer service.

[threeacers]

Thanks. I'll check to see what circuit board the tech put in as a replacement.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by Hollybee

This subject really concerns us. Being from the "Sunny South" we are not really experienced winter campers. The few times we used our Texas-built Casita in coldish weather, we had no furnace issues. WE used our AC 'heat strip' much more often.
We are eagerly awaiting our new E-21 but are having trouble figuring out this furnace issue.
"Pulling this" "shoving that" "screwing up the wiring", "getting to a sail switch", "not getting to a sail switch" etc etc..seems daunting, and one does wonder why a company which is located "up nawth" in Canada cannot find and install a heater which works well ...and simply. Umm ie..why not put the pesky sail switch out were it can be..serviced? How big of a problem IS this anyways? Really?

YOU are lucky in that the sail switch on your 21 has never been more accessible and easy to service. With ALL Gen 1 trailers and a couple of years of the Gen2 one had to pull the whole heater out to change the sail switch.

Maybe part of the Orientation should be showing how to access and R & R the sail switch- and get a spare from the start as then you're likely to never need it

[Jim Bennett]

In a 11 years of owning 2 Escapes I have never had a heater issue. Probably am going to jinx myself saying that though.

[Hollybee]

Originally Posted by Rossue

YOU are lucky in that the sail switch on your 21 has never been more accessible and easy to service. With ALL Gen 1 trailers and a couple of years of the Gen2 one had to pull the whole heater out to change the sail switch.

Maybe part of the Orientation should be showing how to access and R & R the sail switch- and get a spare from the start as then you're likely to never need it

Right..... we are already making our "list" of ??s to be asked at orientation next April. The maintenance of the furnace is on that list, as is access to that pesky 'sail' switch.

[cpaharley2008]

I picked up an extra sail switch in May with the new E21, it now has 5,000 miles under its belt and still in the original box, never used. Hopefully it will remain that way....

[Perry Butler]

Our new/mproved (?) sail switch arrived yesterday. I was going to install it today, but we now have 6" of snow on the ground and the furnace was working. Looks like I'll be installing the new/improved switch in Death Valley next January. Until we get there, we'll use Passport America to find electric sites along the way.

We now carry three sail switches: the original, the replaced by warranty, and the new/improved model. Plus we'll have our Buddy and Martin gas heaters, as well as a Honeywell 1500 watt electric for backups. Also looking for a queen wool blanket at a reasonable price. After spending three nights at below 20 degrees with no working furnace we're kind of gun shy.

Enjoy,

Perry

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

Our new/mproved (?) sail switch arrived yesterday. I was going to install it today, but we now have 6" of snow on the ground and the furnace was working. Looks like I'll be installing the new/improved switch in Death Valley next January. Until we get there, we'll use Passport America to find electric sites along the way.

We now carry three sail switches: the original, the replaced by warranty, and the new/improved model. Plus we'll have our Buddy and Martin gas heaters, as well as a Honeywell 1500 watt electric for backups. Also looking for a queen wool blanket at a reasonable price. After spending three nights at below 20 degrees with no working furnace we're kind of gun shy.

Enjoy,

Perry

I received the new sail switch with the "improved" mounting bracket, plan to head over to the storage facility this weekend and give it a shot. I think there's no change to the sail switch, just the mounting bracket, and in looking at the new bracket it's hard to see how it will fit where the old one did but I guess I'll figure that out when I get over there and take the old one off.

[cpaharley2008]

Keep us in the loop there Dave, thanks...