Replacing sail switch on 2015 Escape 21 furnace - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Problem Solving | Owners helping each other
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 06-27-2017, 11:22 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Replacing sail switch on 2015 Escape 21 furnace

Looking for help with the Atwood AFSAD12 RV furnace: Our furnace stopped working the last day of camping. The symptom was the fan would come on and then just shut off at the point it should ignite. No click or anything. All other propane appliances work fine. While on the road we searched the forum for advice and thought it might be the sail switch. We stopped by ETI on the way home and they tried hooking up a new thermostat, but that didn't fix it. They suggested the next step would be to try a new sail switch. ETI doesn't stock these and our trailer is just out of warranty, so I was thinking of doing it myself. The 2015 Escape 21 furnace located next to the bed isn't as accessible as when it was in the dinette area. I'm told it is easy to replace the switch. Has anyone with the furnace in this location removed the furnace and put it back? How hard is it to do, especially lining it up with the outside exhaust port?

Thanks in advance,
Bob K
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 01:06 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
PGDriver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Southern Alberta, Alberta
Trailer: 2015 Escape 5.0TA
Posts: 1,734
Bob the re and re is really easy, the hardest thing is exhaust tube alignment. But with 2 people and some patients it's possible, oh ya a little luck never hurts either.


Cheers
Doug
__________________
Cheers
Doug
PGDriver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 01:47 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19'
Posts: 264
I have the older 8012 model furnace, and replaced my sail switch earlier this year in my 19. A couple of comments which may or may not apply to your model:
- there is a red flashing diagnostic light on the circuit board - one flash indicated trouble with the fan or sail switch (air flow related). You might have that in your furnace.
- make sure you get the right replacement part number. I had the right number, but it still took 3 tries for the parts person to get the right one ordered in. Check a parts diagram and know your part number before calling the RV shops.
- There are some good forum threads to check, some with photos. I wouldn't have tried this myself without this information.
- You might get away with cleaning the sail switch and reusing the old one, if is just dirty. My old one still tests ok on my voltmeter, I kept it as a backup.
- Yes, the hardest part was getting the furnace slid back to its original position due to friction on the exhaust tube. I think I put some dish soap on the tube to help them slide together. Have a helper apply pressure on the outside of the trailer to avoid popping the rivets that hold the outside vent in place.

Good Luck!
__________________
Kirk & Shelley
2014 19'
Surrey, Beautiful BC, Canada
KirkB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 04:12 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Thanks for the advice. I think I will attempt it myself.

Bob K
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 06:56 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19'
Posts: 264
It is worth a try. If you are at home, ETI is only an hour away if you get stuck and can't reinstall on you own. I was on the road in California when I did mine.
__________________
Kirk & Shelley
2014 19'
Surrey, Beautiful BC, Canada
KirkB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 08:40 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Yellow Springs, Ohio
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 709
I replaced the sail switch in the furnace in our 2013. Along the way, I learned about the trick (including from Tammy) of using a vacuum cleaner exhaust to try dislodging the dust ball that is likely hanging up the switch. That was the problem in ours, and I bet a blast of air right through the grill, would have taken care of it without the whole R&R event. I'd certainly give it a try first.
Parker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2017, 08:45 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SLO County, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21C 2019 Expedition
Posts: 5,210
Seem to remember this story then forgot. Will try to remember should we have a no heat event- thanks for posting.
Rossue is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 02:17 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Atwood AFSAD12 Furnace Fixed

So I finally have my furnace fixed. I’m glad I took it to an RV shop as it turned out to be the limit switch, not the sail switch. Because the furnace’s warranty had just expired (less than a month prior), I am hoping that Atwood/Dometic will give me some compensation for the repair, which cost about $400 Canadian.
I am submitting a request this next week and will know after about 6 weeks if they will give me any compensation.

I thought I would share some information that may help others with this model of furnace maintain it or replace the sail switch. I am posting a video of the furnace on the bench, showing the location of the sail switch and where to blow out debris that might interfere with the switch’s operation. In my case the switch was NOT the problem, but I had a new one installed anyhow and kept the old one as a backup.

The RV tech gave me the following information that could be useful:

* The wiring was long enough that the furnace can be pulled out of the cabinet for maintenance without cutting the wires.

* The cover needs to be removed to blow debris from the sail switch/blower area

* Two small screws hold the sail switch in place. The switch needs to be twisted a bit thereafter as you pull it out.

* To reinstall the furnace, the tech removed the external exhaust port, mounted the furnace in place and attached the gas fitting, then lined up the exhaust port to the furnace exhaust pipe. Apparently it was easier to align this way rather than from inside because the pipe takes a bend and it is hard to line up the furnace to the port. The reverse is much easier, but of course you have to reseal around the exhaust port.

* If you maintain the furnace before the pipes get rusty (every 2 years?) the exhaust pipe and port shouldn’t be hard to get back together. I gather from another post that soapy water can be used to slide them together, but if I think I might try using a Dremmel tool to remove any rust and make the fit easier.

One further point. In the Escape 21, the access to the reset switch for the furnace is through a small hatch you get at by removing the drawer above the furnace. Some units (like ours) built just after the furnace move, did not have that hatch. ETI cut a small hatch in the thin panel material under the drawer to give access to this switch. It did not resolve our problem, but it could in other cases where the reset is necessary.

Now we are anxious to use our trailer again! Love that Escape!
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 02:24 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
thoer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Galesville, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2017 21 "Blue II" & 2017 Highlander XLE (previously 2010 17B "Blue" & 2008 Tacoma)
Posts: 4,232
Very useful info Bob! Thanks for that.
__________________
Eric (and Mary who is in no way responsible for anything stupid I post)

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." George Bernard Shaw
thoer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 02:27 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Video of furnace disassembled
Attached Files
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 09:58 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Another attempt to load video.
Attached Files
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 10:07 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
rubicon327's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Burlington Twp., New Jersey
Trailer: 2010 Escape 19
Posts: 7,126
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbito View Post
Another attempt to load video.
Not working for me. When I tried to load video for my mini-split mod the forum wouldn't take the video directly and play. I had to post to YouTube first and then provide the link.
rubicon327 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 10:13 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Works for me, using Firefox on MacBook Air. It's only 25 seconds long, which is a miracle on the web.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2017, 10:18 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
Here is a link to the video on Youtube.

Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 06:54 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
That last video worked. I'm glad I purchased the extended warranty on mine, that guarantees that it will not need fixing....
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 07:17 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
How much was the extended warranty and which appliances did it cover?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 07:34 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
I just checked my in house records, only the refrigerator and a/c are covered for an additional 3 years, still looking for the Atwood stove and furnace info, maybe in the trailer.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 08:14 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
I didn't get any correspondence about the WH or the furnace, just the fridge and A/C.
__________________
Happy Motoring
Bob
padlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 08:16 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by padlin View Post
I didn't get any correspondence about the WH or the furnace, just the fridge and A/C.
I thought it was in the original paperwork, an option to extend? No correspondence, just mail in a check? I'll look tomorrow and post my findings.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2017, 08:39 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Bobbito's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 699
I just emailed Dometic the documentation and my request for out-of-warranty reimbursement. It was less than a month out of warranty when it died, darn! It will likely be several weeks before I get an answer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bobbito is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:15 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.