Sail switch from Amazon.

[WanderBred]

Just got two of these sail switches, stuck it in and replace the one that came with my dometic heater and it works great all the markings on it all the writing is all the same, dometic one is $25 for one on Amazon.

[Centex]

Just FYI for folks interested, here's the direct link for the item pictured above

https://p-yo-www-amazon-com-kalias.a.../dp/B0B8N7N5N2

Nope, I haven't tried the product myself

[Eggscape]

Good to know. I ordered these in Canadian Dollars in Dec but have not got around to trying them out.

[Fender]

How old does a trailer need to be where you start carrying a spare sail switch? Is it dependent on how often the furnace is used?

[MVA]

FWIW, we have an older Atwood furnace. For the Atwood, there are (at least) two different switches depending on manufacturing date: for curved sail switch 31093; for flat sail switch 33081. I have misplaced the furnace serial number association with sail switch P/N, but it is searchable online (I found it a few years ago).

[SRS]

Originally Posted by Fender

How old does a trailer need to be where you start carrying a spare sail switch? Is it dependent on how often the furnace is used?

Like you I have a 2022 Escape and I carry a spare. It's not just that they can be affected by lint, pet hair etc. but the micro switch can fail.

[DanandDaphne]

Originally Posted by Fender

How old does a trailer need to be where you start carrying a spare sail switch? Is it dependent on how often the furnace is used?

Not so much about age of your trailer. If you camp where you need your furnace to work, for example boondocking and cold weather camping then you should just have a spare. Also not a bad idea to have a spare control board.

Edit, I do have a spare sail switch but not a control board.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I do wonder when I click on the brand name of an Amazon vender to see who they are, and their product catalog is a bunch of random cloned parts for assorted things, https://arcus-www.amazon.com/s?me=A3...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

re carrying spares, mine only failed when some poly fiber lint from the insulation got into it, and tangled up the sail, was litterally just one long twisty synthetic fiber... I vacuumed the area around the furnace, cleaned out ht einside of it, reinstalled the original sail switch, and never had another problem with it.

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by Fender

How old does a trailer need to be where you start carrying a spare sail switch? Is it dependent on how often the furnace is used?

We picked up our 2022 21C in June of last year. The sail switch failed twice over the camping season. Having a spare is a good idea.

[WanderBred]

Yes our trailer is a 2021 and it failed within a year.

[Fender]

Originally Posted by YakRV

We picked up our 2022 21C in June of last year. The sail switch failed twice over the camping season. Having a spare is a good idea.

Thanks!

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I do wonder when I click on the brand name of an Amazon vender to see who they are, and their product catalog is a bunch of random cloned parts for assorted things, https://arcus-www.amazon.com/s?me=A3...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

re carrying spares, mine only failed when some poly fiber lint from the insulation got into it, and tangled up the sail, was litterally just one long twisty synthetic fiber... I vacuumed the area around the furnace, cleaned out ht einside of it, reinstalled the original sail switch, and never had another problem with it.

Our new 21C that we picked up in Oct 23 had the sail switch fail about a month ago while doing a little backyard camping in really cold weather. The next day I pulled it out and it had the same long twisted piece of fiber wrapped around the bottom of the blade where the blade goes into the switch itself.

Cleaned out all the fibers, blew out the entire furnace space of all left over building materials and then vacuumed the entire area.

Amazing!!! Switch works!!

Maybe there is an overall issue with the switch design but this cleaning method fixed mine.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Our new 21C that we picked up in Oct 23 had the sail switch fail about a month ago while doing a little backyard camping in really cold weather. The next day I pulled it out and it had the same long twisted piece of fiber wrapped around the bottom of the blade where the blade goes into the switch itself.

Cleaned out all the fibers, blew out the entire furnace space of all left over building materials and then vacuumed the entire area.

Amazing!!! Switch works!!

Maybe there is an overall issue with the switch design but this cleaning method fixed mine.

That worked for me the first few times, then even clean it failed. I compare it to a flame sensor on a furnace, cleaning it off with a scrub pad works great but for whatever reason in time it usually ends up needing a new one. The ones on Amazon work, I as others also carry spares.

You also might look into an air filter mod, none of us would run our furnace at our homes without a filter. It an odd design to not have these setup without filters.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Fender

How old does a trailer need to be where you start carrying a spare sail switch? Is it dependent on how often the furnace is used?

Ours started failing within two weeks of pickup at Sumas and failed at least 5 times on the 7 week maiden voyage. After arriving home we received a new sail switch from Dave at ETI and it never failed again.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

You also might look into an air filter mod, none of us would run our furnace at our homes without a filter. It an odd design to not have these setup without filters.

Where is the return air intake located?

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Where is the return air intake located?

It’s the plastic grate the hot air duct is attached to, I have cats and they will lay waste to that sail switch.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by MVA

FWIW, we have an older Atwood furnace. For the Atwood, there are (at least) two different switches depending on manufacturing date: for curved sail switch 31093; for flat sail switch 33081. I have misplaced the furnace serial number association with sail switch P/N, but it is searchable online (I found it a few years ago).

Also, if you have the Atwood curved sail switch 31093, finding it is interesting - it is in the combustion side of the furnace, not the interior air. In mine (Atwood AFSAD12 Serial #72088178 Item 32838) it is under a bakelite cover.

I don't know if the side of the furnace makes a difference, but mine did many hours of furnace burns from 2017 to 2022 before it failed.

[felix2]

We rarely use the furnace, preferring to use a small electric heater in our 2020 21NE. However we use it once in a while to quickly heat up when we come back from a day out & about, or when boondocking.

This week the furnace wouldn’t start, so I followed the sail switch procedure and was surprised at how little of a dust bunny kept it from working! Cleaned it and it works fine now. I suppose an extra sail switch is cheap insurance for when/if the original breaks.

The Forum has solutions for practically every issue you can encounter - so glad to have it!

[DT6]

Like many other owners, our golden retriever will destroy any domestic furnace (I believe he thinks his hair is a "gift" to the world).... We decided to go with the same modification that David Murphy mentioned on page 2 of the following thread: https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...r-24122-2.html

We did this after having to replace the sail switch about a month after taking delivery. However when we took delivery of our 19 back in 2019, we didn't have to mess with the sail switch for about 2 years, so it can seem random. However, I don't like "random" when we are out boon docking in winter, so we always carry at lease one spare.

I will note than since doing the "David Murphy" modification, we have had no sail switch failures and we ran the furnace a lot this winter (8 weeks total full time). The documentation from Dometic flat out states that you are not supposed to put any type of airflow restrictions in place, but I have never had an issue with the furnace working since the mod, and it is working quite well.

[cpaharley2008]

A link would help for the 'David Murphy" modification....