2023 E19 heater

[MullensE19]

Hi all,
We are new to the Escape family. We purchased an E19. Is it normal for the flame in the heater to cycle on and off and on and off, every 10 seconds, stays on for 10 seconds or so? Fan stays running. Trailer is cold at the moment and is warming up

[Ron in BC]

Absolutely not normal. Once ignited it should run continuously until the thermostat temperature is reached and not cycle on and off like that.

There have been numerous furnace problems over the years but lately it seems that new owners are experiencing problems from the get-go.

There is a new service guy at ETI and he's doing his best to solve a friend's problems with his new E17.

Try taking off the plastic grill in front and see if that changes the way it operates.

Ron

[Pauly D]

Hi, after our propane is turned off, our furnace has twice struggled to light, but running the stove for a bit gets the propane flowing. Not sure if this is related - others here have more experience. Other than this, the furnace in our new 19 has worked great, fwiw. Good luck! Paul

[brroberts]

That is exactly what my furnace did when new. At 13.8V it would start that, which is behavior more appropriate below 12V. At 13.6V it would quit. So here is what I did. (Make sure you are plugged in, or that your battery is well charged to prevent this.)

Somewhere, I can’t find the link right now, there is a comparison of two sail switches, one of which needs less air flow to open. A light opening sail switch will help. There is also a forum thread using a Suburban sail switch to increase reliability.

To improve air flow to keep the sail switch making contact, remove the front grill and the flex duct to reduce air restrictions. Replace with a solid duct. There are two or three threads here describing that. Mine is not very detailed, but it’s:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...e-21759-6.html

Starts on post 119.

This got me a working furnace to 13.6V and it quit at 13.4V. Sooo…..

The next thing I did was buy. 10 amp buck boost that takes input voltages from 8-40V and puts out 13.8 volts constantly, which is a voltage I know my furnace is reliable at. I need to do more testing this winter, but I pulled my battery voltage down to 11.8V and my furnace cycled reliably.

Be aware, Dometic specifies a circuit board voltage of up to 13.5V. My trailer regularly sees higher voltage and my board has been fine. However, due to this, I carry a spare Dinosaur board just in case it ever goes out.

Here’s the link to my buck boost install:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...-21759-10.html

This starts at post 190.

Hope that helps. I think I have a reliable furnace now, but need to fully test this winter.

There are lots of furnace problem, help, and support threads on this forum. I’m sure you can get it solved. I wish it came working, but it’s Dometic after all.

As far as voltage, I run the two ETI supplied Interstate 6V GC2 batteries.

[Ron in BC]

ETI has recently changed the way it installs the furnace. They did make a comment about the lack of air flow because of a too tight fit was now seen as a problem. They evidently are now drilling a half dozen holes in the "floor" or shelf that the furnace sits on to allow for more air flow.

My friend did this yesterday but it didn't change much.

3 times he took off the front grill and 3 times the furnace started and kept running. 3 times he put the grill back on and it was back to start and quit.

Definitely seems like the situation is related to airflow. Whether it's not enough for sail switch or running too hot and tripping the high limit switch it's hard to know.

Full disclosure: despite having owned several of these furnaces I've very luckily never had a problem. No first hand experience, just observing what's happening with my friend's unit.

Ron

[Rockhead]

Originally Posted by brroberts

That is exactly what my furnace did when new. At 13.8V it would start that, which is behavior more appropriate below 12V. At 13.6V it would quit. So here is what I did. (Make sure you are plugged in, or that your battery is well charged to prevent this.)

Somewhere, I can’t find the link right now, there is a comparison of two sail switches, one of which needs less air flow to open. A light opening sail switch will help. There is also a forum thread using a Suburban sail switch to increase reliability.

To improve air flow to keep the sail switch making contact, remove the front grill and the flex duct to reduce air restrictions. Replace with a solid duct. There are two or three threads here describing that. Mine is not very detailed, but it’s:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...e-21759-6.html

Starts on post 119.

This got me a working furnace to 13.6V and it quit at 13.4V. Sooo…..

The next thing I did was buy. 10 amp buck boost that takes input voltages from 8-40V and puts out 13.8 volts constantly, which is a voltage I know my furnace is reliable at. I need to do more testing this winter, but I pulled my battery voltage down to 11.8V and my furnace cycled reliably.

Be aware, Dometic specifies a circuit board voltage of up to 13.5V. My trailer regularly sees higher voltage and my board has been fine. However, due to this, I carry a spare Dinosaur board just in case it ever goes out.

Here’s the link to my buck boost install:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...-21759-10.html

This starts at post 190.

Hope that helps. I think I have a reliable furnace now, but need to fully test this winter.

There are lots of furnace problem, help, and support threads on this forum. I’m sure you can get it solved. I wish it came working, but it’s Dometic after all.

As far as voltage, I run the two ETI supplied Interstate 6V GC2 batteries.

Do you a link to the buck booster you purchased

[brroberts]

Amazon buck boost for heater:

https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Con...d_dv_rp_0_57_i

[Rockhead]

Thank you Randy.

[brroberts]

Try to help when I can. The collective effort and knowledge of the forum is what makes it work. This forum is one of the reasons I bought an Escape instead of another Bigfoot - not the only reason, but one of them. It’s why I try to put my problems, solutions, and mods on the forum. The group is much wiser than any of us alone.

[WayneLipscomb]

Originally Posted by MullensE19

Hi all,
We are new to the Escape family. We purchased an E19. Is it normal for the flame in the heater to cycle on and off and on and off, every 10 seconds, stays on for 10 seconds or so? Fan stays running. Trailer is cold at the moment and is warming up

We had a similar problem. After two years of freezing in TX and Rocky Mountains, i finally determined the motor would only spin fast enough for heat if the voltage was around 13V. Worked fine on shore power. On battery, it would only heat if the temperature was above 75 degrees. Who needs heat then? Told the dealer to put in a new motor and I would pay for it. New motor fixed the problem. Filed a warranty claim with Dometics, and they paid all but $35. Happy (warm) camper now!