Atwood Furnace

[Kent]

Looks like the 33063 matches the sail switch Reace pulls out of the late model Furnace in his How Too video.

First picture from video and 2nd one is from RV parts web site with the same number.

[cpaharley2008]

Perhaps Dometic is making improvements to their sail switch in order to address the issues?

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Perhaps Dometic is making improvements to their sail switch in order to address the issues?

A little hard to tell from photos but it looks like the newer part has a larger paddle. One would think that should improve its ability to catch air and prove.

[John in Santa Cruz]

phew. I stop checking this thread and its GROWN :-D

so I'm back home (and in fact have been back home for a couple weeks). I need to tackle this furnace repair. Mine is a 8012-II, serial 334900000000381 ... trailer is an Escape 21.

Do I have to pull the furnace out entirely to fix this, or can I access it from the top/side under the bench ? I'd rather not disconnect the gas line if I don't have to. there's lots of room on the vent side of the furnace under the bench.... and oops, just eyeballed it, nope, its gotta come out as the squirrel cage and sail switch mount from the opposite side where there's only an inch or so of clearance.

I found this lovely set of pics http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...12-a-5803.html (starting at post #9) which make it look pretty easy.

[Eggscape]

ETI has a You Tube channel with a few fix it videos...some on the furnace.
Check it out. https://youtu.be/IUniqYY-Ohc

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

ETI has a You Tube channel with a few fix it videos...some on the furnace.
Check it out. https://youtu.be/IUniqYY-Ohc

yeah, I'd much rather see a few photos and read a few paragraphs than watch the typical how-to video. I'm good to go on this. I'll pull the furnace tomorrow and see if it just needs the dust bunny treatment... otherwise test the switches and order whatever it needs...

ok, silly question, do I need a 'flare wrench' on the gas fitting, or is a open end adequate ? and, is there a connector on the power and thermostat wires, or will I have to splice them after cutting them?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

ok, silly question, do I need a 'flare wrench' on the gas fitting, or is a open end adequate ?

Doesn't look like a silly question to me.

I have some flare nut wrenches, but just use common open-end wrenches on propane fittings if I don't have the right size of flare nut wrench, or just don't have those wrenches with me. Make sure you have the right size and don't go overboard applying force, and there's no problem turning the relatively soft brass nuts without damaging them.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

yeah, I'd much rather see a few photos and read a few paragraphs than watch the typical how-to video. I'm good to go on this. I'll pull the furnace tomorrow and see if it just needs the dust bunny treatment... otherwise test the switches and order whatever it needs...

ok, silly question, do I need a 'flare wrench' on the gas fitting, or is a open end adequate ? and, is there a connector on the power and thermostat wires, or will I have to splice them after cutting them?

Of course if you had watched the series of videos done by Escape like I suggested you would not have had to ask the questions. And yes the video states there is enough room to get the furnace out without having to undo the wires...so don’t cut them.

There are a few other good tips you may have not thought about as well.

https://youtu.be/2xXc9HwgD2M

Here are some screen shots from the video.

[Defenestrator]

I'm usually in camp "just give me text and some screenshots", but the Escape video is worth watching. Very informative, and some parts of it would be hard to describe well without video. Nice and concise, too, unlike all the YouTube videos out there that are padded to hit 10 minutes for the sake of monetization.

[John in Santa Cruz]

ok, ok. i'll watch it

[John in Santa Cruz]

wait, thats a totally different furnace than I have, and in a different place.

this is my 2014 E21, its under the street side bench, to the left of the fridge. exterior is just an exhaust flange, not a access door, the furnace installs from inside.

[cpaharley2008]

Escape has moved the furnace in some models. the E21 was under the street side dinette and then moved to the drawer stack sometime after 2014. Then with the 2ndG models they started with an exterior hatch access sometime in 2018.

[wetzk]

I had to pull the furnace partially to access the wiring a couple days ago. These videos would have been handy. It would not have been done by pulling it out a few inches. It could have just slid completely out to fix the wiring. So I would not have needed to tear the floor of the drawer under the closet out. The black part to the outside was not caulked to the body. A bead was run around the very inside of it before it was pushed back in place and a bead around the chrome metal outside after it was screwed on. It rained hard a couple days before and dampness was discovered behind the heater and also on the floor. Since the fridge area was dry it had to be coming from the heater vent so I wanted to make sure it is not allowing water in. Water was flowed over the outside before I put the inside wood back together and no water appeared.

[fudge_brownie]

This link takes you to a set of instructions and photos that I used when replacing a furnace sail switch. It applies only to the Model 2012


Replacing Sail Switch

Thank Parker as the main contributor.

[Chris R]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

ok, ok. i'll watch it

but the video is for the new furnace.

[Greg A]

Yes, and when John in SC pulls his older furnace, I’ll be interested to hear if there is enough wiring on that install that it doesn’t need to be disconnected.

[poodlespal]

We picked up our 2018 5.0 TA in Chilliwack on November 8, 2018. The furnace worked great for almost 2 weeks. We were camping in Bisbee, AZ in late December when the furnace would not light(about 20 different times). We bought an electric heater which worked fine. Tested several times when we got back to Green Valley, AZ. Fan would run, furnace wouldn't light, fan shut off. We filed a claim with Dometic and a very thorough mobile RV repair fellow came out, tested everything while on the phone with Dometic. Furnace lights and runs with no intervention. Altitude in Bisbee is 5200 ft, but in Green Valley it is 2900 ft. That cost us $170 for nothing because it worked. No I'm concerned about boondocking, in case the furnace doesn't work again. Love to have an iintermittent problem in a brand new and not inexpensive 5er.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

How about Propex that I have mentioned in another thread? I wonder if any OEM’s in N. America are using them? Have to be better than Suburban and Atwood/Dometic.

https://www.propexheatsource.com/

Well, since you brought it up...

https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/t...ailure.142441/

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/t...firing.191345/

https://vandogtraveller.com/propex-c...-igniting-fix/


Those were the first 3 hits. They likely are better than the Suburban or Atwood, but the point was well taken - all of them have issues of one sort or another.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

This link takes you to a set of instructions and photos that I used when replacing a furnace sail switch. It applies only to the Model 2012
Replacing Sail Switch

For clarification this should be model 8012. Many are confused enough between the old and new furnace that we don't need another model number!

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Yes, and when John in SC pulls his older furnace, I’ll be interested to hear if there is enough wiring on that install that it doesn’t need to be disconnected.

if there isn't, I'll be installing some sort of plug/socket, 4 pin molex or whatever. maybe a delphi weatherpack... or even, hah, powerpole, since i have a bunch of powerpole stuff, but I'll need two more colored shells because I only have red and black.