Atwood Furnace sail switch part number

[Sowen23]

Hi all, after two years of ownership looks like my sail switch needs replacing in the furnace... and of course just off the 2 yr warranty. Do any of you have the latest part number or website I can order one from? I seem to get conflicting part numbers when I search online for my model number.
I have a 2018 19, purchased in March 2018.
AFSAD12121
Serial # 74899912
Thanks,
Sheldon

[davidmurphy02]

The part number for the sail switch is 33063. I have previously purchased it online through PDXRV. Recently they show that part as discontinued and replaced with part 33082, which consists of the same sail switch 33063 plus an upgraded plastic mounting bracket: https://pdxrvwholesale.com/products/...-bracket-33082

After having trouble with my sail switch I purchased one of the new ones, thinking that the bracket might have been part of the issue with them and a newly designed bracket would help. However, the new bracket does not appear to fit our furnace - at least not any way that I can figure. The sail switch, however, is still the same exact sail switch and fits just fine.

If you have the furnace model with the exterior access cover it's very easy to replace the sail switch, and there's an ETI video where Reace demonstrates the process. In this photo the screwdriver is pointing at the sail switch and mounting bracket. You remove the two wires from the sail switch terminals, then remove the screw in the plastic bracket and carefully pull the sail switch and mounting bracket out. It attaches to the plastic mounting bracket with two screws - just remove them, attach the new sail switch, and reverse the process to install.

[Sowen23]

Excellent, thanks! It is what I needed confirmation on. Looks like 33081 will get you the 33063 sail switch with the smaller bracket to fit our furnaces. I just ordered 2 from RVeParts.com.
https://www.rveparts.com/dometic-sai...ries-furnaces/

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by Sowen23

Excellent, thanks! It is what I needed confirmation on. Looks like 33081 will get you the 33063 sail switch with the smaller bracket to fit our furnaces. I just ordered 2 from RVeParts.com.
https://www.rveparts.com/dometic-sai...ries-furnaces/

Good to know I wasn't banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how that new bracket would fit when it wasn't the right one. The plastic bracket will likely never break or need replacing, but good to have a spare since this sail switch comes with one....thanks for the reference.

[AllanEdie]

I am in the same boat. Finding these in Canada has evaded me for the entire day so far. Ditto finding them in the US from someone who will ship to me. The term frustrating does come to mind.


I have cleaned the existing switch, which seems to have solved the intermittent mischief for now, but as to finding spares, no luck, none, nada, squat.


Sadly, Escape can't supply them. In their words, they have only a few, which they need for their own operation. No doubt to replace DOA switches in new furnaces.


Interestingly, there is a Suburban sail switch that looks compatible, and is available from Amazon.ca, so I think I will order a couple and see if they work. If they do, I will report back with the part number for others who may be interested.


I am tempted to add a rant about Dometic service, but why bother?

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by AllanEdie

I am in the same boat. Finding these in Canada has evaded me for the entire day so far.

Have you tried North Shore RV. They will have to order the part, but may have sources that you don't have access to.
https://www.northshorerv.ca/contact-us

[davidmurphy02]

Originally it sounded like a little lint or other debris in the sail switch was the problem. But when I look at the sail switch, the contacts are not exposed - there is a plastic plunger operated by the sail and the contacts are down inside the switch. The first time ours failed I blew it out really well and replaced it. It worked again for a while but on the next trip failed again so I replaced it with a new one. Several other owners have reported repeated failures after cleaning the switch - I am now of the opinion that it is just a poorly designed switch, perhaps bad quality control. Plenty of owners have never had a sail switch fail. I think the best course of action is just to replace the switch if it fails and not keep trying to clean and reuse the bad one.

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Have you tried North Shore RV. They will have to order the part, but may have sources that you don't have access to.
https://www.northshorerv.ca/contact-us

No, I didn't try them. I called a half dozen others listed specifically by Dometic as service outfits that deal with Dometic, and all I got was that they could order one. Been there, done that.



I gave up and ordered a couple fan switches from Amazon.ca They are labeled as Suburban parts but hey look right, so I will swap the existing one out and see if they fit and work properly. If they do, I will report back with part numbers for anyone interested.

[KirkB]

Sail switches are VERY specific to each furnace model, you may not have much success with parts made for a different furnace.

It took me 3 tries even from a bricks and mortar RV shop to get the right part when I replaced mine. It was a different part number from the original, as they seem to change part numbers when furnace models are retired.

Even if it looks right, it might not operate properly, and cause startup problems.

The PDXRV website has specific part diagrams for many furnace models. I suggest you look there find the part number for your model and serial number of furnace and only order that specific part number.

I hope you can return any parts you have ordered that aren't a proper fit for you. Hope you are able to get what you need.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by AllanEdie

No, I didn't try them. I called a half dozen others listed specifically by Dometic as service outfits that deal with Dometic, and all I got was that they could order one. Been there, done that.

North Shore RV Centre is an authorized Dometic service centre, but like most they can't hold an inventory of parts. That's why they order them from distributors.

All I can say, is "good luck".

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by KirkB

Sail switches are VERY specific to each furnace model, you may not have much success with parts made for a different furnace.

It took me 3 tries even from a bricks and mortar RV shop to get the right part when I replaced mine. It was a different part number from the original, as they seem to change part numbers when furnace models are retired.

Even if it looks right, it might not operate properly, and cause startup problems.

The PDXRV website has specific part diagrams for many furnace models. I suggest you look there find the part number for your model and serial number of furnace and only order that specific part number.

I hope you can return any parts you have ordered that aren't a proper fit for you. Hope you are able to get what you need.

I know what you are talking about. However, the main difference between most of these switches is the sail size and shape, the switch bodies seem to be a simple standard microswitch which is either open or closed, and, in order to function in this application, all of them have to be open under gentle spring pressure in the absence of flow.



As a matter of interest, the switches illustrated under the new part number 33081 at one of the online outlets appear to be the wrong design altogether. The sail is much wider which itself will make mounting of the switch difficult or impossible due to the small size of the mount hole in the fan housing, and bent, which if my tests indicate anything, will lodge the sail against the squirrel fan unless it is bent straight. When I saw the illustration, I figured that maybe a slight bend would make the existing switch function better, so I tried it. It went in, but when I rotated the fan manually, it was in contact with the arm, so I bent it back. And that was with a far more subtle bend than in the illustrated part. There is no way the illustrated version of part number 33081 on that website is going to work. Either the part numbering in the website was wrong, which I suspect, or the newest configuration of the "kit" includes an inappropriate replacement for the original 33063 switch which is apparently out of production. Given the different mount for the medium and large furnaces, I suspect that the illustrated part was actually the switch for the 33082 kit, not 33081 for the small furnace.


Anyway after trying to chase down the right part for most of a day, I ordered switches that physically appear correct from Amazon, and if they don't fit, they will go back. I expect that they will work fine because the sail is straight, apparently nearly identical in size and shape, and the microswitch body the same mount configuration. The one potential complication is the spring strength in the microswitch, if it is dramatically different it might behave differently than the circuit board assumes. I will compare the behaviour with the existing switch before assuming that they are the same. If they do work, I will report back because they seem to be far easier to obtain than the 33081 version with the old paddle configuration.

[yangstyle]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Originally it sounded like a little lint or other debris in the sail switch was the problem. But when I look at the sail switch, the contacts are not exposed - there is a plastic plunger operated by the sail and the contacts are down inside the switch. The first time ours failed I blew it out really well and replaced it. It worked again for a while but on the next trip failed again so I replaced it with a new one. Several other owners have reported repeated failures after cleaning the switch - I am now of the opinion that it is just a poorly designed switch, perhaps bad quality control. Plenty of owners have never had a sail switch fail. I think the best course of action is just to replace the switch if it fails and not keep trying to clean and reuse the bad one.

Do you have to unscrew the 4 screws on the outside panel to get the serial #?
I looked at rvpartsepress and they have a whole bunch of serial #'s to make sure you buy the right part. I looked at the label in the closet and that only has the model #

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by yangstyle

Do you have to unscrew the 4 screws on the outside panel to get the serial #?
I looked at rvpartsepress and they have a whole bunch of serial #'s to make sure you buy the right part. I looked at the label in the closet and that only has the model #

Check out the photo on post #2 above - you can see the tag with the serial number on it, accessible after removing the exterior access panel.

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by yangstyle

Do you have to unscrew the 4 screws on the outside panel to get the serial #?
I looked at rvpartsepress and they have a whole bunch of serial #'s to make sure you buy the right part. I looked at the label in the closet and that only has the model #

The serial number on mine is on a sticker on the fan housing which you can see by removing the outside access door. You do not need to remove the vent housing first, it slides out easily while attached to the door.



Be careful of the part number descriptions, I ran into significant confusion due to changing numbers and apparent mistakes. If the supplier does not recommend part #33081, they are not apparently supplying the most recent version, and one supplier I found seemed to show the wrong switch in the 33081 description. The original switch itself was apparently part #33063, which seems to be the exact one in my 2018 E21. However, this switch is apparently out of production, but I found it on a few US supply sites sold as part of the 33081 kit with the plastic mount. Same part number as the apparently wrongly pictured one shown by the other supplier, but a completely different switch.



If you can hang on for a few days, I have some switches coming that I think will work, and they are easily available on both the Canadian and US Amazon sites. I will post results as soon as I test them.

[AllanEdie]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Check out the photo on post #2 above - you can see the tag with the serial number on it, accessible after removing the exterior access panel.

Beat me to it Dave.

[yangstyle]

Thanks all. I will remove the panel. I wasn't sure I wanted to as I am guessing caulking has to be removed and put back afterwards? or is there no caulking there.

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by yangstyle

Thanks all. I will remove the panel. I wasn't sure I wanted to as I am guessing caulking has to be removed and put back afterwards? or is there no caulking there.

No caulking, just those four screws. It is designed to be taken on and off easily.

[yangstyle]

Thanks.

[AllanEdie]

I received the sail switches I mentioned earlier, and they work perfectly in the Dometic furnace in our 2018 E21 (Dometic DFSAD12131). They install easily, maybe even a bit easier than the original because the paddle is a hair shorter, and started the furnace perfectly three times in a row. They are more easily available than the "new" Dometic sail switch kits, especially in Canada. This is the switch on Amazon.ca. It is also available on Amazon.com, and may even be available locally at a Suburban dealer/service outfit.



https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


We now have a new switch in the furnace, plus the functional original and a spare in our kit.


The part number on the plastic envelope the switch came in was SB233100, and the name was microswitch assembly. The bar code is 65053 87989 7.


Having a spare or two of this thing is a good idea. Once the microswitch contacts get contaminated inside the switch, which they eventually will, the switch is not repairable. Putting a new one in is about a ten minute job.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by AllanEdie

Having a spare or two of this thing is a good idea. Once the microswitch contacts get contaminated inside the switch, which they eventually will, the switch is not repairable. Putting a new one in is about a ten minute job.

In the first 4-5 months we had our 5.0 the sail switch got linty and failed at least four (perhaps more) times. Dometic sent us a replacement sail switch and it's been working for over a year and about 200 nights camping. We mainly camp fall, winter, and spring, choosing to go south for the winter. We also purchased a new sail switch last fall (?). Our furnace is still going strong.
Murphy!

Enjoy,

Perry