Atwood heater not igniting

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by lloydjdorsey@gmail.com

our Atwood hydro flame furnace doesn't work either. Or very seldom; maybe 10% of the time we've tried. We use our 17B trailer from April thru October in Wyoming, so mornings & evenings are chilly. The furnace just won't work even after allowing for the 3 sets of starter clicks, no whoosh, shut off thermostat, wait minutes, try again. Nope. And again, and again, etc.. We've watched the 5 minute ETI video. There isn't an outside maintenance access door on our trailer, so the furnace is built into the kitchen cabinet. Having no furnace makes camping less enjoyable. We bought the Escape- which was not cheap- expecting durability, dependability. Why would they put such a crummy fragile furnace in something that gets towed hundreds of miles each season on chuckholed public lands roads, thru mud and snow? During chilly weather an operating furnace would sure make a difference.

We had similar problems with the Atwood furnace in our 2018 Escape — Repairs —pulled furnace , replaced circuit board and sail switch
We had a Suburban furnace in our Casita for 6 years and never had a problem
What does that prove ? Absolutely nothing !! Read the. Casita forum - Suburbans fail too !!

From what I’ve read on many RV forums , trailer furnaces are a constant source of problems & irritations, no matter the manufacturer
Escape can only install what’s available in the market place and when everything available is crap this is what we get
We don’t depend on our Escape furnace working reliably so in the Spring and Fall we get campsites with electricity and we carry an electric heater , a wool blanket and a warm sleeping bag
Sort of the belt and suspenders approach to cool weather camping

[Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by lloydjdorsey@gmail.com

our Atwood hydro flame furnace doesn't work either. Or very seldom; maybe 10% of the time we've tried. We use our 17B trailer from April thru October in Wyoming, so mornings & evenings are chilly. The furnace just won't work even after allowing for the 3 sets of starter clicks, no whoosh, shut off thermostat, wait minutes, try again. Nope. And again, and again, etc.. We've watched the 5 minute ETI video. There isn't an outside maintenance access door on our trailer, so the furnace is built into the kitchen cabinet. Having no furnace makes camping less enjoyable. We bought the Escape- which was not cheap- expecting durability, dependability. Why would they put such a crummy fragile furnace in something that gets towed hundreds of miles each season on chuckholed public lands roads, thru mud and snow? During chilly weather an operating furnace would sure make a difference.

We had the same issues. Changed out the control board and works fine now

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by lloydjdorsey@gmail.com

our Atwood hydro flame furnace doesn't work either. Or very seldom; maybe 10% of the time we've tried. We use our 17B trailer from April thru October in Wyoming, so mornings & evenings are chilly. The furnace just won't work even after allowing for the 3 sets of starter clicks, no whoosh, shut off thermostat, wait minutes, try again. Nope. And again, and again, etc.. We've watched the 5 minute ETI video. There isn't an outside maintenance access door on our trailer, so the furnace is built into the kitchen cabinet. Having no furnace makes camping less enjoyable. We bought the Escape- which was not cheap- expecting durability, dependability. Why would they put such a crummy fragile furnace in something that gets towed hundreds of miles each season on chuckholed public lands roads, thru mud and snow? During chilly weather an operating furnace would sure make a difference.

You likely have a bad control board. Have you ever had the unit looked at? We have the same furnace as you in our 2015 19, and have never had an issue. Fires up every time. The Atwood furnace is just as reliable (statistically speaking) as any other brand out there. Sounds like you just got a bad unit.

[Greg A]

Same experience as Robert, ours is the same furnace and not a single issue. Definitely would get it serviced or replaced.

[Eggscape]

At least Escape updated the unit so it now has the outside hatch making it much easier to service.

[Bill and Earline]

Lloyd,

Our 2014 had similar symptoms a year or so ago. I did everything I could to try to get at the sail switch with compressed air and try to clean it without pulling the furnace. That didn't help. I then pulled the furnace out enough to remove the switch, which took an hour or two, primarily to disconnect wires enough to get it to pull out far enough.

As others have reported, the sail switch seemed fine when I tested it away from the furnace, so I put it back together enough to test it. Still inconsistent on firing up.

Finally just replaced the switch with one I had ordered on line for $12-15, and it's been fine ever since. I don't know what a circuit board costs, so I haven't ordered one. I think I bought another spare sail switch, since I now consider it a wear item.

Get a friend to assist and confer since this is a pain, but not impossible. And take pictures as you go, to aid in re-assembly. Better to do at home than on the road.

Bill

[lloydjdorsey@gmail.com]

I hardly know any brands of anything mechanical. But I'd assume consumers would want a machine that's durable, dependable, accessible, and effective. All these categories can include measurable criteria based on the mechanics and physics of the machine. There are probably divisions within federal departments of commerce that define the standards and do testing on products, and publicly rate them as failing, meeting, or exceeding the standards.

[lloydjdorsey@gmail.com]

thanks for the help and encouragement, all. Looks like this old broken down carpenter needs to find his rusty prybar and framing hammer and do some mechanicking.

[padlin]

We all would like durable trouble free appliances, unfortunately with so few manufacturers, it's a crap shoot, pun intended.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by padlin

We all would like durable trouble free appliances, unfortunately with so few manufacturers, it's a crap shoot, pun intended.

Consider what might happen if you took your home furnace for long rides in your trailer, over all kinds of roads and in all kinds of conditions.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Consider what might happen if you took your home furnace for long rides in your trailer, over all kinds of roads and in all kinds of conditions.

Add in the price we'd have to pay to get reliable under those conditions.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by padlin

Add in the price we'd have to pay to get reliable under those conditions.

Yup. My new home furnace cost $5,000 installed and I have it serviced once a year.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by lloydjdorsey@gmail.com

Why would they put such a crummy fragile furnace in something that gets towed hundreds of miles each season on chuckholed public lands roads, thru mud and snow?.

For the same reason that the manufacturers of both cheap motorhomes like mine and quarter-million-dollar units have the same crummy fragile furnace - that's what's available in quantity at prices that buyers will tolerate. Well, some do have a fancy hydronic system, which won't fit in the trailer.

Also, the vast majority of these furnaces have gone for many years without problems. The Atwood my motorhome has crossed the continent round-trip, twice, and been used to heat for more hours than than the average RV is used in its lifetime, and has not failed yet, other than to simply wear out the fan motor (which was replaced). Interior components have shattered due to rough roads, and we're on our fourth refrigerator, but the Atwood furnace is fine.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by lloydjdorsey@gmail.com

There are probably divisions within federal departments of commerce that define the standards and do testing on products, and publicly rate them as failing, meeting, or exceeding the standards.

You might think so, but you would be mistaken.