Furnace only works when plugged in

[steve dunham]

I learned the two finger method of checking for voltage
Works well on 120 & 240 VAC but not so well on 12 VDC or 480 VAC

[quidoi]

wait this is a 2020 -- again i refer to my previous concern with these heaters-- my 21 c 2020 is still waiting for the heater to complete my build ( had scheduled pick date of Nov 19-- oh wait that's tomorrow) anyway -- i should just ship it without a heater and i will just build a campfire inside -- no sail switch problems or motherboards to replace--- can't believe it.... quality control must be a problem....

[Ron in BC]

So did I. 3 guys and 27 girls, what's not to like about typing?

Who thought that in a few years keyboard skills would become so handy.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Who thought that in a few years keyboard skills would become so handy.

Ron

The option was Latin. Haven't had a lot of call for Latin myself.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by quidoi

.... quality control must be a problem...
.

I don't think that it has anything to do with quality control.

There is this little situation called a pandemic that is disrupting businesses and supply chains. Have you any idea how many jobber items are supplied to ETI to build a trailer?

One item not yet delivered and still before the pickup date, consider yourself lucky.

Ron

[quidoi]

first they were waiting on the stove/ oven -- which they now have -- but is on hold for furnace--- i am not in a hurry at this point of winter..... just holding on to the money and investing to make more..... quality control on dometic products -- this original post mentioned is on a 21 c -- 2020 .... seems too soon to have a furnace issue -- do you agree?

[nepaweb]

Originally Posted by quidoi

first they were waiting on the stove/ oven -- which they now have -- but is on hold for furnace--- i am not in a hurry at this point of winter..... just holding on to the money and investing to make more..... quality control on dometic products -- this original post mentioned is on a 21 c -- 2020 .... seems too soon to have a furnace issue -- do you agree?

That's interesting.
My 5.0ta now has the furnace but is still waiting for the oven. My original delivery date was 11/18.
I'm not in any rush at this point either. Just curious as to what the logic is behind their decisions.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I learned the two finger method of checking for voltage
Works well on 120 & 240 VAC but not so well on 12 VDC or 480 VAC

I learned the tip of the tongue for the 9 volt batteries........eekkk!

[jerryc]

I'm still a Casita owner, but follow this forum as well. Many many friends have now moved to Escapes. It seems there are more problems with the Escape furnace than all other issues combined. I wonder why?

[steve dunham]

The continuing saga with the Dometic furnace reminds me of a famous quote
“ Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result “

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by jerryc

I'm still a Casita owner, but follow this forum as well. Many many friends have now moved to Escapes. It seems there are more problems with the Escape furnace than all other issues combined. I wonder why?

Each trailer manufacturer has a limited number of suppliers that make RV stuff. Dometic and Suburban seem to be the major players in the propane furnace market. If you had the Suburban in the Casita, you know how noisy and large that furnace is. So, you go with what best fits the trailer you are making.

The new Escape furnaces have the improved outside access panels that make working on the furnace much easier. So, when too much dust or pet hair gets in the sail switch - it's not a big problem to get to it and clean it.

Most of the furnace comments on the forum are from owners of the previous furnace model Escape used which takes some effort to get to the internals. Since any new Escape will have the new model furnace, that problem has been resolved for new buyers.

Since you have a Casita, you are probably familiar with the Coleman Mach 8 saga. Casita stuck with that noisy junk for years before finally being forced to change models. At least Escape is quicker at resolving problem areas than that.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

Each trailer manufacturer has a limited number of suppliers that make RV stuff. Dometic and Suburban seem to be the major players in the propane furnace market. If you had the Suburban in the Casita, you know how noisy and large that furnace is. So, you go with what best fits the trailer you are making.

The new Escape furnaces have the improved outside access panels that make working on the furnace much easier. So, when too much dust or pet hair gets in the sail switch - it's not a big problem to get to it and clean it.

Most of the furnace comments on the forum are from owners of the previous furnace model Escape used which takes some effort to get to the internals. Since any new Escape will have the new model furnace, that problem has been resolved for new buyers.

Since you have a Casita, you are probably familiar with the Coleman Mach 8 saga. Casita stuck with that noisy junk for years before finally being forced to change models. At least Escape is quicker at resolving problem areas than that.

I never found the Suburban furnace in our 2013 Casita to be noisy , I did find it to be reliable.
The same could be said about our Casita A/C unit
The furnace in our Escape is slightly quieter than the furnace in our Casita but my concern is not with the noise level but that the furnace dependably / reliably produces heat
Just my personal experience .

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

Each trailer manufacturer has a limited number of suppliers that make RV stuff. Dometic and Suburban seem to be the major players in the propane furnace market. If you had the Suburban in the Casita, you know how noisy and large that furnace is. So, you go with what best fits the trailer you are making.

Or maybe they just aren't getting creative enough? Wouldn't be hard for Escape to install a Propex propane heater with a couple of small ducts serving the interior. Could even easily heat the bathroom on some models. Incremental cost would probably be small. If it affects the base price too much then make it an option. If these are as reliable as the reviews I read then all these issues go away and you have a bunch of happy customers that aren't struggling to find a "Dometic authorized service center". Whatever that means.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

The option was Latin. Haven't had a lot of call for Latin myself.

Well, ceteris paribus, it's not something you use every day.

Sometimes I think that things get blown all out proportion. A few comments and some folks seem to thing that a situation is an epidemic while the vast majority of Escape owners just use their trailers without incident.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Sometimes I think that things get blown all out proportion.

Ron

Carpe Dometica.

[quidoi]

Originally Posted by nepaweb

That's interesting.
My 5.0ta now has the furnace but is still waiting for the oven. My original delivery date was 11/18.
I'm not in any rush at this point either. Just curious as to what the logic is behind their decisions.

great-- you are a day ahead of me for scheduled delivery date-- wonder why they just didn't give you the oven and send you on your way>>> with winter set in no hurry for me -- spring would be just as good.... good luck

[CharlesPou]

did anyone watch, listen to OP's vid? I watched it, and furnace fan seemed to be getting plenty of power?, plus I could hear the igniter too. I wonder if he went outside, he could smell propane?

[yangstyle]

Originally Posted by quidoi

first they were waiting on the stove/ oven -- which they now have -- but is on hold for furnace--- i am not in a hurry at this point of winter..... just holding on to the money and investing to make more..... quality control on dometic products -- this original post mentioned is on a 21 c -- 2020 .... seems too soon to have a furnace issue -- do you agree?

It kind of sounded like this issue might be related to a loose connection somewhere? Have to wait for the poster to try trouble shooting, not sure if they contacted Escape or not?
This was our second season camping and we had the sail switch problem this fall and it took me 10 minutes to access it and clean the lint off then put it back so nothing major in that case. The good thing was because of this forum I knew what to expect and how to fix it.
I agree that the RV appliances seem to be problematic, I would think that for the $ they cost they would be a little better, not enough competition maybe.
Some of the issues seem to be related to circuit boards and I have had experience with circuit boards that fail right out of the box or very soon after first use on home electronics and electronics we use at work.

[dfandrews]

Wayne,
Did you ever get your furnace puzzle solved? Based on the info given and suggested, the idea was to get a multimeter and then begin evaluating the 12V DC side of things. Any results?

[jetalkington]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Travel Trailer essentials. I saw this on Amazon and bought a spare just to keep in my Escape. It has all I need to diagnose for only $30.