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Heater having trouble staying lit


Ruby

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I have the propane heater controlled by the thermostat on the wall. Super simple, I don't even have to light a pilot. But recently it goes out really quickly and sometimes it tries to light back up a few times but then just goes out and blows cold air. I don't see any way to get into it from the outside. Any suggestions? 

Thanks!

-Ruby

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Totally inside except exhaust port. I'm not fully following you disruption here is what should happen, thermostat to heat fan runs, (prepurge) sail switch and over temp proof,gas valve opens (pretty good clunk) burner lights,starts making heat, reaches set temp gas valve closes fan post purges then goes off. It then should go through the same procedure once  there is a demand for heat. The original control board only try's once to light then gives up and the fan will run until you turn off the t stat. Common cause is the control board. So maybe you can explain it a bit better to tell us what is happening.

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The fan turns on, the "clunk" happens that indicates the gas valve opens, the flame lights, then about thirty seconds later the flame goes out and it sometimes tries to relight a few times before it just turns off and the fan will continue to blow cold air until I just turn it off. 

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Sounds like a inop flame sensor or thermocouple

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3 hours ago, WME said:

Sounds like a inop flame sensor or thermocouple

My choice. If it were the board it would continue run it only tries once to light.

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On 11/19/2019 at 3:02 PM, WME said:

Sounds like a inop flame sensor or thermocouple

90% chance thermocouple

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I had this exact problem in a trailer. Low battery. Fan would not blow strong enough to move the airvane switch all of the way. Computer would think that it was a fault. Worked great plugged in but would fail on the second night. 

Check your battery voltage then the airvane switch. 

Edited by Utah-Clay
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1 hour ago, Utah-Clay said:

I had this exact problem in a trailer. Low battery. Fan would not blow strong enough to move the airvane switch all of the way. Computer would think that it was a fault. Worked great plugged in but would fail on the second night. 

Check your battery voltage then the airvane switch. 

If this is the problem and you're unable to test it while plugged in to 110v, having the engine running would (should) boost the house battery to allow this test.

 

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If it lights all of the stuff is doing it's thing in order for it to stay lit it needs feedback from the flame sensor/thermocouple. On fail it will go into post purge and the t stat will have to be reset to repeat the process. If it fails the fan will run until it kills the battery unless the t stat is reset. But it won't light unless there is enough wind.

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Hey, thanks for all the replies. I am forgetting what the model is >.<  but I will post that soon. The comment about the low battery might be right. I recently replaced my deep cycle battery with a refurbished one and it might just not be putting out enough amps. My previous battery, which was having trouble, wouldn't even get the fan to run so I assumed if the fan is running the battery must be alright and it was just the heater. Before I replace any of the heater parts I will look into that. The battery place (interstate) failed to tell me until after I purchased the battery that it put out about half the amps that a new battery would, uhg! 

Thanks, I will see what happens after I get a new battery.

-Ruby

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On 11/25/2019 at 5:06 PM, linda s said:

I don't think I've ever heard of a refurbished battery. How much did that cost you. A new battery at Walmart only costs about a hundred and mine always last 5 years.

Linda S

It cost $45. I'm having a hard time knowing if it is compromised or not.. 

Originally it was a 140 reserved amp hours battery but they said that because it is refurbished this could vary. What kind of deep cycle batteries do you guys use? Also, I don't drive my RV a whole lot..  New to RV life. Do I have to drive consistently to keep the battery charged?

Thanks

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Well like I said I use a walmart everstart maxx, group 24. Never had a problem with them. I also don't think there is anyway to truly refurbish a deep cycle battery. If you have a place at home where you can plug in the coach power cord that will recharge your battery. If not there are some solar chargers that will help. I used one when my Nissan was in storage far from home and it always started right up when I went there. For the house battery of course you need to attach it to that one. 

Linda S

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For $45 I would guess "refurbished" translates to "recharged". There are only about 3 battery manufacturers in the entire country but a lot of different labels. If you are curious about the battery quality side by side pick it up buy the heaviest one.  

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9 hours ago, linda s said:

I use a walmart everstart maxx, group 24. Never had a problem with them.

I use the same exact house battery.  I keep the receipt taped to the battery itself.  If I ever do have a problem then a Walmart is sure to be close by for easy exchange if I'm on the road.  This is a key reason I use this battery.  The performance has been good so far.  The first one I had was worn out after two years and I got a free exchange at that time.  I replaced that one with new after 4 years and this new one has been doing well 2.5 years later.  So over 8.5 years I only had to buy two batteries.  Cost effective, functional, easy replacement on the road.  The ~90 amp hour capacity is moderate, but it's been fine for my purposes.

Edited by AtlantaCamper
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