woolfgo Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 i bought a 87 toyota odessey recently. have been fixing it up and am gonna do a couple of small trips soon. have been working on it and running the electrical off of the 12v battery to power the house. haven't plugged into shore power yet. the propane connection works and the stove lights up . was wondering about how i make the heat work and the hot water heater work, from what i've read i understand i need to light pilot light. how do i do that? once it's lit, will i be able to just have hot water on a whim or is there something more i have to do? also does anyone know about working the furnace? where would i find controls of turning furnace on and off if it gets cold at night. sorry for the newbie questions just trying to gain as much knowledge as i can and make as little mistakes as possible. thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 You can download the owners manual for almost all of the appliances in your RV. I would strongly suggest printing them all off and keeping them in the RV. The furnace requires good 12 volt power, either from your battery or while plugged in. My water heater and furnace are both direct spark ignition so they light by themselves and do not have pilot lights. After you have read the manuals, people here will be able to answer any questions that you have. My oven and stove top both have to be light with a match. The oven has a pilot light but I light it every time I use the oven and turn it off when I am done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2ndopinion Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 My '87 Dolphin has a pilot light for the water heater (not "hot water heater" - why would you heat hot water?). I believe ALL of the furnaces are auto light, and as Bob said, they require GOOD 12v to burn. Mine will spin the fan, but not light if the 12v source is insufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I have had house heaters with a standing pilot, I have had water heaters with a pilot light also. I have had both with direct igniton also. Best advice is to get an operators manual for your unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 My '87 Dolphin has a pilot light for the water heater (not "hot water heater" - why would you heat hot water?). I believe ALL of the furnaces are auto light, and as Bob said, they require GOOD 12v to burn. Mine will spin the fan, but not light if the 12v source is insufficient. It is just connotation versus denotation. When someone says "hot water heater" I know exactly what they mean. And to be technical - a storage-type hot-water-heater does indeed heat hot-water in many situations. Just makes hot water even hotter unless the burner cannot keep up with the incoming cold water. Or in the case of RVs like many Winnebagos - the "hot water heater" is heated by engine coolant when driving and propane when you park. So when you fire up the propane, it is indeed heating hot water. Just making it even hotter. I've been hearing the term "hot water heater for 60 years and the way American English works - that makes it right even if some regard it as an idiom. American English is full of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 i bought a 87 toyota odessey recently. have been fixing it up and am gonna do a couple of small trips soon. have been working on it and running the electrical off of the 12v battery to power the house. haven't plugged into shore power yet. the propane connection works and the stove lights up . was wondering about how i make the heat work and the hot water heater work, from what i've read i understand i need to light pilot light. how do i do that? once it's lit, will i be able to just have hot water on a whim or is there something more i have to do? also does anyone know about working the furnace? where would i find controls of turning furnace on and off if it gets cold at night. sorry for the newbie questions just trying to gain as much knowledge as i can and make as little mistakes as possible. thanks guys! Need some make and model numbers of the appliances. If original - in 87 - it is likely the refrigerator has a pilot light lit by a quartz push-button Piezo lighter. The furnace likely uses electronic ignition. If it does NOT - there will be a push-button Piezo lighter on that too unless it is a heater from the 70s. The hot-water-heater of the vintage is usually lit with a match. All the units with pilot-lights will have a safety-override button you must hold down while lighting the pilot. If all does well - after the pilot burns for 15-30 seconds - you can let go of the safety override and the pilot will stay lit on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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