Propane Heater Removal

[William]

Hello,

We just purchased a 1983 FC 35 SB and are going through the same process. I
brought
the Bird to an RV Suburban dealer to have the propane system checked for safety.
This is
not something I trust myself with. At the same time I asked them to check out
the front
furnace. It was doing nothing. They got the blower spinning but no heat. They
told me
about 3 hours to remove and replace @$95/hour + parts. I told them No thanks.
(your can byu a new one for less $.

I have been told it may be the pc board. The older ones are "single set". That
is after one
fail they need to be reset or replaced. The newer boards give you three start
attempts
before they need to be reset or replaced.

I haven't got around to doing this yet. Hope this helps.

Let us know if you learn something different.

The following are answers are from the WOO forum regarding removal of the front
unit.
http://www.wanderlodge.us/members/showthread.php?t=51226&highlight=Suburban+fu
rnace

Bill,
There is no way to service the unit when it is installed. Everythjing is slipped
into the
case from the end. Three hours is a lot of time to get it out. On my 78 FC it is
under the
sliding couch. You take the vent off from the outside, then turn off the gas
(valve inline
near heater), unplug the connector,disconnect the gas line, remove the grill
from the kick
board under the couch, take out the two screws that hold the heater to the
floor, and lift
it out. Of course you are sliding the couch in and out to get access to the
various things.


I have worked through this problem in the past. It could be a number of items
including
the control board, or in my case; it was a wasp nest that had locked the
squirrel cage
blower to the housing stopping its rotation. No rotation - no air flow, no air
flow - a
safety switch will not release and the gas valve will not energize (good
thing!). If the
blower were working, we could give you several trouble shooting suggestions
prior to
pulling the heater - but if the unit has power and the thermostat is
closing....The only
course of action I can think of is to pull the heater, dissemble, check the
blower for
foreign materials and/or the control board for proper function.


Good, I can answer this one. 3 hours sound mighty high for a furnace cleaning
and
inspection. If your furnance is not firing up it most likely is the mother
board. Camping
World carries the replacement for this furnance for around $110 if you have the
Suburban NT16SW which is a common furnance. Me and a friend removed mine, I
cleaned it, drove 25 miles to get the part and had it installed in little over 3
hours. It is
not a difficult task, biggest problem I had was getting the outside exhaust
pipes from
under my trim work, this is where I needed the extra help. WD40 worked just
great to
slip it in & out under the trim. Suburban shows 2 mother boards for the furnance
either
one will work, but don't expect to call Suburban and get a response, won't
happen. I'm
still waiting. Reparing your furnance is a pretty simple job as long as you know
which
end of the screwdriver you hold. Just remember your furnance has been in your
coach for
over 20 years and it is dirty and as soon as you lift it out from under the sofa
it will drop
soot & rust all over the coach. Use common sence when it comes to propane &
electricity, AC/DC doesn't matter, spark & gas fumes equal a loud noise followed
by
intense hot flame, if you know what I mean. So cut off the gas and burn off any
extra
gas by lighting your cook top for a few minutes, then cut of electric power to
the coach.
Start by removing the outside exhaust vent pipes and then go inside and
disconnect
electric connections, insulate them amd then loosen gas line and remove all
srews
holding the furnance unit to the floor and duct work, remove the unit to a
better work
space and remove end and the unit will slide out of the metal casing. You can
test the
furnance outside the coach and furnance case with a 12 volt power source, you
should
hear the fan run for about 30 seconds and then hear a tick - tick sound, this
tick is the
sound of the ignighter lighting. Most parts are available and your furnance is
basically a
removeal and replace maintenance system. You see labels on the furnance reading
to be
serviced by a quailified service technician, a qualified service technician
knows how to
turn off the gas and disconnect the electricity before working on the system, so
don't let
that scare you but if it does all else find a used replacement on ebay from a
used rv parts
dealer for around $300. Good Luck, John


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, dru penland wrote:
>
> Not to contradict anyone, but I found it much easier to unscrew the heater
from the
floor and take out the vent tubes (all screws exterior) from the outside and
pull the
whole box in a nice working environment to work on. My problems with removing
only
the core unit from the box were having ample clearance to pull the innards
without
hitting other items on the way out such as carpet tack boards, etc. Also. mine
has 90-
degree fittings for the propane that would not remove without hitting the floor
of the
coach. This fitting, on mine has to be removed to slide the core out. My aft
heater is
under one bed and the dinette, as I have a rear bath model, and there would be
no way
to slide the unit out without deconstructing the furnishings extensively.
>
> My problems with my heaters were paper wasps and dirt daubers. Before
replacing
my vents, I took the vent cover off the tubes and placed a piece of coarse
screen wire
between the two and sandwiched it back together. These insects had completely
plugged
my front heater rendering it inoperable.
>
> I wish you luck. I bought my coach last year and went one year without
heater
working. It's great to have them.
>
> Regards,
>
> akav8r wrote:
> I am continuing to work on my recent 82FC purchase. THANKS to the
> help from the group I have knocked a couple of items off my to-do list.
>
> Most recently I am working on removing the propane heaters (3) for
> cleaning. I have the Bryant RV PDF on heater service/maint. I have
> turned the gas off and disconnected the supply line at the heater,
> removed the front plate with two clips, removed the two screws holding
> the front of the unit to the floor and I have removed the center screw
> from the intake/exhaust plate on the outside of the coach. Still the
> heater will not budge from its place.
>
> As I look into the tubes through the intake/exhaust plate from the
> exterior of the coach I see a sheet metal screw protruding through
> each of the tubes. It appears to be only a few inches into the tubes
> and appears to be through the overlap of the heater tubes and the
> intake/exhaust plate tubes. This would account for the heater not
> coming out at this point. However I do not understand how to remove
> these screws as even on the heater under the rear bed that is most
> accesible I am unable to reach the screws from inside or out.
>
> Has anyone else had this problem or is there something I don't
> understand or know about the removal of the heaters. I don't know for
> sure but I don't think these screws are original or should even be
> there.
>
> Once again THANKS in advance for any help.
>
> Wendel, GA
> 82 FC35
> "Momentary lapse of reason"
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dru and Debora
> Corpus Christi, TX
> 1983 FC 35 RB
> Steady Gittin' It!
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>