Post your tech questions here!

[KyDan]

Thanks to Kim site admin for this new forum!!

Until now, technical questions and suggestions were posted under
the individual model forums.
There are many tech issues that span all or nearly all models.
Example, antenna issues or water heater won't light questions
might be posted under the Rockwood ultra light forum but nearly
every trailer here has an antenna and a water heater.

Woodalls forums have a tech board and it's busy!!
Now we have one too.
Post your tech questions and suggestions here.
I'm looking forward to hearing from many of you.

[wildwood]

my red light next to my water heater on/off switch, located below sink on front face of the cabinet came on a couple times this past weekend.
what does this mean, that the gas pilot on the water heater is trying to relight? also, does this act as a reset switch under certain conditions, does it only apply to the propane option for the suburban furnace. i know the electric circuit is outside within the water heater enclosure and has a pin in the on/off breaker switch to prevent it from being on normally.

thanks

phil

[Hokiehall]

Did the water heater start on gas? If the ignitor tried to light it 3 times and failed, the red light comes on and stays on. You have to turn it off and turn it back on again. It will again attempt to light the water heater up to 3 times. Air has to bleed from the lines before the heater will stay lit. However, if the heater does not start after several tries, you may have a bad circuit board. I had a bad one on the Flagstaff right out of the factory so it was replaced under warranty.

[rockwood06]

When I realized how everything worked with the hot water heater and the switch in front of the sink, If I turned on the switch the red light came on only when it was time to heat the water, once the stat in water heater was satisfied then the red light went out then the cycle would start again. This operation applies when I am heating with gas, not electric. I have not seen a polit light for electric operation.

[wildwood]

yes , we were using gas, the electric breaker is locked out. it was also very windy and it was blowing off the ocean directly at the grill covering the water heater. maybe this caused some problems.

phil

[wildwood]

thanks==we plan to camp again in may so i will checkout the heater further then.

I hope i am using this site correctly as intended, ie for a variety of tech questions.

sewer cleanup question
Next question:during and after removal of the sewer hose,fittings, etc i like to do a soap cleanup and sterilize. my preference is dry chem vs liquid chlorox. do the tablets used to sterilize the fresh water supply provide adequate concentration to to used in a bucket where i rinse off my sanitary hose and fittings, prior to storage. Or do I need to use dilute liquid chlorox

phil

[Hokiehall]

Originally Posted by wildwood

I hope i am using this site correctly as intended, ie for a variety of tech questions.


phil

Phil, you can post individual topics or questions in the tech forum just like you would in any of the others to get a better response.

[wildwood]

thanks Kim

A big memorial day coming up on the 16th. It will will be a tough day for friends and family of VT. It is my birthday, so it is easy for me to remember

[NDJollyMon]

Yes, please post each tech question under it's own heading in the Tech section...not on this particular thread. The title of this thread is a little misleading.
More people will see it, and it will be easy to find during a search. Thanks.

[choice spot]

Anyone have a 27RLSS? If so, where is the sticker located that tells you the size of your tanks, gross weight, date of manuf. and all that good info.? I can't find ours in the cabinets anywhere.

Thanks

[wildwood]

weight info on sticker on rear front side of camper. also will have some weight info posted on a sticker in a kitchen cabinet above sink.

tank size probably wont be posted but you might be able to look a your manufacturers catalog for your model and get the tank info. sometimes you may even need to do your own test using a 1 gallon bottle of water and close your drain valves and count how many gallons till you back up in your sink, a little crude but works, if you cant find anywhere else. you can also crawl below and measure the tank dimensions and convert the volume to gallons of liquid. Enjoy camping

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by wildwood

my red light next to my water heater on/off switch, located below sink on front face of the cabinet came on a couple times this past weekend.
phil

When you're heating water with LP gas, the red light typically does come
on while the burner is trying to light.
If your water heater happens to decide to have a heat cycle while you
happen to be looking at the switch you will see it light briefly.
Also it's possible the wind did blow out your burner and the heater
re-lit. Again- if you were looking in the right direction you would see
the red light come on for a couple seconds and go out.
If the light comes on and stays on, it means you have a fault and need
to cycle the switch off and back on to clear it and let the WH try to
re-light.

Short answer, the light coming on briefly is normal and nothing to worry
about.

Happy Camping!
KyDan

[welshman599]

Originally Posted by KyDan

When you're heating water with LP gas, the red light typically does come
on while the burner is trying to light.
If your water heater happens to decide to have a heat cycle while you
happen to be looking at the switch you will see it light briefly.
Also it's possible the wind did blow out your burner and the heater
re-lit. Again- if you were looking in the right direction you would see
the red light come on for a couple seconds and go out.
If the light comes on and stays on, it means you have a fault and need
to cycle the switch off and back on to clear it and let the WH try to
re-light.

Short answer, the light coming on briefly is normal and nothing to worry
about.

Happy Camping!
KyDan

Sorry to disagree KyDan, but in my unit the red light comes on only as a warning that the three-try LP lighting cycle has failed. It stays off otherwise. (It also stays off if electric is on regardless of lighting failure) If it comes on, you turn the switch off and on again to reset and start the lighting cycle again, as Dan says. If it happens often and regardless of wind outside, you might want to get the burner looked at as it may need adjustment.

[welshman599]

Originally Posted by Hokiehall

Did the water heater start on gas? If the ignitor tried to light it 3 times and failed, the red light comes on and stays on. You have to turn it off and turn it back on again. It will again attempt to light the water heater up to 3 times. Air has to bleed from the lines before the heater will stay lit. However, if the heater does not start after several tries, you may have a bad circuit board. I had a bad one on the Flagstaff right out of the factory so it was replaced under warranty.

Oops, just realized I pretty much repeated what Kim said. Circuit board failure though... never considered that.

[wildwood]

Thanks yall, it was brief and didnt stay on. other than wondering if i had the proper water qty and if the recovering time was normal, because of the perceived low qty of shower water, i guess it is working normal.

hope you have a wonderful camping season

phil

[KyDan]

I stand corrected--
my previous trailer had an Atwood WH and it was as I said.
My new trailer has Suburban?? WH I think.
I just looked and they managed to obliterate the model number
sticker with a big blob of silicone sealer so I can't read much
of the info it contained ;-((

Guess we'll have to try and mention brand/model when we get
down to specifics on our appliance questions.